København - Day 1

We arrived in Copenhagen late Sunday night and saw a "dark" sky for the first time in two weeks. We set up our tent at a campground less than 3 miles from the city center. This campground exists temporarily each summer in a giant park, for tourists we assume. Regardless of why it exists, it's perfect for us, especially with our last-minute decision to visit Copenhagen.

It poured rain all night (loud enough to keep us up at times) but we woke up to a dry, gray sky and hopped on a bus to the center of Copenhagen. Kicking it off in true Danish style, we stopped at a bakery for coffee and pastries. We spent the entire day walking and covered almost ten miles, only seeing half of the city. This walk included a visit to Christiana, which is like an eclectic 70s commune with people even selling hash on the street at 10am. Throughout the day, our walk took us to numerous other sites like The Little Mermaid, Kastellet (a fortress), Rosenborg Castle and the Royal Gardens.

We were amazed at how much there is to see and do here and pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of people and quick paced atmosphere. There is definitely a mix between new Scandinavian and old European architecture, which is something that has captivated us already. Bicyclists rule the streets and there is never a shortage of cruisers parked along the sidewalk.

Lunch consisted of a platter of traditional smørrebrød, which are basically gourmet open faced sandwiches (see pic in other post). Later, after seven hours of walking, we decided to rest our feet and have a beer. We stopped by a local brewpub, Nørrebro Bryghus, and had their sampler of eight different styles. On our way back to the bus, we decided to hop into another good beer bar for a half-glass each, while sitting outside across from a park. We made our way back to the campsite to cook a late dinner before resting up for another big day in Copenhagen.