A Case For Winging It While Traveling

Spur-of-the-moment observations from Amsterdam & Copenhagen

Hygge vibes in our Copenhagen Airbnb.

It’s only been a week since our flight touched down in Europe, but it feels like so much longer. We just made it home from a day of exploring and sightseeing in Copenhagen. As I type this, I’m sitting at the dining table in our very hygge Airbnb, an old-fashioned beside me that the bar downstairs (fittingly called Neighbourhood) made for me to go.

The lighting is warm and cozy. There’s a din from the bar downstairs drifting its way up to our floor, softer than last night, but loud enough to provide a nice faint background noise. The ice in my glass clinks as I lift it up to take a sip.

What do I write about? I’m sitting here thinking. I feel pressured because it’s half past nine here, but that means it’s only noon back home. So I have plenty of time to publish this on my promised Sunday. If it look at it that way, I’m ahead of the game.

I tried to start writing this post from a coffee shop this morning but found I was too distracted by both the people around me and all the thoughts racing around my brain. 

Since arriving in Amsterdam a week ago, and then flying to Copenhagen yesterday, my mind has been on overdrive in the best possible way. I have been constantly stimulated by my surroundings, whether it’s the architecture, people, fashion, or food. I forgot how fulfilling and invigorating it feels to travel to a new country, especially one where English isn’t the dominant language. Aside from a 2-day stint in Montréal two Octobers ago, I haven’t experienced true international travel since 2021.

My partner Pete and I had been talking about doing some kind of international travel since we met. Having been strapped for vacation days the first year we dated due to me starting a new job, we opted for a shortcut and did stints in Canada (Montréal, Vancouver, and Victoria) instead. 

It felt fitting that we were finally able to schedule something in Europe during our second anniversary and his birthday, booking a two-week trip in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

We spent this entire past week on vacation, soaking up all that Amsterdam had to offer. Tomorrow begins what I’m calling an experiment—working remotely from another continent, for the rest of our trip.

This is something either of us have yet to do, hence why I’m looking at it as an experiment. How will it feel to work in a time zone nine hours ahead of home? (I originally thought it was eight, only to later realize Copenhagen experiences Daylight Savings three weeks after the west coast, landing the time change on today. Funny coincidence, don’t you think?)

I was planning on writing a post documenting all my travel observations and learnings thus far, but decided that will be better suited once I’ve completed the second half of our trip. 

So for now, I’m going to lean into the fact that I’m feeling very (positively) scattered and leave you with a smattering of thoughts.

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🗓️ On planning vs. winging it:

Before embarking on our adventure, I had done hardly any research, aside from asking a few friends who’d been to Amsterdam or Copenhagen for their recommendations. I tend to be a figure-it-out-when-I’m-there kind of traveler, and Pete falls in the same boat, so we were quite proud to have booked not one, but two (!) activities before boarding our flight across the pond.

I’m sure those of you who are planners are cringing as you read that; trust me, I get it. I consider myself to be a Type A personality who likes routine and organization, but for some reason when it comes to travel, I don’t get around to the research until the last minute. That’s something I want to change a bit, because I have honestly felt overwhelmed a few times since being here, trying to figure it out day of. I’m susceptible to a combination of putting too much pressure on myself, perfectionism, and FOMO (there’s things you will miss out on if you don’t plan ahead when traveling, but I do think it’s the 20% of the 80/20 rule).

That said, I’m a firm believer in it always works out, and I find that some of my favorite travel experiences come from stumbling onto things that I otherwise might not have discovered. I’m anti overbooked-itinerary, pro loose-outline-for-the-trip. That seems to be the happy medium for my anxiety-prone self who likes a little structure, but also appreciates surprises and spontaneity.

🌨️ On traveling to places in their cold off-seasons:

When planning this trip, we debated a warmer weather location to escape the peak winter doldrums of the PNW, versus Northern Europe because 1) we’d talked about Amsterdam quite a bit and 2) Scandinavia has been number one on my travel list for quite some time now. We ultimately went with the second option because I wanted to honor my desires (following the spirit of my intention for this year), even if it meant risking some less-than-ideal weather. One of the pros of living in the PNW is that it sets you up well for traveling to colder climates in their fall or winter seasons when you’ll essentially be getting the same weather as you would at home. Cold weather is better experienced abroad than in one’s primary zip code, no doubt about it. 

In fact, one of the things I keep thinking about since being here is how both the Dutch and the Danish appear to embrace the cold weather. More to come on that in a follow-up post, but I am constantly inspired and humbled. Just today I was remarking on this observation to Pete when I saw a couple having a picnic in the park, sitting on a soft blanket in the green grass, blanketed by a cloudy dreary sky above, a slight chill in the air. They donned their winter coats and beanies, just like us, but didn’t have the movement of walking to keep them warm. That would be ludicrous to see at home, but here in Copenhagen? Completely normal. I was in awe. Yet at the same time I thought, what a great idea, it’s actually pretty nice out today. A statement I never thought I’d write! Oh how quickly we adapt.

🚪 On the expectation vs. reality of Airbnbs:

I usually opt for Airbnbs when I travel, both domestically and internationally, and this trip was no exception. The only time I’ve stayed in hotels while abroad was during my trip to Iceland back in 2021. My friend I traveled there with had a large hand in the planning, and I trusted her judgment completely since she’s an avid traveler and researcher with good taste. Hotels proved to be a great option in Iceland, because we road tripped around the Ring Road and there’s pretty limited options once you get out into the country. It turned out having a comfy hotel room was the perfect juxtaposition to the rugged climate we found ourselves in all day. (It’s worth noting I saw a few camper vans while there which I was intrigued by…note to self should I go back.)

However, when visiting an urban metropolis the options are aplenty and I briefly considered if having hotel amenities like laundry and on-site dining would be worth it. When we opened the door to our Amsterdam Airbnb to find that it was quite literally a ground-level corner storefront retrofitted to be a tiny apartment, I wondered if we’d made a mistake. There was nothing actually wrong with the place, of course. There were curtains we could close to give ourselves the necessary privacy from the display windows. But it just didn’t feel very comforting, like you want it to feel when you come home from a long day of exploring. 

At this point, we’d already spent the money so we weren’t going to change it. We’d just accept it for what it was. (Pete did briefly look into changing our Copenhagen Airbnb since it was also small with few reviews like the Amsterdam one and we were still within the full refund window. But I convinced him not to, because the Copenhagen one at least looked like it had character and an ideal location.)

It should be no surprise that as the week went on, we found our own sense of pride in our little Amsterdam Airbnb, jokingly and lovingly referring to it as “our store.” It became more homey when we rented bikes for the week and got to park them out front, giving us a true sense of ownership over the place. 

Flash forward to yesterday upon checking into our Copenhagen Airbnb and I found that my instincts were instantly validated. While it’s true that this place is small and hasn’t had many stays, it is a true gem. The owner has decorated it in such a cute way that I find myself wanting to steal ideas for our home; she has wonderful lighting and plants and the best design touch. To top it off, it’s located on quite possibly the best shopping street in Copenhagen (I don’t actually know this to be fact but it’s a sight for the shopper’s eyes—I look forward to exploring them all later this week.)

—

If I could sum up the three things I’ve written about above, I think the theme is that there’s a beauty to be found in going into a trip with an open mind and an open itinerary. Before setting off on our trip, we did chat about the intentions we had for it after I was prompted by reading this post from

Teresa Wu

at

Teahouse

. I expressed wanting to feel inspired and energized. That is certainly the case and I can’t wait to share more with you next week!

Our Amsterdam Airbnb made more charming with our bikes (and that cute guy in the doorframe 😉).