Copenhagen Denmark
We went to Copenhagen right after we got back from Lisbon. Like right after!
We knew that we would be going from a really warm place to a not so warm place so before we left for Lisbon we packed a separate bag and left it in the trunk. The separate bag had boots, jackets, long sleeves, definitely more clothing than what we were wearing when we were in Portugal.
We had parked the car at the airport at Charleroi in Belgium and when we got back from Lisbon we got to the car, changed clothes, unpacked the Lisbon stuff and re-packed our bags with the stuff that we had for Denmark! Our flight to Denmark was from the Brussels Airport soooo we got back in the car and drove from Brussels Charleroi to Brussels Airport and it was crazy because by the time we got to the other airport which is only about an hour away we were right on time to check in for our next flight. Because traffic was so crazy it took us a few hours to get from one airport to the other in the same city
We got to Denmark pretty late at night and found out that they don’t have Uber in Denmark, it’s illegal actually, so we go to the taxi line when we got in and our taxi it was a Tesla a brand new Tesla with like the whole moon roof situation going on...there was no roof it was just glass window like, what is this place? That was our first experience in Denmark, yeah our taxi was a brand new Tesla... cool.
Denmark also has their own currency, the Danish Krone that was something interesting to try and convert so thank goodness that our phones can Google and we can find conversions.We knew how much we were spending on things, but we didn’t realize how expensive things were going to be in Denmark yikes!
Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world and Copenhagen, where we were, is one of the happiest cities, so we were pretty excited to see what all this happiness was about! We had a really cool Uber driver who gave us tips and told us about some things that we should check out while we were there. The Uber driver also let us know that masks were no longer mandatory in Copenhagen as they had a large percentage of the population already vaccinated and that mask wearing was pretty much obsolete at the time we were there.
We walked into our hotel and we’re immediately confused as all we could see was a bar and some really nice cozy chairs to sit around in and just people hanging out. The nice bartender noticed that we looked lost and asked if we were looking for reception which then she explained to us we were at reception so the reception desk was also a bar in this hotel, you can check in and get a drink at the same time which is pretty funny and cool and unique to this hotel, h27.
We got checked in and headed to our room which was adorable, pretty small but just enough room for me and Brian. The Danish have this concept of hygge, which is basically, living life at your coziest, and this is definitely a concept I can get behind because being cozy is one of my favorite pastimes!
This coziness was apparent almost everywhere you went in Copenhagen, from the decor, to the blankets everywhere, to the cushions and pillows, it just felt like a warm hug every place you went inside.
The next day our journey started with brunch. We love to brunch and we love to brunch when we travel because it’s cool to see what other places do. So we found a restaurant to brunch in and when we got there it was way crowded and they said oh if you don’t have a reservation you won’t be able to make it today so we were like well there’s that and we found another place that was called Zirup, this place was cute and outside dining which wasn’t great for me, because I didn’t wear a jacket... rookie mistake... even though everyone had jackets on and scarves on and gloves on, I was like it’s not that cold I’ll be fine… *eyeroll*
Click below to view or book some fabulous experiences in Copenhagen!
So to go with the cozy factor even the outside seating areas had heating lamps and blankets… so I was fine. I put on my little blanket and I was good for brunch! We ordered a Champagne Passion drink and Brian got the brunch plate, and I of course, got an avocado toast! One of the cool things about Denmark is that they have these open faced sandwiches that are called Smørrebrød and they are everywhere in Copenhagen, and they are so good! I had the avocado one and the bread is like a really dense Ryebread so, if there’s anything kind of liquidy or whatever the bread absorbs it and it's just super tasty! It was so good, and this was my first experience with the Smørrebrød, but definitely not my last!
Then we did some exploring the city on foot... well after we went and got jackets because it was freezing! We walked to Nyhavn, which is the famous spot where you all see those really colorful beautiful buildings on the canal, it was gorgeous! The architecture and the way that things look in Copenhagen there was so neat and clean. So many bikes, bicyclists, and bike lanes, it was pretty pretty cool to see all the people getting around even though it was super cold, that’s just like normal day life.
Next, we heard that we had to check out Christiania, or Freetown. This area of town is kind of hard to explain, you almost have to just see it for yourself. They are a community with their own flag, and their own rules, independent of Copenhagen. You can see the graffiti kind of starting before you get there and then you walk through almost like gates, there were police officers everywhere standing outside just kind of watching what’s going on. There’s signs that say where you can and can’t take pictures and so I just didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures at all. I didn’t wanna be in the wrong place and taking pictures. There were so many little stands with food and shopping, almost like a flea market. We looked through some of the clothing stands. There’s another area of this town where, I guess the best way to describe it is, it looks like a row of lemonade stands. There’s different people standing at each stand,but they weren’t selling lemonade, they were selling things that are mostly illegal everywhere else in the world. But in this little live sliver of Copenhagen, it’s legal so we walked down the strip and the people were kind of talking from their lemonade stand to say hey I got this, do you want this, you can buy this, and of course that’s not what we’re into but we just definitely wanted to kind of see what it was all about.
We took a boat trip through the canals and got to see the Nyhavn area by boat! We also got to see the famous, Little Mermaid statue, and learn a little bit about her history and how long she’s been there and what she’s gone through, that poor girl had her head cut off, so she’s been through a lot, and she still chilling on a rock, so you go girl
We we had hotdogs on the street which were actually really really good churro‘s that were filled with chocolate Nutella hi I’m obsessed with churros! We found this cute little restaurant in Nyhavn, and there were these little tiny glasses on the table when we sat down that were almost like shot glasses? Brian asked the waitress, and she explained that these were for a traditional drink sort of like schnapps, called aquavit. She told us that their aquavit was made by a cute old lady, so of course we had to try some!
On our last day in Copenhagen we had quite a bit of time from when we checked out of the hotel to when our flight was, so our hotel was able to hold our bags in storage and we kept exploring around. We made it to another food market that had two buildings one had more like coffee, tea, and sweets and the other one had more like food, hearty stuff, and had a fish and meat market.
All in all Copenhagen was really a cool place to visit. There was so much to do! There’s a waterfront, the canal, and so much food! Copenhagen had such good vibes and was so cozy! I would definitely come back to Copenhagen! The one thing that threw us off and that was maybe not as wonderful was that it was so expensive! A lot of places to eat and shop were pretty pricey, but there are ways that you can visit Copenhagen affordably or more inexpensively. So, yes definitely need to budget better next time we visit Copenhagen, but it was a fun experience and I can see why the people are so happy.
Where to stay: h27 -hotel- super cute, bar is the reception desk, great walking location to everywhere
Where to eat:
Zirup- brunch
Kompasset - Smørrebrød and aquavit
Fuego - steakhouse, delicious, expensive
Torvehallerne - food hall multiple options
Tivoli Food Hall - food court near Tivoli Gardens
Broens Gadekøkken - outdoor food court by the water