I hate cold weather. I believe that winter is the worst of the four seasons. I know it is wrong, but my mood & how I experience a place depends a great deal on the weather. Having said this, you would think that I wouldn’t find myself in a Scandinavian country in January… yet, last month, there I was.
Almost all of me wanted to spend the duration of my time there cozy in bed, but the wanderlust in me couldn’t let that happen. I’ve learned that if I go out looking for something specific, I usually come across unexpected sights & experiences. So I decided to go looking for a souvenir shop. Seems like something pretty easy to find, right?
I went down to the hotel reception & asked them where I could find one of these stores, they told me there’s a good one opposite the entrance to Tivoli. It was a good few kilometers away, but in a city as beautiful as Copenhagen, I was happy to walk & take in the sights. I just didn’t factor the cold into my plan.
I don’t think the ambient temperature was the problem as it was only about 1°C(33.8°F), but rather the wind. It felt as if the wind was piercing all of my exposed skin & seeping into my bloodstream. Everytime a gust of wind hit my face, it actually took my breath away… and not in a good way.
It really didn’t help that I took a few wrong turns along the way – extending this already very long walk.
I found that souvenir shop… and guess what? All that walking & all that winter air & the shop was closed!
I should have found out the name of the shop & Googled the hours it was open, but as I’ve come to learn – everything makes sense in hindsight.
Keep traveling, keep safe.
DanVenture Travels
We start any visit to a new city by striking out, getting lost and annoyed with each other and the place. We repeated this process over and over. Each time we said we should have checked the location/opening hours/route….
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Been there!
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Copenhagen is one of the windiest places on the planet. It’s always a factor, even in Summer. Sorry you didn’t seem to have a very good time there. I love the place (I was there in January this year and am there right now). In case you’re back there again, I’ve had quite a lot to say about the place if you’re interested: https://smtfhw.com/category/travel/europe/a-to-m/denmark/copenhagen/
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Dude i work in souvenir shop in cph, as winter season we have short time opening the shop unless its summer. The weather in danmark is crazy windy most of the time. Haha
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We had a similar problem this past summer in New Mexico. Though we weren’t looking for anything specific, we were wandering around Truth or Consequences, NM. It was boiling hot – over 100 degrees F – and so many places were shut for the season. It gets so hot down there that people abandon it for months at a time in summer – even shopkeepers. It was kind of depressing and not much fun. I thought people only abandoned the cold north in winter. So we came away with this lesson: don’t go there in summer!
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Ouch, that sounds cold. and miserable, but fun in it own way.
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Oh, I am so sorry you had a less-than-the-best experience in Copenhagen. Spring is a much better time to experience that (and most other Scandinavian) town.
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As someone who resides in the Arctic, I found this post quite enjoyable. Thanks for warming up the day. Cheers!
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Thanks for sharing. I would love to go to Scandinavia one of these days.
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I have not been to Copenhagen. Thank you for your story.
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I am the opposite to you love the winter and hibernate for the summer.
Copenhagen is one city I definitely want to see.
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Going to Copenhagen in January and opting to walk miles.. A sceptic might suggest you actually quite like winter 😉
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I’m planning another holiday. A short vacation somewhere in Europe. Copenhagen looks amazing.
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I love Denmark so my opinion is probably biased. I don’t like wind either and I am sure you were very cold. I dress in extra thermals and when it is really too cold to be walking, I pop in and have some hot chocolate to keep me going. Did you have one of their delicious hot chocolate drinks made with melted chocolate. One forgets about the wind then…..
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Oh! What else have you done there then? 🙂
But it’s a good reminder for all of us: Always check the opening hours. 😉
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This is definitely on my travel bucket list 🙂 It seems like you had a great time despite some unexpected events! Expect the unexpected when traveling.
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I’ve only been to Copenhagen a couple of times, but that is definitely true all over Sweden. The place shuts down during the worst of the winter because the Swedes visit their “winter homes” and during the summer as well because they visit their “summer homes”, haha.
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I don’t like cold winters either
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Me Neither. That’s why I flee England in the winter and return in the summer 🙂
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I can totally relate to this. Stay warm!
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I enjoy your misadventures very much though not sure I’d want to travel with you. LOL
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Totally get it. Brrrr
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So reasonable to Blog Travel, as I call it. No tolls, gas, lodging or food to purchase on these trips. Thanks for the ride.
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I love Copenhagen! Only been there a couple of times, but it is a sweet city in a tranquil land. I got up early to take some photos of the misty landscape near our hostel in Amager, and three deer came leaping out of the mist and back in again. Magic!
I went looking to have a danish in Denmark, but they don’t call them that. They call them Vienna bread (wienerbrød). Go figure.
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Didn’t know Copenhagen was windy. Good to know!
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We went there last Easter (April) with the crazy idea that we’d be able to do some bike rides, forgetting that spring only reaches Copenhagen in May…haha. It was very cold and windy! And a lot of places were closed (not in Copenhagen but outside of it). But we still had a nice time and enjoyed seeing a bit of Denmark. The sun came out on the last day thankfully!
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Sometimes checking the hours still doesn’t work. We tried to visit a well known bakery suggested by lonely planet to find it was having a refit! The joy of travel 🙂
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That must have been so disappointing!
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Hi Dan, hope your next visit here will be much better!
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Oh man, I want to go here. My wife is from Italy. We always go there. No bad. But we miss a lot.
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