COPENHAGEN

A weekend in Copenhagen mirrors a romantic movie scene. Walking through the cobblestoned streets of Nyhavn, Danish locals zip past on vibrant bikes, quickly weaving between tourists and leaving the area’s pastel-colored houses and icy waters in their past. At 8:30 am, the city remains silent and motionless, so much so that one could imagine hearing the faint sound of a pin dropping in the distance. As it was my first time traveling to a Nordic country, I had no idea what to expect but was blown away by the city’s ability to combine such an urban metropolis with a quaint and traditional ambiance, which made a visitor like me feel welcome at every turn.

We began our first morning in Copenhagen with breakfast at Atelier September (thank you for the recommendation, Vogue), a small coffee shop that opened at 9 am and was filled from wall to wall with city regulars and eager tourists like us by 9:15. Now, I like to consider myself an Avocado Toast connoisseur, on a trip around the world attempting to find the best there is. So, when I ordered this toast, I had high expectations. However, I am happy to report that this dish fulfilled my hopes and dreams, and is now at the top of my list of best avocado toasts I have ever tasted.

After setting our sights on Tivoli Gardens, a cultural wonderland containing a historic amusement park and gorgeous garden, we were disappointed to arrive and face the greeting of a stern security guard, who proclaimed, “zee park is closed.” However, even that didn’t discourage us from making the most of Copenhagen and weaving in and out of the various boutiques that surrounded the area, which were filled with the most unique and beautifully curated selections of clothing that I have ever seen.

The most unfortunate event of this weekend occurred at the end of the day, as I was busy snapping photos on my new film camera I got several weeks ago. After fixing my initial issues with exposure, I was prepared to take plenty of pictures in the city. However, after shooting 34 of my 36 exposures, my camera strap quickly snapped from my neck, and my brand new camera went smashing down on to the Copenhagen pavement. Long story short, my lens broke, and I’m now in the process of finding a new one. The good news is that most of my photos turned out fairly well, and I’m excited to share some of them with you below!

Despite this minor setback, we made our way back to our hotel after wandering through Amalienborg Palace and the Copenhagen Opera House, aiming to rest up (and attempt to do some of the loads of homework we had) before dinner. This seemed attainable in theory, yet in reality, we ended up watching absurd amounts of British reality TV before falling asleep for two hours and realizing we missed dinner.

Nevertheless, at 9 PM, we managed to head out and make our way to a restaurant we had been eager to try, Bæst, as it has been acclaimed to have one of the best pizzas in the world. The restaurant was hidden in an alleyway across the city but was packed with people from around the world flooding in and out of its doors. After a bit of a wait, we sat down and were more than pleased with the meal that followed. The restaurant provided us with a delectable variety of appetizers, all produced from locally grown organic ingredients picked from their farm just outside the city. Specifically, the mozzarella cheese we ordered was made with local organic milk and is one of their cheeses that is stretched by hand several times a day. Yet, the real focal point here is the pizza. Extremely light and flavorful, Bæst pizza exceeded my expectations with some of the best pizza dough I have ever tasted, and rightfully deserves its rank amongst some of the best pizza in the world.

As I currently sit extremely cramped in the middle row of my flight’s economy cabin, I love reminiscing about my new memories made in such a beautiful city. I can’t wait to go back and relive the movie scene that was Copenhagen and find some more hidden treasures that exist within its streets. Enjoy some of my favorite photos from the trip below!