Copenhagen Day 1

My first day in Copenhagen started off by me taking the train from Malmo, Sweden to Copenhagen central station. Once I got off the train at Copenhagen central I walked to my hostel. I stayed in the Copenhagen Downtown Hostel and I had never stayed in a hostel before but I totally recommended this one. It was clean, comfortable, and close to so many attractions and restaurants. I will definitely stay at hostels in the future especially when traveling by myself it just makes more sense cost wise. Also this was my very first solo trip and Copenhagen was totally amazing for a solo trip. I have flown on planes, taken trains, buses by myself but usually I'm meeting someone on the other end not going to explore totally by myself. 

I ended up renting a bike for 24 hours from my hostel and it was such a good decision. So you know how I broke my leg 10 months ago? Well it still hurts everyday. Not all day everyday but in the morning it is the worst and it will get really sore and tired if I walk a lot so biking was perfect. It kept my ankle loose so when I did stop and walk around my leg didn't hurt and then I biked it didn't hurt my leg at all. It felt so freeing to get around and not worry about pain. I will definitely be renting bikes on my next trip with Clark! 

I decided to bike to the farthest destination that I wanted to see and then work my way back toward the hostel. So I set out toward the little mermaid statue but on the way there I came across Nyhavn canal which I 100% wanted to see and explore so I parked my bike and walked around a little bit. Took photos and went into a souvenir shop. I then realized I was really hungry so I looked on my little itinerary that I had printed for myself to see if any of the restaurants that I wanted to eat at were near me and the Gasoline Grill was just a few blocks away so I biked to it. If you ever go to Copenhagen you have to go to the Gasoline Grill and get a butter burger. It was amazing. There will probably be a wait but it's totally worth it.They also have crinkle fries so yeah, big time SCORE! After that I biked to the little mermaid statue and explored that area for a while. 

On the way back I hit up some of the cute streets I wanted to see like Krusemyntegade. I was making my way toward the round tower or Rudetaarn. The round tower was really cool and beautiful inside. You also get a lovely view of Copenhagen from above so I totally recommend visiting. I then made my way toward the Illum shopping center. At this point it was evening and a lot of the shops were already closed for the day but I took the elevator to the roof because there are restaurants and cafes up there and a cool view of the square below. I ended up getting a piece of banana bread from the coffee house and sitting outside and enjoying the view. 

I actually didn't feel weird at all traveling alone or eating alone. Most people thought I was either danish (so many people came up and started talking to me in danish and I would just look confused and say English?) or they thought I was an American studying abroad in Copenhagen so either way it wasn't weird being alone and doing my own thing. Besides I've learned that people are way more worried about themselves then they are about you. That doesn't mean I don't worry though, I even sent my mom and Clark and rough outline of what my trip was going to look like just in case something happened. I like being prepared though. 

Around 7pm I went to the Tivoli Gardens amusement park which is right across the street from central station and was really close to my hostel as well. I parked my bike out front and went it. Did you know it's the 2nd oldest amusement park in the world (the first in also in Denmark) and it inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland! I didn't go on any rides but I walked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. It was also nice because it wasn't very busy in the evening and they are open until 11pm so I had plenty of time to explore. After that I went back to my hostel and turned in for the night. It was a wonderful first day in Copenhagen. 

love, Carlee

shirt: H&M