After staying a handful of days in Venice, I took a short flight up to Copenhagen, Denmark. I spent two fantastic days enjoying and exploring the beautiful city. Making my stay even more enjoyable was the spectacular weather that I enjoyed - not too hot and consistently sunny. I may have enjoyed the city much less if the weather had been worse, but because of the nice weather, it seemed as though the whole city came out to enjoy the harbor and the gardens. I think I loved Copenhagen instantly because it is just the kind of city that I want to live in - plenty of cafes, restaurants, cute little shops, gardens, and water.
The airport is one of the easiest I think I have ever been to in terms of navigation, amenities, and ease of getting in and out. Passport control had no line and the border guards were very nice which is often times very hard to find in big airports. Probably best of all are the trains that go into the city, other parts of the country, and internationally. From the airport, we caught a train to Malmö, Sweden, for a short day trip and the train into the city. The trains some of the best that I have ever been on, especially when considering that they are commuter trains. One thing to keep in mind is the size of the airport - it is massive. Certainly, the largest that I have ever been to, it was a twenty-minute walk from security to the gate. But, there are loads of nice shops and restaurants along the way if you have time to stop and check them out.
The city itself has a bus and train system, but in my opinion, unless you have to go outside of the city center you should just walk. The city is not big at all and the streets are narrow and cobbled and there are cute shops everywhere. And, even though it is small it doesn't feel overwhelmingly busy or crowded. I think that I could easily spend a summer there. It was so beautiful and I felt very comfortable there. In some places, I can feel out of place because I am a tourist, but in Copenhagen, I felt like I could easily merge into life there. I learned that fish is very big - especially herring. Unfortunately, I did not have any pickled herring but I did have some other traditional pork dishes. I think it is well worth trying to go to a more traditional restaurant at least once and having some local foods because they have a more unique cuisine that I haven't seen replicated outside of Denmark.
Although the city is small, it is by no means short on things to do and see. We went on a canal tour of the city which was really interesting because we were able to learn more about the city's history. And, some of the most interesting buildings can be seen best from the water. Danish architecture is awesome. Both historic and modern buildings are captivating - like the Opera house, the royal library (nicknamed the "Black Diamond"), the palace, the Danish Architecture Center, and the harbor buildings. There is no shortage of interesting buildings to look at which is refreshing when coming from Venice where most of the building designs were quite similar. I also went to the Danish Design Museum which is a fantastic museum that I would recommend to anyone and everyone who is going to Copenhagen. It is not very big so it is a pretty quick walkthrough, but they have such an amazing collection that showcases the evolution of Danish design. If you're not one for museums, I would recommend HAY which is an interior design store that has just about everything you could want. Sort of like a higher-end and smaller IKEA (and we all love IKEA). If you aren't into boats or design, you should at least go to Tivoli Gardens. Which is a sort of hybrid between a garden, amusement park, and food market. I went on a few rides, including the inspiration for Disneyland's Matterhorn which I think was better than Disney's version because I felt significantly safer. But, mostly I enjoyed the garden spaces and the food hall which had basically every kind of food to choose from.
If it wasn't obvious, I love Copenhagen. I definitely did not know that I would love it as much as a do when I first decided to go but I would love to go back. Maybe not in the winter though because I have heard it is brutally cold.