“Hvad udad tabes, skal indad vindes” is a phrase that nearly every Dane knows by heart.
Last year, I pre-booked my trip to Copenhagen in May using miles and tbh I was quite hesitant to go initially. It’s actually my first time going to Europe alone and it was scary for me. Nevertheless, I went and ngl I really loved my time there even though it was a short trip (about a week-ish). Did you know that Denmark has one of the highest tax rates in the world? Up to 53%. Almost double of Singapore’s. Now I do:’) So here goes:
Breakdown as follows:
- Flight (SQ): $2K/pax (Claimed from Krisflyer miles so essentially it was free)
- Hotel (SleepCph): $600 SGD/pax
- Esim Szoove: $16 SGD/pax
- Activities (Copenhagen Card 2-Day Pass, Legoland Tickets): $130 + $65 SGD/pax
- Food, Transport DOTS App & Expenses: $2K SGD/pax (fully using WISE)
Total Damage: Est. $5K SGD/pax
Itinerary Breakdown as follows:
- Day 1 | Check-in, Nyhavn, Little Mermaid
- Day 2 | Copenhagen Card (Palaces, Museums, Tivoli, Zoo)
- Day 3 | Shopping, TorvehallerneKBH, Rosenborg Castle
- Day 4 | Ostergro Farm
- Day 5 | Malmo, Triangln, Hyllie in Sweden
- Day 6 | Legoland Billund (Round Trip via Train about 4hrs in total)
- Day 7 | Jægersborg Dyrehave (Deer Park)
- Day 8 | Shopping (Fisketorvet Copenhagen Mall & Kongens Nytorv Streets)
- Day 9 | Check-out, Home
Day 1 | Check-in, Nyhavn, Little Mermaid
Landed in the morning at Copenhagen airport and we managed to get our metro tickets via the DOTS app before we transit to our hotel located at Lergravsparken. The DOTS app allows you to buy all-inclusive tickets for the metro/bus and even bicycles. Although it would be good to note that the tickets will expire in 1hr 15mins (SGD $5/ticket) and once it expires, you will have to buy another one.
The transport system isn’t as strict in Asia where we have gantries to ensure you pay, but rather it’s more of a integrity system instead because there are no gantries there, you just tap in and out accordingly. I know what you must be thinking, we can totally scam our way through the metro without buying tickets then?
Technically yes, but there are routine checks done by the train staff onboard the trains so scam at your own risk. The trains only have 3 cabins so the check can be quite fast too. We did notice a couple of scammers who purposely alight the station when they see the officer entering the trains to check for tickets though. Scammers be hustling.
Anyway, the metro is located at the airport itself so it was quite convenient to get to our hotel although we needed to drag our luggage for a 5-minute walk from the metro station to our hotel – SleepCph. This hotel is rather unique in that they do not have a reception desk at all. You are given a unique pin number in the hotel chat and this pin allows you to access the main door, your room and the communal areas (pantry and laundry room). Check-in was at 2pm and we arrived too early so we deposited our luggages in the lockers provided at the lobby and went to get brunch at Original Coffee. Two cuppa and 2 breads costs close to SGD$30 bruh so yes food is not cheap here FYI 🙂
Lergravsparken’s neighbourhood was so quiet and serene during the day. The weather in May was *chef’s kiss* perfect. I was rather amused at how they planted the street lamps and traffic lights on the buildings using cables. They actually look pretty cool.
After brunch, we went to check out the iconic Nyhavn buildings along the canal near Kongen Nytorv station. Side note, there’s plenty of food trucks selling hotdogs everywhere. They were delish and…they cost you 10 bucks each HAHAHA.
Nyhavn was almost the European version of Hoi An but more colorful. It was surreal. There were plenty of tourists at this hot spot but it was not THAT bad compared to Hoi An.
Oh just for laughs, we took photos of (Danish) pigeons and one of the locals looked at us and laughed HAHAHA
We had extra time so we went to check out the Little Mermaid statue nearby as well. Underwhelming and overhyped meh.
Day 2 | Copenhagen Card (Palaces, Museums, Tivoli, Zoo)
Woke up for breakfast at Wulff + Konstali and was pleasantly surprised at the spread they had. We got to chose 5 items off the menu ranging from breads, appetizers, mains to desserts and they served them up in small portions. Yums.
Kicked off the day with a visit to Christianborg Palace and some museum tours. These visits are free when you purchase the Copenhagen Card. We bought the 2-day pass so we sort of had to cramp all the visits into two days. Ngl museums are not my thing for sure but they make good places to take pictures though.
Tivoli Gardens (Rides are not included in the Copenhagen Card though so we only hanged around for a while and left): )
Copenhagen Zoo was rather interesting; they had a petting farm where kids can go and touch the goats as well as other farm animals!
Day 3 | Shopping, TorvehallerneKBH, Rosenborg Castle
We have been rushing to utilize the Copenhagen card for the past 2 days so on the third day we finally got some time to chill and shop around city area. We checked out the market recommended by my colleague – TorvehallerneKBH and was pretty impressed by the amount of fresh produce and foods they had.
Then we dropped by Rosenborg Castle and chilled at the park as the locals do. Plenty of the them were picnic-ing and sunbathing at the park, it was pretty cool. Ngl the weather was perfect.
Day 4 | Ostergro Farm
This rooftop farm was one of side attractions to visit and ngl it was slightly underwhelming. Nevertheless, here are some pics from the farm:
Day 5 | Malmo, Triangln, Hyllie in Sweden
Sweden was a 15-minute train ride from Copenhagen and we didn’t have to go through any customs for it. We checked out the park and there were so many flowers everywhere!!! In fact, I spent a good 15 minutes taking photos of the wildflowers littered everywhere. We even spotted a couple of bunnies, yes RABBITS running around freely at the park; I guess they like flowers too.
I did notice plenty of Danish families gathered at the parks with their kids which was rather heart-warming to see. They really do prioritise letting their children socialize at parks and building social skills rather than giving them screens to pass time. Heck, I haven’t seen a kid in Copenhagen using a phone/ipad to watch shows and whatnot, as it should be.
Actually, the initial mission was to eat swedish meatballs and visit IKEA in Malmo. So here’s said meatballs and BANG BANG CHICKEN. Istg that’s what they called it and the chicken was uncooked bruh I obviously did not finish my mains.
And cycled our way to IKEA for more meatballs and Fisk and chips.
After which we had some extra time so we decided to explore Hyllie and Triangln stations which were in between Copenhagen and Malmo before we returned to our humble abode.
Day 6 | Legoland Billund
We took 2 hours to get to Billund from Copenhagen via train + bus and guess what, it started raining mid-way through the journey. It didn’t stop raining when we arrived but it seemed that people continue to enter Legoland even though it was raining so we followed suit. We bought raincoats and started to try out the rides in the amusement park despite the slight downpour. Thank god I didn’t bring my camera along, istg I’ll have a hard time trying to keep it alive. You know what died? My map. The Legoland map melted away in the rain. RIP.
Some of the rides was “only for children” so yeah it’s not that adult friendly after all. Ngl the whole place looks pretty dope and the rides are quite interesting too. We took one of the fruit ninja rides and we had to “slice fruits” using hand motions which was quite fun. Oh, and there’s a peppa pig corner for the kiddos HAHAHA:
Day 7 | Jægersborg Dyrehave (Deer Park)
Grabbed a cuppa at a cafe called The Nomad & The Bean and the owner was so friendly I loved it. The decor of the shop was slightly messy but it really shows his personality I suppose. Croissant was meh but the coffee was bomb.
Then, we took the metro and left for the deer park on the east side of Copenhagen. We rented our bicycles for 2 hours and set off on the trail to search for deers. Did I mention the shopkeeper was so cute, he saw us holding the Canon camera and he went to pull out his EOS R10 to show me HAHAHA really friendly guy.
We got to see a couple of carriages and horses along the trail at the start, then we saw the usual geese, swans and ducks.
Ah! then we finally saw a deer. Then more deers!!! They were EVERYWHERE OMG istg it was epic. They were just chilling in the fields happily without a care in the world.
The funniest part was when I spotted four middle-aged ladies golfing in the fields with the stray deers gathered at the sides. It was nature’s golf course for em LOL.
Ended the trail with a petting session with horses right outside the park. They were so cute we took turns feeding them grass.
Day 8 | Shopping (Fisketorvet Copenhagen Mall)
Ended the last day with some retail therapy at Fisketorvet Copenhagen Mall and had a nice meal (finally) at a seafood restaurant before we packed up for home 🙂
Day 9 | Home
In all honesty, this trip went pretty smoothly. Copenhagen is a rather well-connected city similar to Singapore in terms of transportation and I really appreciated the fact that there are lesser tourists there. Sure, there are some Taiwanese and Korean tour groups at iconic main attractions sometimes but other than that the streets are rather laid back and everyone is quite friendly too. Our hotel was well-equipped and the neighbouhood had a park so of course we went there to play basketball and steal children’s toy karts>:)
Love,
D
theniecextn. 
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