Oh Copenhagen You Didn’t Meet My Expectations

Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark! I am at the tail end of my Scandinavia trip, and I am ready to go home.

Oh København

I came with high expectations of Copenhagen, including its culture, people, and food, thanks to all the stories I had heard about it. I had a cousin who declared Copenhagen to be his favourite city in Europe, a friend who went on a study exchange and loved it here, and a colleague who studied for her master’s and had the best time of her life. Everyone gave me a list of must-do, see, and drink in Denmark.

I was excited. So was Jik, who wanted to move there.

Copenhagen ended up being a bit underwhelming (for me)

The Little Mermaid statue, which wasn’t easy to locate, was disappointing. It was only second to the ultimate European touristy gimmick, the Mannequin Piss statue in Brussels, Belgium.

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My happy moments have always been associated with getting drunk.

I am unsure whether it tells more about the city or my alcohol problem. We were once so pissed that we started dancing in the Tivoli food court (Tivoli Garden was closed for the whole week, another disappointment).

Another time, we were so drunk that we started walking around the Meat District, trying to find a Thai restaurant we had visited twice before. Then, there was a food tour day where we met an eccentric winemaker and tried Akvavit for the first time. Never again.

BFF Tattoo

Another highlight of Denmark for me, besides being drunk every day in the daytime, was getting a tattoo together with Jik. This time, I got a Viking boat tattoo on my right ankle while she got her dad’s signature on her left hand.

I was genuinely bummed that I couldn’t find an English bookstore in Copenhagen – granted maybe I didn’t search enough. I was also sad that I couldn’t visit the Institute of Happiness or meet Meik Wiking, a hero to me.

Goodbye, Copenhagen?

The only time I genuinely liked Copenhagen was when I left the city.

One day, out of boredom, we went to the Grand Central Station, which I loved, and took the train to Odense. The fun started at the Grand Central Station, where I got to satiate my obsession with foreign supermarkets. We also had a great time during the two-hour train ride. We each bought so much food to be eaten on the train (Ekiben), thinking we were buying for all three of us.

I am sitting in the airport with some time to kill before our flight to Amsterdam later. To be fair, Copenhagen Airport is pretty good. It has two bookstores where I got a copy of Meik Wilking’s latest book. I also caved in and parted ways with my last Euro to get Hoptimist, the happiness symbol in Danish culture.

Farvel København, Aldrig Mere

For me, Denmark in Europe is what Vietnam in South East Asia is. I don’t feel the same about these countries as most do, and I guess it’s okay that we all like different places.

Saying that, I am definitely coming back to Copenhagen, as the Happiness Museum is high on my bucket list.

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