Sweden In the Evening, Denmark In the Morning

We flew from Brussels, Belgium to Copenhagen, Denmark the evening of Thursday the 28th. The reason for going to yet another city was that we had found a super cheap flight back to the States from Copenhagen on WOW Air. WOW is a very budget airline, and all of their flights have a layover in Reykjavik, Iceland. The layover is probably to encourage Icelandic tourism, but ours was scheduled to be just an hour, so we weren't going to be able to leave the airport. 

Reaching the Brussels south airport went much more smoothly and quickly than leaving it did a few days prior. We discovered and pre-paid for an airport shuttle bus from Brussels city center. Security was definitely heightened with an airport checkpoint, heightened military presence, several passport checks, a few questions, and even a sniffer dog brought on the shuttle. But, the whole process was more streamlined than we expected. 

Though we flew into the Copenhagen Airport, we stayed the night in an Airbnb in Malmo, Sweden. Malmo, Sweden is no further from the airport than Copenhagen city center, and Malmo accommodation is cheaper. Plus, to reach Malmo, there's the excitement of riding a train thru the 2.5 mile Drogden Tunnel and over the 5 mile long Oresund Bridge across a strait that connects the Baltic and Atlantic Seas. The only annoyance is that Denmark and Sweden have separate currencies; we had gotten used to the simplicity of the shared Euro currency. 

We found our accommodation easily and decided to check out Malmo Brygghus (Brewing Company) to get a taste of Sweden on our short visit. The online menu suggested that tacos were available there as well, so Brandon was sold. Unfortunately, we discovered when we arrived that the brewery did not make and sell tacos anymore despite many pleas for their return. We were told the tacos were too labor intensive to put together (???) for the kitchen. We did get to have a nice chat with one of the bartenders as well as try a Honey Buzz IPA and Bøsk Saison. 

Enjoying the brews in Malmo

We rose earlier than usual in the morning to have some time to explore Copenhagen before our flight back to the States. We crossed back over the bridge and tunnel to Denmark. Sadly the train was quite full, so we couldn't snag window seats for some pictures. But, we were able to glimpse the sea and Denmark's really cool wind turbine park stationed in the sea. 

Once in Copenhagen, we had an hour to explore. Nate had spent a couple days in Copenhagen on his way to meeting us in Hamburg, so he was able to give us a great mini tour. Before hopping on the metro to return to the airport we ended our tour with breakfast at a bustling, little cafe. The hot, melty ham and cheese sandwich and hot chocolate with real chocolate chunks were delightful. 

Pretty Copenhagen flowers

Hans Christian Andersen statue with the Tivoli Amusement Park beyond 

Copenhagen town hall

Fancy hotel

Another view of the town hall with the clock tower

Horse and rider statue

Christiansborg Palace

Copenhagen stock exchange  

Copenhagen river scenery

Copenhagen streets with wide bicycle lanes and Danish flag

At the airport we discovered that the first leg of our flight to Iceland was delayed by 1.5 hours. With only an hour layover this meant we would miss the second leg of our flight from Iceland to Baltimore. We checked in and hoped for a delay on our second flight as well. Upon our arrival in Iceland we learned that our second flight had been delayed as well, which meant that it hadn't left without us. Yay! 

Aerial view of the Icelandic coast

The 6 hour flight from Iceland to Baltimore felt much longer than 6 hours. Probably because it was a budget flight and entertainment wasn't included. Also, Brandon and I are too cheap to pay to pick seats, so we didn't get to sit next to each other. And on top of it all, the seats were super uncomfortable. But, we survived and were very happy to stand up and exit the airplane onto American soil. We didn't envy Nate having to catch another flight that night from Baltimore to Detroit. Instead, Brandon and I were using public transit to meet up with our friends Jon and Erica for the weekend in Washington DC. 

Tired, but happy to be back to the US

As we worked our way to Jon and Erica's place we were surprised and delighted by all the nice people we met. We took a bus from the airport to the metro line and had a nice chat with a man in the back seat. A very friendly metro worker helped us navigate the metro system and buy the correct passes. On the metro a woman had overheard our conversation with the metro worker and we chatted with her awhile about Michigan and our recent travels. It was a great welcome back to the United States, which was made even greater by Jon greeting us with a hug at the metro station. We pushed aside our jet lag and started our weekend off right by catching up on life with Jon and Erica over take-away Chipotle at their dinner table.