Copenhagen has been on my bucket list for the longest time. Actually, all of Scandinavia! When Jose’s parents invited us to come with them I almost couldn’t believe it. They hopped on a cruise for the Baltic after a few days in the city, but Jose and I decided to stay behind and get to know it better. Here are a few of my personal highlights from Købenvahn:
Indre By: It’s a great neighborhood to stay in. We rented an Airbnb on Ahlefeldtsgade (I still have no idea how to pronounce it!) and it was really easy to move around from there, either by foot or Metro. We were walking distance from the Nørreport station and the Torvehallerne food market, as well as a great little authentic Thai restaurant in Nørrebro called Ranee’s. I highly recommend it! It was also really cheap, compared to other places in Copenhagen. Another great restaurant that was close by and well priced was Brdr. Price. We ate there on our first night in Copenhagen. Indre By is also great for shopping; the Hay Mini Market is a must see at the very minimum. Even if you don’t end up buying anything, it’s still a great experience and a feast for the eyes; specially if you appreciate design of any kind. Stine Goya is a well known Danish designer, so a visit to her shop is also recommended if you want to get a sense of the current Danish fashion scene.
Nørrebro: This a great neighborhood to just venture in without anything specific planned. There are lots of quaint streets with vintage shops, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. One of those streets is Jægersborggade. We went two days in a row because we wanted to eat at both Manfreds and Relæ, which are just across the street from each other. Both restaurants are by Chef Christian Puglisi, a Noma alumnus. If you want to get a feel for the New Nordic Cuisine movement without breaking the bank, I suggest making a reservation at Relæ! Also on Jægersborggade is the best coffee shop in Copenhagen –The Coffee Collective. I have never had a better cup of coffee in my life. I also stumbled upon the cutest plant shop; Kaktus Købenvahn. Only in a first world country can you open up a shop dedicated to selling cacti and succulents! As a tourist, I obviously have no need to bring back home a prickly living organism, but it was an experience to visit a place like that and the staff was incredibly friendly as well.
The Designmuseum Danmark: You can’t visit any Scandinavian country without getting to know a little bit about their design history. It would be a sin! The Designmuseum Danmark may be a small and humble institution but it houses a comprehensive collection of all things Danish; architecture, furniture, industrial, fashion, toys, graphics, illustration… You name it.
Of course, we also visited the obvious; the Nyhavn, The Little Mermaid, Christiania, etc. But we also rented a car and drove around the rest of the island where Copenhagen is. We visited the Louisiana Museum, Helsingør and Tisvilde… More on that later!
Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to visit Østerbro and Vesterbro. I would’ve liked to visit Playtype’s brick and mortar store, as well as the Copenhagen Zoo where there’s an elephant house designed by Foster + Partners. We also wanted to visit The Union Bar in Nyhavn, a speakeasy with reportedly amazing cocktails, but it was closed until further notice. On the bright side, I have more than one reason to go back and visit Copenhagen, even though it’s not like I need one anyway! Hopefully I will go back one day, specially for Copenhagen Fashion Week. That would be another dream come true!
Photos of me by Jose Castrellon. All other photos by me.
