Travel Diary: 48 Hours in Copenhagen

My girlfriend (more like sister from another mother) and her fiancé came to visit us this past month and we knocked off a ton of touristy things that I hadn’t experienced yet! It was so much fun. Obviously I showed them all the things in Malmö, but we also booked two nights to stay in Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is only a 30ish minute train ride from Malmö, making it an easy day trip if you don’t won’t to spend the night. It was a nice little get away for me as Ramesh had to work so he stayed back in Malmö. The weather could have been better, but we managed to squeeze in quite a bit. I loosely planned our activities using Thyme is Honey’s Copenhagen Guide. My favorite part of the guide is the interactive map! That alone is worth the purchase :)

WEDNESDAY

We arrived in CPH around noon, and checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Nobis Hotel and it was perfect. The rooms are wonderful and the location can’t be beat. It’s about a 10 minute walk from CPH Central station and was easy for us to get everywhere we wanted to go. Once we ditched our luggage, we ventured out to get lunch. We decided to hit up Warpigs Brew Pub. Awesome beer and great BBQ. From the hotel it was about a 20 minute walk. It was pretty quiet for the middle of the day, but I’ve been there in the Summer when it’s packed. It’s a really popular spot - good beer and good food. what’s not to love. We enjoyed our beers with pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, and mac and cheese.

Next stop: Rosenborg Castle. I love the park that surrounds the castle and hadn’t been in the actual castle yet, so I was excited to see what it was like inside. SIDE NOTE: If you like to visit museums, your best bet is to purchase the 1 ticket 6 Museums option. With this ticket you get access to 6 museums in CPH for 50% off. Just visiting two of the museums alone pays for the ticket. This was also worth it for us because the tickets can be used for one year, meaning I can go back and visit the ones we didn’t have a chance to hit during our stay this time. Back to Rosenborg Castle. It was built for Christian IV in the beginning of the 17th Century and it was originally a pleasure palace. Later, when it was not longer a residence in the 1700s, it became a storage place for their rarest and finest objects. The ground floor has their bedchambers, toilets and sitting rooms. The first floor houses halls and sitting rooms for specific past times, and finally the second floor, is the great hall with the thrones. The tapestries , art, and heirlooms in each of the rooms are impressive. After touring the living quarters, you can head into the basement. Here you find the weapons and treasury. In the Treasury, you can see the Crown Jewels, some of which date back to 1400.

After touring the Castle, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick change/phone charge and then I went out to meet my friend Dani for a glass of wine while Remy + Alex met up with a friend who was a foreign exchange student that lived with Alex’s family back in High School. I met Dani at Ved Stranden 10 and I highly recommend this wine bar. It was cozy and the wine selection was extensive. What I loved most is I never looked at a menu. I ordered my wine describing what I liked. Our server brought me a wonderful Pinot Noir from Austria and I’m still kicking myself for not taking a photo of the bottle so I can find it again. Since I didn’t have any other plans for the evening other than wandering around the city exploring, Dani suggested I pop into Balderdash for a cocktail. The bar is super cozy (their motto is “Keep it Hygge”) and the bartender was awesome. If you’re looking for a place for unique cocktails, this is it. Dani recommended the Mushroom Alexander and WOW! It was honestly brilliant. Kinda malty chocolatey, but not really sweet. Also, can’t say I’ve ever had a cocktail with deer heart in it. Not Kidding. I believe it’s freeze dried and shaved on top. I debated getting a second, but my phone was dying and heaven forbid I just sit there with nothing to do but maybe talk to someone. HA HA. I made my way back to the hotel and called it a night.

THURSDAY

We started the day with pastries, of course. Remy was on a mission to find an authentic danish, so we that’s what we did. We went to a chain, Lagkagehuset, and each ordered a different one. They were all delish, but my favorite pastry is still the Swedish Kanelbulle (cinnamon roll). With the weather looking very questionable, we decided to take the Canal Boat tour (It’s covered, so if raining you can still enjoy it). The tour can be picked up in two different locations - Ved Stranden and Nyhavn. We picked it up at Nyhavn, but I would recommend Ved Stranden. This is where most people get on and off, so you have a better chance at getting a good seat, especially if the weather is nice. I would also suggest you sit on the left side when getting on the boat. Most of the points of interest were off this side and since it was raining and the cover was on, we couldn’t see as well (or capture great photos). We took the Grand Tour and it takes you past Christiansborg Palace, the Little Mermaid Statue, The Opera House, Christiania, The Old Stock Exchange, and much more. Despite the rainy weather, it was a fun tour.

After the tour we popped into a small bar in Nyhavn for an Irish Coffee. All the restaurants and bars along Nyhavn are very touristy, but since we were just looking for a quick drink, we didn’t mind. And you can’t beat the people watching!

Next up, SMK (Statens Museum for Kunst) - The National Gallery of Denmark. I really enjoyed this museum as it has something for everyone. With art ranging from early Renaissance masterpieces to current contemporary art, you could cover just about any period of art history. It’s the largest art museum in Denmark and also has the largest collection of Art (260,000 pieces). The older collections are from the Danish Kings, but the museum is constantly adding new/current works of art, broadening its perspective. We spent about 2.5 hours wandering the art, and that was going at a fast pace without a guide or using the audio guide available on your phone. You could easily spend the whole day here.

We decided one museum was enough for the day, and the sun was starting to peek out, so we made our way back across the city towards the main shopping area. I wanted to get in some shopping (obviously! Its Copenhagen!) so I went on my own to see what I could find. Although I didn’t end up buying anything, I definitely made a few new favorite shops that I’ll be coming back to. Specifically Illum, Magasin du Nord, Ganni, and Moscot (I desperately need a new pair of eyeglasses, so I’ll be back soon) were top spots for me.

Remy planned dinner reservations at 8:30p and with the only hint being I should dress up some. I love a good surprise so I couldn’t wait to see where she was taking us. We had 30 minutes to kill before our reservation, so we popped into a bar to get a cocktail. You would think that would be enough time at a bar that was basically empty. Nope. We ordered (even letting our server know we were in a bit of a time crunch), and 20 minutes later we still didn’t have our drinks! Alex went up to the bar to cancel the order, but she had already made 2 of them so he asked if we could get them to go (you can take your drinks anywhere with you in CPH) and she obliged and also made the third drink. Off we went with our cocktails in hand to the restaurant down the street. A first for all of us! HA.

Dinner was at Marv & Ben. I literally screamed when I found out this was where we were going. I had heard the hype about this place and it did not disappoint.  It’s in a cute two story house and everything they make uses local ingredients. We did the tasting menu of 6 courses with wine pairings and also started the meal off with snacks and a glass of champagne. When I say this meal is one of the best I’ve had, I truly mean it. I mean I ate beef cheeks! I don’t eat beef. Seriously. I’m not a beef gal, I don’t even eat hamburgers (always veggie or chicken).And let me tell you, this course may have been my favorite of the evening. No joke. Melts in your mouth deliciousness. Even Remy was shocked I ate them :) . When in Rome…. HA! Here is the menu we had:

Scallops, sunflower seeds & courgette

Hake, corn & bisque

Salmon, potato & salsify root

Raw beef, glass cabbage & ramson

Beef, cabbage & marrow

Plums, yoghurt & lemon thyme

For the raw beef course, they subbed a vegetarian option for me (I believe it was Kohlrabi) . They are very accommodating and can make the meal vegetarian or pescatarian if needed (You can even request vegan, but need to give 48 hours notice).   Dinner was an experience and the whole meal took about 3.5 hours.

FRIDAY

I had to get back to Malmö early on Friday, but Remy and Alex stayed for the day and rented bikes from the Hotel. They were able to see quite a bit and I’m adding them to my must do next time I’m there.  They got a late start (dinner last night was no joke and trying to get going on Friday was not easy), but they made their way to Amalienborg Palace, where the Danish Royal Family reside and happened to catch the changing of the guards. Lunch was at the amazing Popl for a burger. I knew of it because it’s from the team of Noma (only THE best restaurant in the world in 2021!!!). They started Popl during the pandemic as a pop up resturant, and it’s success led them to making it a permanent place. After lunch they made their way over to Copenhill. Copenhill is an artificial ski slop built on the roof of an energy plant. You can ski down it year round and offers some of the best views of the city. Pretty cool! They also biked over to Mikkeller and stopped for a beer and then it was back to the heart of CPH where they continued to bike around the city and got to see so much more (and faster!).

We packed a lot into the two days and now I feel like I know my way around the city. It’s such an easy day trip for us and I can’t wait to keep exploring.