Leaving home was hard enough when I moved to Denver. And Paris. And London. And New York. And back to London. But the hardest thing is coming home for a long visit only to leave again.This time, I was wise enough to plan something to look forward to on the other side of a teary goodbye at the airport and a long plane trip.
I left DC at dusk. I just love flying into (or, in this case, away) from the sunset. Not only is it a beautiful view from up high, I get to catch a bit of a nap.
I landed quite early in the morning in Denmark, so I took a quick nap in the aiport before venturing outside into the cold, grey day. It is light only a very few hours in Copenhagen in the dead of winter, it being so northern, so I figured I’d use the shroud of darkness as a good excuse to get a little extra shut eye. Plus, my travel companion hadn’t yet arrived on his flight from London.
Once I’d gotten a little sleep, collected my bags and bought an $8 Starbucks latte (Denmark is extremely expensive), I found my travel mate and we made our way to our accommodation. We decided to stay in a flat we found on Airbnb. It was in the trendy neighborhood of Norrebro, just a 20-minute train ride from the airport. It was raining cats and dogs when we got off the train, so we actually wouldn’t have minded staying on a bit longer, especially since we had to drag all my luggage through the streets and past the canal.
The weather wasn’t too cooperative with us the first day, so we holed up in the apartment and slept off jet lag guilt-free. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get some really good pictures of the sun breaking through the clouds, or the sunset once we emerged dewey-eyed and ready for dinner.
We took a long walk along the canal to Restaurant Radio, which had glowing reviews as a good but less expensive than usual Danish restaurant. (Don’t be fooled. It was still very expensive, but wellllll worth it.) The weather was ridiculously rainy and windy, but there were so many things about Copenhagen to be fascinated about that I didn’t really mind. First and foremost, people just leave bikes leaning against buildings unlocked. And there are SO many bikes. A healthy and relatively crime free place!? No wonder everyone loves Denmark.
Once we arrived at the restaurant, I learned that there’s even more to love. Danish food (paired with organic Spanish wine) is amazing.
Hiding from the cold, we treated ourselves to a starter of seafood, a veggie main and an amazing grain-based dessert (pictured below)- as you can tell, I quite enjoyed it!
After more sleep (can’t believe how much I slept, I’m getting old!), we woke to a sunny Saturday in Copenhagen, which can only mean one thing- touristing!
First things being first and all, we had to get more acquainted with Norrebro. We walked along the canal and wandered the streets a bit.
Note how obsessed both of us were with taking a ton of pictures.
Feeling a bit more adventurous, we crossed over the bridge toward central Copenhagen. First stop, the Rundetarn, and old astronomical observatory that now offers the best views of the city. The weather was slightly cantankerous, but we still managed to have a lot of fun on the loooong walk up and get a good view at the top.
After the Rundetarn, we walked around the streets of Copenhagen. What struck me was how clean and orderly everything is in the city. As I mentioned before, crime doesn’t seem to be very much on the minds of the populace. What does seem to be on the mind, though, is hipster fashion. SO many tight jeans and bright sneakers. Everyone also had very nice- and utilitarian- coats.
All the food looked amazing, too.
Another interesting thing is how new everything looks, especially compared to other European cities. I can’t tell if they’re just better maintained, or if there’s a lot of new building in the city- or if its a relatively new city.
We made a big circle, going by Christianborg Palace, Nyhavn and the King’s Garden.
And we got back just in time to see a stunning sunset over the canal.
All that walking worked up my appetite- so my travel companion whipped up a traditional Danish treat, mackrel and scrambled egg on rye. And, of course, some good (very strong) Danish beer.
It was a great ending to a very active day.
We had to leave very early the next morning to go back to London, but I’ll be back soon (perhaps in warmer, sunnier weather) to explore more of the city.
