Excursion to Copenhagen

A couple of weekends ago, I traveled to Copenhagen for the weekend with a few of the girls in my building. It is easy to travel between Sweden and Denmark, as there is a train that connects the two. We got up for an earlier train and boarded it on Saturday morning. It took about three hours to get from Växjö to the Copenhagen Central Station, which is just past the airport I flew into.

The train ride was rather uneventful as we mostly napped and listened to music, preparing for a long day of walking and exploring. When we arrived at the station, we were greeted by the beautiful sight of caffeine and sweets, two traveling necessities. It was definitely a little bit of home away from home to see a Starbucks, and I couldn't resist a tasty treat (or two) courtesy of my favourite coffeehouse. 

 A cozy Starbucks amongst the hustle of the Copenhagen Central Station. 

After we consumed enough sugar and caffeine, we headed out in search of our hostel so we could put our bags down. We followed the directions we had set up in our phones and walked for quite some time. We soon realized that we were headed in the opposite direction of our hostel, and we were a bit lost without any form of internet. However, we stumbled across a gorgeous walking path beside a lake, and an old military base that is maintained as a public tourist location.

It was a beautiful day out so we took advantage of the weather and explored around the area. There was even a wedding taking place inside the old military base. It was such a pretty location with lots of cobblestone (very European). While we were on the opposite end of the city from our hostel, we decided to go to the famous mermaid statue that we had heard about. We headed past the lake and down to the harbour. When we arrived, we discovered that the famous statue was actually quite small. However, the view of the sea from the harbour was a nice sight to look at, as the boats were all lined up and still out in the relatively warm weather.

After wandering around the harbour for a little while, we realized that we had to check into our hostel very soon. We found a wifi spot near a tour bus and got the directions, only to realize we were about an hour walk away. We started the long trek back across the city, which was luckily one long street. However, we got a bit confused once we made it to the canal, and had to ask several people for directions and refer to the map countless times before finally locating our hostel in a tucked away street. 

The hostel was a really unique place called Sleep in Heaven. As soon as you walk in, you are greeted by a warm and inviting entrance with large wooden picnic tables and cozy couches on the lower level. We were given a room in an adjoining building, so we had to "follow the sheep" painted on the ground to the building. The room had three bunk beds and fit six girls. Four of us were there from my residence building, and the other two girls were very friendly, but we only saw them for a few minutes. The rooms were so clean, and had handy lockers that could only be opened with your room card. The windows opened up to a nice view of the street and a nearby church. The hostel even had a happy hour at 7 pm, where Jenna and I got a White Russian and Irish Coffee to drink before heading into the city.

Later in the evening, we met up with Rikke (a fellow Linnaeus University student from Copenhagen) in the city. We got a night tour of the town, walking around the streets and stopping into some neat bars with her and some of her friends. Unlike back home, where I am often home by 2 am at the latest, we stayed out until 5 am. It was a long night, but a lot of fun meeting new people. When we got back to the hostel we crashed right away, and tried to get some rest before another long day of exploring. 

On Sunday we walked to Nyhavn, where the streets are lined with colourful buildings and are packed with street musicians and people relaxing with their coffees at the outdoor dining tables. In the centre of the street is a canal that is full of sailboats. We spent quite a while at Nyhavn because the buildings were all so beautiful and there was so much going on around us. We also ended up with pictures of the buildings from practically every angle.

After our Nyhavn visit we spent the day exploring the streets, and stopped by a neat museum filled with European art, especially by Scandinavian artists. It was fun to wander through the different rooms and look at the progression of art over time, as well as in the different locations. Once we left the museum, we wandered around the city some more. The streets of Copenhagen are full of incredible architecture everywhere you look. Below are photographs I snapped of some of my favourite buildings that we came across.

Overall, the weekend I spend in Copenhagen was amazing. From meeting new people, spending time with friends until early hours in the morning, and walking around beautiful Nyhavn, there was so much to see and do. I certainly recommend checking out Copenhagen if you are looking for a vibrant and lively city with incredible architecture. Coming up next on the blog is last weekend's getaway to Gothenburg, so stay tuned for that post hitting the blog very soon. 

Until next time, 

Kaitlyn xo