With a week to kill in Denmark before my friends would join me in Copenhagen, I set off for Odense, the country’s third largest city and the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. It seemed like a nice place to spend two days exploring Danish culture away from a truly urban environment. All I knew about…
Whether you’ve spent just one day in Copenhagen or you’re a week into your exploration of the city, I highly recommend taking a day trip to see two of the area’s most famous sights: Kronborg Slot and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Say “good morning” to Hamlet at Kronborg Slot Purchase a 24-hour All…
While Copenhagen isn’t one of the world’s largest cities, it has a lot of appeal as a tourist destination because it offers opportunities to satisfy a wide variety of interests. If you only have a short time in Copenhagen, I recommend this recipe for the perfect day: Start the day. Europeans eat relatively light breakfasts,…
Dear Paris, We’ve met before, but this time was different. Last time was all museums and bouef bourguignon and museums and crêpes (but not Nutella–at 13, I hadn’t acquired a taste for it yet) and churches and baguettes and museums. This time I didn’t have the pressure to visit all the attractions, to learn the…
Traveling to Cuba is daunting, both because of its misconceptions and its all-too-real (yet frustrating or baffling) truths. This guide to some of the more logistical aspects of Cuba may help. 1. Pay attention to prices in CUC vs. CUP. Cuba has two currencies: the peso convertible (CUC) and the moneda nacional (CUP). As a tourist, you’ll be using the…
You know when you travel somewhere and there are certain things you just cannot escape–no matter how hard you try? These are the six things you simply can’t escape in Havana: 1. Rum. Admittedly this particular drink is made with tequila, but rum was even more ubiquitous in Cuba. Often it was cheaper than water and it always came…
If you’re from the United States, you’re probably somewhat fascinated by Cuba. After 55 years of the embargo making travel to the island nearly impossible, Cuba has developed an enigmatic, forbidden-fruit quality. That element of mystery and uncertainty made visiting Cuba in March a bit nervewracking for me. How will Cubans treat us? Will I be…
Dam Square is the center of Amsterdam’s energy–it’s always bustling with Dutch people on bikes, tourists ducking into souvenir shops, and street performers attracting large crowds. Our first hostel was a two-minute walk from Dam Square, so we spent a lot of time in and around the plaza. I think every time we went I got…
There was only one sunny day during our entire Amsterdam trip, and it also happened to be the day that Matt and I wandered off and did our own things. We agreed on a time to find WiFi and communicate with each other, but were otherwise independent from each other. Yet he and I both…
Victim to Charm 