SOLO TRAVELLING - COPENHAGEN
On the 27th February I embarked on my first solo travelling trip to Europe, and it was more than I could have ever expected. Copenhagen was my first destination; I went for 4 nights in the Copenhagen Downtown Hostel – which was probably the best choice for my first hostel experience. The guys that worked there were incredibly kind and there were plenty of other solo travellers so I didn’t feel lonely at all. Being quite daunted by my first night and the hostel bar being jam packed, I headed out to a burger place about 2 doors down, but it was really good and I caught up on Top Gear (winner).
The hostel experience was one that I’d had before, but not to the extent that I was on this trip. My room consisted of 9 others all in bunk beds and I met some really interesting people that were also staying in the room – however I had the top bunk and it is definitely the worst out of the options! Luckily nobody snored but I did end up getting up quite early every morning as the curtains were pretty shocking – it is all in the experience though, right?
When I had looked up the hostel ready to book it, one of the perks was the free walking tour around Copenhagen that a company offered, the tour was around 3 hours and it was probably the best way to get to know an unfamiliar city. I met a guy called Kirklin and we spent the day learning all about the different areas of Copenhagen and taking quite a few photos together, he was really great company and I managed to get a few really good photos of me.
Another perk of the hostel is that it offered free dinner as first come first serve at 1830 every night. You had to sit at one of the three tables and I often got there at 6 so I knew that I’d be able to get some – this was a major highlight in terms of cost savings as dinner can be really expensive. I ended up having dinner there three out of the four nights I was staying, and although it wasn’t gourmet food, it definitely did the job!
On that first night we met a guy called Dave and I ended up spending 2 days with him which was great – we went to the National Art Gallery, Glyptoteck and the Artillery Museums. The museums were all free on a Sunday which definitely helped with the cost savings, we spent a really good day together as a three and it was a shame that Kirklin had to go back to Manchester so soon. That definitely didn’t dampen Dave and I’s mood, however by that point my shoes were basically lakes and I was ruining all my socks! As on the Monday we went on the Christiania tour with the same company that did the free walking tour.
Christiania is a really interesting part of Copenhagen as it is home to the more liberal of the citizens of Copenhagen. There was a Green Light District, where the three rules were have fun, no photos and don’t run (as it causes panic), and it was really interesting to see how people lived – it was like stepping into another world! But nonetheless, we ventured into the Black Diamond (the library) and had a really good walk around until our hands were freezing!
Overall, I met some incredible people and I am in love with the city of Copenhagen – it is beautiful and I love the buildings, the pictures I took don’t really give any justice to how amazing it was. Having only spent 3 full days in the city I felt like I got a proper feel for how it was and what the people were like (lovely, if you were curious). Really worth taking the trip there and I’d recommend the Copenhagen Downtown Hostel for anyone looking for somewhere to stay!
