When I went to Ireland and Amsterdam in 2014, I needed that trip. I talk about that trip a lot because it was so important to me. It was my first trip out of North America, my first extended trip as an adult, and the first time in 8 years that I felt, truly and completely, alone. I had no boyfriend, I hated my job, my health was failing, and I didn’t know if I would even make it to 2015.
I was scared, exhausted by my daily life, and I needed to be anywhere else.
I needed Ireland.
I needed Amsterdam.
When I booked my trip to Copenhagen, there was a part of me that thought I would need this trip too. I had just been dumped after a year of not-so-great-long-distance-dating. At the time it seemed fine, but even I knew, deep down, that we amounted to little more than friends. We were mismatched in too many ways to make something last. But, of all the things I am, I am stubborn and unrelenting.
It ended, and it should have, and I was okay with it a whole three days after it happened.
And then I went on a date. A date with a person who, at the time, I felt was odd and arrogant, but somehow felt like the most comfortable person I’d been around (he knows this). It’s easy to romanticize things looking back, and I promise you that I’m not. It took a few months for us to get on the same page about our relationship, and within those months, I planned a solo trip to Copenhagen. I felt like the need for a big trip was coming again. I felt like I’d need to be anywhere but home. I felt like things weren’t going to work out.
But that hasn’t been the case. I’m here because I want to be here, 3,600 miles from home, experiencing a new city, making mistakes, getting lost, ruining my feet, seeing everything I can possibly see… But I don’t need to be here. I don’t need to be alone.
My life has made quite a few unexpected turns over the last month. I’ve been home, on a lake, busy, sad, happy, frustrated, overwhelmed, and trying to set down roots in ways I never imagined I would.
But here we are.
And here I am.
This was one of the worst planned trips I’ve ever been on. I had a short list of places I wanted to go, but I didn’t spend too much time looking into what or when or how to accomplish anything. I didn’t look up restaurants I wanted to go to, or how to navigate the metro, or … Well, anything. I knew how to get from the airport to my AirBnB, and that’s about it.
I also had to buy clothes today to fly home in. There was no way an airline was going to let me board with pants that smelled that badly. I thought I had packed another pair of pants, but… just add it to the list of things I didn’t plan very well for this trip.
I feel like I’ve spent the last three days walking around in circles. I managed to go to Den Blå Planet,Tivoli, Ny Carlsberg Glypototek, Nationalmuseet, and Christianborg Palace (including the Tårnet, royal stables, and the ruins beneath the castle), Kronborg (Hamlet’s Castle), Fredensborg Palace, Nyhavn, and The Round Tower. Oh, and I went on a canal tour, so I got to see a lot of things from the water that I didn’t visit, like The Little Mermaid statue and a bunch of landmarks.
There are two places I ate at every day that I wish I could take home with me: Wulff & Konstali Food Shop, and Cafe Alma. I could seriously eat at these places forever. I’ll miss them.
Things I wish I’d done: Frederiksborg Castle, The Royal Library, any number of the old churches, and the Danish Jewish Museum. I also slightly regret not going to Christiania.
Even with all of that factored in, it’s hard not to be in love with Copenhagen. There’s art everywhere. I didn’t realize it until I took the canal tour, which gives you a unique perspective on a city that almost demands that you look up at every turn. There are statues on almost every building, even in the shopping districts. It’s beautiful here. The food is great, the people are friendly, and there’s nothing to regret. It’s worth the trip… even if you only have one pair of pants for three days of 70 degrees with 80% humidity.
