Denmark!

Lars Erik and I knew we were going to Ireland with his family, as we booked the tickets quite a while ago. However, I wanted a little holiday just for us two to a place that was a bit more exciting for me than just boring Ireland :D After much discussion we decided on Copenhagen, Denmark. I hadn't been to Denmark before (Lars Erik had but it was many years ago and he wanted to visit again) and the flights were quite cheap and only one hour long so it seemed the perfect place for a long weekend :)

Copenhagen is a really cool, compact little city. It has just enough to keep you busy for a few days and everything of interest is more or less within walking distance. Everybody speaks fantastic English and there are loads of bikes and everybody cycles everywhere!
Also, seeing as we live in Norway, we thought everything was very, very cheap! Especially alcohol and eating out.

 On the first day we arrived we just wandered around, trying to get a bit familiar with the area. Our hotel was about a 5-10 minute walk from 'Strøget' which is like the big main shopping street and I think we saw three Irish pubs along it :P

The Dubliner

We ate lunch here at 'The Dubliner' on the first day and it was really yummy! Lars Erik had a breakfast type thing and I had Guinness and beef pie with chips!

Nam! :D

On the second day we decided to see Nyhavn and The Little Mermaid statue and try and do some shopping and see some more of the city.

First view of Nyhavn!

'Den Lille Havfrue'

Waffles and coffee!

 I had planned to visit the weekend markets while we were there and it seemed that a lot of them were open on Sunday so I thought I'd do my vintage treasure hunting that day, however this was a big mistake. The best and most central markets are held on a Saturday so unfortunately I only got to visit a couple as I wasn't aware of this beforehand. I still got some nice vintage Danish designed items though :) We also decided to visit the Tivoli on Sunday.

The 'Sky Ship' I went on this one :P

 

The Tivoli was nice though I feel it was a bit expensive for what it was. Its 95 Danish kroner in and then you pay individually per ride, or you can buy a multipass ticket for almost 300 DKK (you don't have to pay 95 kroner in when you buy the multipass) and you can go on all the rides as many times as you like. Its open late, until midnight and full of restaurants and places to eat so you can really come early and spend the whole day here. You can also go out and come back later if you wish though I think that costs 15 kroner or something. We were there on Sunday so it was really busy and the queues were long. We were waiting about 15 minutes per ride at least. Lars Erik was much braver than me as there were some things I was just too scared to go on :P

Copenhagen is a very safe city and its really nice to walk around at night, absorbing the atmosphere and enjoying the vibe. We even saw some families walking around with their kids as the clock was nearing midnight. Its also legal I'm told, to drink on the streets and unlike Norway there are no time limits regarding the sale of alcohol (in Norway you can't buy alcohol after 20.00 on a weekday or 18.00 on the weekend).

By the time Monday came we were tired from walking so much every day and ready to come home to Norway. It had been a lovely trip and it had also been interesting for me and gave me an opportunity to reflect. The biggest thing for me was being able to understand Danish (for those who don't know, Norwegian and Danish are extremely similar). It was a really strange feeling to be able to understand signs, menus, instructions etc in a language I've never studied or tried to learn. Spoken Danish was a bit more challenging but I could understand most of what they said and even Lars Erik found it a bit difficult. It was often the case that we spoke Norwegian to them and they'd speak English back to us :P
Also, it made me realise that I'm not missing anything by living in the country and not in the city. Sometimes I miss the buzz of a city, people rushing around busy, dressing out of aesthetics instead of for the weather, having something to do all the time, being able to go into a clothes shop whenever I feel like it etc. But actually, cities, while lovely to visit and probably to live in too, seem to me to be a bit shallow and superficial. Appearance is important and the focus is on different things. There's no silence and no space to think and everything is always 'going'. Like I said, cities are wonderful to visit but I was very glad to be able to come home to our little apartment in the countryside, surrounded by nature, fresh air and silence :)


Ps. If anybody is interested in visiting Copenhagen I strongly recommend the 'Visit Copenhagen' website. It has loads of current, useful tips and suggestions on everything from where to shop for antiques to where to eat if you want a typical Danish sandwich.

If anybody has any questions I'd be glad to help, just leave a comment! :)