Copenhagen: A city of supreme Scandinavian charm
- Cameron Woodhead
- Aug 23
- 6 min read
Day one.
For two people who love Scandinavian design and speciality coffee as much as we do, it was almost a crime that we had yet to visit the Danish capital until this year. We ran through several options before booking the trip, but ultimately decided that this was to be the moment we made our pilgrimage.
Flying from Stansted may not have been the easiest of options, but it did enable a good deal on the timing and price of the flights that allowed us to get five jam-packed days of Copenhagen sunshine.
On arrival at the airport, it was immediately noticeable the level that the Danes seem to have their sh*t together. It was pristine clean, organised, transport to the city was plentiful and it was a stark contrast to the UK leg of the journey.
We got down to the train platform having narrowly missed a service, however, another would be along in just three or four minutes - see what I mean about having it together?
Boarding the train, it was, predictably, luxury compared to UK trains; modern, clean (again), spacious, very comfortable seats, almost space-age when thinking of the Cross-Country or Avanti equivalent.
It took under fifteen minutes to reach the city centre, at which point we had a non-committal stroll towards the iconic Strøget, Copenhagen's main shopping street, in the hope of finding some food and coffee.
After marvelling at the traditional buildings on Nybrogade, we went to Original Coffee's Vandkunsten café, where we had a light bite and a daily filter coffee. This is where we first encountered the phenomenon of the Danish love for filter coffee, where seemingly every coffee shop offers a rotating freshly brewed batch coffee as their 'americano' option.
Original Coffee seems to serve as a staple of Copenhagen life. They have 21 locations (according to their website at time of writing) with a mix of stores and kiosks, a central bakery that supplies daily fresh bread and pastries and their own roastery producing speciality beans.
Despite the scale of the operation, it still felt like a local, independent and friendly business. The coffee was smooth with a depth of flavour, more akin to a traditional nutty/chocolatey espresso profile, but had a light fruity finish and a silkier mouthfeel than an espresso would.
With this, we had a seeded walnut roll with a local crunchy Danish cheese called Gammel Knas. As if to live up to stereotype, it also came with a generous dollop of creamy Danish butter that I now accept as a minimum requirement with every bit of bread I eat. The roll was beautifully soft and full of nutty flavours to complement the coffee, whilst the cheese had a salty tang that cut through perfectly.
Throughout the whole trip, it struck us how there were a couple of these coffee brands - which will appear in subsequent posts - that seemed to dominate the streets, although dominate in a positive sense. There was a noticeable lack of the big chains (you know the ones) and the locals flocked to these family-run, locally producing coffee shops. UK cities could take note of how a well-run brand can supply a large market with fresh and local products, but without the need for a duopoly of capitalist greed.
Moving on from a mild political rant, after filling our bellies we made our way to Højbro Plads which would become a focal point for the first couple of days. First up was Aarhus-based Rains, who had just launched their new 'Home Away' collection of sleek bowls, plates, cups, cutlery, flasks and lunchboxes.
Perusing the entire store with our own Rains backpacks on, we felt very at home, but resisted adding to our collection of Rains products and instead moved next door to Illums Bolighus.
This was five floors of pure Scandi-design heaven, with all of the big name brands featured. Every area was drawing us in with its array of voguish designs of contemporary homewares, from a simple Hay crate to a luxurious Normann Copenhagen sofa. Whilst we didn't buy anything again (not sure a wishbone chair would have fit in our luggage), it was certainly inspiring us and filling our minds with an exultation that lifted us in our sleepy state.
Our next stop wasn’t necessarily somewhere new, but the Birmingham store of Arket had recently closed, so it was nice to experience the clean lines, bright colours and simple silhouettes of the clothing once more.
In need of some more food, we walked back down the street to the original Illum department store, which houses a rooftop terrace with a selection of restaurants. Although it was slightly unrealistic to be able to make our first purchase here, it was good to simply allow our minds to wander and imagine what the clothing would be like to own in the future, opening the wardrobe and seeing them all hanging there in the full Danish glory.
On the top floor, following a browse in another store that had just left Birmingham in Muji, we surveyed the food options and settled on Poke & Sons. Not wanting anything too heavy, we both opted for a signature Poke bowl, me with pulled pork and Tommy with salmon. Both were fresh and packed with colourful goodness, but exactly the light yet filling meal we were looking for, which was probably just as well, given that our bodies were now hastily demanding some sleep.
Taking the metro out to our AirBnB (more on that at some point), it was hard work not to nod off given we'd essentially been awake nearly 33 hours at this point. Once off, we climbed back up to street level to be greeted with a building site, so early signs were not promising...
However, a couple of minutes' walk round the corner revealed a newly built 'urban village' surrounded by enchanting canals, stylish apartments, restaurants, supermarkets and everything you could ever need for daily life. It really made a mockery of new UK housing estates and offered a glimpse into what city life should be like - a vibrant community with amenities built in to the planning.
The apartment itself was fantastically European in its design. There was a lush green courtyard wrapped inside the building that we could see from the bedroom window, with the living room being bright and spacious with an open-plan layout. It also featured floor to ceiling windows on the opposite side, as well as a door that opened fully onto a small balcony that overlooked the canals. It was pure urban bliss. It took a matter of minutes before I was googling 'apartments in Sluseholmen' with a view to moving there.
Our host, Carolina, warmly welcomed us and offered us a rare Danish beer that can only be bought from one of the smaller neighbouring islands. Even though it was refreshing and malty, the tiredness took over and I could not prevent myself having a brief nap (or rather a series of small naps).
Rather than expending extra energy, it made sense to have our evening meal nearby in the Sluseholmen district itself. Ambling down the streets, it was a soothing experience seeing the gently lapping water as residents lounged on the wharfs or bathed in the evening sunshine on their ample balconies. If only we could have something like this in Birmingham...
It wasn't a long walk to our chosen destination, a small sushi restaurant by the name of Oishi. To drink, it had to be my favourite ramune soda (if you've not had one, HIGHLY recommend) and to go with this we had a typical sushi selection of nigiri, uramaki and futomaki, as well as some prawn gyoza.
The meal was another delectably fresh and nourishing selection, just what was needed for a warm summer's evening. Both of the staff members working were amazingly friendly and cheerful and it was hard not to be infected by their enthusiasm. This showed in the preparation of the food and it was a delicious end to the first day.
Following this, we popped to a supermarket that was a bit of a 90s/00s throwback in UK terms. The local Netto was nothing like its British cousin (and unrelated as an entity), it was filled with some fantastic looking produce and all at reasonable prices for a city with an expensive reputation.
Now, you may be thinking, why am I telling you about a supermarket; it was where we picked up some supplies for a suitably Danish breakfast that will be detailed at the start of day two.
For now though, our first day was over and it had barely scratched the surface of what this wonderful city had to offer. It was time to rest up from a long day of travel and walking Copenhagen's cobbled streets, recharging for another day of Scandinavian chic.
Comments