Before I came to Copenhagen, my friends as well as my parents’ friends told me that it was one of the greatest cities in the world. It is safe, easy to navigate, and beautiful. The safety of the city was part of the reason I applied to come here in the first place. As soon as I got here, I realized that everyone was right; Copenhagen truly is special.
However, I did not realize the full extent of Copenhagen’s safety until I decided to leave for the weekend. Me and two of my friends decided on Barcelona for a weekend destination. As opposed to mountains of compliments for the city I heard before heading to Copenhagen, the people sang a very different chorus.
“Make sure to keep your bag in front of you at all times.”
“Talk to no one. Make eye contact with no one. No one is your friend.”
“Those pickpockets are professionals; they have your phone and wallet before you even know what happened.”
To say the least, these comments made me a little bit uneasy. I had already booked my flight and my hostel; what was I supposed to do about it then?
When we got to Spain, we never took our hands off of our personal devices. I wore a fanny pack for the entirety of our trip. We never left our phones on the table while we ate, and we never texted while we walked down the street. We were hyper-aware of our surroundings at all time. Other than a few Spanish men catcalling us, no one tried to speak to us.
When we woke up the next day, we were excited to see all the beautiful sites Barcelona had to offer. We saw beaches, La Sagrada Familia, and Park Guella. Everything was beautiful I really enjoyed looking at the cathedral (from the outside, hours of lines to get in), walking around the park, and seeing beaches where former Olympic athletes once walked.
However, we did the majority of this from the comfort of our hop on, hop off tour bus. The city was incredibly un-walkable, which was weird for me. It was both huge and hilly. Everywhere we wanted to go was at least two miles away. It was weird having to constantly get cabs or a bus. I missed Copenhagen a lot in that aspect, because I really love being able to walk everywhere easily.
Although the weather here is not nearly as beautiful (the city can’t have it all, right?), I am happy to be back in the great city of Copenhagen. Do not get me wrong; I am so glad I went. However, I missed the safety and security that Copenhagen has to offer. Even when walking around at one in the morning, I felt comfortable. I walked alone for four hours up and down Stroget and never once felt uneasy. Spain, you were beautiful, but Copenhagen is the European city that truly has my heart.