A weekend in cultural Copenhagen

Not only was this my first trip to Denmark, but also my first to anywhere in Scandinavia. I’ve been wanting to make a trip for some time, but a combination of too many other places to visit, and the pandemic meant it took me a while. My trip to Copenhagen was brief but I instantly fell in love with this city and thought I could easily live there.

Where do I start? The mass of bikes definitely drew me in. There are few cities in the world where cycling is more common than any other mode of transport, and Copenhagen is definitely in that list. Its compact size and flat geography certainly make cycling easy, my only regret is that I didn’t hire a bike and try it myself. The public transport system is also impeccable, shiny new and so intensely calm compared to the mad rush in London. I was amazed to see everyone calmly walk onto the escalators and then stand still as the escalators moved down, rather than striding down, overtaking other people.

There are plenty of cultural sites to visit, especially if you’re interested in both history and design. I visited the Designmuseum one day and loved exploring all the exhibits, from contemporary installations designed to get you thinking, through to antique artefacts. I also did a walking tour through the city, which I always love to do to get all the interesting back stories that you miss when you simply walk around key sites on your own. I went with Copenhagen Free Tours (of course there’s an expectation of a tip at the end) and the guide was very friendly and informative. I also visited Copenhagen Contemporary, but I hadn’t realised they didn’t have any visiting exhibitions that weekend, so there were limited things to see. The museum is in Refshaleøen, which is a former shipyard on a mini island that has been converted a into a trendy new spot for everything from a cafe in a tipi with sprawling garden to sit in, to a power station with a grass ski slope.

The view from The Mermaid across to Refshaleøen

Nearby Chistianshavn is a beautiful canal-side area on a thin strip across the bay from the main centre of Copenhagen. Here, you’ll find plenty of nice shops, cafes and markets. When you walk up the road, things can get interesting since Christianshavn is also home to Freetown Christiania. This unusual enclave has been claimed as a micro-nation, which was started by squatters on the ex-military base in 1971. Today, it’s both an intentional commune and a tourist hotspot, as scores of people come to visit this unique location and check out its famous Pusher Street.

Food in Denmark is excellent, definitely a notch above the UK. Everything I had was fresh and delicious, and I’ve definitely developed a liking for Smørrebrød. It sounds mundane, but I was even impressed by the office lunches we had while working in Denmark earlier in the week; the standard of food is so much better than what I have become accustomed to in London. We went to a ‘near Michelin’ restaurant, Cofoco, for a Friday dinner and the food was unlike anything I’d had anywhere else. We had so many unique and interesting courses, and given the type of food we had, the price was within reach. I had also booked Restaurant Puk after doing a quick Google for Danish style restaurants, and was really impressed with the food. Again, the quality was excellent and everything was delicious. It’s lucky we made it in as this basement level restaurant is hard to see from the street and for a few minutes, we were convinced it was closed - we nearly went somewhere else!

If a few drinks and some board games is what you’re after, I loved Bastard Cafe This highly rated cafe has more games than I’ve heard of, but that’s the beauty of it. We opted to play one of the free games, which no doubt are lower rated, but had a great time. Be warned that this bustling cafe is constantly filled with people so get in early or book ahead to get a table.

Denmark is of course famous for its pastries and bread so it would be remiss of me not to mention how truly delicious these are. One day, I went all out in Emmerys, Østerbro, and ordered an absolute feast, so large I couldn’t eat it all. The breakfast included at least four slices of bread, a pastry, ham, cheese, smoked salmon, a boiled egg and even yoghurt with granola. I was stuffed afterwards!

I stayed in an Airbnb in Vesterbro and while I didn’t spend much time in the area, it looked like a nice spot with plenty of restaurants and wine bars. There was also a cute little weekend market on the Saturday near Enghave Plads. The traditional apartment only had stair access, but that was fine by me. It even had a traditional wooden back staircase that went down to the central courtyard and bins. Every country has its housing quirks and in Denmark (or at least in Copenhagen specifically), the bathrooms are quite curious. After walking in initially, I thought I couldn’t find the bathroom, before realising that the tiny room that appeared to just be a toilet was in fact also the shower! This tiny little room had a shower curtain in front of the door to protect towels and clothes from getting wet, but was otherwise essentially a toilet with a shower head and tiny hand basin. I can’t say I’d want to live somewhere with a bathroom like that, but oddly, the rest of the apartment was very spacious with a much bigger kitchen than what I’m used to.

All in all, I had a fabulous time in Copenhagen and hope to visit again.