The final destination on my fall break list was Copenhagen, which I’d heard was an amazingly cool (figuratively AND literally) city. Let me preface this by saying we got very lucky and it was fairly warm in Denmark, although when the wind blew we got a good taste of just how chilly it could be!
I met Allie and Pauline from Prague there, although I arrived a night earlier than they did. The morning that they arrived we checked into our hotel and then set out to the most scenic spot in Copenhagen: the infamous colored houses. (Famous as the home of Hans Christian Anderson, shout out to my mom for knowing that from a movie about him).
I met Allie and Pauline from Prague there, although I arrived a night earlier than they did. The morning that they arrived we checked into our hotel and then set out to the most scenic spot in Copenhagen: the infamous colored houses. (Famous as the home of Hans Christian Anderson, shout out to my mom for knowing that from a movie about him).
We walked around the adorable area and signed up to take a canal tour. I loved it in Amsterdam, so why wouldn’t Copenhagen be the same right? While we were waiting, we saw the royal guards marching from their barracks to the palace to perform the changing of the guards! Unlike the British version, they smiled and played a really happy and peppy tune on their flutes. Watch out world-it’s coming your way as my new ringtone (maybe).
he canal tour was as different from Amsterdam as possible. We started in the Nyhaven canal with colorful houses, but soon went into the harbor which was pretty rocky. The boat didn’t rock but we left our windows open and Pauline and I kept getting splashed by water. Eventually, a GIANT wave came in and soaked us and the window got closed for the rest of the ride. They told us about the shipping industry in Copenhagen, the different canals, and the royal family as well as pointed out many of the landmarks. We also went under a ton of bridges that were really, really short. Before every bridge, the guide kept saying that it would be tight squeeze and they got even worse as we went. The water was extra high so people had to duck to make sure they didn’t hit their heads!
For dinner, we met up with Maddie and Jordan who are from Emory and are studying in Copenhagen. They took us to a place called Paper Island (PapirØen), which is Copenhagen street food. It was a giant market that used old shipping containers as decoration and sitting space, and contained food from every ethnicity. There were so many choices I didn’t know where to start, but I ended up with some fresh caught fish and chips. I had to do a presentation on food I ate for my class, so I’m adding in here the photo that I put together of the market for that class!
For dinner, we met up with Maddie and Jordan who are from Emory and are studying in Copenhagen. They took us to a place called Paper Island (PapirØen), which is Copenhagen street food. It was a giant market that used old shipping containers as decoration and sitting space, and contained food from every ethnicity. There were so many choices I didn’t know where to start, but I ended up with some fresh caught fish and chips. I had to do a presentation on food I ate for my class, so I’m adding in here the photo that I put together of the market for that class!
Day 2
In the morning, we went to Rosenborg Slot which is one of the Danish Royal Palaces and holds the Crown Jewels. The rooms were really old and ornate, with the most notable being a porcelain room that is the only one of its kind in Europe. Instead of displaying it plainly on the wall, the entire room was made of porcelain and it was displayed like a giant tree with random pieces everywhere. (That was a really bad explanation, google might be better). I learned that the Danish are also known for their pottery, which I had no idea about.
The next castle was Amalienborg Slot, which is still the residence of the royal family. The rooms that they showed us were as they were in the mid-1900s. One thing was for certain: the Danish royal family were hardcore hoarders!!! There was SO MUCH in the rooms filling every little space, I was overwhelmed. The Danish royals were also related to basically every other royal family in Europe, but no big surprise there. On the top floor of the palace, they made us put on fun little shoe covers to not damage their wooden floors (?). Anyway, it was entertaining for the ten minutes we walked around!
Finally, we ended our trip with a visit to the iconic little mermaid statue. This is a play on Hans Christian Anderson and is supposed to welcome everyone to the Copenhagen harbor. It was pretty small in real life; and there were some slippery rocks you could climb out on to get close to it. Of course, Allie celebrated that she made it without falling and then fell in, and her shoe was covered with seaweed!
Day 3
The only flight I could get was early in the afternoon, so we found some bagels and ate at the Nyhaven Canal and then I was off! After ten days of traveling I was pretty pumped to go back to Rome, but break was amazing and I absolutely loved every single city I went to. Also, everyone I stayed with/ met up with deserves a special shout out-I'm so glad that I had people living in these cities to show me around because it really made the experience.
Ciao,
Alyssa
Ciao,
Alyssa