Copenhagen in July
This post is overdue and bittersweet to write. It’s been a full year (!) since we spent July in Copenhagen; it was the final destination of our trip. I stayed for two weeks before leaving for Wisconsin to spend time with my mom, while Jeff stayed through the end of the month. We packed in all the best of Copenhagen’s long summer days in those first two weeks; it was a happy finale to our year of international travels together.
On July 1st, we flew from Berlin to Copenhagen for our final leg of the big trip. Jeff had been to Copenhagen a couple times before and was already a big fan of the city. He was eager to return, and I was looking forward to visiting my first gateway Scandinavian country.
July was the optimal month to experience Copenhagen, with long, summer days spent full of exploration by bicycle. Sunrise at 4:30am awoke us through the large, long windows of our old apartment.
Copenhagen was clean, safe, and charming. Restaurants were superb, but we actually had to be the more restrained when it came to dining out; Denmark is expensive, and being at the end of our trip left us on the low end of our travel fund.
Although it was fun in the summertime sun, the intrigue of hygge encourages us to return in the winter months someday.
While in Copenhagen, we surpassed our 300th day on the road. Here are highlights from our visit.
Our Neighborhood
We loved Nørrebro, the neighborhood we stayed in. Our Airbnb was near Jægersborggade, the most charming little street flanked by parks on both ends and full of gems like GRØD (a little oatmeal cafe), Coffee Collective, Meyers Bageri (Danish cinnamon buns!), and the coziest Mikeller.
Nørrebro is the most ethnically-diverse area in all of Denmark, and one of the hidden highlights in this multicultural neighborhood is Superkilen Park. The designer for the park incorporated elements from other cultures, taking input from immigrants that live in the neighborhood by asking them what they miss from home; it features park facets from all over the world like an “S” chair from Mexico, octopus slide from Japan, and a Moroccan fountain. We loved the creativity in trying to help immigrants and refugees feel more welcome in their new community.
Our apartment was...good and bad. It was very spacious and very Scandanavian, with three little balconies and beautiful wood floors. It was by far the most-lived in place we stayed in; their stuff was everywhere, and there was no where to put our things. It also had the quirkiest (and in my opinion the worst) bathroom of the trip.
Here’s the shower set-up: Imagine a narrow hallway of a “wet” bath. Basically, the shower was at the front entrance of the bathroom. You shower directly on the bathroom floor, and it soaks the entire floor in a way that you can’t reach the toilet or sink afterward unless you’re willing to get your feet wet.
My favorite part of the neighborhood was our close proximity to Assistens Kirkegård. The cemetery is more like a beautiful forest-like park, and locals enjoy picnicking and sunbathing on the grassy patches. It was so fascinating to experience a cemetery from such a different perspective - instead of a solemn, deserted space, the Danes treat their cemeteries as joyful places to celebrate life. We enjoyed lounging in the park and always made it a point to bike through it on our way to & from our apartment, especially through the beautiful tree-lined road down the center of the cemetery. Fun fact: This is where famous Dane Hans Christian Andersen is buried.
Two Bikes for Every Dane
Did you know that 62% of Copenhagen residents commute by bike? There are 560,000 bicycles in the city, which means there are more bikes than people!
Jeff knew that he wanted to rent bicycles for us to cruise around on during our stay. Not only is Copenhagen incredibly bike-friendly, but it’s also pretty spread-out, making it a helpful mode of transportation in order for us to explore the city. Copenhagen prioritizes bicyclers through a network of lanes safely separated from car traffic. I felt safe and liberated while cycling the streets of Copenhagen.
After bopping around to different bicycle stores to do some comparison shopping, Jeff and I found our rental bikes for the month. Mine was the cutest older yellow bike with a basket which I affectionately named “Goldie Hans.” Jeff named his Marco, and the two of us had a lovely time cruisin’ around Copenhagen.
Smørrebrød Picnics & Jazz
As always, we love a good picnic, and summertime in Copenhagen afforded us perfect picnic opportunities.
One of our favorite picnic spots was King’s Garden, near Rosenborg Castle. When we first visited Rosenborg Castle, we discovered King’s Garden after hearing the sound of live music nearby. We had happily stumbled upon Copenhagen Jazz Festival in the corner of King’s Garden, full of older Danes relaxing in the sun listening to jazz. It was top notch people watching!
Once we learned that the jazz fest was continuing through the week, we planned a return visit to lounge with the Danes over some smooth saxophone sounds. We biked to Aamanns Deli to pick up smørrebrød for our picnic. What’s smørrebrød, you ask? It’s a Danish classic featuring a slice of rye bread topped with various goodies like herring, shrimp, eggs, etc.
At Aamanns, we tried three different kinds: Marinated herring with raspberry, salmon salad with pickles, and grilled sirloin with horseradish and fried onions. They were delicious and inspired us to create our own smørrebrød creations the rest of the month.
Later that day, we biked to Christiania (not impressed). On our way home, we got caught in the rain, which quickly became a soak-city downpour. We sought refuge in a wine bar on the other side of the canal that we had scoped out on another day called Ved Stranden 10. It was a lovely, cozy spot with great wine; we snacked on charcuterie and sipped on Beaujolais until the rain stopped.
Tivoli Gardens
One day, we biked to Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen. The park was opened in 1843 and served as inspiration for Disneyland after Walt Disney visited Tivoli in the early 1950s.
We started our morning with an iced latte and cinnamon bun from spots on our favorite street (Coffee Collective and Meyers Bageri) before cruising over to Tivoli.
Oh, Tivoli! It was SO charming! Unlike our amusement parks, which are often hot and noisy on big, barren asphalt, Tivoli is like a Neverland in the middle of the city filled with trees, lawns, and even a lake! Along with rides, games, and snack stands, the park also featured an impressive greenhouse restaurant called Gemyse, which was worth visiting regardless of the surrounding amusements.
When we arrived, we wandered around and explored the park, scouting which rides we would spend our 10 tickets on. After enjoying a beer along the charming lake, it was time for our first ride: The Mountain Coaster. It was built in 1914 and is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters still in operation! Though it looked like a kiddie ride, we sat in the very back, and I flew out of my seat every time we went down, getting airborne and slamming my butt on the seat. Our photo was amazing (we regret not buying it!).
After the roller coaster, we ate the sandwiches we had packed for lunch in the shaded grass of the Peacock Theater. We kept wandering and found ourselves watching the goofy 175th Anniversary Parade before slipping into the green oasis of Gemyse for a glass of rosé.
It was time for our second ride, and Jeff’s undisputed top choice was The Star Flyer, a swing ride that climbs 260 feet and rotates freely in the air. He had been trying to convince me all day to go on that ride, and I was refusing. Rollercoasters and thrill rides have never been my jam, so it was a hard sell. I told him it freaked me out to be up there with legs open and dangling in the air; he compared it to paragliding, which, you know, I’ve also never had an appetite to do. Eventually, I mustered up enough courage to do it. I felt the panic as we started to rise, but the incredible 360-degree views of the city distracted me. I found myself in waves of terror and happiness (is that normal?).
We’re looking forward to returning to Tivoli and bringing our own kids there someday!
Refshaleøen
One day, we checked out Refshaleøen, a historic shipyard now home to new bars and restaurants. After crossing over the canal, our first stop was La Banchina (we waved at NOMA and our way, which looked charming as fook). La Banchina was superb - a lowkey hangout spot, with people lounging on the docks, swimming, and paddle-boarding. We drank rosé and soaked in the sun, happy to be playing hooky with the Danes on a perfect summer day.
We kept exploring and biked to nearby Copenhagen Street Food Reffen, the next-best reincarnation of the Paper Island Street Food Spot Jeff had been to on past trips. The expansive outdoor street food market was composed of shipping containers laid out at an angle, creating a sense of restaurant space and nooks among the many diverse food stands. There was also a Mikkeller beer garden next door, all situated along the waterfront.
On our way home, we stumbled upon a beautiful, quiet and empty palace square (Amalienborg), where we made a few loops around the cobblestone. Then, Jeff led us to see the famous Hans Christian Andersen “Little Mermaid” statue on the water, which was a fun little surprise and throwback to my favorite childhood movie.
A GoBoat Afternoon
Surrounded by Copenhagen’s beautiful harbor and canals, we decided to rent a GoBoat one day to get on the water. We packed smørrebrød picnic goodies and our jambox, then cruised our bikes over to the GoBoat dock.
GoBoats are solar-powered (badass!) and took a bit of trial and error to figure out, but thankfully Jeff took the helm of steering while I handled music and snacks set-up on the boat table. Soon we were cruising on the canals with the other GoBoats and tour boats. It was a treat to experience Copenhagen from the water, and our rental time flew by too quickly! We wished we could have spent more time with our GoBoat.
After returning our GoBoat, we sipped the rest of our wine sitting waterside watching kayak polo at Bryggens Kajakpolo.
For dinner, we biked to Paté Paté in Kødbyen, the old meatpacking district full of industrial little buildings that have been converted into restaurants, cafes, and bars. We sat outdoors and dined on delicious Parmesan risotto, wild summer buck, and roasted zucchini.
Our post-dinner evening led us to cocktails at Lidkoeb and a nightcap at Duck and Cover.
Copenhagen Cuisine
If you can’t tell already, the Copenhagen cuisine scene was superb.
Some of our favorite meals that haven’t yet been mentioned included a pre-fixe dinner at Osteria 16, the best fried fish sandwiches at Hooked, shawarma Turkish rolls at Kebabistan, pizza at Bæst, and a final international dinner date at Mirabelle.
Although I loved the omnipresent Mikeller, we also indulged in plenty of great wine. There was a noteworthy emphasis on organic producers, and we also discovered how superb Austrian wines are!
Saying Goodbye
On our last day together, we biked to the Torvehallerne Market to pick up lunch goodies for a picnic in the nearby Botanisk Have (botanical gardens). We cheersed to all of the many amazing picnics we’ve had all over the world over the past year.
Later, we picked up beers from Crate, a little shop that sold vinyl records and bottled craft beer, then drank them at a table in the shade near the park. Jeff asked questions for us to chat about and reflect on our journey (“What was the most surprising thing about each place?”).
We did the math and determined that I was on the road for 315 days!
