travelogue: copenhagen, denmark

we happened to choose a rainy, cold, and windy weekend, one that had me not feeling so well either, nevertheless i totally fell for copenhagen. under a muted and moody sky with rain that did not always want to let up, the city seemed cozy with beautiful architecture, gorgeous design, and bursting with good food.  it was easy to meander on foot, dodging bikes along the way, taking in the sights.

friday 
we kicked off our trip the right way, with a walk through the nørrebro area towards jægersborggade where the coffee collective is located.  to get there we walked through assistens kirkegård cemetery, a green oasis.  famous danes buried there include hans christian andersen, the fairy tale author, and physicist niels bohr.  of course, with stefan in our group, we had to find the physicist's burial plot :-) he found it amusing that someone left dice on the plot.  the cemetery is a popular spot among locals.

jægersborggade is a charming street with boutique shops, restaurants, wine bars, bakeries, and cafes.  our first stop was the coffee collective, a micro roastery with three coffee shops - we visited them all!.  it was started by the world barista champion klaus thomsen.  he and his team work directly with the farmers to develop a sustainable production and improve the quality; they take their coffee seriously.  stefan and kai give them two thumbs up.  we ate the best pastries - brunsviger! - at the very little meyers bakery (only room for 5 people); admired the cute cactus store, kaktus københavn; tasted artisan chocolates at ro chhkolade; and met the sweetest kitten at a cafe where we stopped in for sandwiches.

with rain pouring down by now, we headed back to our hotel which is in the nørrebro area.  we lucked out with avenue hotel, it's location is perfect for getting around to the different neighbourhoods.  and it was actually a really nice, simple, cozy hotel.

after a rest we made our way over to fiskebaren, in the meatpacking district, an area with tons of restaurants and cool bars like warpigs.  fiskebaren, a well loved restaurant, serves fish and seafood sourced from the waters around denmark.  the meal was fantastic. in the summer, you can eat outside, which doubles their customer capacity.  the meatpacking district is too good to visit only once, i wish we had more time to visit the area again. strolling afterwards, we saw that there are still traces of the old meat halls, not all real estate was converted into a foodie paradise. oh, we were invited to visit the kitchen too, very cool... we think it was their way to get us to clear the table because when we returned the waitress was setting it up for a new party (clever, right?)

saturday

our saturday was spent in central stockholm.  walking over the dronning louises bro bridge (known as the hipster bridge during the summer months) and along the lake we noticed how clear the water was.  you could jump right in for a swim, as the danes do in the warmer months and what a scene that would be.  but on this day it was incredibly windy and cold and we were eager to get to torvehallerne, a high-end food hall housed in glass and steel buildings. there are more than 60 stalls and eateries, selling everything from fresh fish to cheese to chocolate to oils to produce and flowers. our first stop? the coffee collective to fuel up my boys - yes, again! this location did not serve tea so i went across the hall to a tea place, and it may have been the best chai i have had in scandinavian!  so good.  

we then moved on to grød, a porridge bar!  they have a huge range of sweet and savory combinations.  kai and i happily tucked into our hearty bowls of grains adorned with delicious toppings. kai's is the dulce de leche porridge with apples and almonds.  mine is the dirty acai chia porridge with almond milk, gooseberry compote, coconut flakes, strawberries, bananas, peanut butter, and skyr (icelandic yogurt).  and then, i couldn't help myself, i joined stefan in trying the national dish of smørrebrød, open-faced sandwiches.  egg and herring, delish!  

afterwards we headed to rundetårn (the round tower) the oldest functioning astronomy observatory in europe, to see the city from high above. it's a touristy thing to do but it was pretty cool.  the inside of tower is actually pretty with its brick floors and white walls. it's built with a spiral walk so the astronomers could transport the heavy instruments on wagons.  the hike up was worth the view.  and kai, the budding architect, loved the architecture, running up and down the tower a few times.  

strøget, the pedestrian street in central copenhagen where most of the city's shops are located, can feel touristy but wow, so grand and lovely.  i was happy to step through the doors of two danish stores.  the danish interior design shop hay house is located right on the main square selling danish design at reasonable prices, there was much i wanted but settled on a simple trivet.  i was especially excited to look around inside illums bolighus. furniture, lamps, ceramics, kitchen items, dishes, and glassware. one floor had clothing/accessories and i bought myself a raincoat from rains.  and there was a necklace that i am still wishing i had bought.  everything is beautiful yet simple.  i could have easily spent the rest of the day roaming inside the shop.

we then strolled off the main drag and found atelier september, a cute bright cafe with big windows, marble surfaces, and vintage counter.  although we just had tea and coffee, the food on the handwritten menu sounded pretty good and i'm sure plated really prettily too.

the oldest and most colourful houses were found along the picturesque nyhavn harbour.  many of the houses lining nyhavn have been the homes of prominent artists.  we noticed that the houses here as well as else where in the city are crooked like in amsterdam.  actually stefan thought copenhagen had more of an amsterdam vibe than scandinavian vibe. like in stockholm, i love the color palette on the walls, dusty rose, ocher, rusty reds. i can just imagine what a summer's day would look like here with patios filled with customers enjoying the day's sun. 

after a quick stop in the hotel lounge, we ended our evening at øl & brød, a small restaurant that crafts its own beer and wine under the name mikkeller.  we had absolutely fantastic food here, my favourite meal.  and stefan enjoyed some interesting flavoured snaps too.

sunday

on our last day, crossing our fingers that the rain would stay away, we rented bikes from the hotel.  everyone seems to cycle in copenhagen and unlike us they rarely pay attention to the forecast before jumping onto their bikes.  there are bike lanes on most streets with its own set of traffic lights and racks and racks of bikes parked wherever you look.  bike shops seem to appear on every block.  

biking allowed us to move around the city more efficiently and we covered alot of ground. we began our day at the coffee collective, their third location this time.  we visited all three locations!  this is where they roast their coffee and they serve food too.  i had the most delicious scone!  then the egg with mushrooms, pickled shallots and topped with a generous helping of watercress was perhaps the best egg sandwich i have ever had. 

 

fueled up, we jumped on our bikes and rode to værnedamsvej.  it was described as a charming foodie street with french influence, a favourite hang out among locals, but i didn't really see that... perhaps because it was a sunday and many of the shops were closed. it was a bit underwhelming but i did find the prettiest mobile at the interior design shop dora.  the shop sells classics as well as cool vintage items.

back on our bikes, we visited ny carlsberh glyptotek, an art museum founded in 1888 by the brewer carl jacobsen. and just in time as it started to rain!  i was most interested in their greek, danish, and french sculpture collection of which they had a treasure trove worth.  my favourite was the windswept girl but the rodin sculptures were pretty cool too. there are also egypian art and french and danish paintings. a nice surprise was the winter garden.  what a gorgeous space, peaceful even, with palm trees and plants everywhere. i only wish we went to the rooftop terrace for a view of the city, we could have taken a peek into the tivoli gardens across the street.  tivoli is an amusement park which i am told is bigger and better than stockholm's gröna lund. 

and then coffee time again.  this time we headed to copenhagen coffee lab, a cozy cafe in central copenhagen that roast their own beans.  like the swedes, the danes are passionate about their coffee and so easy to find a good cup.

without the bikes, we probably wouldn't have made the detour out to the pier to find one of copenhagen's most famous tourist attraction, the sculpture of the little mermaid. carl jacobsen, the brewer i mentioned earlier, was inspired by hans christian andersen's fairy tale about a mermaid who gives up everything to be united with a prince on land that he had the sculpture commissioned and gifted to the city.

we ended our day - and visit to copenhagen - at papirøen (paper island), copenhagen's first street food market.  the massive warehouse is a miniature food city, filled with dozens of stalls offering specialty foods from around the world as well as beer and coffee. when we entered the market, the pulsing music hits you and then you take it all in... stefan was in his happy place.  we had smørrebrød (again, yes!) and a plate of deliciously grilled meat while kai devoured a plate of chinese food.  and dessert?  creme brulee donuts!  i think kai inhaled it.  had it been earlier in the day, i think the boys would have enjoyed heading next door to the experimentarium city, a hands-on science and technology museum... next time.

there's plenty that i wish we'd had time to include in our all-too-brief stay.  some of the ones that stood out to me: i'd heard the louisiana museum of modern art is full of incredible treasures; while stefan would have loved an adult-only night at noma which is voted the best restaurant in the world, i would have loved to dine at höst which won the award for the best designed restaurant in the world; a stroll through the beautiful royal library gardens; i think kai would have enjoyed going to the tivoli; the apartment is said to have a beautiful twist on traditional danish furniture and normann copenhagen would have lovely to visit too; eating more smørrebrød at aamanns smørrebrødsdeli; and a visit to the danish design centre, of course! 

copenhagen is a place we could spend a lot of time in, such a beautiful little corner of the world.  i am so happy i got to visit.