It was a hot, sunny mid-July day, when I received an unexpected e-mail from AEGEE-Europe. In fact, during the last year, as an Erasmus student, I’ve taken part in several surveys concerning the Lifestyle in Mobility project. That day, I saw myself rewarded for the effort, with a prize I never ever even hoped to receive. They were indeed awarding me with an Interrail Global Pass. No need to say this, but I gladly took this opportunity. [Article sponsored by Interrail, ed.]

My first instinct was finding a mate, with whom to travel. I’ve always travelled along with friends so far, and I wasn’t so eager to consider other options. Unsuccessful, I decided to gather all my courage and depart on my own. It would have been such a waste not to take this marvelous prize. By the way, travelling alone can be tough, so I decided to set my route in order to pay a visit to my friends in France, Belgium and Germany, and to test my luck, again, by looking for good company along the way. Thanks to the Erasmus project I had the chance to become friends with many students all over Europe, and it turned out to be useful in this kind of occasion. Due to my university and work commitments, I decided to start my adventure in October. Yes, I know, October can be pretty cold in middle/northern Europe. But as they say, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”.

Once my backpack was done with all my equipment, I was ready to reach Milan. The city is close to the Italian northern border. That, along with the presence of a friend of mine willing to have me to be his guest, made it a perfect base for my departure on the next day. My first stop was in Strasbourg: a long journey passing through Switzerland, where I had to switch trains in Basel. The Swiss public service is very efficient, and my train was comfortable enough to rest on the way. This last feature is literally fundamental during an Interrail trip. Travelling between different countries takes time, and the nature of the Interrail itself requires you to be always mentally and physically ready. Some change might occur in the timetable due to a delay or yu might have to walk for some miles to reach your hostel from the train station. Generally speaking, you always need to be ready to adapt to the situation, this is why it is so important to have the chance to rest and recharge your batteries during train time.

In Strasbourg I was welcomed by a grey sky, covered by menacing clouds. Good news was that at least, once I left Italy, I always found dry weather, which makes it easier to cope with the increasing cold. My friend Emma was there to pick me up. She’s was my host and guide for two days in “the French land”. The city is a delightful mash up between French and German architecture. It is placed in Alsace, a region that has been contended by the two countries for several centuries. I enjoyed wandering through the alleys, walking along the colourful riverside and taste the local food, especially the saucisson. Yes, I must admit the food was particular and enjoyable. Strasbourg is a university city, full of life and active young people. We took part in a pub crawl at night, and I reunited with my Erasmus friends Claire, Lucille and Sarah.

Interrail is a frenetic adventure, and just a few hours later I was about to depart for Brussels. They say “it’s all about the journey, not the destination”, and with Interrail it is definitely true. I love travelling by train: the inner side of the country you are visiting shows itself, allowing you to have a better idea of the landscape and real life outside cities. Even more important is that it grants you the possibility to visit places you’d otherwise never consider to journey to. A clear example would be: on the way to Brussels, I paid a stop in Luxembourg. Now, with all due respect, how likely are you to plan your next holidays in Luxembourg? Not much. Luxembourg is a pretty small nation, and it takes just a few hours to visit Luxembourg’s main city. Home of European institutions, the city is also home of an ancient fortress dug in stone, the Bock Casemates. I was happy I took some time to discover this unexpectedly wonderful place. Interrail has the advantage to make you discover places not usually on the list of main touristic attractions, but that are definitely worth a visit.

A few hours later I safely arrived in Brussels, the Belgian capital and home of, as well as Strasbourg and Luxembourg, the main European institutions. The basic structure of my travel plan was to arrive in a main city late in the evening, reach a previously booked hostel room, decide what to visit on the next day and then get some well-deserved rest. A meticulous daily preparation was fundamental for me. When I started this adventure I decided to visit as many places as possible, in a limited time. Assuming this, it is easy to guess that I was often rushing in order to see every present attraction and monument. In this context, a good organisation turned out to be essential. At the same time, it is also important to enjoy life, relax and make exceptions to the plan. And, I must say, for Belgian beer I really had to divert from my plan.

My next main stop was in Amsterdam. It took me a couple of days to get there, because on the way I spent some time visiting Antwerp, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Three cities for three different kind of allure. An old busy port city, a super modern harbour and an ancient inner town crossed by canals and well-guarded by the famous Dom Tower. Besides, still drawing from this segment of the route, a special mention goes to Zaanse Schans, a little community of forty houses and few windmills. The place survives in old fashion way, fueled by artisan activities and tourism. It is possible to enter the windmills, attend the preparation of the local cheese, Gouda, and taste a freshly ground hot chocolate sitting on the riverside. A small, lovely, corner of old Holland where I left a piece of my heart.

I loved the Netherlands, and after an intense visit of the country I was ready to face the longest test of this journey: a 12 hours race to Copenhagen. Not an exciting prospect, but if I learned something in this period is that no trip is too long when you have your books and your music. Despite my excellent timetable, I lost the connection in Hamburg and started panicking. It was a moment of chaos because in Germany signs and announcements are only in German and I managed to solve the problem only with the help of the information desk. Copenhagen was still far away and at the moment it was hard to set a new route. Fortunately they were so kind to allow me to catch a direct train that wasn’t provided by my pass (and I didn’t have to spend a sent more). They omitted to say that this particular train was going to follow a different track, heading toward Fehmarn to board on a ferry directed to Denmark. Just for a moment I thought we were going to head down in a tunnel I never heard about. Didn’t I mention it at the beginning? Be ready to adapt!

The city of Copenhagen was unbelievable. Worth a visit, efficient under every aspect, and with a Nordic charm. During my staying in a hostel I had the opportunity to interact with local and foreign people, sharing stories about our journeys and learning tips about underground party places.

During the visit of a city, I never waste the occasion to get to the local market. I consider it a good display of traditions and an opportunity to talk with local people.

Eventually, I stepped into the last part of my journey on the way home. A brief visit to Sweden and then down toward Germany. Once crossed the Øresund bridge and after climbing the fortress of Helsingborg, I reached Malmö. Malmö is a port city, with not much to offer to a visitor. To avoid the struggle of passing by Denmark again by train, I decided to take a ferry at night towards Lübeck. Guiltily, I didn’t consider that the port was 6 miles away from the train station, not the walk you would gladly make. Not at night, not with a 15 kilos backpack. Just another day at the office. Interrail teaches you that Google Maps can really be your best friend.

Once arrived in Germany, not without struggling, getting home to Italy was a matter of a few days. But yet I had the opportunity to visit Lübeck, Dresden and Leipzig, three astonishing cities. Passing by Switzerland once again, hands down my favourite landscapes, after about two weeks I was again in Milan, tired but extremely happy. It’s been an adventure that tested and changed me in ways I didn’t expect. An intense experience that I’d strongly recommend to anyone who wants to see Europe.

Written by David Govi

Welcome to Copenhagen! Did you arrive in the airport? Then the first thing to do is to take the train or the metro to the city center depending on where you are staying. Getting around in Copenhagen is a bit pricey – it is in the top five most expensive cities in the world – but there are ways to get around. For one, you can buy a “klippekort”. It provides you with ten trips in a different number of “zones” in Copenhagen. The price differs on the “klippekort” depending on how many zones you will use it. From the airport to Copenhagen you will go through zone 1,2, and 3, so it could be an idea to have a “klippekort” for either two or three zones, leading to a price of about 200 DKK for ten trips.

Now you are in Copenhagen and you need a place to drop off your things. For one you can

leave them at the central station if you pay, or you could go directly to the place where you will be spending the night. As a frequent traveler you might already know to use Hostelworld to find cheap prices for where to spend the night, but we do have a good advice regarding where to stay. “Sleep in heaven” sounds both lovely and a bit cheesy but it is a nice hostel, close to the city center and one with the best price. Another good hostel would be one of the Dancity hostels – there are a couple of them with a reasonable price. Last piece of advice would be to look into Omena hotels – an “apartment” hotel in the city center with reasonable price as well – if you travel with at least three other people because the rooms come with bed space for up to four persons.

Now that you are settled in, it is time to look around. Copenhagen and Denmark are famous for their bikes and if you did not choose the “klippekort” option from the airport then it could be an idea to look into bike rentals depending on the length of your stay, because there are plenty of possibilities to get around and experience some culture in the Danish capital. When you exit the central station in Copenhagen you will be “faced” with Tivoli – a nice place to have fun in roller coasters, take a stroll and enjoy life. Entering the Tivoli gardens is a particularly nice experience if you visit Denmark around Christmas. However, if you choose not to visit Tivoli then you can move on to the next nearby location, “Rådhuspladsen”, where the big city hall is located and which marks the beginning of “Strøget” – the central place to shop. Strolling along “Strøget” you will find cool shops, nice places to buy either an ice cream or a Belgian waffle – depending on the time of year. By the end of Strøget you will get to Kongens Nytorv which is a nice place to go ice skating during winter time, and during summer time you will see people drinking beer in Nyhavn which is a must-visit place in Copenhagen, and especially Rajissimo is a perfect location to buy icecream or churros to enjoy. After the treats you can either visit the royal palace nearby (which is not open to the public) or take off in the Canaltour which will take you around interesting places such as the famous Danish opera house and that famous mermaid. A mermaid that you also can visit by taking the bus to “Langelinje” because let’s face it – who goes to Copenhagen without visiting the little mermaid? Not so far from the little mermaid you can enjoy possibly the best ice cream in your life – the little shop “Lydolphs Isbar” always has a long queue outside, but it is definitely worth the wait!

But enough about ice cream – it is time for some more culture! The national museum of art located near the “Kings garden”, which is a perfect spot for a picnic during summer time, and the royal palace “Rosenborg” (open for visits), is free to enter everyday as well as the national museum and many other museums in the Danish capital.

At night you cannot and will probably not visit any(more) museums. Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and has a lot of students

AEGEE-København ladies at Australian bar

and therefore a nightlife scene broad enough to please everybody. Studenterhuset is the place where AEGEE-København has its board meetings but it is also a place where many students party. Then we have Christania, the alternative choice to more “pop” themed places such as Kulørbar and Australian bar “A Bar” where early birds can get free beer for one or two hours before midnight. Next to A Bar you will find “Frøken Nielsen” where you pay for the entrance (usually between 100 & 250 DKK) and then the drinks are on the house for the rest of the night. In the end, there are many different places to party in Copenhagen, and it is easy to assure that it is possible to party in Copenhagen.

A nice way to cure a hangover is to find the nearest bakery. “Hej, hvad skulle det være?” will be the question the nice girl behind the desk will ask you and if you want something really Danish then the answer would be “en spandaur med crème”. Then afterwards, you can head out to visit places such as “Rundetårn”, the oldest observatory in function in Europe, see “Christania” by day, or any of the other cultural visits that would still be on your to-do-list before heading back home or towards your next location.

It all sounds good, doesn’t it? And now you are not sure when to visit Copenhagen. There is always something going on in Copenhagen, but it is especially crowded in June where the street party “Distortion” goes on for a week, in July the big music festival “Roskilde festival” is organised in a city near Copenhagen and in October the cultural night “Kulturnatten” brings tons of people to the city center to visit free museums and more. However, there is no need for a big event to visit the Danish capital, it is safe to say that there is always something going on in this wonderful city.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København