The final destination of our spring break was Copenhagen, Denmark. We arrived here the night of March 27th from Amsterdam. That night we checked into the hotel and called it a night.
The morning of March 28th started with breakfast at a pastry shop called Buka and walking around the famous Nyhavn harbor. We decided to get tickets for a boat tour and it was the highlight of the trip for me! We went out of the harbor under low bridges and saw all the sights of Copenhagen from museums to statues. Our tour guide was super thorough and provided us with so much good information, I couldn’t recommend this more! Afterwards, we walked to the state of 'The Little Mermaid' which was a gift from Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagen. The sculpture is made of bronze and granite and was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale about a mermaid who gives up everything to be united with a young, handsome prince on land. The sculpture was unveiled on August 23rd, 1913. Next, we visited Tivoli Gardens which is the second oldest amusement park in the world. This amusement park lies in the heart of Copenhagen and has operated since 1843. We rode a couple rides before it started raining on us. That night we got dinner at an Italian restaurant and I had an amazing pasta dish paired with wine!
The next day, March 29th, we decided to take a day trip to Malmö, Sweden. The train ride is only 40 minutes and Malmö is actually the third biggest city in Sweden following Stockholm and Gothenburg. Once we got there, we taxied to the Ribersborgs Open Air Baths where we did a cold plunge in the ocean along with a sauna experience. My entire body went numb in the water but it was so worth it once we warmed up in the sauna! Afterwards, we rented bikes to get back into the city where we got lunch at a place called Siesta. Here we got Swedish meatballs in a whiskey cream sauce, pickled cucumber, lingonberries, and potato purée. This was one of the best meals I've had during this entire study abroad, it was SO good! We continued walking around until we got to St. Peter's Church which was beautiful. Eventually we got a train back to Copenhagen and got Thai food for dinner.
Saturday, March 30th, our final day started with me going out on my own. I got avocado toast and coffee at a cafe called Atelier September which must be pretty popular considering I waited 20 minutes for a table. After, I walked to Rosenborg castle which houses some of Denmark's greatest cultural treasures. The castle has five levels including a basement and treasury. There was an amazing amount of art, sculptures, and artifacts within this castle, it was jaw-dropping. In the treasury, there was even crown jewels. I also walked through the Kings Gardens which was connected to the castle. Then, I walked to the Round Tower and Trinity Church. The line was too long to climb up the tower so I opted to just take pictures from the bottom. I grabbed an iced matcha latte and continued on to Thorvaldsen Museum. This museum is a single-artist museum dedicated to the art of Danish and Icelandic Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life. I walked around for an hour taking in the various sculptures and pieces of work made by Thorvaldsen. Afterwards, I walked to get lunch at Gasoline Grill which is famous for their burgers and I can see why because it was one of best burgers I've had! After lunch, I went to Studio Arhoj to check out the unique ceramics they have. Eventually, I headed back to the hotel to gather my belongings and prepare for our flight home. Copenhagen was a pleasant surprise with so much more to offer than I originally expected!
