Biked It, Liked It: A Weekend in Copenhagen

While many of my peers were enjoying the IES Abroad Vienna Ski Trip (which sounds like a lot of fun if you aren’t terrified of heights and like/are interested in skiing (they have beginner lessons!)) I took a solo trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. I was drawn to Copenhagen because of its popular yarn stores. It is largely regarded as a knitting hot spot thanks to the popularity and high quality of Nordic yarn brands and knitwear designers. The infamous “Sophie Scarf” which is really popular right now in the knitwear community (and it is expanding the community as so many people new to knitting are making it!) is by a designer based out of Copenhagen.

I was really excited to visit Copenhagen and see the city and all it has to offer in the sense of fiber arts.

Somehow until I arrived and looked around, it had slipped my mind that Copenhagen is a bike heavy city. A few people also in the IES Abroad Vienna program had suggested to me that I could rent a bike for my trip and I had brushed it off, planning to walk or use public transportation everywhere. This is odd on my part as I love bike riding, one of my favorite summer activities is going out for a ride on my road bike (a Scott Speedster 50 in black with bronze-colored accents that I have affectionately named Acorn). I decided my first night I was going to rent a bike for 24 hours starting at about midday/afternoon on Saturday and I am so glad I did.

I used the app Donkey Republic to rent my bike for 24 hours which was very easy and I liked it a lot. As I am a fan of cycling, I did not want an electric bike. What I also liked about the Donkey Republic bikes was an easy to use front basket and it had a spot to hold my phone on the handlebars so I was able to easily see my directions. With the app I was able to unlock and lock up my bike anywhere anytime for an unlimited number during the duration of my rental. I also found that it was cheaper compared to the rental option offered by the hostel I was staying in. 

On Saturday I began by eating a nice filling breakfast at a spot near my hostel before going to three yarn stores. I visited Uldstedet, Sommerfuglen (my favorite), and Tante Grøn CPH. I bought a sweaters quantity of yarn which I am sure I will share more about later this semester. After visiting the yarn stores and walking around a lot, I began my bike rental.

With my bike on Saturday I went by many of the popular tourist spots: City Square, the Little Mermaid Statue, Amalienborg Castle, Nyhaven, and Freetown Christiania. It was nice to be able to easily explore somewhere with a bike and get to see the city rather than being on public transport underground. After my jaunt around, I stopped not far from Nyhavn having crossed a neat bridge at a spot where there were lots of people sitting around and talking. I sat down and read the book I had brought with me to Copenhagen, a Miss Marple Agatha Christie novel, and read in the sunlight. It was a remarkably warm weekend, being in the upper 40s or low 50s for much of the time, and I felt fine in just a sweater. This was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend, I had a nice view of the bridge I had crossed and the sun was starting to set. It was so beautiful and felt like an authentic Copenhagen experience as it was mostly locals sitting nearby.

On Sunday, I had a ticket to tour the Rosenborg Palace which was beautiful (and also unique, I saw mounted ostrich eggs which is not an everyday thing). I finished up there with still an hour and a half left on my bike rental, so I decided to go see Grundtvig's Church, which is in the Shrek cinematic universe. I used my bike to make the journey and it was not easy, it was mostly uphill to get there and my legs were definitely a little sore from the day before. I pushed through and ended up riding over eight miles to and from (having to head to Nyhavn after seeing the church for souvenirs). 

My favorite part of the whole trip though was seeing Vienna at night as my plane flew over in preparation for landing. It was so beautiful seeing all the lights and Prater. It was so comforting to see Vienna like that and know that this is where I live right now. 

I really loved being in Copenhagen and loved it even more than I thought I would, I think in part because I rode a bike. Biked it, liked it! Go to Copenhagen, buy all the yarn, and ride a bike!