Headed to Denmark

On Sunday, I leave for Copenhagen until late June for a study abroad (or two, I hear they have nice women) program. But wow, am I unprepared. I casually tried to sell one of my cars before I left, but doesn't look like thats going to happen, or Ill eat a decent chunk of change on it. The room I have been temporarily staying in for the last couple weeks is amazingly cluttered and I need to have it all packed either in my suitcase or in storage in the next couple days. I still need to get all my things in order to apply for a residency card once I arrive, like copies of my passport and proof that I have enough money so I won't starve while I am there. I am pretty excited though, I have been feeling restless and burnt out at my school so a change will be good for me.

I plan on doing some traveling during and after the semester there, I have three weeks after my finals to travel before heading back to the States. I plan on going to Germany for beer runs and to visit some old friends, apparently beer and everything else is way more expensive in Denmark.

Anyway, I think someone mentioned in a different thread many moons ago that they visit there semi frequently. Anyone have suggestions on what I should see/do while in Copenhagen and Denmark in general. Sweden is right next door so maybe some weekend trips there. Ill be happy to buy a round of drinks for any wayfaring GRMers

Copenhagen is beautiful. I was only there for a couple of days. Take a canal tour. Touristy, yes, but a really nice way to have a look around. Nyehaven is very pretty; I was blown away by walking down what seemed to be a normal-ish street, but instead of cars, there were boats of every description parked all over the place...

Eating and drinking there is hideously expensive, and the same is true for Sweden. That said, they are both neat places (I've only been to Gothenburg, which was the home base for the trip where I took the Copenhagen detour).

Unlike Sweden, where everybody speaks English better than I do, we had trouble sometimes finding folks who could understand us to get directions from in Denmark.

If you make it that much further over, my girlfriend got to go to Stockholm on her last work trip, and it is apparently absolutely stunning. I found Gothenburg to be pleasant, very pretty (more canal tours!), and comfortable (cost of existing notwithstanding), and Stockholm is apparently much more stunning. Everything's an island; there's an entire island dedicated to museums... Looking forward to going there at some point myself...

Have fun! I think it would be neat to be there long enough to find out more about the place than I could glean in my little stop...

Hideously is not exactly what I want to see in front of the word expensive. I have about a week before my university orientation program is set to start so I am not going to feel bad doing touristy thing. I might if I do them alone haha, I will be staying in a hostel for the first several days before I move into my arranged living so I expect to meet some fellow travelers.

I've been there ... as best I can remember it was great ... . it was in 1970 ... and I've been to sleep a few times since then

I hate to say it, but the expense is a fact of going; easily the biggest downside to visiting that part of the world.

Also, I fouled up the spelling: It's Nyehavn, not Nyehaven... Actually, this is sort of worst-case, but the day we arrived, we made a groggy go of reading the menus in the windows of the only two restaurants still open that late in Nyehavn, took our best guess, and spent about $100 on a bowl of bouillabaisse, a sandwich, and a couple of beers... Though that was exceptional; we'd accidentally gone to a pretty schmancy place.

In Copenhagen, check out Jorgensen's Shoe Store if it still exists. It was 1 square block and owned by my Mother's cousin. Supposed to be really impressive.

Sell me the Eagle for $100. Use the proceeds to buy beer from To øl and Mikkeller. Nail busloads of hot Aryan chicks. Name one after me!

Congratulations! That is awesome and will be one of the best decisions you ever make in your entire life.

I can not speak to Denmark specifically, but I can speak to being a U.S. expat in Europe for an extended stay.

Relax. You'll get through it. Your first couple nights of sleep will suck. Don't worry too much about the bureaucratic hurdles. Short of being an EU resident, coming from the USA is as easy as it gets. They are not as worried about us trying to bail out of our home country to steal jobs from their citizens.

You know how we think of Europeans as foreign, exotic, and cultured? When you're over there, that's how they will think of you. You will be the foreign, exotic person doing something they have not done. Your accent is new and cool.

Do what you can to meet as many people as you can. Live in a place with flatmates, if possible. Look into online groups like www.couchsurfing.org for opportunities to meet fellow travelers. I also recommend taking up some sort of social hobby that people like to travel for. I made a bunch of friends from all over Europe through dancing. Swing, blues, and tango festivals were awesome ways to meet people. If you have any interest in swing dancing, you will be in one of the best places in the world to learn. The largest swing dance camp in the world is Herräng in Sweden. Maybe some sort of art or music are your thing.

Figure out what the custom is for tipping. In most of Europe tipping is genuinely a gratuity. Not necessary and usually only 5-10% when you do (at least in Germany). Servers are instead paid a livable wage. Don't be a cheapskate, but don't go broke trying to throw 15-20% on top of already hefty bills.

Buy a bicycle. That is the best way to get around a European city. You'll make good time and stumble across awesome sights.

Take an opportunity to travel when you get the chance.

If you have flatmates or other international friends, cook for them and have them cook for you. Yes, American food is its own thing and is new and foreign to them. My flatmates were amazed by my salsa, guacamole, and biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and gravy, especially, was a totally new concept to them.

And have fun! I wish I was back in Europe. I did not think I would fall in love with a city before I lived in Berlin.

I spent two months there when I was much younger (like 8 years old). I loved it but be prepared to spend a lot of time in the dark (the sun will be going down early this time of year).

I think it was me you were thinking of. I have been going over there about every other month for the past 2 years. My travel had curtailed now but it's likely I'll be over there during the timeframe you are in country so send me a PM with your email addy and we'll stay in touch.

Some things that may be contrary to other posts I've seen here. Everyone speaks English and speaks it well, at least in Copenhagen and nearby.

The public transit system is excellent and will get you anywhere you need to go. There are some great online tutorials on using the train system, if I can hunt them up I'll post here.

If you are in Copenhagen itself there are affordable options for eating and drinking but everything is more expensive than the equivalent option in the US. There are McDonalds, Burger Kings, KFC, etc in town and easy to find. There is a pizza place on the bottom floor of the Astor Hotel (next to central station in Copenhagen) that makes a passable deep dish for a fair price. There is also a sports bar inside the train station that honest to god makes some of the best slow smoked ribs I have had in a long time.

Things to see/do Go to Tivoli, its cheap to get in and a fun place to just walk around and view. About a 30-40 minute train ride out of Copenhagen there is a viking ship museum which is actually kind of cool, in the town of Roskilde. Take a canal boat tour, its not expensive and it is a good way to take in the sights. Just walk around the city, its a beautiful old city and fun to explore. I am lucky in that I have a co-worker over there whos hobby is Danish history so he's an amazing tour guide. I could try to put you in touch with him if you'd like a Danish contact in town, he's a great guy.

Overall the place is clean and safe. I have been warned that you dont want to walk the streets behind Central Station at night because there is a heavy drug and prostitution trade, prostitution is legal here. Again it's fairly safe but the girls are very pushy and will follow you around. I have been told that the "gentelmans clubs" will rip you off if you use a credit card, I havent bothered to go to any, there are plenty of beautiful women just walking around town.

I could honestly babble on for a long time about this. Copenhagen is one of the few places I would consider living outside the US if needed. Shoot me an email or post any specific questions here and I'll be happy to answer or put you in touch with one of my colleagues from Denmark to get you answers.

A few other notes as I re-read other posts.

There is a great little brew pub hidden off one of the back streets near central station, I will get the name and address for you, it's worth a visit.

Tipping is NOT customary or expected in Denmark. The exception to this might be the Hard Rock Cafe because a lot of the servers are actually American. That's not to say you couldn't or shouldn't tip but you will usually be the only one doing it. The servers appreciate the hell out of it and if you are a regular at a place (as I often am when I travel) they remember it.

When we lived in Germany, mid 80's, our family took a trip to Denmark. I was 12 but I do seem to remember quite a few attractive females. I will second going to Tivoli and of course there is Legoland.

Whatever you do make sure you get out and do things. There were friends of mine when we were in Europe whose parents never went anywhere and even then it blew my mind.

http://www.fyidenmark.com/train_travel.html

Europe in general is expensive, Britain is really expensive, Scandinavia more so. Denmark? Don't ask, I hope you've got a lot of money. The legal minimum wage there is around $20/hour, and people aren't getting rich on it. But it's a great place. Make sure you head over to the Viking long ship museum some time while you’re there, I really want to go back. Copenhagen was a fun city too. We spent a couple of days in a B&B. Unbelievably trusting. We get there and the hosts had mixed up the dates and were going on vacation the day we arrived. No problem, here are the keys, just put them through the mail box when you leave. They’ve never even met us until 30 seconds before. They have a cool system in the big park/gardens/amusement area in the city, you buy a beer in a little plastic cup and drink it, refill if you need. When done you don’t throw it away or just return it, you put it in a machine to recycle it and get a small deposit back, they make recycling really attractive.

Copenhagen was one of our favorite cities when we backpacked all around Europe in the summer of 04. The people were awesome, even if they didn't quite know what to think of us at times (apparently, I may be too comfortable with strangers). For the most part, the city is really flat and easy to get around. Their "subway" transit system seemed pretty futuristic to me at the time, kinda like Disney World's train. You won't need to buy a bike, because there's free bikes everywhere! They have one of those city bike systems where you insert a coin to get a bike out of a receptacle stand and get your money back when you return it, anywhere in the city.

Also, I'll second (or third) Tivloli. Genuinely beautiful and fun - changed the way I thought of amusement parks. Great place for a date (yes, they sell hooch there).

I got the name and location of that little brew pub I was thinking of from my colleague. Enjoy :)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mikkeller+Bar%2c+Viktoriagade%2c+Copenhagen%2c+Denmark&hl=en&sll=37.0625%2c-95.677068&sspn=51.488837%2c94.130859&oq=mikkeller&hq=Mikkeller+Bar%2c+Viktoriagade%2c&hnear=Copenhagen%2c+Denmark&t=m&z=15