My overnight layover turned out to be great! I got a good night’s rest in my little hotel room in central Copenhagen and had a couple hours in the morning to explore before having to head back to the airport. I really enjoyed Copenhagen when I visited a few years ago, so I was excited to get to see a bit more, even though it was only a couple hours on a Sunday morning, so not much was open.
I started my morning with a self guided audio tour that I put together using an app called Story Hunt. It was a nice way to organize a route around where I was staying and see a few of the main sites. Just within a few minutes of where I was staying I was able to see the Marble Church, Amalienborg Palace, Nyhavn, Christiansborg Palace, and several different statutes. It was very quiet out and I saw very few cars, especially since a lot of the streets were closed off for the marathon.
At this point I started to get a bit hungry, so I knew I wanted to find a Danish bakery where I could get a cinnamon roll and hot chocolate (how can you visit Denmark without eating as many pastries as possible?!). I found one with good reviews called Holm and with it being a bit chilly out it was the perfect cozy stop on my walk.
I was very close to a couple of places I had pinned on my map and it had just hit 10, which is when a lot of the stores and attractions opened on a Sunday morning, so it was perfect timing. I stopped into a pottery and glass store called Studio Arhoj and quickly fell in love with all the colorful dishes and tiny character figurines. They even had a studio in the back where you could watch someone glass blowing and someone making pottery. Everything was so cute, I wanted to get a souvenir to take home, but I knew I didn’t have much room in my backpack and my suitcase had already been checked through to my next flight. I settled on an adorable ceramic magnet with eyes since they seem to be well known for their little figurines and “ghosts” with the eyes. I hope I can go back one day and maybe collect some more of their pottery!
After this fun stop I went right across the street to the Round Tower. I was not able to visit my last time in Copenhagen, and I thought this would be a nice quick stop before I needed to start heading back to the airport. It’s a tall, round building with an observatory at the top, built in 1642. The unique thing about it is that it has a long spiral ramp inside rather than stairs, so you just wind your way up gradually, with event spaces and other rooms branching off at various levels. It was pretty quick to make my way up to the top and the last bit was a tiny spiral staircase. They had a fun red light, green light system to allow people to go up for a minute and then down for a minute so that it wouldn’t get congested, which I thought was a great touch.
At the top of the Round Tower I got a great view of Copenhagen. I could see many of the famous church spires and other beautiful buildings, and then I heard cheering in the distance- the marathon had started! Sure enough, I looked down at a nearby street and could see the thousands of people running by.
After taking in the views for a few minutes, I made my way back down, with a quick stop at the exhibit they had called Light Year 2026. This was in celebration of the 350th anniversary of Ole Rømer’s discovery of the speed of light. There were some interesting displays about space and how discovering light years changed our understanding of the universe, as well as some large art installations from artists around the world inspired by this discovery. I didn’t spend long but thought it made the visit even more worthwhile.
After going down the rest of the way, I knew I needed to head back towards my hotel. I followed my maps, and quickly realized that I would need to cross back over the marathon route. Of course, at this point there were large groups of people all running together so this would not be as easy as it had been early in the morning. I walked along the route for as long as I could and thought it was fun to see all the spectators cheering, playing music, and waving flags to encourage the runners. Then, once I knew I just needed to cross I waited until there was enough of a break in the group and made a dash for it at a diagonal so I could keep with the flow but get across quickly. It was a little nerve-wracking since I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way, but now I can say I ran in the Copenhagen marathon! 🙂
I then quickly made it back to my hotel just in time to grab my backpack and check out, went back to the metro and rode the 20 minutes back to the airport. Overall, such an easy experience and I was happy to spend a few hours back in Copenhagen, made even more special by the unique, spontaneous things I got to see. I would definitely return again; those cinnamon rolls cannot be beat!
Hammond Adventures 