Copenhagen | 2024

Tuesday

Of course my flight would get super delayed!! I was able to find some dinner and then was working on some work stuff for a bit. My flight finally boarded and I got into Copenhagen around 11:30pm.

I got my bag and then had to find a taxi. It was a bit of wait. But the time I got to my hotel room, it was around 1am. I fell asleep almost immediately!

My hotel and the view from my room.

Wednesday

What a whirlwind of a morning. I got up and showered and out the door to walk to the train station. Of course I went the wrong way and got lost so ended up walking almost 2 miles instead of the 1 mile to get there. It was chilly but a great walk. I saw a naked man jumping into the water, I guess that’s extremely normal…

When I got to the train station, I couldn’t use my work credit card to buy a ticket.. Europe isn’t a fan of American Express. I then tried my personal credit card…. and that didn’t work either. So I was frantic. I called the American Express line and they tried to help me set up a pin but it didn’t work. I finally figured out how to download the app and that took my personal card. But that time, I had missed 2 of the trains to where I was going, so I was flustered.

I finally got on my train after getting a cinnamon roll pastry from the 7eleven that was in the train station (I was starving! and that thing was delicious). The train was quite empty, but I didn’t understand what I had bought for a ticket because I could buy a ticket or a seat? So I bought the ticket.. and assumed that meant I had to stay standing the whole 30 minute ride.. That’s not what that meant I guess, but the standing was probably good to keep me awake.

When I got to the train station, my coworker had thankfully waited the extra half hour it took me to pick me up. The office we were going to was a good 15-20 minutes or so from the train station still. When we got there, I got situated at a desk and they made me coffee. Gosh I love good coffee, the had a nice espresso machine in their office to use.

We talked a little bit and it was already time for lunch so walked over to their cafeteria about a block away. That was delicious actually! It was a sort of buffet but with yummy food.

After lunch, I got a tour of their lab and their basement that had other lab equipment stored in it. We chatted about some work strategy stuff and then all had our own meetings and work to do. We left the office around 6 to head to dinner. We went to the most delicious restaurant! It was like an Italian restaurant? It was called Restaurant Spuntino. I didn’t take any pictures… but this is about what it looked like!

We ordered all of the apps on the menu and then each got our own pizza. It also came with a dessert, I got the pana cotta. It was DELICIOUS! My two coworkers were great company, super fun to talk to and learn about the different culture there than in the US. The two had been working together for 25 years or so!! We walked back to the car and I think I fell asleep within 5 minutes of getting to my hotel room.

Thursday

Thursday morning, I actually knew what I was doing getting to the train! I walked over and didn’t get lost, so it was only a mile walk instead of 2. I got on at the right time and enjoyed some coffee while I listened to an audiobook. This train was was more crowded than the day before…. and it got delayed a couple of times. It was also quite cringy with how sick some of the people on the train sounded, so I was trying to stay away from them all the whole time.

I got to the train station and my coworker picked me up. It was raining a little bit, but still lovely. We stopped at a little bakery just down the road and got some danish pastries. They were covered in poppy seeds so of course got stuck in my teeth!

I presented on what our group was doing to the whole Denmark and Netherlands teams in the early afternoon and then packed up my stuff. My coworker called me a taxi and I headed back into the city. I made my way down to the canals and did an hour tour boat tour that started in Nyhaven. It was lovely, a little chilly but really cool to see. We went passed the opera house and the Little Mermaid. The tour guide was super impressive, she did the tour in English, Dutch and Italian!!

By the time the tour was finished, it was close to dinner time. I decided to walk the mile and half or so back to my hotel.

When I got to the hotel, it was packed with some sort of event. I noticed a little Thai restaurant that was in the basement so decided to eat that. It was delicious, but SPICY!!!

I had to get up early for my flight the next morning, so after dinner I packed up and went to bed super early.

Friday

Friday morning came early. My alarm went off at 3:15am so I could brush my teeth and finish packing and get a taxi. Luckily there were taxis waiting already, so I hopped in the taxi and headed to the airport. It was pretty uneventful. The flight to Amsterdam was quick. I finished a book and closed my eyes a little.

I had a 2 hour layover in Amsterdam so I worked on some stuff for work and walked around a bit. Our flight, of course, was delayed.

The flight itself was uneventful. I was a window seat and the middle seat was empty! The woman on the aisle seat was really nice and shared butterscotch candy with me. I watched two movies: Blackberry and Wonka. Both were entertaining. I finished another book and took about an hour nap. We landed about 45 minutes late and then it took over an hour to get through customs…. I was so thankful to get home. I took a nap on the couch.

I’m finally writing this about a week later because it was a hectic week getting caught up on work and life. I also, of course, got sick. My throat/tonsils were so swollen I could barely talk. I’m feeling awesome now as I’m just about to leave for Florida tomorrow for vacation — so will love getting all of the travel germs again :).