Copenhagen: Herring, Hygge, and Happiness
Destination: Copenhagen, Denmark
Dates: 13. September 2018 - 16. September 2018
Reason for Travel: Pleasure
Modes of Transport: Plane (Swiss International Airlines), Bus, Metro, Taxi
A view over Christianshavn from our room
For our fourth anniversary, we headed to Denmark's capital, Copenhagen. It's a city I had visited back in 2010 and one that has been on Elizabeth's list for years. This Nordic capital boasts some of Europe's most fascinating architecture, a socially and environmentally progressive government and some of the best restaurants in the world. Take all that and wrap it in Hygge - cosiness - and it is easy to see why Denmark has some of the happiest people on Earth.
We booked our trip to Copenhagen (CPH) in the summer. Between the hustle of life and starting a new job, I forgot that our flight was on a Thursday evening and not Friday evening. Good thing that I have TripIt Pro and a user account with Swiss International Airlines, both of which reminded me on Wednesday to check in early. Getting permission from my boss to take a day off was another thing.
Landing at Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, visitors will notice that it is efficient and being renovated. The airport is in many ways a mini Copenhagen with a Mikkeller bar, independent little shops and smaller cult restaurants ready to serve hungry and design-loving travellers. The airport is also seamlessly connected to the subway and rail system, making it easy and inexpensive to get into the city centre about 10 km away. As luck had it, I had a seat right beside a friend, who lives between Denmark and Switzerland and he and his wife gave us a ride to our hotel.
Already from the car, we were in awe of the city's architecture and the sheer number of building projects. Denmark is not the socialist hellhole often portrayed by some politicians.
During our stay in Copenhagen, we stayed at the Raddison Blu Scandinavia in Amager. Check-in was simple, and the room was clean; however, this was the second time that I was disappointed by the quality of a Raddison hotel. For the cost of the room, I expected it to offer more: more design, more attention to detail. The room felt very Spartan. Supposedly the Raddison Blu Royal, the hotel recommended in the Monocle Guide to Copenhagen, and the one I had intended to book is much more design focused. That furnishing and cost aside, the bed was comfortable, and the service was friendly. The breakfast buffet offered a large variety of food to be enjoyed with hundreds of other travellers. If you're looking for a relaxing and enjoyable breakfast, don't eat at the hotel, but visit one of the city's many trendy cafés. We enjoyed our meal and experience at GRØD, which specialises in porridge.
NOMA put Modern Nordic Cuisine and Copenhagen on the map for Epicureans from around the globe. Without a doubt, we ate and drank very well in Copenhagen. I would say that of the places we've visited, Copenhagen is in a class with the Basque Country and Barcelona. For dinner our first night, we tried to get a seat at Kadeau. Finding the restaurant down a dark street and ringing the doorbell to be greeted by the maître d', we were told that they were fully booked for the evening. However, we think that my bright orange down vest made them turn us away for not being dressed appropriately. Next time, I will bring my suit or at least a blazer. We ended up in Café Wilder - an unexpecting little restaurant on the corner of Sankt Annæ Gade and Wildersgade in Christianshavn. The candlelight and small table and vintage posters helped give the place that Hygge feeling. Starting with oysters and cremant was the perfect way to celebrate the start of our trip. The rabbit stew with berries was exceptionally tender and recalled home-cooked comfort food. Again Hygge! The wine pairings were also lovely with generous servings.
The culinary highlight of the weekend was our dinner at Relæ. Located in Nørrebro, Relæ is ranked as one of the world's 50 best restaurants. The restaurant offers a regular (4-5 course) set menu and an extended 9-course menu with or without wine pairing. The wines we had were predominantly natural wines that not only enhanced the dining experience but also underlined Relæ's mission of sustainability and flavour extraction. I also loved the tables with a drawer for forks and knives. The service was also exquisite with each course and wine being thoroughly explained. My only wish would have been for the dishes to have been larger, especially since we both left somewhat hungry after a $400+ meal for two people. That said, perhaps we should have taken the 9-course menu instead.
Copenhagen is an expensive city, and if we weren't travelling from Zurich, it would have felt like it cost even more. That said, the prices are similar and so is the service in most places. Where we had a great experience though, was going to the Street Food at Reffen. The selection of foods was fantastic - we ate tacos and deluxe fries (with parmesan and herbs). Like in Zurich the street food blended people in suits to students. After our quick lunch, we also had a drink at the Mikkeller Baghaven, which has a fantastic selection of sour beers.
Having done the Danish home-cooking thing, the ultra high-end dining, as well as the café and the street food thing our third dinner was at the trendy Paté Paté in the Meatpacking District. The atmosphere was loud and lively with tons of energy. The wine menu there is fantastic with rich American reds to balance a meat-heavy dinner. We loved it so much we had tapas at their little bar in the airport the next day before flying home.
Smørrebrød at Restaurant Palægade
On our last day in Copenhagen, we were able to catch up with my good friend Mads at Restaurant Palægade, famous for its smørrebrød - open-faced sandwiches. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with high-end Danish furniture and beautiful lighting - oozing Hygge. Mads tells us this is a typical place to have a smørrebrød, which used to be served on Sundays for lunch, but recently become more of a speciality fair served on holidays and important occasions. The smørrebrød we had were of course topped with different herring. A smørrebrød experience while in Copenhagen is a must.
Copenhagen is also a fantastic city for architecture. One of the best ways to see much of the city's newest building projects is to take a canal cruise. We bought the Grey Line hop-on-hop-off boat and bus tour ticket for Kr. 500 each (circa $80). In hindsight, this was too much, and we did not get full use of these tickets. I believe you need to have more time in Copenhagen to benefit from this offer. From the boat, however, you'll see the Royal Danish Playhouse by the architectural firm Lundgaard & Tranberg, who also designed the beautiful Axel towers near the central train station. Københavns Havn is dotted with gems of modern Danish architecture like the Black Diamond, an extension of the Royal Danish Library, and the Copenhagen Opera House perfectly positioned across from Amalienborg and Frederiks Kirke. Of course, you'll also see the postcard-perfect Nyhavn and the Little Mermaid Statue.
If boats aren't your thing, travel like the Danes do - with a bicycle. We registered with Bycyklen, an e-bike sharing system. For approximately $5/30 minutes you can borrow these bikes and ride around town. Together with the Nørrebro App, we discovered the neighbourhood including the famous Superkilen park and numerous other parks and playgrounds. With all of these recreational areas, it's easy to see why Copenhageners are so happy.
Chilling in Christiania
Late in the morning on Saturday, we visited Freetown Christiania in Christianshavn, an intentional community of about 1000 people many of whom are artists. We entered the area as a police raid was occurring on a marijuana market. The police raid lasted all of 15 minutes, after which the market started up again. There are signs up telling people that photography is not permitted. Not sure if these painted signs are just graffiti, Elizabeth took out her phone to take a picture and was quickly approached by someone who kindly asked her not to take pictures to protect the identity of the people in the market.
The other unique neighbourhood that we visited was the Potato Row Houses along the Sortedams Sø. This community puts a focus on pedestrians by having gardens, play areas and seating on the streets. Right near the Potato Row Houses, you can also rent pedalos on the Peblinge Sø, which is a fun way to see the Nørrebro from the water.
Three nights in Copenhagen were not enough, but we did experience a great deal and have plenty of reasons to return if only to buy more Johan Bülow Lakrids.
Tips
Use the following sites:
www.nbro.io - walking tour of Nørrebro
https://bycyklen.dk/en/ - rent electric bikes
https://dinnerbooking.com/dk/en-US - the best and easiest way to reserve a table at a restaurant in Copenhagen
Before you go listen to this Freakonomics podcast.
