The Copenhagen Charm

I have fallen in love with this city, with my bike, and with 4am shwarma. Copenhagen is not just a goldmine for design and architecture, but coffee shops, bars, art, live music and of course, biking. Coming off the back of three weeks travelling through Italy and Mallorca, I was a little nervous as to what the future semester would bring. Before my trip I’d heard nothing but great things about life in Copenhagen – from the cute colourful buildings, to the beautiful canals, the concept of ‘hygge’ and the prolific bicycle routes. As you can imagine, I had pretty high expectations. So when I was greeted with unusually hot weather, beautiful swim spots, blossoming trees and extremely friendly exchange students, I was over the moon. My first night was spent with other exchange students from my accommodation (Basecamp) at a bar called Bastard Café – a cosy bar where people go to drink and play board games. I was immediately confident that finding a great group of like-minded friends would not be a challenge.

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I quickly slipped into exchange life and despite the mass of Australians, have made a great group of friends from across the globe. Two weeks in and my friendship group continues to grow. In these initial weeks before class starts, I have quickly learnt that six months here will not be enough. Warm, balmy days have been spent swimming at Nordhavn Bassin, drinking by the water at La Banchina, grabbing dinner at Reffen food markets to watch the sunset, followed by a night out exploring local bars such as Floss bar and Condesa. Given it is a very expensive city, you’ll find yourself heading to bars with a drink in hand (thanks to the lax Danish laws). Other activities I can highly recommend is taking a GoBoat around the canals, kayaking around Lyngby, visiting Louisiana Museum (this place was just breathtaking) and visiting the Greenhouse in the Botanical Gardens.

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Not only is Copenhagen extremely groovy and at the forefront of design, but they have nailed the ‘work-life’ balance, the education system, groovy restaurants and bars and basic infrastructure. The Danes are also extremely fashionable and incredibly attractive, which is poetry to the eyes. The city continues to inspire me and with such a strong attachment to it only two weeks in, I’m beyond excited to see what this semester has in store. For now, skål!

Imogen Wirth
Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Communications
University of Copenhagen
Denmark

For more information about the UTS Global Exchange program please visit: www.global-exchange.uts.edu.au