Copenhagen, Denmark - Europe Trip 2012

Since Copenhagen is only a 30 minute train ride from Malmo, we decided to head over for a day trip.  Our goal was to make it to the Sandeman's New Copenhagen free walking tour so that we could get a feel of the city. Luckily, we arrived early enough to start our day with some delicious Danish pastries from a bakery called Lagkagehuset. Seriously, the Danes don't mess around with their danishes, they were some of the best we have ever had; so fresh and fluffy.

Once the tour got started, we made our way around the city fairly quickly. Copenhagen is a large city full of beautiful architecture and friendly people. Most of it looks hundreds of year old, but it is actually newer than you may think. Apparently Copenhagen has suffered a long history of fires and has been forced to rebuild several times. We walked through the Royal Roundabout, passed a spy's hideout, and strolled along the picturesque harbor. The colorful building were so cheery in the warm, sunny weather.

After the first tour ended, we split from Ali and Elijah. They headed back to Malmo while Ian, Robbie, and I signed up for an additional harbor tour. We visited the famous Little Mermaid statue (Ian actually sat in her lap!), Christian's Harbor, and Christiania.

The second tour was great because we were able to see much quieter areas of Copenhagen, away from the crowds of tourists we were fighting earlier. It was so peaceful watching the boats glide along the water and I even found my self a bit jealous watching Copenhageners eat their dinner along the water's edge. I would love to enjoy dinner with my guy, after a long day of work, taking in this scenery.

At the conclusion of our tour, we visited a city within the city called Christiania. Christiania is a total hippie commune and Robbie loved every single minute of it. They are a communist community (everything is passed through 100% consensus. everything) and people have to go through an application process before they are approved to live within the community. If you are visiting for the day, you don't have to worry about that, visitors are more than welcome! There are three rules in Christiania to take note of:

1. No photos (hence, I only have one from the outside)
2. No running
3. No hard drugs

Photos are not allowed because soft drugs (i.e. marijuana) are and they don't want photo evidence of people participating. People are allowed to run within the commune, just not anywhere near "Green Ally" (a main thoroughfare that hosts bars, merchant stands, and hangout areas). People are not allowed to run because if people are running, that indicates that a police raid is coming and that everyone should ditch their drugs. You can imagine the frustration that would case if it was a false alarm. Lastly, Christianites do not want their community to be a haven for drug abuse. It is a rule that they have all agreed to and all work to protect.

The second tour group was much smaller, so we were able to get to know our fellow travelers a bit better. We met a couple of ladies from Ireland, a Network Engineer from Houston, and two study abroad students from Argentina. One of the best things about traveling is meeting people from all over the world, it's an extravert's dream!

Have you visited Copenhagen? What was the highlight for you? 

(More photos after the jump! And, in case you missed it, I added more photos to my Malmo post :).