.  My short stay in Copenhagen was full of everything that could potentially ruin a trip. It rained, and by rain I mean nasty, windy rain that just wouldn’t let up. I only had one day to explore this little city and the sun in this picture was the only sun I had for the whole day.

Denmark has their own currency, the danish krone, which has a nice exchange rate of $1 = ~6 kroner. But dont let that fool you; this is an expensive city. I stayed at The Park Inn by Radisson near the airport and found it to be very convenient. The train station to go into the city center is just a few meters outside the hotel and is 6 stops (ish) from the main sites in Copenhagen. The price isn’t too high, however make sure you request a room on the opposite side of the tracks. If not, you will hear the train running through the night.

My first stop on my day of Danish fun was to Christiana. A friend of mine lived in Copenhagen for close to a year and made me promise I would not miss this experience. And am I happy I did not!! The area of Christiana was claimed as a free city by hippies in 1971. They live outside the laws of Copenhagen, govern themselves, trade with each other, basically everything any other city. Currently, around 1000 people are living inside Christiana and tourists are welcome to enjoy the ambiance in one of their cafe’s or restaurants.

  When you come to this free city, be sure to get a postcard and stamp to send to your friends and family! Quite the interesting souvenir and cheap!

 After Christiana, I noticed the clouds rolling in and decided to take a boat ride to stay dry and to discover what I wanted to visit next. Canal Tours is the official sight-seeing boat tour of the city and will run you a little over $10 for an hour tour. From the tour you’ll see popular attractions like the little mermaid statue, The Copenhagen Opera house as well as The Church of our Savior.   

What is the best about this company is they dock right in front of the famous Nyhaven street; an easy transition to your next tourist attraction and drink on this beautiful street.

 Most people think of Nyhavn when they think of Copenhagen. It is widely popular for being home to restaurants, pubs and shops but once served as the main port for ships to dock to trade goods. Also, Hans Christian Andersen was a tenant in three buildings on this street, with number 9 being the best known for this. Here, he wrote many fairy tales including, “The Princess and the Pea.”

I only had a short while left before the downpour would begin so I trekked across town to see the Little Mermaid up close and personal. She is not easy to find. As I breached the edge of the water, the rains came and the winds joined with a mighty force. My little 10 danish krone umbrella flipped inside out and I was left to find the statue without any protection from the forces of nature.

  Even though I battled pneuomina, spent a total of one hour trying to find this broad and only 2 minutes looking at her, it was worth it!

So, the rains were upon me and they showed no sign of leaving for the rest of the day. I was on the verge of cutting my losses, finding the nearest metro station to go back to my hotel when the most glorious sign appeared.

 I somehow found myself at the annual Nordic wine festival! Despite the terrible weather, local residents came out to taste new food, drink local wine and find a dry spot where they could!

   (For you wine lovers, Danish wine is a very similar taste to German wines; sweet when they should be dry and extremely sweet when they should be just sweet.) These gentlemen allowed me to hang out under their tent as I tasted a few of their selection and of course, made a few purchases!

 As my day came to a close, I wanted to see the man himself: Hans Christian Andersen. His statue as well as statues of excerpts from his fairy tales can all be found in the Rosenberg Castle Gardens. It is said the statue is positioned so he is looking to Tivoli Park, a favorite of Andersen.

Now, while I didn’t get to Tivoli Park, it doesn’t mean it won’t be mentioned in this post. Tivoli Park was opened in 1843 is the second oldest amusement parks that is still operating. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open when I was there-added to the list for my next visit!

 Oh, did you think I didn’t eat a thousand of these? The ultimate sweet of Denmark, the Danish fulfilled every expectation I ever had. The challenge? Finding the best one.

i went in supermarkets, bakeries, street vendors to find the perfect danish. What did I find? They were all pretty delicious. However, if a winner must be chosen, then let it be Lagkagehuset. It is a popular chain in Copenhagen but I quickly understood why. A fresh danish out of the oven at this bakery gave me the same feeling as fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven on Christmas morning. I’m pretty sure I ate 3 here.

The rest of my day I walked the streets of Copenhagen because everything else I could visit was flooded due to the amount of rain. I definitely recommend spending two to three days in Copenhagen to see and do everything but I was quite pleased with my very full but very fun day!