A week in Copenhagen
How we ended in up in Copenhagen was somewhat a fluke, in the depths of food poisoning on our Balinese honeymoon we promised each other when we got home we would book something else to make up for it seen as no penny was spent in Bali…. A few weeks later we settled on Copenhagen. I had some airline points to use and Copenhagen was on the flight list, the rest was history.
We picked the perfect time of year to visit in early September, the weather was still mild enough to cycle and the days still stretched out well into the early evening. As much as we love a quick pitstop in certain cities we really felt passionately about soaking up as much of Copenhagen as we could and decided to stay for a week, which was genuinely the best thing we could have done. We stayed in Vesterbro in an Airbnb that was beautifully minimal and housed in a friendly neighbourhood that only the Danish can get away with, the keys to the apartment were stuck on the back of a telephone exchange and the windows of the ground floor apartment were flung wide open.
It was clear that the Danes like to take their time and at no point did we feel rushed during our stay, the locals on their bicycles were firm but friendly when we wavered but its the only way to see the city how it should be seen. As with most trips we went in search of local architecture, shopping, interiors, design, food and drink. The shopping in Copenhagen in my opinion is unrivalled to any other city I have visited, to the extent we had to buy another suitcase for the journey home. Every vintage shop we stopped in was well curated and concise and we stopped more than 3 times at sporadic flea markets around the city. The department stores are what dreams are made of and hours were spent soaking up each floor in Illum and Hay. Our nights were spent people watching with a good drink in hand from one of Copenhagens many Mikkellers or tasting the natural wine in Manfred and Vin.
We headed out of the city one rainy weekday to get lost in The Louisiana Museum, and soak up the grandeur at Grundtvigs church, one sunny afternoon was well spent cycling up to the Little Mermaid, Assistens cemetery and stopping for pastries and coffee from Coffee collective en route. The trip concluded with a last speedy cycle, complete with dress and heels, to a pretty special birthday tasting meal at Höst, complete with a tiny Danish table flag the only indication that it was my birthday, The Happy Birthday song is not welcome in Copenhagen much to my delight.
We came away from Copenhagen heavily laden with our shopping swag and some special beers for home and knew that we needed to come back pretty soon because in our opinion, a week is just not enough to soak up what this amazing city has to offer.
Baest - Charcuterie, home-made mozzarella and Pizza
Hija De Sanchez - Ex Noma chef, Rosie Sanchez’s taco joint
Mikkeller - Mikkeller own Copenhagen and have a mix of bars, shops, wine bars and even Ramen. Make a trip to at least one, you won’t regret it.
Manfred and Vin - Natural wine, small plates and highly recommended Steak Tartare.
Atelier September - Nice space and simple menu
Grod - For all the nom breakfast
Coffee collective - Great coffee
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art - No day is wasted here
Grundtvigs Church- The most picture-esque church there ever was
The Botanical Gardens - Because we are obsessed
The Round Tower - The light in this space is incredible
Irma Illum - All the reasons listed above, just make sure there is space in your luggage
Hay House - So well curated, you need to buy at least one thing for home.
The Meatpacking District - Loads of options for food and drink, especially nice in the summer.
Bike hire - We hired from one of the bigger street bicycle vendors on the first day, before realising on the second day that the bikes to hire outside our apartment were much more convenient and can be dropped at numerous spots throughout the city. With built in sat nav and electric assistance it was much less strenuous and any ride under 5 minutes was free!
