Copenhagen!
Home to Europe’s oldest monarchy.
It is also the city where I jetted too in celebration of graduating and earning my Masters of Arts degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
A hub for green innovation, Copenhagen has also mastered the zeitgeist—consider its cutting-edge architecture, its renowned restaurants and design shops, and its entirely disproportionate number of natural wine bars. It is also Scandinavia’s most cosmopolitan city, yet retains its essential Danishness.
It also ranks in the top ten of one of the ‘happiest cities in the world.’
Happy it may be, but dang if it ain’t one of the most expensive cities too. 💰 💸
GETTING THERE
The original plan was to travel by train to keep to the budget. However, the time and the amount of transfers required more travel time than I had to spare. Thus, a 90-minute flight was the selected option.
I stuck to my rule and got the first flight out – which happened to be an 0700 flight. Therefore, I had to catch the 0430 local train to the airport.
I know, who gets up before 0400 for vacation? Me, of course! 🙃
Arrived at the airport at 0500, checked-in and proceeded to security. No issues other than finding a place to grab some food. That’s the con in taking early morning flights – not many places open until 0900.
Flight was smooth and no epic passenger meltdowns, which is always a good thing. Arrived at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup on time.
TRAVELER’S NOTE:
Copenhagen has two airports: Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup and Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde.
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup is the main international airport, and its IATA airport code is CPH.
Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde is a small exclusive airport, catering to more small charter and private aircrafts.
Remember this when booking flights as I almost booked a flight into Roskilde, which would have caused a bit of havoc to my travel plans.
COPENHAGEN CITY PASS
I purchased the Copenhagen City Pass because it was cheaper than my standard Welcome Pickups option.
Welcome Pickups quoted a €99 price for a 20-minute drive from the airport to my hotel.
A 96-hour Copenhagen City Pass (Small) would cost me $36.36. The pass allowed unlimited rides on public buses, trains, metro and harbor buses any time of day, and included the airport as a destination. The metro from the airport to my hotel took the same 20 minutes.
Hmm, no further discussion needed. I downloaded the DOT Tickets app, purchased the City Pass and never worried another bit about how to get around Copenhagen.
Now it was simply following the signs from the baggage claim to the Metro.
LODGING
The metro ride from the airport was smooth. Finding my hotel was another matter.
I followed the Hotel’s directions to the Rådhuspladsen stop. From there, I got turned around, literally.
My phone’s data service was being difficult, and I couldn’t access Google Maps. What’s a solo traveler to do?
In this case, look up from my phone and find that my hotel, The Square, was across the street from where I stood.
Yep, a classic Homer Simpson ‘D’oh’ moment. 🤣
THE SQUARE
Overall, my three-night stay at The Square was great!
Yes, I booked direct via the hotel’s website. There was no difference in price if booked with any of the major third-party booking sites. I always try and book direct whenever possible. Saves on headaches later if need to cancel for some unforeseen reason (i.e. Covid-19 pandemic).
What a perfect name for the hotel as overlooks City Hall Square in downtown Copenhagen.
Room was average European size. Expensive for the room-size, but Copenhagen is expensive.
Bed was comfortable and the room was reasonably cleaned upon arrival. There was noticeable wear and tear in the carpet and bathroom, but nothing out of ordinary. However, it makes me wish hotel’s would do away with carpet.
Additionally, housekeeping and cleaning were ‘On Demand,’ meaning guests had to request services before 10 p.m. the night prior to the request service day. I think many hotels are slowly adapting this course of action, and I okay with it, so long as guests are informed of the policy beforehand and upon check-in.
The atmosphere can get noisy at night if facing the town square/streets. Copenhagen is a lively city and people come here to enjoy themselves.
Shower is a bit small and tight. The A/C worked but I rarely needed it during my stay as the weather was a cool 70 degrees fahrenheit each day.
The hotel’s hallways and carpet were very stained and unpleasant to the eyes. Seriously, they need to get rid of the carpet.
Location is great if visiting Tivoli Gardens, and the metro station, as I learned, is across the street, along with Strøget, a popular tourist attraction which also happens to be the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe.
The Square’s customer service was great, especially Jamie at reception.
Breakfast wasn’t worth the cost, so if not included with room, don’t bother purchasing.
Since I arrived hours before the 1500 check-in time, my room was not ready. Nevertheless, Jamie provided me with some great ideas and places to get my exploration of the city off on the right track.
But first, breakfast.
I couldn’t partake of the hotel’s breakfast buffet since I hadn’t officially checked into the hotel.
No need to worry, there were plenty of restaurants in the area that served an All-Day Breakfast. I stumbled upon Café Vivaldi, and their breakfast course seemed tasty.
CAFÉ VIVALDI
The experience and atmosphere at Café Vivaldi wasn’t terrible. For a Friday morning, it was quiet and pretty peaceful.
I ordered the breakfast brunch, which consisted of Skyr with berry compote and muesli, cheese, scrambled eggs with chives, bacon, fried sausage, smoked salmon, avocado, ham, fresh fruit and pancake with chocolate sauce and a pot of mint tea.
Price was a bit steep at $27.41. Remember – Copenhagen is expensive. Then again, this is quite a bit of food.
One thing I loved was paying beforehand and not waiting for the bill. For some, paying before you eat is a no-no because what happens if you don’t like the food or service? I get that, but if I don’t like a place, or service or the food, I don’t want to hang around longer than necessary waiting on a bill.
Breakfast arrived and it was pretty darn good. Even the scrambled egg, which I don’t like much, was edible. Of course I smothered it in avocado and bacon.
MUSEUM OF COPENHAGEN
I began my city exploration visiting the Museum of Copenhagen.
Entrance ticket was $13.78, but also included access to The Museum of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsens Museum and Nikolaj Kunsthal, for up to 48 hours after the ticket has been redeemed.
Three museums for the price of one? Not a bad deal.
An interesting museum, though I felt it could be more interactive. I do enjoy learning about the city I’m exploring and always try to visit the city museum when possible. I also enjoyed learning the history of the building that houses the museum.
One highlight was listening to a phone call from April 1980, where a lady calls the Housing Authority and demands to speak with the manager.
Looks like the ‘Karen’ phenomenal isn’t a 21st century invention.
CITY LIFE, PART I
I explored the city a little more following the museum, finding a nice grocery store and a Ramen noodle house nearby. These will come in handy when I need snacky-snacks for my hotel room.
I’m willing to splurge, but splurging on hotel mini-bar snacks ain’t in the cards. I’d gladly pay $18 for a meal, but not a pack of peanut M&Ms.
Something that truly made me laugh, and my boss as well when I sent him a few photos, was the location of a few recognizable pubs.
First, I stumbled upon The Old Irish Pub.
Which is next door to the Old English Pub.
Which is around the corner from the Old, but Modern, Scottish Pub.
LOL. 🤣
MR. RAMEN
Lunchtime arrived and I decided to check out Mr. Ramen, a small noodle house in the heart of Copenhagen. It also happened to be around the corner from my hotel.
The menu had a nice selection of ramen noodles and side dishes. Once again, you ordered and paid before service. A fast-food aspect mixed with restaurant quality service and cuisine.
I selected the Tonkotsu ramen soup, kimchee and edamame.
Yummy!
Lovely noodles and broth was hot and flavorful. Yes, Mr. Ramen is a nice place for a quiet lunch.
NYHAVN
Colorful Nyhavn is one of Copenhagen’s most iconic sights. It reminded me a bit of Burano, Italy with the colorful landscape. However, the city is more reminiscent of Amsterdam.
Regardless of the inspiration, it is a beautiful area and worthy of exploration.
I cast aside my fear of boats and booked a tour with Canal Tours Copenhagen.
The tour was nice and smooth, and I photographed as much of this beautiful place as possible, without falling overboard.
We sailed up the trendy Nordhavn and down to urban Sydhavnen. Along the way, we viewed classic sights like The Little Mermaid (the back of her anyway), Amalienborg Palace, Rosenborg Castle, Christiansborg Palace, the Royal Library, Danish Design Center, Copenhagen Opera House, and The Blox.
The only negative was some dumb amateurish photographer disobeying the rules and standing up during the tour, completely ignoring repeated warnings to stay seated.
A nice crack on the noggin’ from one of the many low bridges we passed underneath was kind enough to remind him to keep his butt in the seat.
TIVOLI GARDENS
My Tivoli Gardens ticket was purchased as a combo with the canal tour. So after the tour, I jumped back on the metro to Tivoli Gardens, conveniently a three-minute work from my hotel.
Okay, so I understand this is a top attraction when visiting Copenhagen. Yes, it is the second oldest amusement park in the world, and one of the parks that gets the most visitors. However, I need to be honest.
This place was nothing more than a sad reminder of all the terrible state fairs I was forced to attend as a child.
Tivoli Gardens, including the Food Hall, is a nice family place, but it just didn’t spark much interest in me to hang around for more than two hours, including visiting the Food Hall.
I also hated paying an entrance fee and then having to pay ride fees. You can buy a bundle that includes rides, but the rides didn’t intrigue me enough.
Despite my disdain, I managed to snap a few nice photos during my visit.
It’s said that Tivoli Gardens inspired Disneyland. That may be true, but thank goodness Disneyland kept the best parts and threw away the rest.
Dinnertime. I made a reservation at Pincho Nation Axeltorv, intrigued by their tapas concept, ordering via app, and the variety of selections. I was excited to try it out and tell my friends all about it.
Sadly, that didn’t happen. When I arrived, my confirmed reservation wasn’t honored and I was told there was nothing they would do about it.
A little upset, but I didn’t stand there and argue or ‘demand to see the manager.’ I hadn’t paid for anything and Copenhagen has plenty of restaurant choices. Therefore, I smiled, said “Okay,” and made my way to an old favorite.
Aww, the Hard Rock Cafe. Like a BFF, always there when I need you.
I headed to the HRC Copenhagen after the Pincho Nation Axeltorv debacle for some typical HRC fare.
As always, customer service was exceptional and food was nice. Maria was great and made sure I enjoyed both my meal and visit to Copenhagen. Another decent experience at HRC.
ROYAL KITCHENS, CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE
Next up was a visit to Christiansborg Palace.
I only had a limited time to visit the palace. Luckily, you can choose which areas to visit. Visiting every area is awesome, but the Royal Kitchen of any palace or castle is always the highlight for me.
Thus, I chose to visit the Royal Kitchen, which is equipped and furnished as it was in Christian X’s day.
The layout was nice and fascinating. Boasting one of Europe’s largest collections of copper ware, it is worth taking a spell to marvel at the scale of preparation of Royal banquets.
HØJBRO C
Touring the royal kitchens always leaves me hungry afterwards. Needing nourishment, I grabbed a quick bit at Højbro C following the tour of the kitchens.
Bad idea!
This place is horrible. I don’t recommend it. The service wasn’t terrible and food wasn’t fresh.
Seriously, I could actually taste the tin can the shrimp came from disgusting. 🤢
THE LITTLE MERMAID
I tried to avoid it. I really did. Unfortunately, there was a break in my itinerary, so that’s how I found myself taking an early Saturday morning stroll to Langelinie to get the Mr. Obvious ‘were you really there?’ selfie in front of the Little Mermaid.
City Life, Part II
The rest of my time was spent exploring the city on my usual Photo Safari.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Copenhagen is expensive. Yet, it was worth putting some extra dollars in my travel adventure budget. Beautiful city, lovely people and a wonderful experience.
The city deserves being amongst the happiest cities in the world.
If Copenhagen is on your travel destination lists, add it now!
NEXT ADVENTURE
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