My NYEs since I started university normally involved being in bed with a hot water bottle and Netflix by the time midnight struck. The NYE into 2019 saw me facetiming my best friends at uni. Whilst I loved a good night in, I wanted to do something different and so, on a whim decided to go back to Copenhagen for NYE and it was hands down the best decision I made towards the end of 2019.
The first thing I will say is that every single stereotype there is about the Danes fly out of the window at NYE. Before I’d gone I’d assumed they’d be peaceful and still into following rules. Instead, I got the loudest, wildest and hands down the most fun NYE I’d ever had (sorry London!) .
Traditionally, the City Hall square or Tivoli Gardens are the best place to go for tourists on NYE and I can totally see why. What put me off going to either of those places was that the City Hall square is famous for pickpockets during NYE and that the price of getting into Tivoli alone made my student side want to cry. Instead, a friend of mine who had lived in Copenhagen suggested that I go to the Queen Louise Bridge and I definitely recommend that spot to anyone for watching the fireworks (especially if they want a great view without dealing with a massive crowd).
I got to the bridge about two hours early after having a near death experience with a street firework, fully expecting it to be already packed, like it always was in London. Instead, it was relatively empty with a few couples hanging around. Not too long after I got there, I got chatting to an Irish lady who seemed to be relieved I was sober and able to understand her accent. When she found out I’d actually lost the friend I was meant to be with, she refused to leave me and I actually said hello to 2020 with her before she headed back to her hotel. When the clock struck midnight, without even exaggerating, the sky looked like something from a chemistry experiment. I had no idea where to look because there was so much going off at once but it was all still beautiful. Mary (the Irish lady) popped out a bottle of champagne from her tote bag and we took turns swigging from the bottle whilst watching the fireworks zigzagging and shooting across the sky. 45 minutes into 2020, we parted ways with a massive hug and she wished me well at university. I walked back to where I was staying in the city centre, found a cake stick stand near Nyhavn that was still open and I genuinely had never felt so confident with starting off a new year.
Ps. I recommend having safety goggles if you ever plan to go watch the fireworks, especially if you’re in the Nørrebro area of Copenhagen (unless you love risking your life obviously). That area is notorious amongst Danish people for people throwing fireworks at each other.
P.P.S. Copenhagen’s very safe especially if you’re a girl and that didn’t change at all at NYE. I walked back by myself for 40 minutes and the worst thing I saw was a guy drunkenly screaming at his friend for not putting his pizza box in the recycling bin.