Couchsurfing in Copenhagen

A New Way to Travel

I first heard about the Couchsurfing concept from a friend who raved about it and had done it numerous times on his travels. We had also debated about it in my French class, where in the end we determined that while it was very cost-effective, it did not seem that safe or comfortable. 

However, when you live abroad for a little awhile and start traveling more, activities like hitchiking and sleeping in strangers' houses for free start to look more appealing and less sketchy. (After all, services like Blablacar, which is organized hitchiking essentially, is a popular means of transportation abroad. I've done it several times myself and can attest to its ingenuity.) 

My First Solo Trip

I tried Couchsurfing for the first (and last, I think) time in Copenhagen. It was also my very first time traveling alone. I had filled that summer (it was the summer after I graduated from college) with a three month-long stint around Europe - and while most parts were spent with family, friends, and my boyfriend at the time, there were some in-between moments where I was going to be alone. This was one of them.

I was excited and nervous to travel alone. I had wanted to try it, just to see what it was like, and now was my opportunity. It was less scary than embarking on a journey completely alone as I was already abroad. I had just said goodbye to some old study abroad friends I had met up with in Edinburgh, and was about to visit Copenhagen and Krakow alone before meeting up with my then boyfriend in Berlin. 

I figured Copenhagen, which is a safe, well-established, (and also very expensive) city in general, would be a perfect place to try Couchsurfing, and enable me to meet new people. However, I had some anxiety about a) Not being able to access my accommodation due to a flaky/bad host and being homeless for the night and being stranded in a foreign city alone or b) Being raped/murdered/assaulted in my accommodation. I wondered if I should have a backup option in case something happened. However, I assured myself it would be fine and pressed on. 

Settling In

When I arrived in Copenhagen, I marveled at how clean and new everything was. I took the metro from the airport to the center of the city, and transferred to a bus that would eventually take me to my host's apartment on the outskirts of town. It was a pretty long bus ride from what I remember. When I finally arrived at her place, I was confused in the darkness of the night of which apartment was hers, and how to get in. Her roommate, who was a very nice but quiet Danish man, let me in as my host was working a late shift. He showed me around the apartment, and then let me be in my temporary shared room. I briefly wondered if he seemed like the type to rape/assault/murder/kidnap me. He seemed like he wasn't, so I went about getting my things unpacked and settled in my host's room.

Danish Bathrooms

I was to sleep on an air mattress on the floor by my host's bed. Her room was fairly large, and slightly messy with the amount of stuff strewn everywhere. I had a thin blanket to myself. The shower was the most intriguing shower I had ever used. It was not separate from the rest of the bathroom. You showered by closing the bathroom door, removing all the towels and toilet paper, closing the toilet lid, and standing in the middle of the room with the hose held up over your head, water streaming everywhere. I couldn't find any bath products, so I ended up using the bathroom hand soap instead.

Exploring Copenhagen Solo

Copenhagen’s famous Conditori La Glace bakery

I met my host the next morning, when she came back from her shift. She seemed very tired, but was very nice, and made me feel at ease. I let her sleep as I went about quietly getting ready, trying to decide what to do for the day. I ended up exploring the city on my own, walking through the streets, eating kanelsnegle (Danish cinnamon rolls), popping into a quaint cafe for lunch, exploring a famous church and market, and ended up back at an empty apartment at around 7 pm. 

There is definitely an adjustment period to traveling alone for the first time. I had already been traveling for over a month at that point, and was also starting to feel a little homesick. I missed America, my friends, and my then boyfriend. I unraveled some ravioli I had picked up earlier from the famous Glass Market (Torvehallerne), heated it up, and ate it on my air mattress on the floor. I opened my laptop and started Facebook stalking some of my friends, envying their carefree summer days spent lounging by the pool with each other, while I was thousands of miles away, alone in a foreign country. I gazed out the window, trying to kick myself from the negative thoughts. What was I complaining for? Most people would be envious of my life. I was fortunate enough to be able to cavort around Europe for the entirety of the summer. But the loneliness and anxiety weighed on me. I was also feeling a little directionless in my life overall. Although I had just graduated from college in Baltimore that past May and had a job lined up in New York in the fall, the transitional period in-between felt weird. I no longer lived in Baltimore, I didn't have an apartment yet in New York, and hadn't consistently lived at my parent's house in Seattle for years now. All I had in my life at that moment was myself, and my carry on suitcase full of clothes. I had inherited no furniture from college, and had only a few miscellaneous belongings temporarily stored at three different friends' apartments in the city. 

Life Transitions and Loneliness

When people I had met during my travels asked me where I was from, I didn't know how to answer them. It was also hard to talk about my feelings with others back home because they didn't understand. They had been seeing the pictures I was posting on Instagram, looking like I was living the time of my life (which I was for the most part). Underlying it all was just a disturbing sense of displacement. I understood in that moment how traveling could feel isolating, and how people like Anthony Bourdain (may he rest in peace), could find it difficult at times to constantly be away from familiarity and loved ones. It was also exhausting to be living out of a suitcase constantly, and not being able to set my belongings down in one place. 

I allowed myself to wallow for a bit, and curled up on my air mattress with Game of Thrones on. The familiarity of the show comforted me, and I felt a little less lonely. I went to sleep shortly after.

Walking Tours

The next day I signed up for a free afternoon walking tour via Copenhagen Free Walking Tours. While it had been nice to explore the city on my own the day before and do whatever I wanted, I missed human companionship. I spent the next three hours blissfully learning about why Danish people are the happiest people in the world, old mermaid folklores, and gaining insight into the Danish royal family. 

A Night Out with New Friends

That night my Couchsurfing host invited me to go out with her and her friends. I happily agreed. She volunteered at a non-profit cafe as one of several of her part-time jobs (she had been on the night shift there during my first night at her place). As I joined my host and her friends for a night out, I realized how much I had grown during this first solo trip of mine. The loneliness I had initially felt started to melt away as I connected with new people, gained fresh perspectives, and learned more about myself. It wasn’t always easy, but each moment—whether it was spending the night on an air mattress or exploring a new city solo—was part of my journey toward self-discovery.

Looking back, my experience couchsurfing in Copenhagen taught me more than I expected. Yes, it was a bit unconventional, and not without its anxieties and challenges. But it also pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and embrace the unexpected. It made me realize that traveling alone doesn't have to mean being alone. The connections you make, even fleeting ones, can leave a lasting impact.

Now, as I reflect on that summer, I see how it shaped my perspective on travel, independence, and the importance of embracing both the highs and lows of life on the road. Couchsurfing may not be for everyone, but for me, it was an eye-opening experience—one I’ll never forget.