I Fell in Love with Odense

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…

The Perfect Day Trip from Copenhagen

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…

Outside of greenhouse at Botanisk Have

What to Do in Copenhagen (When You Only Have One Day)

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,…

An Open Letter to Paris

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…

7 Things You Need to Know Before Traveling to Cuba

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…

A classic red Chrysler convertible that serves as a taxi in Havana.

6 Things That Are EVERYWHERE in Havana

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…