20 Hours in Copenhagen

I went to Copenhagen by accident.

We were flying back to the States via Norway last summer, and I didn’t realize until after we booked the flight that it included a nearly 24-hour layover in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Oops. #detailoriented

Not that I was too sad about this. I’d always wanted to go, of course, to the happiest city in the world. And Scandinavia is a world-wide obsession for good reason.

I fell madly in love right away. In fact, after we left, we researched ways to move there–we loved it so much. It gained one of the top spots on our distinguished and rarefied we-could-maybe-even-settle-here list.

When I told people this, they wanted to know why (of course).

Well, that’s a hard one. I can’t really explain why I love Copenhagen so much. I was only there for 20 hours, after all.

It could be the fact that even in the summer, there were blankets and even some heaters on the patios, lending everything a cozy air (dare I throw out the word hygge??). It could be the sunlight that lit up the canals late into the evening. It could be the friendly, ridiculously beautiful people. It could be the bikes and the efficient bike lanes. It could be the maritime-feel to the city that I found irresistible. It could be the fact that I visited in summer. It could be the cool vibe of the city, viewed in the hip cafés, the sleek Danish design, the gorgeous citizens, the adorable storefronts.

(It definitely wasn’t the prices, especially after Romania. Ouch).

Either way, I loved that city and hope to visit again one day.

A few things we did with 20 hours in Copenhagen:

Visited Nyhavn, the famous area on the water.

Took a boat tour on the canals (and got a from-the-water view of the famous Little Mermaid statue).

Walked by The Round Tour.

Tried smørrebrød (the Danish version of open-faced sandwiches) at Torvehallerne (a food market).

Ate delicious and expensive burgers here.

Found a few cool coffee shops, like this one.

Wandered the streets and took some photos of the beautiful buildings.

Oh, and we slept some too, at Wakeup Copenhagen. Not even Copenhagen made me want to stay awake for 20 hours straight.

But I can see how it might.

Linking up with Wanderful Wednesday.