Kopenhamn

The weather has been absolutely perfect this past week. The mornings start out a bit cloudy and brisk; by noon or so, the clouds have faded away leaving the bluest of blue skies, a light breeze, and a pleasant 65 degrees (note to self, I really need to start understanding Celsius). It is literally heaven on Earth compared to all my loved ones sizzling in the 90s and triple digits! The sun rises before 6.00 and sets long after 20.00. I spend as much time outdoors, soaking up this perfect weather, while I can.

Taking advantage of this weather, a group of us went to Copenhagen last Saturday. It was a pretty spontaneous trip, but after hearing that the Tivoli Orchestra was performing music from the Harry Potter score live, I really felt I had no choice! Unsurprisingly, their performance did not fail to impress me. It was an unbelievable feeling to be standing in those beautiful gardens, on such a beautiful day, listening to such a magical performance. God has truly blessed me with this trip abroad and I am so so thankful!

Afterwards, we spent some time in Tivoli Gardens, which is Denmark's oldest amusement park.

It's basically a mini-Disneyland with rides, restaurants, and gardens. It was nice but, I'm not a huge amusement park fan, and definitely not when I have European cities right outside the gates! After a picnic lunch, I was glad to leave and join the hustle and bustle that is typical of Copenhagen on a sunny weekend.

I spent the rest of the day traveling "Drachslin" style; which, for those of you who don't know what that means, pretty much includes non-stop walking and "touring" (getting lost). It's funny that this Saturday was the most homesick I've felt while here. Even though its been yearsss since I was last in Denmark, I clearly remember everything I did with the fam and it's so different traveling without them. While I missed them tons (especially my mom's uncanny ability to find bakeries off the beaten path) I really enjoyed seeing the city again!

No idea what this pretty building, near the train station, is but I had to stop for a photo opt

Strøget is a mile long street full of cafes, shopping, and absolutely no cars. 

There's tons of shopping options from H&M to more expensive stores; and even more tourists!

Took us a while to get here but non the less we finally arrived at this scenic spot! I could not get enough of this view. Honestly, I stayed and walked the streets here for hours not to mention subjected my friends to taking nearly 20 pictures of me justttt so that I would have the perfect one (sooo my mother's daughter).

Kopenhamn! (Copenhagen in Swedish pronounced "show-pen-ham")

Afterwards, I took the 40 minute trek to the far port side to find the Little Mermaid statue. We found some sort of military fort and cute little church along the way.

Hans Christian Andersen wrote the fairytale "The Little Mermaid" in 1837. And, while it's not exactly the Disney story we're used to hearing, the Danish version has made Copenhagen even that much more popular. The Little Mermaid statue celebrated her 100th birthday this August 23rd! 

Sore feet, wind blown hair, and a growling tummy= CHECK a successful day of touring! That little bit of discomfort paled in comparison to the pure joy and gratitude I felt at the end of the day. To top it off, I found out a good friend from high school happens to be studying abroad at the uni (thats what Europeans' call University) in Copenhagen so I will definitely be back again soon!

Until next time,
Xo!