Please note: this trip was taken in September 2015.
You know you're growing up and in the real world when you try and maximise holidays by heading off on city breaks so you have things to look forward to during the year. Also so you can become a bit more cultured and be the envy of all your friends!
Anyway my best girlfriends and I had planned to head to Ibiza for a week in September and due to hectic lifestyles and complete lack of organisation we didn't book anything in time and by the time we wanted to everything was extortionate. It rather late notice, which is us down to a T. Anyway it ended up being just me and Melissa so we thought we'd head off for a 'cultural' weekend to a location with the cheapest flights.
Melissa and I had to wake up at the crack of dawn and got an Uber to Clapham Junction and we were at Gatwick before 6am.
So off to Copenhagen we went, we were lucky and managed to get an early morning flight on the Friday and a late Monday evening flight so we were able to maximise our time off.
Arriving so early in Copenhagen meant that our AirBnB apartment (link at the bottom) was not ready yet but we didn't see this as a problem as we all know what Denmark is famous for, Danish pastries and who doesn't like a Danish pastry. We got the metro straight from the airport to where we were staying in an area a 15minute walk to Christiania and a 30minute walk to the centre of town.
Have you used AirBnB before? If not, download the App now and take a look, wherever you are thinking of heading it's always worth checking out what it has to offer, and it can cater to low budgets and those with bottomless pockets.
Anyway after fueling up on pastries we were finally allowed access to our apartment which we were sharing with the owner during our break. It was a typical Danish apartment, open plan with a mix of modern and old interior design. Our room was small but just what we needed. After dropping off our bags and picking up a map, we made our way to town to explore and we weren't disappointed with the scenery. Walking on the outskirts of Christiania and getting views of the Bell Tower.
Over the next few days we walked across the entire town, stopping regularly to browse shops (my boyfriend's idea of hell). Once you experience the classically chic and black attire of the gorgeous Danes you just want to join them too. Safe to say our bank accounts suffered the consequences of our actions.
We visited Nyhavn harbour, which is just as pretty as the guide books and postcards make out, especially when the skies are blue. If you head here, which you must you need to try the Herring as it's traditional to the area. But if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, Melissa and I headed to the local supermarket and got a mix of foods, olives, meats, cheeses, bread, pates, salsa, crisps and obviously a bit of wine and we sat in the sunshine, watching boats come in. Also if you are walking towards the end of the harbour, cross over the bridge on your right and walk along the river and you'll come across some trampolines in the ground, great if you're heading to Copengagen in the winter to warm up.
At the end of the harbour on the other side of the water there is a warehouse, with pretty string lights outside. This is a great lunch spot with a food market inside. I can't remember the name but it's also apparently great to head to in the evening with live music and a bit of a party. We ate pulled duck sandwiches, plaintain chips, Melissa sampled her first oyster which was the size of her fist and we sipped on local cider. Great atmosphere and you can sit inside with a roaring fire or outside with a great view of the architecturally brilliant art gallery, I think that's what it was, made up of just glass.
Back to the harbour, pick up a tour boat for the price of 4 euros each and get a guided tour of the canals, taking in the little mermaid, famous Michelin starred restaurants, some Christiania houses, a canal that was based on Amsterdam and so many other things. Great to find out more about Copenhagen but make sure you layer up and take a hot drink with you. We went in September and although it was sunny it did get quite cold and rained a bit towards the end.
Not far from the harbour is the Bell Tower, if you go on a guided tour, I'm pretty sure they'll point this out if not it'll be on a map. Go here 100%, unless of course heights are not your thing. Pick a clear day because the views from the town are not to be missed. It's super cheap to visit, I think around 3 euros and the first part of the way up is up rickety wooden stairs inside and then we walk up stairs on the outside of the tower and once you eventually reach the top you might even feel it sway a little which wasn't my cup of tea but as you can see from my photos the view was worth it.
On one of the evenings, we met with a Danish girl whom Melissa had met a few years before in Sri Lanka whilst volunteering at an orphanage. We met her in the meat packing district Vesterbro, which was the opposite side of the city to where we were staying. She recommended going for an Italian and once we arrived there, the streets were crowded with people and it turned out that the restaurant we were going to were giving away free pizza, wine and beer all evening to help promote another restaurant opening it the city centre. Win win for us, as Copenhagen wasn't the cheapest place in the world so a free evening meal and alcohol was exactly what we needed. So we grabbed some pizza and red wine and sat on the pavement. Thank goodness for a warm evening. We were then taken to a few more bars in the area, before heading to the centre for cocktails in an old church, after this Mel's friend left and we started chatting to some Danish people who took us to a pub at Nyhavn harbour, we only left at 7am and you can see in my pictures below that we managed to catch a lovely sunrise when we eventually got back to the apartment.
The infamous Christiania was also on our agenda. This is the town's hippy commune, where they've built their own houses out of recycled materials and where the smell of weed is a given. There is a specific area within Christiania called the green light district where no photos are able to be taken and where selling drugs is allowed. Friends of ours from home advised us to visit as apparently it's an interesting part of Copenhagen and the polar opposite to the rest of the city and we weren't disappointed. Interesting it was. The area itself is beautiful, surrounded by a lake.
During the rest of the visit, we went to various food markets, trying traditional smorebords and enjoyed exploring the city. We'd well recommend a visit to this beautiful city.
Next destination: currently unknown
Xo
Ps. AirBnB apartment - https://airbnb.com/rooms/3428621?s=8&user_id=12841972&ref_device_id=823ebbdc2d1ccdb8fccc977fdff9f63c6ed8f551
