When You Give a Nomad 3 Days in Copenhagen...

she spends every minute having fun, Scandinavian-style!

My photo that turned out like a postcard pic.

A few weeks ago, I had my first trip to Denmark, and it was definitely a different feel from other European cities I have visited. I was blessed to travel with some awesome friends, and we made many life-long memories.

There were several aspects of our trip that made it a delight, and I would definitely recommend each of these to anyone traveling to Copenhagen.

#1 - Stay at Urban House or a hostel. 
Because there were 3 of us traveling together, it wasn't quite cost-effective for us to get an Airbnb apartment this time around. So, we looked at hostels and settled on Urban House.

Pros: Close to the train station and tons of other sights, like the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek and the National Museum. Has a communal kitchen and dining room, which really cut costs on this trip as we were able to prepare breakfast at the hostel each morning and made dinner several times in the kitchen. Staying at a hostel also helps with finding out about local tours and for meeting other travelers.

Cons: Urban House is right at the Red Light District, so there is a very active night life. Each night it was extremely noisy outside of our window, so a light sleeper may find this a big problem. For only a few nights in the city, it was okay for us, but was a bit annoying.

#2 - Take a free walking tour.
We took the SANDEMANs Free Walking Tour, and our guide was Martin, a local Dane. This tour was 3 hours and loooots of walking, but it was well worth it. Afterwards, we had a much greater understanding and appreciation of Danish history and the many aspects of the city. I feel like I really saw Copenhagen because of this tour.

The house of the Crown Prince and his family. Seen on the SANDEMANs free walking tour.

#3 - Visit the National Museum.
I can now say that I have hidden behind a Rune stone, seen the skeleton of a now-extinct huge cow/moose, and learned that Vikings didn't have horns on their helmets - all because of our visit to the National Museum. There was a free highlights tour that we took, and it was extremely educational and the guide told many great stories.

Me and a Rune Stone! 

#4 - Get out of the city and see Kronborg Castle!
This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I am a huge Shakespeare fan, and this castle is the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet. It did not disappoint, with amazing views of the sea and Sweden, beautiful ramparts, a MOAT, and a cute little village near it to boot. We took the free tour of the underground section of the castle, and it was cool to see the statue of Holger Danske that sits sleeping beneath the fortress. Such a great sight. 
Tip: If you are traveling by train from Copenhagen, go ahead and get a 24-hour unlimited ticket for all zones - it is cheaper than buying individual tickets there and back, and we planned our trip so that we could use the unlimited ticket again the next morning to go to the airport. 

Breath-taking view from atop Kronborg Castle!

My first trip to Scandinavia was quite the adventure, and I look forward to wherever I travel next in that beautiful region.

After my trip, it was exciting to get to scratch another country off the map, albeit a very tiny one :)