16 Hours in Copenhagen

We are here!

After 11 sleepless hours in a 747, we have finally touched down in Copenhagen, Denmark, the first stop on our European adventure.

We took the metro to the stop nearest our hostel, and walked out to a trickle of rain. Without even thinking we just started walking in the direction of where we thought our hostel was. Lost and confused, we found our way to the corner store and asked the clerk for help. The woman in line behind us offered to walk us to our hostel, and the second we started the trek, it started pouring. Exhausted and sore, the two of us followed the woman through the twisted roads to what became our home base for the night.

While on our way to the main attractions, we passed by huge gardens and brick buildings and soooo many bikers (who nearly hit us more than once.) The streets were pretty empty, given it was a Sunday evening that was followed by a holiday. The lack of congestion made it easy to get to see all we had hoped to!

Nyhavn Harbor was all that Pinterest made it seem. The colorful buildings and quaint restaurants lined the thin harbor where huge sail boats sat waiting. Even though we needed warmer clothes and rain jackets, we couldn't even believe how beautiful it was.

Next on our bucket list was the Little Mermaid statue. We walked from the harbor on a trail the lined the water to the quaint statue in the water. About 30 people were climbing down the rocks to get a picture. With the wet conditions, we had to be careful not to slip! The last landmark we visited was the castle in the center of the city. The grounds and gardens surrounding were perfectly kept, which made the stone walls and turquoise steeples look even more beautiful.

So far the language barrier has been pretty easy to deal with (big thanks to the many people who spoke English and for the translations on most signs!) The 3 characteristics of Denmark that stood out the most to us were the turquoise accents on buildings, the cleanliness of the roads, and the many friendly people who were willing to help!

If we were to come back again, we would love to see the city in full bloom, with open shops and crowds of people.

We have overcome a few hiccups, but so far we are hanging in and trekking on.

We are now on a train to Amsterdam, stop two on our list!