My time in España: the COPES :)

Thanks BLOGGER for deleting what I originally wrote for this blog...some sort of malfunction :(. Anyways, I suppose it's a nice way for me to re-live the trip again :). So, I arrived Friday night and Christine and I headed to Tivoli Gardens. These beautiful gardens are not really just gardens, but rather are surrounded by amazing amusement park rides! Apparently, Tivoli Gardens was the precursor to Disneyland, who knew? It was so beautiful at night just walking around, not even going on any of the rides. I also met Christine's friend Christina (this could get confusing...) who's from...Hawaii!! Too cool!

Tivoli Gardens

Swings!! in Tivoli Gardens

Not sure what this is in the Gardens

Saturday I woke up and ran along the street outside of Christine's place and to the canal. Once I got to the canal I realized there was a running path around the canal. So pretty! It's really a rough life, waking up going for a jog in a beautiful city with beautiful weather this time of year. Because it was so nice out, we decided to walk through the King's Garden (see pictures below...) which is also home to ? This quaint garden is a great place to picnic, take a nap, or even just a stroll. Christine and I did both the nap and stroll :). Afterwards, we walked around Stroget which is in the center of the city and is great for shopping. Christine also showed me her school and then we met up with her Danish friend, Andreus. It was so much fun talking to a real Dane and getting yet another European perspective. Not to mention, chit-chatting in Nyhavn, next to the water, was the perfect location. I suppose something in general that was great about the trip was that we were in no rush to do...anything. We moseyed along, but still got everything done that we wanted to do. I even took a picture with the Little Mermaid Statue! Yay! Plus, we saved mucho money because Christine lives in a sort of studio apartment and we were able to cook for ourselves the entire time except for one night.

Christine in the King's Garden

Same place different person

On Sunday we headed to Our Saviour's Church to walk up the tower. Must say, not for the faint of heart. The trek up to the top is a bit disconcerting, but the view is definitely worth it. My favorite part was perhaps the sign that said something like, caution, banister loose. Question: why not just fix the banister?

In the King's Garden in front of Rosenborg Castle in the King's Garden

Of course, I couldn't go to Copenhagen without going to...Christiania. This infamous area in the city is known for it's non-taxing paying weed-smoking citizens. It is probably exactly like what you're thinking. Unforunately, you're not allowed to take pictures inside, but you can take them outside around the area. Mom, Dad...I did not smoke weed, jut for the record. Pretty sure the rest of the people there are smoking enough for all of us...

Little Mermaid!

Canal

Moving on...then on Monday Christine and I visited Frederiksborg Castle. It's about an hour outside of Copenhagen, but definitely worth the train and bus ride. The castle is gorgeous, especially this time of year. Also, it wasn't crowded so it sort of felt like we had the place to ourselves. Although I don't remember exactly how much it cost, it was inexpensive. Plus, you can walk around the gardens outback for free. In fact, walking around the whole outside of the castle is free. It really seemed to me one of the most relaxed castles I've ever been to ;)

Canal take TWO

So, to sum up, fantastic trip. I have to give a big shout-out to Christine for being such a great host. She was super helpful--meeting me at the metro stop after taking the metro from the airport, always coordinating the most economical way to get somewhere (b/c public trans in the Copes is a bit expensive...), and of course just being fun and knowing cool things to do! I'm so grateful to have kept in touch with such a great friend all of these years. I never would have thought back in seventh grade I'd be meeting up with a friend in Copenhagen. But life is certainly full of surprises :)