I'll have to go back and add pics when I get home. I just figured that since I'm a bit laid up with a cold and Frosty is in the kitchen making me some soup, that I'd start telling y'all about this trip we've taken to Copenhagen.
It all started out a much different idea, you see. For years, Frosty has been suggesting that we go camping. Either hitchhiking and camping or going on a bike tour and camping. Neither of which has ever sounded appealing to me. However, since this is our 4th anniversary (yeah, I know, right?!) I had been entertaining the thought of camping, specifically in Denmark (mostly because of the country's relatively close proximity to Hamburg). Sadly, the more I researched this option, the more and more boring it began to sound and the more appealing the city of Copenhagen started to look. Aside from one thing: almost every single piece of tourist information on the internet starts by telling you that Copenhagen is a seriously expensive city.
I did not let this "opinion" deter me.
I was also determined to find accomodations using airbnb.com, which (if you haven't heard of it by now, it's basically like the Craigslist "Vacation Rentals" section, with a wider array of offers and host ratings so you don't feel like you're going blindly into the situation). I found a nice room in the apartment of a nice-enough seeming couple, very centrally located and booked it. Now, I'm only telling you this part because I was super impressed by airbnb's customer service. Four days before our departure, our original hosts canceled our reservation. Airbnb wrote us right away offering eitheer a complete refund or assistance in finding alternate accomodations (applying the payment to the original reservation plus offering us a €35 discount). Working with their customer support, in about 24 hours we received an offer which cost less, but for an entire apartment to ourselves. Also relatively centrally located. For now, you can imagine the pictures here until I actually add them. It's a really cute place.
We headed off to CPH (that's Copenhagen in cool peep lingo) on Thursday. To let you know how little I researched this trip beforehand (aside from some very minute and specific things), I had no clue that the train trip included a ride on a ferry. This is not some kind of secret information and could have been discovered by simply looking at a map. But I like to surprise myself and this just meant there was a free boat ride included in the train ticket price (not that I like boat rides, but this is the kind of trip that has made me appreciate the little "free extras" --keyword being free).
So the train drove into this boat and then everyone had to get off of the train for safety/security reasons and go up to the upper decks for about 45 mins. I didn't hang out all that much on the upper decks, because I'm prone to motion sickness and do not enjoy puking. I took a couple of pics. Imagine them below:
On the ferry, we marveled at the high prices for...everything. I thought it was like an oceanic price mark-up...but later we'd discover that it wasn't.
Once back on land, the trip was only about another 2 hours (4.5 hours total from Hamburg) to CPH. Arriving in the central station, two things immediately caught my attention: 1. There are a shitton of 7-11's in Copenhagen. There's one on every train platform. 2. Copenhagen is a seriously fucking expensive city And we were just standing in front of the ticket machine to take the metro 4 stations.
Anyway, it was our first bit of shock, which actually shouldn't have been a shock at all since everyone and their mother told us in advance that it would be. Hands down, it is the most expensive city that I've ever been to. So, fair warning, I will probably mention something about money each of the following posts. That said, aside from this cold, Copenhagen is a cool city, so I look forward to showing you some of the stuff that I've been enjoying.
Frosty has finished the soup, so we're about to eat that and then cuddle the snot out of me
...to be continued
It all started out a much different idea, you see. For years, Frosty has been suggesting that we go camping. Either hitchhiking and camping or going on a bike tour and camping. Neither of which has ever sounded appealing to me. However, since this is our 4th anniversary (yeah, I know, right?!) I had been entertaining the thought of camping, specifically in Denmark (mostly because of the country's relatively close proximity to Hamburg). Sadly, the more I researched this option, the more and more boring it began to sound and the more appealing the city of Copenhagen started to look. Aside from one thing: almost every single piece of tourist information on the internet starts by telling you that Copenhagen is a seriously expensive city.
I did not let this "opinion" deter me.
I was also determined to find accomodations using airbnb.com, which (if you haven't heard of it by now, it's basically like the Craigslist "Vacation Rentals" section, with a wider array of offers and host ratings so you don't feel like you're going blindly into the situation). I found a nice room in the apartment of a nice-enough seeming couple, very centrally located and booked it. Now, I'm only telling you this part because I was super impressed by airbnb's customer service. Four days before our departure, our original hosts canceled our reservation. Airbnb wrote us right away offering eitheer a complete refund or assistance in finding alternate accomodations (applying the payment to the original reservation plus offering us a €35 discount). Working with their customer support, in about 24 hours we received an offer which cost less, but for an entire apartment to ourselves. Also relatively centrally located. For now, you can imagine the pictures here until I actually add them. It's a really cute place.
We headed off to CPH (that's Copenhagen in cool peep lingo) on Thursday. To let you know how little I researched this trip beforehand (aside from some very minute and specific things), I had no clue that the train trip included a ride on a ferry. This is not some kind of secret information and could have been discovered by simply looking at a map. But I like to surprise myself and this just meant there was a free boat ride included in the train ticket price (not that I like boat rides, but this is the kind of trip that has made me appreciate the little "free extras" --keyword being free).
So the train drove into this boat and then everyone had to get off of the train for safety/security reasons and go up to the upper decks for about 45 mins. I didn't hang out all that much on the upper decks, because I'm prone to motion sickness and do not enjoy puking. I took a couple of pics. Imagine them below:
On the ferry, we marveled at the high prices for...everything. I thought it was like an oceanic price mark-up...but later we'd discover that it wasn't.
Once back on land, the trip was only about another 2 hours (4.5 hours total from Hamburg) to CPH. Arriving in the central station, two things immediately caught my attention: 1. There are a shitton of 7-11's in Copenhagen. There's one on every train platform. 2. Copenhagen is a seriously fucking expensive city And we were just standing in front of the ticket machine to take the metro 4 stations.
Anyway, it was our first bit of shock, which actually shouldn't have been a shock at all since everyone and their mother told us in advance that it would be. Hands down, it is the most expensive city that I've ever been to. So, fair warning, I will probably mention something about money each of the following posts. That said, aside from this cold, Copenhagen is a cool city, so I look forward to showing you some of the stuff that I've been enjoying.
Frosty has finished the soup, so we're about to eat that and then cuddle the snot out of me
...to be continued
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