Copenhagen, Denmark
15 Dec 2014

It was 6am when I woke up. The sky was dark but I could hear whispers, someone going up and down the bunk bed ladder, someone walking on tiptoe, a bathroom door being closed, and the tap water running. I knew everyone, except me, was wide awake and getting ready to go somewhere. But there I was, lying still and half awake.

It was not until an hour later, that I finally got up and realised everyone had left. According to my guidebook, the Kronborg Slot opens from 10.30am to 5pm and adult entrance fee is 95kr. I grabbed my backpack and headed out for breakfast at Baresso Coffee.

My plan was to take a train to Helsingor, a port town in the northern Zealand. The goals were to explore Kronborg castle and follow the footsteps of Hamlet, to see “bizarre faces” inside the Church of St Mary (Sankt Mariae Kirke), and to take a bus to Esrum Kloster, and to do other tourist activities worth doing.

By the time my latte was half empty (and out of sheer boredom) I google-d Kronborg Slot and found out that between October and April, the castle closes on Monday.

Two days ago, I told Rebecca I would travel to Aarhus on Dec 16. We were having dinner and a can of Christmas beer. “Great! You should take the bus but make sure you take the one that will go into a ferry!” 

We made early arrangement just so Rebecca could schedule her time and fetch me at a bus station. “You’ll meet Nick and we can take a walk in the city before dinner. It’s even beautiful than Copenhagen.” “Sounds great,” I replied.

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I left Baresso Coffee and walked to my hostel. I went back because I didn’t have an alternative plan. I went back, because I needed to extend another night. I am going to Helsingor tomorrow, I texted my Danish friend about the slight change in plans.

Back in the room, Cecelia was packing. She was flying home. We didn’t talk much and she left after leaving a note in my guidebook.

At noon, the room was still empty. I had been staring outside the window, watching silhouettes of people from the opposite windows. Earlier, I purchased a 24-hour Copenhagen Card from the hostel receptionist. I bought it just so I could use it to kill some times in Copenhagen by visiting museums.

The Copenhagen Card allows a person to visit more than 60 museums in Copenhagen – for free. It also covers all train, bus and metro transportations.

And as I was getting ready to head out, a young lady with golden blonde hair and freckles on her cheeks entered the room.  She just arrived Denmark from London.

“Hi, I’m Serena. Are you alone? What’s your plan?” And we set out to explore the city.