I really cannot believe it’s my last week in Copenhagen. This semester has FLOWN by- probably because of all the traveling I did around Europe! My last few blog posts have been about my visits to places like Ireland, Morocco and Berlin, but I swear I’ve been doing things in Copenhagen too!
I finished my finals on Monday but don’t leave until next Sunday, so I’ve been trying to pack the days I have left with as many activities as I can. I also want to make sure to spend time with my various friends since they live all around the Copenhagen area and are also dealing with finals/packing/last minute traveling. Last Friday, my friend Emily and I went to the Museum of Copenhagen since it was free. I’ve been to lots of museums thanks to parent and friend visits, but I hadn’t heard much about this one. They had an exhibit all about trash in Copenhagen since the city was founded- I know it sounds gross, but it was actually really interesting. And there were lots of cool art pieces made out of trash!
The entrance to the Museum of Copenhagen- a trash archway!
I spent the weekend shopping and studying for my final that I took on Monday. I was rewarded after my final by getting to go to La Glace, a famous hot chocolate place in Copenhagen, with my friends Kerry, Eliana, and Avery. We each paid 68 kronor for a jug of hot chocolate-12 dollars!-but we got unlimited refills! We could only handle one refill each because as completely delicious the hot chocolate was, it was way too rich and filling to drink more than four cups of it (yes, I had four cups). Later that night I went to Kerry’s apartment with Emily to watch a movie. We’ve all been so busy for the past…two months that it was nice to just relax and hang out. Kerry’s roommate Jessie was in Morocco for a few days, so I decided to do something I hadn’t done yet- bike home! Most of my friends from my kollegium have bikes, but I knew I would be too lazy to commit to biking every day when we live right next to a metro stop. Plus, the biking culture in Copenhagen is terrifying, and I’m a spastic biker to begin with. With Emily’s guidance, I managed to bike the 25 minutes from Kerry’s apartment to our kollegium without killing myself or others. It was a huge accomplishment.
Eliana, Avery and Kerry at La Glace.
On Tuesday, I was ready for my days of fun to begin! Emily, Kerry and I had planned on biking to Dragoer, an old fishing town at the end of the island that my kollegium is on, but it was pouring rain and windy outside. Since I am still an inexperienced city biker and no one wanted to bike in that weather anyway, we took a bus for half an hour to get to the town.
Christmas decorations were all over the houses in Dragoer.
Emily and I standing by the water, trying to survive the wind!
After eating brunch at a cute bistro we found, we wandered through the old streets to the harbor, where the wind was definitely at its worst. We somehow managed to NOT get blown away by what we were sure was a hurricane. We hurried back to the shelter of the old houses and walked through the town a little longer before heading back into the city. Our reward for surviving the day was snacking at what I call the Israel Plads Market, a glass-enclosed marketplace that’s probably my favorite place in Copenhagen. Everything there looks and tastes delicious, and it’s always a struggle to make a final decision on what to eat.
The harbor in Dragoer- it’s really more of a summer tourist destination.
Emily enjoying the bonfire in front of the Israel Plads Market.
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I have a few days to go before I have to say a sad goodbye to Copenhagen, so I’m going to try and be as productive with that time as possible. For the past two months I’ve had to balance schoolwork and traveling with exploring Copenhagen, and it will be nice to just be able to spend time in the city! Here are some events that I neglected to talk about in my previous blog posts:
CONCERTS
Sensation White
Sensation White is a electronic/techno concert series that happens throughout Europe, but the Copenhagen concert is one of the biggest and best. You’re required to wear all white except for accessories, so my friends and I spent a few frantic days before the concert trying to put together the perfect white outfits. The concert starts at 6 p.m. and goes until 2 a.m, but we got there at 8 p.m.
My friends Maggie, Isabel and I in the midst of Sensation!
The scene we were greeted by when we walked into the concert.
Being part of a massive crowd of people dressed in all white and dancing for hours straight was definitely a new experience, but I absolutely loved it! When 2 a.m. finally came, my friends and I were not ready to leave! Unfortunately, all of us were leaving for our two-week travel breaks the next day, so we had to head home and get a little sleep before our flights. I would definitely recommend going to a Sensation concert anywhere in Europe!
More of the Sensation atmosphere.
By the end of the concert, I had found a whole group of my friends!
Foster the People
Early in the semester I found out that Foster the People were coming to play at Vega, one of Copenhagen’s main concert venues, so I booked tickets immediately. Many of my friends had the same idea, and the crowd at the concert was filled with Americans. The show was pretty short because Foster the People only has one album, but they were AMAZING live. I was so excited to hear songs in English and be able to sing along!
Truc, Emily, Mary Kate and I at the Foster the People concert!
We pushed our way to the front so we could be as close to the band as possible!
Fruit Bats
Two weeks ago, Emily called me on Tuesday night and told me to get to Vega immediately. Fruit Bats, one of her favorite bands, was playing, and there were tickets left at the door. I was in the middle of writing an essay, but I thought seeing a live concert would be a more worthwhile use of my time. There were very few people at the show, either because it was a Tuesday or because Fruit Bats aren’t really known in Denmark yet, but that made it feel like a private concert for us! It was definitely a better choice than writing my paper.
The intimate Fruit Bats concert.
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CHRISTMAS IN COPENHAGEN
The Danes get really into Christmas. There are lights hung up EVERYWHERE, lots of holiday lunches and dinners, and plenty of traditional Christmas treats like glogg (hot red wine) and aebleskiver (round doughnuts with jam and powdered sugar). My first stop to take in the Christmas cheer was Tivoli, which re-opened again from the end of November until after Christmas. The park is completely decked out with Christmas decorations and is even prettier at night! I visited with a group of friends to check out the lights, drink hot apple wine, and watch a light show.
The theme for Tivoli’s Christmas this year is Russia.
Zach, Andrea, Caroline, Maggie, Amelia and I in front of some Tivoli decorations.
There are also lots of Christmas markets set up all around the city. Most of the gifts aren’t too impressive, but the markets are fun to walk through and buy treats from. My friend Cat visited Kerry and I right before Thanksgiving weekend, and it was great being able to show her Copenhagen when it’s all decked out for Christmas!
The entrance to the Christmas Market along Nyhavn.
Cat, Kerry and I having a high school reunion on top of the Round Tower!
Julefrokosts, or Christmas lunches, are a popular Danish tradition, and DIS had one a few weeks ago. We were all required to bring some sort of food and a present. There was LOTS of eating involved, as well as present trading through a complicated game called pakkeleg. My friend Lauren and I even got our own balloon animals!
Lauren and I with our parrot and giraffe at the Julefrokost!
I love knowing that Copenhagen is my home base, and it will be weird to leave on Sunday not knowing when I’ll be back. Unless I can convince my parents to let me return to Europe over my spring break this year…