My Trip to Somewhere

If you follow me over on Instagram you will have noticed my recent pictures from Copenhagen, the beautiful capital of Denmark. What you might not be aware of though, is that I had no idea I was going there until the morning of my departure, just two hours before my flight took off! “How does that happen?” I hear you asking. Well let me tell you about my trip to somewhere!

Back in February, I was invited to a press launch for Surprise Trips, a new booking site created by the brainy people over at Expedia. Not only was the launch an opportunity to mix with the high-rollers of the travel blogging community but, I also came away having won myself a weekend away! It doesn’t get much better than that, right?

A few days after my trip to London, I sent off a few details and patiently waited for confirmation of my Surprise Trip. Eventually the confirmation email arrived in my inbox and I was instructed to be at Heathrow Airport at 10:25 on Saturday 30^th April (to start the adventure).

How Surprise Trips Works..

Surprise Trips offers exactly what it says – a surprise trip! – and you literally don’t find out where you are going to, until a few hours before your scheduled departure! Your trip could take you to any one of seventy seven European destinations; from cosmopolitan Berlin, to historic Rome or sunny Athens, with flights offered out of a selection of UK airports.

• Chose a budget, dates, and a departure airport that works for you
• Pick up to three places that you want to don’t want to visit. I opted to exclude Dublin, Prague and Stockholm seeing as I had visited all three within the past six months. (Paris and Barcelona are also already excluded)
• Each of the destinations has a maximum flight time of 3½ hours
• After booking, you receive a confirmation email telling you when you need to arrive at your selected UK airport
• A few days before you travel, you are sent a brief weather update, which I found extremely helpful when it came around to packing
• Finally, on the morning of your trip, and once you have arrived at the airport, you receive a ‘reveal’ email letting you know where your surprise trip is taking you!

My Surprise Trip to..

Typically I am a very organised traveller – researching my destination weeks in advance and jotting down places to visit, a range of eateries and cuisines to indulge in, and, of course, finding out the best alternative spots in the city where I might find street art or experience local living. Well then, you can imagine how difficult it was for me to have no idea where I was going! I must admit though, it was seriously nice not being able to plan and definitely took a weight off my shoulders.

That didn’t stop me spending days trying to guess where we would be going! Finally on the morning of our getaway, just as we were about to leave the house and head for the airport, the very last email popped up in my inbox – ‘Find out where you are going!’ It didn’t take me long to open it, I can assure you of that!

Huddled over my shaking phone with my boyfriend, we waited for the dials to tick round – and finally we found out where we would be going…

Wonderful, wonderful, Copenhagen!

During the forty minute journey to the airport I began to plan what we would be able to do, downloaded an offline map and quickly worked out how best we could reach our hotel from the airport. Once we arrived at Heathrow, we made a pit stop to buy some currency and then sat eagerly in the departure lounge waiting to board our SAS flight.

Day 1

Once we had arrived in Copenhagen, at approximately half past three in the afternoon, we headed straight for our hotel to drop off our bags before heading back into the city. Starting at Nørreport, (the main transport hub) we wandered through the heart of the city – taking a trip up the Rundetaarn which provided us with beautiful views and a great vantage point – and made our way along Købmagergade as far as Amagertorv, before wandering off along some of Strøget’s (the main shopping street) side streets until we found the picturesque Gråbrødretorv where we stopped for some dinner.

Day 2

Following a restful night in our hotel, situated in Glostrup on the outskirts, we returned to the city for a full day of sightseeing. Starting at the north end of the city we spent the morning exploring Kastellet, saying hello to the Little Mermaid, and then stumbling across the Sakura Festival in nearby Langelinie Park.

We followed this by strolling around Amlienborg and ended the morning with a refreshing ice-cream canal-side in Nyhavn.

Our afternoon continued in the same unhurried fashion as we visited Kongens Have – the grounds of Rosenborg castle – followed by leisurely wanderings around the gorgeous Botanical Gardens, with the trees and shrubs providing a palette of greens as the backdrop.

We also included a trip inside the enchanting Palmenhuis – always fascinating! After all that fresh air, we stopped for a mid-afternoon snack/ late lunch in Torvehallerne and then made our way to the magical grounds of Tivoli (Copenhagen’s Disney-esque amusement park) via another green space, the Ørstedparken.

Day 3

Thankfully we weren’t due to fly back until 8pm so we effectively had another full day in the city. We spent this ticking off the remaining sights – Christiansborg, Christiana and Paper Island – with a quick detour to bounce on the waterfront trampolines along Havnepromenade – and then spent the afternoon strolling through the districts of Vesterbro and Nørrebro.

The Verdict

All in all our two nights away provided us with a very welcome break from the stresses of everyday life and allowed for greater spontaneity on my behalf.

Surprise Trips was great, and both my boyfriend and I really enjoyed the surprise element, the sense of mounting excitement and the guessing game that came with not knowing where we were going. I would definitely repeat the experience and would recommend it to those seeking something different and a new way to travel… somewhere!