After moving to Berlin I immediately wanted to start exploring nearby cities. After visiting Amsterdam for Pat’s birthday, Copenhagen was the first stop on my list. I have visited Iceland in the Summer and Stockholm in the Winter, but I have never been to a Scandinavian city in Fall…
Copenhagen seemed like the perfect choice for my first new city this season and after visiting I can confirm that I was correct. Copenhagen was a dream to visit and after seeing so much of the city and surrounding towns I still want to go back and see more. We spent our time bopping between classic stops like Nyhavn and the Little Mermaid, exploring castles and their ruins, getting lost in museums and eating delicious Danish dishes. Copenhagen get’s 5 stars from me and I’ll definitely be coming back for Tivoli this Summer!
CLASSIC NYHAVN PHOTOSHOOT
Let’s start this Copenhagen post off strong with a classic Nyhavn photoshoot. Nyhavn is the waterfront canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, but it was originally built in the 17th century as the main harbor. Nowadays, Nyhavn is the iconic photo spot for every Copenhagen tourist and I did not exclude myself from this category.
COFFEE WITH HANS IN Rosenborg Castle Garden
Hans Christian Anderson references and statues are scattered all around Copenhagen and I appreciate the cities ode to his art. On our first morning in the city we decided to grab coffee from Kafferiet and have a morning drink with the famed Danish writer in the Rosenborg castle garden. Anderson’s stories were some of my favorite books from childhood, especially Thumbelina, and it was fun to raise my cup (of coffee) and cheers to his successful storytelling.
Anderson is most known for his classic fairy tales, like The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Pea, but after visiting Copenhagen I dug a little deeper into his writing and realized he has so many great stories and quotes. I’m going to re-read some of his writing again as an adult to see how many more amazing H.C. Anderson quotes there are to find.
Where words fail, music speaks.
H.C. Anderson
Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.
H.C. Anderson
Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.
H.C. Anderson
Smørrebrød at Schønnemann
Upon arrival in Copenhagen we quickly googled “classic Danish food” and Smørrebrød was number one on the list. Smørrebrød is basically a fancy open faced sandwich on rye bread which contains random fats and butter. Once we learned what Smørrebrød was, we decided to go the fancy route and make a reservation at Schønnemann to eat our first Smørrebrød at the famous lunch only restaurant. Schønnemann has been serving up this classic meal since 1877 and hot damn they figured it out some time during the past 100 something years. The sandwiches were absolutely ahhmazing.
To start we ordered wine, beer and aquavit to accompany our Smørrebrød sandwiches and goat cheese dessert. It was difficult to decide on which sandwiches to get, so we split three of the classic sandwiches – the Sun over Gudhjem, the Salmon tartare and the Sørens special. Out of these three I loved the Salmon the most, followed by the eel and the herring. I’d never actually had eel or herring before, but they hit the spot.
The Sun over Gudhjem was a combination of smoked herring from the Danish island Bornholm with grated radish, chives and raw egg yolk. The menu was actually in Danish at the restaurant, so I didn’t realize I was eating raw egg yolk until I wrote this post after the fact. Yummy! The Salmon tartare was made with fresh smoked salmon and flavored with apple, ginger and horseradish. It was probbaly my favorite because I just love Salmon in general. Lastly, the Sørens special was pan-fried smoked eel with scrambled eggs and chives. I always ask for extra eel sauce on my sushi, so I expected to like this fish and I was correct. For dessert we followed the savory meal with fresh goat cheese from Tebstrup, served with pickled walnuts and blackberries.
VINTAGE SHOPPING AT O-S-V SECOND HAND FASHION
While in Copenhagen we wanted to continue out tradition from Amsterdam and check out the vintage stores in town. In our searching we found the BEST vintage store I have ever been to… O-S-V Second Hand Fashion. The store had so many of my favorite brands and I was able to find this House of Sunny leather jacket that fits me perfectly.
As I mentioned in my Amsterdam post, I decided to start from scratch and not bring any clothes with me. My plan for my new wardrobe was instead to buy new pieces from all of the countries I visit and build out my European fashion style from scratch. While shopping at O-S-V I also found my new piece from Copenhagen! I got a pink beanie from the Copenhagen brand called Mads Nørgaard. I love my new beanie and I wear it all the time, even when it’s not that cold.
ROSENBURG CASTLE
The Rosenburg Caste and garden are located in the middle of Copenhagen and they are home to the national treasury. Pat and I visited the castle on a weekday in the middle of the day, so the whole castle was practically empty. It was really cool wandering around the castle and the treasury without thousands of tourists disturbing the erry feeling you get wandering through a dark castle from the 1600s.
My favorite piece of jewelry in the treasury was the diamond ring shown in the image below. This ring was a gift from Frederik III to his queen after she cheated on him in 1664. The ring is inscribed with the saying “If she has nothing else.” Such a savage move, I love it.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DENMARK
The National Museum of Denmark is the largest museum of cultural history in Denmark and the building is huge. We walked around the museum non stop until closing and still didn’t manage to see every inch of the place. You could probably spend days in all of the different exhibits, but that’s for another trip.
THE ROUND TOWER
The Round Tower is in the center of Copenhagen and it is one of the oldest observatories in Europe. When the building was built in the 17th century tower it was used as the starting point for all maps of Copenhagen and quickly became an icon in the Copenhagen cityscape. Nowadays the Round Tower also hosts an art exhibit called Transitions #2. The exhibition contains art pieces that examine the many transitions of life from a women’s perspective. Life is full of transitions: as we grow up, move out of home, move to Berlin, start a family, enter the labour market, retire or face illness and loss on our way. It is a universally human condition.
copenhagen contemporary
This was one of my favorite museums that we visited in Copenhagen. The giant contemporary art museum is located in a former welding factory in Refshalevej and when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised at the current exhibit – the art of sport! The entire museum was filled with large-scale avant-garde art installations combining to create a major exhibition on the complex cultural and social significance of sports around the world. There was also a DJ and 1/2 off drinks in the lobby until 10pm, so Copenhagen Contemporary was partly a beautiful exhibition of sports and partly a vibey club. There were so many art pieces in this exhibit that I loved and I plan to detail them all in my separate post titled – Art I Like.
The art instillation I’m dancing in during this clip is a 9 minute video by Stephen Dean titled VOLTA. The piece is an exploration into the commitment of spectators and the video is played on loop inside a colorful den of fabric.
Magical Yurt Meal at Øens Have
After the surprising DJ show and avant garde exploration into sport at the Contemporary Copenhagen museum, Pat and I decided to bus back into town for food. On our slow walk back to the bus station we passed by a yurt in the middle of a field and Pat decided to walk over and see what was inside the yurt. It was at that moment that our night went from good to great! Once he opened up the non discript yurt door we were greeted by a hidden farm to table restaurant called Øens Have. We asked about their availability and they let us know that it was their last night of the year, but that they had one no show table for two! We quickly called dibs on the table, sat down and started ordering. We didn’t know what to expect, so we started off simple with natural wine, bread with butter and goat cheese with carrots. We took one bite of the appetizers and realized we were in a very magical place indeed. It was the best home made bread and butter I have ever had and the goat cheese with honey and roasted carrots was divine. Once we struck gold with the appetizers we decided to lean in and order the ceviche and roe appetizers as well. I loved the ceviche and the roe was… interesting. After our appetizers we needed to add on a few entrees to really explore the full menu, so we landed on two of the fish dishes. I am not sure what fish we ordered because it was all in Danish, but it was delicious! Then for desert we finished off the spectacular meal with waffles and homemade apple ice cream..
I don’t think I’ll be able to top this meal anytime soon because the food, service and experience were all 10/10. Great job Øens Have and good luck on your next season of cooking!
christiansborg palace
Christiansborg Palace is at the center of Copenhagen and it is comprised of multiple different museums attractions – The Royal Reception Rooms with The Great Hall and The Tapestries, The Royal Stables, The Royal Kitchen, Christiansborg Palace Chapel and the ruins under the palace. We got to this museum early in the morning and we were the first people inside the doors. We immediately ran up the stairs and to the top floor so we we could wander though the giant hallways and library rooms as if we owned the place. Once the other visitors started to come into the castle we headed downstairs to the ruins and spent another good chunk of time exploring the original 800 year old castles underneath the current palace.
DAY TRIP Outside the City
Copenhagen’s transportation is amazing and coming from NYC, we were easily able to pick up the different train routes and bus transfers. During the middle of our stay in Copenhagen we decided to take a day trip up to Hillerød and Humlebaek to see the Frederiksborg Castle and the famous Louisiana Modern Art Museum.
frederiksborg castle
We visited Frederiksborg Castle on a cloudy day in the middle of the week and it was the perfect atmosphere for a giant castle tour. There were no crowds and we spent a majority of our time in the castle alone and surrounded by old paintings of Danish royalty. The castle was originally built in 17th century and it contains one of the prettiest churches I’ve seen in awhile. In the back yard of the castle is a giant garden that was inspired and replicated off of the garden at the Palace of Versailles.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
I am so happy that we took the hour train outside the city to see the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. This was hands down my favorite museum from Copenhagen and one of my top moments overall. The museum is located on the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk and when you look outside the windows of the museum you can see the white caps of the waves crashing against the shore. Inside the museum the walls and rooms were full of equally beautiful sights, including an art piece that I have been dying to see for years – Gleaming Lights of the Souls by Yayoi Kusama. I tried to go to this exhibit in NYC and LA, but it wasn’t until the Louisiana museum in Copenhagen that my dream finally came true! In addition to the amazing art inside the museum, there is also a sculpture garden spread around the grounds with the same breathtaking backdrop.
I honestly loved almost everything I saw at this museum and and I plan to detail them all in my separate post titled – Art I Like.
GROCERY STORE FEAST
Copenhagen is a really expensive city and in order to save money and explore the local cuisine, we decided to make our own smorgasbord of local ingredients and wine for a night of budget feasting! While we set up our spectacular dinner in the hostel common area we struck up a conversation with two people sitting next to us and spent the rest of the night exchanging travel stories with our two new Canadian friends!
PAT IS A FAMOUS GUITAR PLAYER FROM PRAGUE
While we were buying cheese for our smorgasbord hostel dinner we went into a local cheese shop and the owner told us that Pat looks just like a famous guitar player from the Czech Republic. I didn’t know I was traveling with a celebrity!
CHRISTINIA
Another favorite from my time in Copenhagen was visiting Christiania. Freetown Christiania is a commune and local district within Copenhagen that started in 1971 when squatters took over an abandoned military barrocks. Nowadays the area within Copenhagen has turned into a center of hippie culture, freedom and love. While we were in town we walked around to the local skatepark called Alis Wonderland, we explored the market, drank beer at Nemoland, visited a famous female blacksmith and wandered through the small shops in the depths of Christiania. One of my favorite shops was a local arist who we found furiously scribblng away on his next art piece. We struck up a friendly conversation with him and a little while later I was walking away with my first apartment decoration and piece of European art!
Kastellet
Kastellet is a star shaped citadel located in the north of Copenhagen. It is one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe and the most difficult to exit once you’re already on it the island. What I mean by that is…I got my exits mixed up and ended up having to walk around the museum twice in order to leave. It was pretty, but I’m still bitter.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
More H.C. Anderson content! On the North East side of Kastellet is the famous Little Mermaid statue. This statue was donated to the city of Copenhagen by Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen. After visiting the statue I looked up the H.C. Anderson version of the Little Mermaid and it was so much more depressing than the movie from our childhood. The quotes from the original story are beautiful, but sad and I love it.
“But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.”
“She laughed and danced with the thought of death in her heart.”
“I know what you want. It is very stupid of you, but you shall have your way, and it will bring you to sorrow, my pretty princess. – The sea witch.”
AND OF COURSE… HOT DOGS FROM DØP – Den Økologiske Pølsemand
I’ve been eating hot dogs the Scandinavian way for years now and it was exciting to finally try an officially decorated dog. The veggie classic hot dog was delicious and met all of my expectations.
Copenhagen is Beautiful
I loved loved loved Copenhagen. The food was delicious, the art museums were spectacular and the castles were mystical. I had no expectations set for my time in Copenhagen and I think even if I had they would have been blown out of the water. It was truly an amazing experience and I can’t wait to go back for Tivoli in the summer!
