Denmark: Day I (Copenhagen)

Tuesday, June 7^th:

Downtown Copenhagen:

Jen and I woke up this morning and headed straight to the airport for a short, hour-long flight from Stockholm to Copenhagen, Denmark. I enjoyed my fairly short stay in Stockholm, and definitely think a return visit is in the cards sometime in the future. My only gripe is that it is so expensive for drinks and food… Anyways, Adjö Stockholm! And Goddag to Copenhagen!

            Copenhagen, or København as the Danish call it, is an absolutely beautiful city, and a traveler can see this as soon as he or she steps out of the central train station. The architecture is awesome to look at, and stunning steeples of palaces and churches line the skyline in every direction. The center of the city is a mere ten minute train ride from the airport, and Jen and I walked another ten minutes with our luggage to our hotel, the Danhostel Copenhagen Downtown hostel. This hostel is in a perfect location, just steps from the Rådhuspladsen square which serves as the center of downtown Copenhagen. It also has a pool table, foosball table, a café, and a bar in the lobby. Here I picked up my Hostelling International Card to help with some prices later in my trip, and we checked in to the trendy hostel and made our way to get lunch. We found a place called the Rio Bravo Restaurant that sounded American or Mexican but served traditional Danish foods. I ate a beef tenderloin clear soup with meatballs and a dish called Stjerneskud which consisted of Boiled and Fried Filets of Plaice with caviar and vegetables. Jen also had some smoked salmon and a side salad here, and I tasted some Danish Aquavit alcohol for the first time—it is pretty good!

The Center of Downtown Copenhagen, the Rådhuspladsen:

            We went back to the hotel for a nap before going back out to get a feel for the city. It was pretty dead, being a Tuesday night, but we found a fairly lively bar called the Viking House where I had some pints of Carlsberg, the local beer, or øl in Danmark (yes, in Danish it is spelled Danmark), brewed right in western Copenhagen city in the district called Frederiksberg. After a few beverages, we wandered our way back to the hotel to get some shuteye early(ish) to make breakfast and get out touring on the early side the next morning. I was very eager to see all the sites that this city had to offer! Luckily almost all the Danes here speak English, because Danish is also a very, very strange language. Swedish was understandable at times, but this one just sounds so much weirder…