Nyhaven Canal
In mid-November, I took a long weekend trip to visit my friend Raj. He is also on a Fulbright Scholarship, but at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. I had a great time in the city and am surprised that it's not a more popular tourist destination for Americans-maybe it's still somewhat undiscovered, especially since Amsterdam is relatively closeby and more of a hot spot for Americans.
One of the best things about the trip was that I could go to a variety of ethnic food restaurants and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. In Helsinki, things are very expensive and the only ethnic fast food you can get is a kebab. This does get old after a while. In Copenhagen, I went to a Tex-Mex place, an Indian restaurant, a middle-Eastern vegetarian buffet, an Italian restaurant and a Danish cafe.
Tivoli Gardens was one of my favorite places in Copenhagen. For some reason, I expected it to be like the state fair amusement parks in the US: with unhealthy food and sketchy looking guys running the rides. Or, at least, I expected it to be like Six Flags: cool rides but very plastic and fake. At Tivoli, it did cost a lot to get in and then you still have to pay for each ride, BUT, it was such a classy, artistic place. I went at night and the Christmas lights were up. The rides and surrounding buildings were beautiful. It was a very artistic amusement park experience. I highly recommend it. Tivoli hosts regular outdoor and indoor performances and there are nice restuarants on the grounds, as well. Actually, as I was sitting drinking some Glögg (red wine that is heated and spiced with cinnamon, sugar, cloves, etc), there was a group of high school-aged kids performing Christmas carols on brass instruments and strolling through the grounds. The best part was that they were wearing clogs, so they made quite a racket as they walked from place to place.
My last day in Copenhagen, Raj and I took an excursion outside of the city to Kronborg Castle. It is also known as Elsinore, the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. We were running a bit late and didn't get there in time to go on a tour, but we got a good feel for the place anyway. We then went to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which I really enjoyed. The organization and layout of the exhibitions as well as the collection was well done. It's one of the best art museums that I've been to.
Visiting Copenhagen gave me the breath of fresh air that I needed to then go back to Helsinki and have a productive end to my semester. I hope you all have a chance to visit it someday.
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