Unsurprisingly, Denmark sits at the top of multiple charts rating the world’s happiest countries. Like in much of Scandinavia, gender equality is a given, and where parental leave and health care are seen not as privileges but civil rights. Danes never to not have a worry in the world, and Copenhagen, the country’s capital reflects this attitude perfectly.
The city is a perfect urban-suburban mix, melding together the convenience of a city and the happy-go-lucky pace of a small suburb, with an amalgamation of greenery, lakes, and the splendor of old palaces. Upon arriving to a new place, there is always a sense of unfamiliarity as you adjust to your new surroundings. In Copenhagen, I never felt this distance—stepping foot on its cobblestone streets, I instantly felt the comfort of a city I had known for years, despite never having visited it before.
Copenhagen is a fairly modest city, with no flashy lights and skyscrapers characteristic of a metropolis. Despite this, it still has architecture that will leave you in awe. As you would expect with any European country, it has an abundance of historical churches and palaces. The most famous is Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Danish royal family. It is adorned with four classical style facades, and every day at noon there is a changing of the guard. Next to the palace is Frederik’s Church, built in a rococo style and surrounded by a slew of ecclesiastical statues.
The Danish architecture we all know lies in Nyhavn. Nyhavn is an old port, with canals running through streets lined with colorful houses. At night, travelers can take a rest and listen to live jazz performances and enjoy dinner at a restaurant along the canal bank or even visit Hans Christian
Anderson’s former home at House 20.
Copenhagen is nicknamed the City of Bikes. The main mode of transportation is by pedal, and there is a constant stream of locals on bikes going wherever they need to go. If you truly want to experience the city as a local, the city provides a bicycle service for everyone to use. Racks of white bikes are situated all over the city, available for rent for any amount of time within a day. Instead of long lines, registration is through a small screen atop the bike, and when you are done
biking, you can return the bike to any rack around the city. Unfortunately, we discovered this service on the last night of our stay, so we didn’t have an opportunity to bike around the city.
Not every vacation has to be hectic or spent under hours and hours of sun. Copenhagen is the perfect destination if you are looking for a new place for a casual yet invigorating trip.
Katherine Chen
