Quite a few Tulane people choose to study in Copenhagen, and I was lucky enough to meet up with some of them on a weekend trip there. It was so cool to see my friends in their element while abroad, and I just couldn’t say no to having free tour guides 🙂 Overall, it was one of my favorite weekends of the semester so far, full of laughter with friends and lots of exploring and good food.

I’ve always thought of Copenhagen as just another Western European city, so it was cool to see how unique it really is. Everything is clean and peaceful (with the exception of the “riot” we saw which was really just a memorial for a famous singer). Hannah was able to walk and meet us at the metro stop alone in the middle of the night because the possibility of crime is a non-issue. All of the locals are tall, blonde, and beautiful, and even if they know you only speak English, they’ll probably still speak Danish around you. I’m still impressed by how settled and successful the anarchist community Christiania is. Everyone prioritizes environmentalism and recycling whenever possible. Their pastries aren’t on the same level as French ones, but there’s a reason why “danishes” are so popular.

The city was just big enough to keep us occupied for the weekend, and I’m sure that if Riana and I had stayed longer, there would have been plenty of other places to explore. I was a bit disappointed to find that Nyhavn is the only area with colorful buildings, as I had assumed from the Instagram photos I had seen that all of the city would look like this, but it was beautiful anyway. We saw where the queen lives, the Little Mermaid statue, and all around the downtown of Copenhagen as well. One of my favorite moments was when we rented a “Go Boat” and toured of the city from a new perspective, as we drove the boat around and drank mimosas. Hannah’s host family even invited us for dinner one night – Riana got super excited about the pulled pork but I was more a fan of the berry cider. And while we’re on the subject of food, I got a bubble waffle cone with ice cream, raspberries, and nutella that made the whole journey to Denmark worth it. And then there was brunch, pizza with random French people who just happened to sit down next to us, and drinks at a bar full of board games.

Getting to explore a new city and get to know a new culture was definitely the focus of the trip, but it just wouldn’t have been the same without Emily, Kylie, and Hannah there to show us around. Since high school and my trip to Poland, I’ve understood the power and possibility that comes along with knowing people across the world, and I’m lucky to be able to take advantage of this time and time again. Thank you to the best tour guides we could’ve asked for for taking us all over the city, showing us so many great cafes and restaurants, and giving us the most wholesome weekend of catching up and talking about Tulane and the US, while also experiencing so many new opportunities in Copenhagen.