Copenhagen has treated me very kindly. My hosts were fabulous, the apartment was gorgeous and so tastefully decorated which you would expect of 2 architects. For those that are still hating on Airbnb, this week is an example of the beauty of it. Julie and Jens were away for the weekend so i had the apartment to myself Friday and Saturday. Madness? No just a whole heap of trust and good reviews on either side. It still blows my mind every time i arrive somewhere new, you instantly have a friend who has the same mindset. Even if they are not around much they generally provide all sorts of local travel guides, tools, maps to help you find your way around the city. Much more than a B&B, more of a home away from home i’d say.
Anyway, onto the city itself… i think if i was a city i would be Copenhagen! It’s a smart and businesslike city, formal but very relaxed at the same time. I’ve not really seen anyone dressed down, everyone looks just so and coordinated etc. It’s a city of people that seem to work hard and are passionate about what they do but also seek and appreciate fun to balance out their world. With the beaches, lakes, parks and pools close at hand this is never hard to come across. I was gutted that the sea pools all closed in September, so i will have to make another trip in the summer season to go and try those out. But there was lots of other fabulous things to do.
I arrived later in the morning on Wednesday as the train was late (occupational hazard for the overnighters, but i was in no rush) and was absolutely shattered. The bed on the train was huge, comfy and clean and my bunk mate was silent above me. But i struggled to get to sleep, i think i was too excited. I just can’t explain enough how much i love train travel, and i haven’t done an overnighter for a while so although i was tired after all the faffing around to get on i still stayed up and did a little writing. Although amazingly productive this did not stand me in good stead for having an energised first afternoon in Copenhagen!
I set off in earnest to find La Glace Conditori, a rather fine looking baking establishment in the centre of Copenhagen. Sadly i did a bit of a Nanny (you pick which one!) and wandered off down the wrong street thinking that i was somewhere entirely different. This was the start of things to come in Copenhagen! I’m not sure why but i really struggled when i was using maps there. Map free i had a whale of a time heading off in the general direction i was supposed to be going in and finding my way with landmarks etc. I would get lost and then found repeatedly and stumbled across some amazing things en route. The Torvehallerne food market was one of them, it was like an oasis in a hangry desert.
It’s a collective of local and artisan food, drink and flower producers all housed within 2 giant rather swanky indoor markets with some amazing fruit, veg and meat guys outside too. I settled on a traditional open Danish sandwich “Fisk fillet” on rye bread (everything is on rye bread i love it!) and a cheeky little Fynsk Fordr beer. It was the perfect tonic to fuel a bit more walking and dodging the many cyclists that stalk the roads of Copenhagen. There are thousands of them milling around at goodness knows what speed, so imagine my surprise when randomly looking up in the middle of the city i spotted the familiar face of one of my hosts Jens!
I was yawning about a hundred times a minute by this point so although staying out was appealing, a bit more food and the comfy bed in my basement suite was a tad more appealing. So i grabbed the most delectable sushi from Torvehallerne, it was a crazy Danish/Japanese combo but it really worked. I have no idea what most of it was but it was delicious. There was definitely a Salmon sashimi, seaweed, some kind of salmon tortilla, spicy fishcake, rice, coleslaw/salat type thing. I’ll do some digging and find out a bit more!
Then it was time for bed and rest for Friday’s adventures in Denmark…
