Copenhagen!

I am not going to lie, I was a little worried about going to Denmark at first. I knew nothing about it, other that it is freezing cold there. It is practically the North Pole. I would much rather stay in Berlin an extra night and not have to worry about carrying all of my heavy luggage with me. I was pretty much just along for the ride.

The weekend started in Gottingen after the awesome tour of Otto Bock. We arrived at the main station around 5pm. We needed to kill 5 hours before we boarded the 12 hour, overnight train to Copenhagen. We decided to take a walk around the city to find a nice restaurant. We found a small German place to waste sometime. The food was delicious. On the way back to the hauptbahnhof we stopped at a grocery store to buy snacks for the long train ride.

The train ride was much better than I had expected. I had a whole compartment all to myself. I could lay across all 3 seats ans still have more than enough room for all of my luggage. The train arrived in Copenhagen around 11:30am after an hour and a half delay. As soon as we got there we found an ATM, stored our big luggage, and found the tourist information center. Here is where the weekend begins.

On Saturday we went on a tour of the Rosenborg Palace. It was pretty neat. There were hundreds of ornate paintings and the treasury was filled with swords, pistols, and jewelry with amazing detail. After the tour we headed back into town to check into out hostel. The receptionist was so amazed that we were actually from Texas. (This is actually a pretty common occurrence.) We dropped our bags off and went out to do some shopping and eat dinner. When we arrived at the hostel we were surprised to find two people already there and two more people will come later. The four of us were in an 8 person dorm style room. This normally would be fine, except one of the guys snored extremely loud ALL night. Somehow I managed to sleep through the entire thing. However, the other 3 weren’t as lucky.

The next morning we checked out and met with the rest of the group around 9:30. We stopped at a small bakery to grab breakfast then went on a walking tour of the city. Our first stop was Christiana, a self-governing free town for people with alternative lifestyles. Then we continued on through New Haven (Nyhavn). This is a street that runs along the harbor. It is filled with colorful townhouses, seafood restaurants, and delicious hot dog stands. We then walked through the government area on the way to the famous Little Mermaid statue. This was the main attraction of our tour since it is the most visited site in Copenhagen. Now it was time to head back to town. We arrived at the train station with enough time to get fod, take our bags out of the locker, and catch our 3:20 train to Hannover.

Overall, I was very impressed with Copenhagen. It was not what I had expected. It was rather warm on Saturday and cold but sunny on Sunday. It rained for a little while when we first arrived, but not enough to ruin our fun. The city is a bit more pricey than Germany, but I had expected that. For example, I paid 50 DKK for a meal from McDonalds, which is about $8.50. The town is filled with colorful buildings, beautiful waterways, energetic English speaking people, and a unique history. I am disappointed that I did not come during the summer so that I could see the famous Tivoli gardens, beautiful King’s garden, and flowing water. I hope that I will have the opportunity to go back someday.