Sixty
quid and an hour or so on a plane is all it took to get us to Copenhagen. That
and a touch of FOMO, courtesy of the vast number of our friends who’ve already
visited this year. It was time to see what all the fuss was about!
We arrived late so although we saw little of the city that first
night, we instantly fell in love with our home for the weekend; a typical scandi-style
Art Deco apartment in the centre. The host had helpfully left us a detailed map
with hints and tips for how to make the most of our stay and our eyes were
quickly drawn to the food markets marked out. That solved the problem of where
to find breakfast the next morning; the nearest one!
Following
the river and our trusty map, we found Torvellhalerne with ease. I was
surprised to find how health conscious many of the stalls were with paleo foods
playing a big part in their selections. I jumped on the bandwagon, ordering a
paleo wrap which more closely resembled a small omelette and then ruined my health
streak with a pre-midday glass of wine and a cinnamon bun. At least the latter
has the excuse of being traditionally Danish; how cultural of me!
Copenhagen
itself is beautiful and just how I’d imagined it; colourful fronted houses, big
open squares and retro bicycles dominating every pavement, park and path. It
speaks a lot for the honesty of Danish people that the majority of bikes are
left unlocked without the worry they’ll be stolen (or borrowed either for that
matter, ahem Hana.)
We weaved
in and out of the streets with no real plan or destination in mind but before
long, realised we’d stumbled upon Christiania which we thought strange until we
learnt how enormous it is! Copenhagen’s ‘Green Light District’ spans over 34
hectares; each one as wacky as the next. Observing the many signs which ban visitors
from running (apparently it creates panic amongst the vendors) we ambled slowly
throughout the town. In amongst the bizarre sculptures and adult playgrounds
are dozens of stalls selling marijuana in its many forms. Though none of us
ever touch weed normally, we were tempted by a mini hash cookie (again, just being cultural right?) to share. However, before money exchanged hands the
balaclava-clad vendor piped up from behind the screen: ‘Yeh man, this one will
really f*ck you up.’ He clearly mis-read
his audience; we were out.
Back on
the right side of the law, we then headed towards the Church of Saviours but it
was closed to the public and we were only able to admire it from the outside. With
more time on our hands than anticipated, there seemed only one sensible place left
to go; another food market.
Papirøen
is a huge warehouse which has been decked out from top to bottom with stalls
boasting every cuisine in the world. It reminded me a lot of Brixton Village
but condensed into a smaller space and with a beautiful outdoor space looking
out over the canal. We all picked a dish from different regions to share and finished
off with a cheesecake so good that B was hoovering up the crumbs from the table
– dream.
Feeling
significantly heavier, we weren’t sure we’d make it all the way back to our
flat in the centre so decided to do as the Danes do and hop on some bikes!
Copenhagen’s answer to Boris Bikes are so sophisticated, they make Boris look
rather silly. With the aid of built-in GPS and electric power spurring us on, we
were home in no time at all.
With
only one night left in the city, we were keen to make sure we saw the best of
it and found that almost every online review pointed us in the direction of the
Meatpacking district. ‘Mother’ seemed to be the restaurant of choice so we
joined the queue of young people wrapped in red blankets which had been lovingly
handed out by the waiting staff.
Once
inside, it didn’t disappoint! I ate my way into a food coma with a ginormous
sourdough pizza followed by a completely unnecessary but totally delicious Nutella
calzone (which I caught the waiter later taking a bite out of but could hardly blame
him!) It seemed imperative we then dance off our indulgence so rolled out the
door and into a club across the square.
On our final morning, we woke up to torrential rain but had fortunately already made a brunch booking at Alabama Social and the raving reviews were enough to tempt us out onto the streets of Norrebro. After eating our way through six courses of deliciousness, we were very happy with our decision.
Copenhagen is a foodie's heaven and there's loads of fun to be had for anyone with an appreciation for Scandinavian city life. Above all, the locals we met were so incredibly polite and welcoming that they made us want to come back and befriend each and every one of them. For only sixty quid a time, we may well do just that!