Does everyone remember their first venture out-of-country alone? No parents, no family, no friends… Is it even that special? I get that impression when so many people sound surprised when I tell them I’ve taken up solo travelling. It seems like a concept many wouldn’t even consider.

Granted, I can see the reasoning to some extent. Everything’s better with other people, right? Well… sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. But it is (in my opinion) undoubtedly an experience worth doing, and an ability worth having.

Ironically, this wasn’t the original plan. The guys had planned a trip back in February to visit Copenhagen and I was all for it – however certain work activities were deemed more important and so I was painfully denied the time off. Oh well. I’ll go on my own another time then.

So I did, departing from London the morning following the death of the Queen, feeling like a traitor for leaving my country at such a time of national unity. At least it wasn’t far. I had a row of seats to myself on the plane, so putting my legs up for some extra Z’s was easy enough (for part of the journey at least – when I woke up, there was someone now sitting on the end who I’d unknowingly nudged my foot against).

I had absolutely no plans on what to do when I landed in Denmark, so I headed for somewhere near the city centre on the optionally-paid underground metro and opted for a visit to the Danish Natural History Museum. (When I say optionally-paid, I mean that you could quite easily walk on and off without tapping any cards somewhere. I’m still not sure if that’s how it’s meant to be or not…)

The Danish NHM isn’t as grand or as big as its British counterpart, but it does have a nice setting within the Botanical Gardens. The current exhibition centered around Neanderthal life thousands of years ago and included numerous fossils and artifacts such as tools and weapons. Interesting enough despite it being a relatively short display. Your ticket purchase includes access to the zoological museum, which I visited on the last day.

I stopped off at a 7/11 shop (convenience stores – they’re everywhere) en route to the hostel and bought a blueberry muffin – the first of many (honestly they were incredible). I was staying at the Copenhagen Downtime Hostel, and I can highly recommend this place to anyone visiting the city on a budget. Good facilities, drinks and food at the bar, and a lively vibe come night time (optional chill and watch TV area also available).

I took some time to find some stuff to do and see – starting with the Torvehallerne food market on Saturday morning. All sorts of fresh goodies to see and try here; meat, fish, bakeries, loads! I was doing my best not to spend too much money on food during my stay (ask me how that went -_- ) so I got a simple fish mix/bread dish from the fish counter – very nice!

Next stop was the Nyhavn area, and you’ll probably find lots of pictures of the colourful houses along the waterfront if you search for Copenhagen on Instagram. A very busy area with lots of restaurants and cafes – definitely worth a trip down of a night time. I impressively failed on my attempt here to minimise food spending by indulging in a fish platter on one evening.

Following the coast around, I walked past the well-known Little Mermaid Statue and onto the Kastellet gardens, all very scenic. You can also see the cruise ships lining up along this area from their various Scandinavian tours. I hopped onto a few metros to look around some further-out parts of the city before heading back and taking a walk up the Strøget shopping street. Shops and cafe’s litter the area so it’s easy enough to spend a few hours here where you can fill your boots with designer brands and local fashion.

Sunday brought most of the day before my flight back, so I made use of the free entry I had to the zoological museum and gazed upon the skeletons of just about every animal you can think of for a bit. Much like the Natural History Museum, I would call it interesting enough – but it was literally just skeletons and fossils and it seemed like a somewhat restrictive range of stuff to really be captivated by. Perhaps that’s just me. Anyone studying zoology or other animal topics might have found the whole thing more enticing.

Feeling underwhelmed by dead animals, I decided to go and visit some living ones instead. I’ve got no claim to being a profound zoo expert but I would confidently say Copenhagen Zoo is one of the best ones I’ve been to. Located just outside the centre of the city, this comfortably took up my remaining couple of hours as I watched polar bears, lions, elephants, monkeys – I’m not going to name them all. The site is split into 2 sections on either side of Roskildevej road with one side containing many of your typical African safari animals (the vegetarian ones at least) and your more “not-for-mixing” animals on the other. It’s got some interesting structures that take you through and around the resident’s homes, giving you a few different perspectives. If you can look beyond any potential ethical concerns you might have with Zoos in general then I would definitely recommend this one.

The Cisternern (cistern) is also located in this area, and I would have taken a visit there were I not pushed for time. Perhaps someone can take a trip there and let me know if I missed out?

And that was it. Back to the airport I go. My first solo venture was short and sweet and it won’t be the last. I would personally say Copenhagen is probably a better trip to take with other people, especially when it comes to going out and experiencing the nightlife (there must a be skill in going out clubbing solo for sure?) which can easily feel a bit restrictive on your own. The Scandinavian countries in general should also probably not be the first choice for those travelling on a budget (did I mention those £5 cans of coke?) but I guess that all comes down to the individual. The likes of Sweden and Norway are certainly on my list for the future, but I imagine those trips will be in a different style to this one.