Copenhagen on a Budget

 

Denmark is expensive. You can't avoid that. But you can still see Copenhagen without spending all your kroners.

Free Things to Do:
(These are in order, concerning distance from closest to farthest away if you start at Norreport station. They are all within walking distance.)

• The Botanical Gardens : This is a Copenhagen gem. Climb the spiral stairs in the Palm House, marvel at the plants from all over the world, and see many neat statues. I could walk around here for hours. 
• Rosenborg Castle Gardens : This is next to The Botanical Gardens and is a great way to enjoy the city on a sunny day. Smell the roses, view the Alice in Wonderland esque gardens, or have a picnic. Fun fact: It's the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen. 
• National Gallery of Denmark : This is a great art museum because it combines both historical and modern art. I thought it felt like half Louisiana and half Ny Carlsberg Glypotek, but those both cost money and this one is free! 
• Post and Tele Museum : As a Communication major, I don't know why I didn't go to this museum sooner. When I actually went, I realized I wasn't missing much. it's pretty small, only takes like an hour to go through and yeah it can be a bit boring. My favorite parts were seeing the progression of telephones and cell phones. It's still worth going to. 
• Black Diamond library : What an amazing architectural structure. I felt like I was walking inside a piece of art. They have a couple free art exhibitions and others cost a little bit. You can see all the students studying and working on group projects and can simply enjoy the view of the waterfront. 
• National Museum of Denmark : If you want to learn about Denmark's history, this is the place for you. I recommend the Stories of Denmark exhibition 1660- 2000 because it lets you see a great range of history. My honest opinion is that it's worth seeing but beware because it can be a bit boring.  
• Nyhavn : The all- mighty Copenhagen tourist trap. I'll never understand why this and The Little Mermaid are the poster children for Copenhagen. Anyway, walking around and taking a new Facebook profile picture by Nyhavn is free. However, do not eat at the restaurants and cafes there because they are overpriced and poor quality. Go anywhere away from the touristy streets.  

Cheap Things to Do

• Round Tower : costs just 25kr and gives you a great view of the city. 
• Rosenborg castle : it's 60kr for students and 90kr for adults. You can see the crown jewels and the spectacular castle. It's a must-do if you want to feel royal and see how the wealthy kings and queens lived.
• Canal Tour: While in Nyhavn, hop on a guided canal tour because it's a great way to see Copenhagen. It costs a reasonable $6 or so and lasts like an hour. 

Cheap Eats

• A pastry : they usually cost about 20kr and can fill you up. I recommend Sankt Peder's Bakery and Lagkagehuset
• Chinese box : This isn't very Danish but you can get a take away box of greasy Chinese food for just 30kr
• Sandwich Pigen : they have big sandwiches and large salads for about 50kr. Popular among DIS students
• Studenterhuset : A wonderful place for American and Danish students. They have the cheapest coffee, food and beer. I remember they had a deal where you could get a coffee and croissant for 10kr

I'm happy to share a few of the things I've learned from my time in Copenhagen with others :) 

Copenhagen

Today I just wandered around Copenhagen.

My favorite statue in the Botanical Gardens

selfie in the gardens

 I started from Norreport and went to the Botanical Gardens first. They were just as gorgeous as I remember. It was just more crowded because of the nice weather.

Rosenborg

Next, I went to Rosenborg where I walked around the gardens.

I saw the top of the Marble Church so I walked toward it. I went inside and marveled at it's size and beauty.

In Kastellet

I knew I was near Kastellet, a citadel I had never been to. So I walked toward there. I passed the Little Mermaid and Amelienborg. The citadel was neat because of how old it was. There was a windmill! It was a bit hard to figure out where to enter but now I know.

I walked down to Nyhavn and looked at all the other tourists.

I walked down Stroget. It didn't take me long to find a shop I wanted to go into. I bought another troll bead for my bracelet. I also went in Magasin, an epic department store.

By this time I was really hungry so I made a beeline to Riccos Cafe, a place where I remember enjoying the food. It was just like I remembered. I got an iced latte and a salmon sandwich. They had free wi fi and comfy couches!

City Hall 

Christianborg

I explored the area around DIS where I spent a lot of time. I walked past City Hall, Tivoli and got a map from the Visitors center.

I walked back and found my way to Christianborg. I hadn't been there since my first day in Copenhagen when we did a little city scavenger hunt.

It was a lot of walking and totally worth it. I couldn't have asked for nicer weather and I did a lot.

Walking around Helsingør

On a walk with Berta & FarFar

This morning, I went for a walk with FarFar (my host dad's father) in the woods with Berta (the dog) and to FarFar's garden. It was so beautiful both in the woods and in the garden. It was quite relaxing and nice to be with FarFar. Berta is so cute because she gets really happy when FarFar comes to the house but really sad when he drops her back off at home. FarFar smiled and said "Berta's my dog" :)

Selfie behind the cheese shop

He dropped me off in Helsingør where I went to my host family's cheese shop. Ulrik showed me around Helsingør like where the best shops are and the church that him and Gitte were married in. We walked to the area near the Helsingor library where there is a harbor and the statue of the boy Little Mermaid named "Him" . He blinks once every hour. It's really great to see all the things that I had seen in the winter time but now to experience them in the summer. I walk around places and think "Oh I remember being cold over there or that thing being covered in snow." Ulrik told me about the old ships in the harbor and how the area has evolved over he years. We drank some delicious vanilla iced coffees at the library cafe, talked about life and looked at the harbor.

Me and "Him"

We went to the new Maritime Museum of Denmark  which was the most unique museum I've ever been to. It's built in an old shipyard. You walk down these big ramps to get to it and all of he museum kind of overlaps each other in a way. It has such a Danish design and is so modern looking. I learned a lot about ships, WWI and ships used for shipping.

We went back to the cheese shop and I went shopping with Gitte. We went to to Fotex and I always love Danish grocery stores because there are honestly more similarities than differences between American grocery stores. Yeah there are a few different foods but it's organized pretty similarly and it works the same of course.

Julie playing the drums 

Gitte and I went to the Espergaerde center to see Julie's marching band. They sounded really great and it was so nice to see them after hearing so much about them.

Today Gitte's egg chair finally came. She ordered it back in January so she had waited a long time for it. Her face lit up like a child unwrapping a Christmas present when she opened the package. The egg chair is very Danish and looks nice.

Gitte loves her new egg chair :) 

At home in the city of Copenhagen

Today I went to Copenhagen with Julie and ate a nice dinner with some close family friends of my host family.

Julie and I went to go get fresh bread and pastries from the supermarket for breakfast. We quickly ate some bread when we got home and then drove to catch the train. The train we were hoping to catch was cancelled so we had 20 minutes to eat our pastries. I've missed Danish bread and pastries!

In Copenhagen, we saw the Royal Guard at Rosenborg. They were marching, playing drums and flutes. We walked around near Norreport until we saw a Tiger. I did some much needed shopping in Tiger :) It was so wonderful to walk around Copenhagen both because the weather was nice and because I knew it so well. Like, Julie wasn't sure how exactly to get to Cafe Paludon and I knew the way. We ate there for lunch. I got the herring because Denmark is where I learned to love herring and it's tough to find in the States.

  We went to Nyhavn and then to Amelienborg. I could totally be a Copenhagen tour guide. I know my way around pretty well. I felt at home stepping off the Norreport train because I knew where to go. It was near Amalienborg that we saw a crowd of people around a boat. Julie overheard them say that the Crown Prince was coming. Sure enough, he came out of the palace and got onto the boat!

We continued our touristy journey and went to The Little Mermaid. We ate some delicious ice cream there. We caught the train from Osterport and went back to Espergaerde.

Some of my host parent's friends came over (I'm not sure how to spell their names...) and we had dinner with them. They are so funny and it was great to see them again.

At Amalienborg

One of those men is the Crown Prince

"See you later"

 Every time I think of Friday I start to cry a little. Here are some pictures from today and yesterday.

I think that may have been my last time on the train. That's my "sad, confused, and upset" face.  

I went into the ocean today. It was quite cold. I finally did it though. I touched the water. 

Signe's jumping lesson today. Tiger finally made it over. :) They look great together. 

Me and my new best friend Muffin. She is a Jutland horse and is new at the riding school. This has always been my favorite type of horse: big and palomino colored.  

I braided her mane for a solid twenty minutes. She was so sweet and let me do it. 

 My going away party :( But this picture is fantastic :)

Eating desert and chatting at the party

Me, Liz and Jen. Yay! 

Gitte made a delicious dinner. Note the meat on the salad is llama meat. It was yummy. 

Gitte with the dinner she prepared and the personalized oven mitt from Italy. This is a nice picture.  

In Copenhagen today, I saw the Queen's guards marching. I had to take a picture of the clarinets and how they haven't memorized their music. The Hilliard Darby Marching Band looks better. Just saying. 

That Calls for a Carlsberg

Today is the "great prayer day" or Store Bededag so I didn't have class and my host parents didn't have work at the cheese shop today.

We started the day by getting bread at the nearby bakery. I went with Ulrik and helped pick out some pastries. The bread in the middle is the special bread made called varme hveder. 

We went to the Carlsberg museum.  

 I liked this trailer because of the horses inside the horseshoes. 

These are the new Somersby bottles. Each one is a different animal print.  I had one before the Ellie Goulding concert in a cafe. The flavor is called Wild Cactus. 

I love Somersby! It tastes like sweet juice soda. 

Rainbow of Somersby. 

Me petting a Jutland horse in the Carlsberg stable. He kept trying to eat my shirt. 

The horse was a mix between Belgian and Jutland horse. He was so sweet. I think I'm giggling in this picture because he was trying to eat me (well maybe my shirt was apple scented). 

Ulrik petting the horse. 

Ulrik and Gitte with the horse. 

My next car. 

 Old Carlsberg bottles. 

 They had a fun sniff station where you could smell different flavors and scents. Citrus was the best. 

A really funny quote. 

Me eating herring and drinking a Carlsberg in the cafe bar area. We got coupons for two drinks. First I got a Jacobsen beer that was sweet and then a classic Carlsberg. 

Outside, everyone just stuck their stickers on the pole. 

Hugging the elephant's trunk. 

We stopped at a flower shop and my host parents were nice enough to let me pick out flowers for my room. 

After Carlsberg, we stopped by an ice cream place and all got ice cream. It was really delicious because the ice cream was just the right amount of soft. Great day!