Thanksgiving Trip to Copenhagen

I work for an American school and we have the last Wednesday to Friday in November off to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Off-peak, mid-week fares anywhere tend to be cheaper, but the boat to Denmark is an absolute steal at 150 kroner ($15 USD) for two weeknights of accommodation on the open seas!  

A "mini-cruise" consists of one night sailing from Oslo to Copenhagen plus one night in reverse, with about 6 hours to enjoy Copenhagen in between.  Four of my lady friends and I abandoned our collective 10 kids to cruise Wednesday and Thursday night:

I sailed this journey two summers ago with the family for an extended stay in Copenhagen, but this time it was for adults only and infinitely more relaxing.

As soon as you hit open water you lose phone service, so your choices are to pay their exorbitant wi-fi cost or simply go without the internet for the evening. 

Not only do you get a cruise to Denmark, but you also get to travel back in time to the 90s!  For this reason I didn't keep my phone on me, so have minimal photos except for breakfast:

The food and booze on board is not discounted for the off season, so even if you pay next to nothing for your room they will still squeeze some money out of you.  This is Scandinavia after all, where life costs an exorbitant amount.

Speaking of my room:

It is insane how much bigger and better the rooms are for 2 people compared to four!  This is clearly a sign to leave the kids at home and cruise without them.  Ne'er a bunk bed in sight when it's just 2 people.  Impressively spacious.

We docked in Copenhagen at 10am and took their pre-arranged bus into town.  From there it was a short walk to the very touristy Nyhavn area.

This was my start to the holiday season.  Normally I don't let myself feel one ounce of holiday cheer until after Thanksgiving, but I moved that up by one day to start on Thanksgiving itself.

To kick off the silly season (as the Aussies say) I commenced my alcohol intake promptly at 11am at our first of many Christmas markets.

I like to learn new things when I travel (no matter how short the trip) and let me tell you I got an education in alcoholic beverages on this trip.  I discovered and fell in love with two hot toddies I'd never heard of before.

The first, a lumumba, is hot cocoa spiked with a shot of dark rum (similar to if not exactly the GOAT Captain Morgan).  It is, bizarrely, named after a Congolese politician who was assassinated. 

What exactly about political violence in Africa brings the yuletide cheer?!  Perplexing.  Served with cream on top I dare say it's unbeatable as a festive cold weather boozy beverage. 10/10

The second newly discovered bevvy for me on this trip is white gløgg, also known as gluhwein or mulled wine.  

I've enjoyed the red wine version for decades worth of holiday seasons, so my lizard brain was blown away to see it made with white wine.  I don't think this is a new invention but it's the first time I've ever seen this genius remake of a classic.  

I'm pretty staunch in my belief that white wine is a summer beverage and red wine is a winter beverage, but the blend of spices used in this makes it so festive and seasonally appropriate. 9.5/10

After rekindling my love of hot booze and drinking before noon we took off down Strøget, the main shopping street in Copenhagen, for some good old fashioned Christmas capitalism.  

I wasn't planning to spend one red cent unless the item was going down my gullet, so this activity wasn't of too much interest to me until a military band came marching by.

It was quite random at lunchtime on a Thursday, but I do love spontaneous marching bands that pop up in Scandinavia on occasion.

After some light spending (not I!) we came up on our second and third and fourth Christmas markets.  There would have been a fifth but one was mysteriously closed at a time when it should have been open.

The daytime crowds at the markets were definitely manageable, but we left town early and I bet they get packed later in the evening, even on a Thursday.  The weekends would be a no go zone of too damn many people! 

I feel like European Christmas markets have absolutely taken off as a tourist hot spot as of late, which isn't too surprising as the photo ops are on point:

Our final stop for the day was the Tivoli amusement park, which was really just another Christmas market featuring rides.

It is beautifully decorated for Christmas, and from my trip two summers prior I can confirm it's beautifully manicured regardless of season.

Apologies for the piss poor photography here, but for a late lunch we had raclette, which is just a huge chunk of cheese oozed onto your dish of choice:

It is my Christmas market staple and I would travel the world to eat various foodstuffs slathered in ooey, gooey cheese at any time of year.  It is so decadent and delicious!

After 6 hours of eating, drinking and soaking in Christmas cheer on foot it was time to get back to the boat for our second night of sailing to head back home.

Thanks for the fab quick trip, Copenhagen!

This was my third visit, the shortest by far, but I expect to be back several times more when the cost of a mini cruise rivals that of a McValue meal!