First week in Copenhagen, Denmark!
Hi again! January 24th officially marks our first week in Denmark, it's been so fun and exciting! It was difficult to adjust at first, but luckily we had lots of time to get used to the change in time zone and rest. This week has been filled with a combination of exploring the city, exciting nightlife, and getting settled for our 5 month stay.
Exploring Kastellet
Great food to start off!
Traveling for 27 hours was pretty exhausting so we needed lots of food to energize ourselves. As soon as my friend and I dropped off our bags to our dorm we went to go get Vietnamese food! If you're in the area, I highly recommend Restaurant Saigon in Valby Sydvest. Their food was so good, authentic, and was a great first meal to have in Denmark.
In the morning, my friend and I headed over to Mælk & Honning for a much needed filling breakfast. I opted for the full english breakfast while he chose the breakfast plate. I highly recommend this place if you have the chance of going, their food and coffee is so good. :)
Getting used to the city
Afterwards we headed to Fisketorvet Copenhagen Mall to buy supplies for our dorms, and met up with the rest of the students from UHM. This quick trip helped us get used to the public transport here and learn more about the city.
Here are some photos of that day:
Exploring Copenhagen
The next day our study abroad group decided to explore more popular parts of the city. In the morning we explored Kongens Nytorv, Nyhavn, and got brunch at The Union Kitchen! After brunch, we then went to Rosenborg Castle, Kastellet, Markorkirken, and Strøget.
Brunch at The Union Kitchen
Rosenborg Castle
Rosenborg Castle was built in the 1600's by Danish King Christian IV and served as the king's summer home. Today it is now a museum with many historical royal jewels and other parts of Danish cultural heritage. When in the area make sure to visit the King's Garden (the cities oldest royal garden). Unfortunately, we weren't able to tour the inside of the castle, but I'll make sure to go in the near future. :)
Tip: Make sure to have your student ID when you visit, they offer discounts to students!
Kastellet
"The Citadel" is known to be one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. It is currently used as military working grounds and barracks, but is still open to the public. If you visit, make sure to be respectful since the military still occupies the area.
Marmorkirken "The Marble Church"
Considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Copenhagen. Marmorkirken is known to have the largest dome in Scandinavia. I would highly recommend visiting this church and looking inside, the architecture is very beautiful!
Strøget
We did some shopping at Strøget, one of Copenhagen's most famous shopping areas and Europe's longest shopping street.
Sunlight!
A lot of people might not know this but Denmark does not get a lot of sun during the colder seasons. As of January, the sun rises at 8:00AM and sets at 4:00PM (sooo early). To top that, the weather in Copenhagen is incredibly cloudy so the sun doesn't really come out in general. It seems silly but we all got so excited to see the sun come out for the first time since we landed in Copenhagen. That day was supposed to be for rest but we couldn't waste the opportunity to see the city in such vibrant color. As you can see, it was well worth it.
More exploring
The following day we met up with Mia's old friend who was also studying in Copenhagen at DIS. We got some ramen, went to a glass studio, and saw more historical sites in the city.
Rundetaarn "The Round Tower"
Rundetaarn is a tower built in the 17th century by King Christian IV. It is known to be one of Europe's oldest working observatories, and was built for astronomers to observe the stars better. The tower still holds a telescope on top that visitors can look through. Unfortunately, the telescope was closed during our visit, but getting to see the city alone was very cool.
Ume Asian Supermarket + Comé Rice Kitchen
I was craving some Asian food and a quick Google search lead me to Comé Rice Kitchen located in Kødbyen aka "The Meatpacking District." I had some onigiri and chicken karaage which were amazing! I highly recommend visiting this place if you have the chance. There are also other Asian stores in the area such as Ume Asian Supermarket and the KFT Asian Shop, which supply lots of Asian groceries.
Rachel's Birthday + Nights out w/ Friends
During this week we also celebrated Rachel's 21st birthday 🎉 and went out a couple times with friends. I got to see Aiden for the first time in a year since after his study abroad at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Overall, it was such a fun way to wrap up the week and we had so much fun!
Wrapping Up
In all honesty, transitioning from Hawaiʻi to Denmark was a bit rough for me (for all of us kind of), especially with the change in time zone, fatigue from travel, adapting to the new language/culture, and so on and so forth but being able to experience all of this in just the first week has been nothing short of amazing. I'm very grateful to be here, and I hope to make the most of my time in Europe.
For the next blog, I'll be covering my trip with friends to Malmö, Sweden and the Intro Week Social Program at Copenhagen Business School! Make sure to stay tuned. :)
Comentarios