I thoroughly enjoyed my time on my first visit to a Scandinavian country. I spent 5 days there and it seemed to me that 5 days to a week would be enough to get a proper feel for the city and country. Having said that though, I know I will be back, if only just to eat!

Nyhavn

Colorful. Beautiful. Touristy.

The Little Mermaid

A “how long should I look at it for?” moment but still a must visit icon of the city. Based on the well known Little Mermaid fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

Fredriksborg Castle

I didn’t go inside but I loved the garden and the greenery. You will need to rent car to get here. Well worth a visit and a walk.

I found the cutest little house ever.

Architectural Ørestad

Probably only interesting for people interested in architecture.

Walk around Jægersborggade

Very cozy area to walk around, have a coffee and/or a pastry. Once a dodgy area, this street is now very hipster. The shops are charming and fun to browse.

Bike around

Go local and discover the town by bike. The Danish love cycling around – there’s over 390 kilometers of designated bike lanes in Denmark.

Appreciate the civilization

For some people, Scandinavia is too civilized. They say it’s too dull because people are inexplicably happy and there are no surprises – things just work. Some people need more chaos, excitement, and craziness.

Not I. I went for a run and was pleasantly surprised to see dozens and dozens of wind turbines. Denmark will be using 100% renewable energy by 2050. It’s good to see that somewhere in the world the government and the people are intelligent enough to do what is best for them and the environment even if it comes at a high short term cost.

Shopping

If you’re lucky there will be slutspurts (discounts) while you’re there 😂

Christiania

How often do you come across an autonomous town with 90 residents and no laws whatsoever? Just make sure you don’t take pics in the areas where weed and other drugs are sold. I got some pretty scary looks from people with one or two teeth. You can clearly tell the theme from the pics.

Misc Touristy Spots

Quick in and out stops to the roundhouse tower, local exhibitions, and walking around enjoying the architecture.

Malmo
An hour car trip will land you in Malmo Sweden. If you’re at all into architecture the turning torso building is cool to visit. And as an added bonus you can check out the never ending candy isles at the supermarkets. We had to rush to the airport from here so I’m not sure what else is fun in this area.

Tivoli Gardens

Second oldest amusement park in the world. I passed g but didn’t go in because we weren’t in the mood but it looks fun – especially for the younger crowd.

Things I could have skipped

In the same trip to the castle I went to  the modern art museum. Aside from the cool outdoor space and an interesting piece or two I found it quite boring. Not that bad if you have not else to do.

The Carlsberg brewery was another stop I could have skipped. The best part of it was the vintage bottles which I hope someday they’ll bring back.

Interesting fact, Carlsberg used the swastika as their logo at some point (before the Nazis).

The food

Here’s a post on what I tried while there. The food there was totally my taste. Go all out!