My new favorite city
Who knew a cruise could be free?
Totally and completely free- no strings attached
Thursday afternoon, 20 (or so) international students and I embarked on a mini cruise to the capital of Denmark, known in English as Copenhagen. We left around 5pm and because it was such a beautiful day, we got to watch the sunset as we sailed through the Oslofjord. Of course, being typical college students, everyone immediately went below deck to enjoy the bounty at the on board Duty-Free store as soon as it opened at 5:30.
I went to bed around 6:30, like the lame college student I sometimes am. But, I did wake up at one point when we were in the open sea, the boat was rocking so bad I thought I'd roll right out of bed. Luckily I did not get sea-sick, though I found out later several of my friends did.
The next morning we arrived in Copenhagen around 9:30am. My first impression of the city was: flat. From high aboard the ship you could see for miles in every direction. I don't think even Denver is as flat as Copenhagen! We had until 5pm to explore the city, and amazingly it was the first time since I've been in Scandinavia that I did not need a coat, so I cheerfully wore a light sweater all day! Once we were in the city it took some searching but we finally found a city map, and it had a convenient 2-3hr self guided tour of the city. Kelsey, Brooke and I decided to take advantage of it, and we got to see the biggest and most exciting churches and castles in the city. Not only did we see impressive architecture, but the tour also led us through less touristy parts of town.
After that, we saw Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the royal family. This palace consists of four identical palaces each guarded by the Royal Life Guards, who look very similar to the English Guards. This place was HUGE! Sadly the Queen was not home, or we could have seen the King's Guards as well. Behind this palace is the Marble Church, a huge domed church made of, yes, marble.
After that we found our way to the Port. This is where you can see famous pictures of cute, colorful homes alongside a river. It truly was gorgeous. I loved the atmosphere and fresh air of this neighborhood more than any other place I saw. After the main parts of Copenhagen were covered, and our tour complete, we set out to explore with our remaining time. We saw the impressive Church of Our Savior, with its' amazing black and gold spiral, that in summer time you can climb and see the city. Back in the main parts of the city, life had exploded, now that it was mid afternoon on a Friday. It had originally been quiet and sleepy, but now there were crepe' stands around every corner and people playing music by fountains.
After close to 6 hours of exploring, we were exhausted and went back to the ship a bit early. I immediately fell asleep and took such a deep nap that when I woke I thought it was the morning and I'd be late getting off the ship in Oslo. After some panicked dressing and packing I found out it was only 6:40 in the evening. I joined up with some friends for the evening and spent the rest of the night dancing and singing at the ships dance club.
For such a short and quick trip I am extremely happy with how much I got to see. The city was amazing, I fell head over heels in love with it. It was a gorgeous place full of old buildings, statues down every block and old churches and palaces around every corner. The people were also very friendly, the environment was cheerful and not too touristy. For being a free cruise, I had an amazing weekend.
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| Rosenburg Castle |
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| St. Peters Church |
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| Dancing the night away! |
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