denmark travel recap
Wow. Truly one of theee best (if not, THEE best) vacation we have ever been on. I can’t even express how much we loved Visiting Denmark. (If you want to peek behind the scenes, check out my “Denmark” Instagram highlight will walk you through all the moments, big and small!). When I say I got SooOOOOooo many questions about this trip, I mean it. You guys wanted ALL the deets, so I did a short but sweet little recap below! You’ll find a few links to where we stayed, what we ate, what we did :) To be frank, this trip was a bit more expensive than our normal thrifty travel habits. Going to Copenhagen was something we have saved up for a while now (we were going to go in the summer of 2020, but obviously, we had to delay it a bit!). It was a long time coming, an intentional purchase, and 100000% worth the wait.
WHERE WE STAYED IN COPENHAGEN:
Place 1: IN THE HEART OF IT ALL. Mmmm, right in the center of the action! This location was so clutch— truly close to everything and located in a really scenic part of town. The airbnb is in a tourist hot spot, but for the views, location, and canal environment, it was SO worth it. It was very cool to be in an authentic Nyhavn iconic buildings. Be warned that this is a bit of a party area so it was noisy at night, but we are both A+ sleepers so it was juuuust fine! If you are new to Copenhagen, I couldn’t recommend this spot more. Super convenient, amazing views, and walking distance to everyyyything.
Place 2: A CASTLE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. I mean, WOW. I will remember this place forever. A room at a 1621 castle… it was truly so much more beautiful than I can even describe, and we had so much access to the property. Charcuterie in the courtyard, wandering the archipelago trail (SO beautiful), renting bikes and cycling through the countryside, taking out the rowboat on the pond… it truly felt like a fairy tale. And, honestly, price was super comparable to what we were paying in Copenhagen. This place is quite remote & rural, but it almost adds to the magic of it. (The drive out is gorgeoussss). Highly, highly, hiiiighly recommend. This was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of place.
Place 3: A COZY & HYGGEE TINY HOUSE TUCKED AWAY IN THE CITY. Mmmmm, this place was AMAZING. This was in the meatpacking district of Copenhagen which we really enjoyed. This area seemed more “modern”. So many fun restaurant and spots. But despite all the hustle & bustle right there, this tiny home was truly 100% tucked away in a little outdoor area. It was absolutely darling, v v hygge, and 100% our style. This was a literal hidden gem :)
FOOD WE LOVED IN COPENHAGEN:
In general when we travel, we just swing into grocery stores and buy a few staples (yogurt & berries for breakfast, pre-made salads, charcuterie, chips, apples, wine & beer, etc) and eat simple meals on our own (saves so much money!). However, we knew Copenhagen had greeeaaat food options so we planned ahead, budgeted, and planned to eat out a bit more than we normally would on vacation-- and ZERO regrets. We ate suuuuch good food on this trip, and here is a peek. This is a list of the places we stopped into for either a drink, an app, or a whole dang meal!
Bistro Central: quick pit stop for drinks. Fun, youthful vibe! We sat outside at sipped some delicious rose & beer.
Rossopopmodoro: A rooftop restaurant! We stopped here on a whim and we were happy with it. I got gluten-free pasta and adam got a wood-fired pizza. Was it jaw-dropping good? No. But it was really, really solid!
Paleo: OMG. pleeeaaaase go here. Whole food ingredients, unique options, and DELICIOUS. We were both sooo obsessed with this place. They had locations all over the city, and we kept having to force ourselves not to go there for every meal hahahah.
Charcuterie on our own: we bought a lot of delish meat & cheese and had picnics on the canal, on a rental boat, in parks… such fun & always an affordable option :)
Brokholt restaurant: this one was in more touristy location. Not our favorite food of the trip, but a solid option! I got to get mussels & fries (one of my fav meals) so I was a happy camper. :)
Papa’s Papbar: we stopped here kind of randomly on our roadtrip just to get coffee & a quick bite, but it was SO cute. Super cozy vibes & lots of board games to play. We loved it.
The restaurant at Broholm castle: WOW. such a memorable place. We typically plan for and budget for one “fancy” meal per trip, and this was it! A fine dining, farm-to-table restaurant *in* a castle… like whoa. The food (and wine) was delicious. Absolutely an investment, but such a romantic place to go & a meal I’ll remember forever!
Jensens fisk & vin: This was a random stop on our roadtrip portion of the trip. We were biking around the countryside and found a cute little seaside town. We ended up stopping at this place for a quick drink & shrimp cocktail. Nothing out-of-this-world, but just a classic small town beach stop :) The prawns were delish!
Dinner at different food stands: mmmmm, PLEASE do this. We never would’ve found this place, but our friends in Copenhagen showed us the Reffen food market that was deeeelicious and had thee best energy. If you like casual “food truck” kind of vibes, this is for you. Drinks & different foods & super unique grab ‘n’ go options everywhere! I got loaded parmesan fries that I will dream about for the rest of my life.
Mad & Kaffe: mmmmm, delicious, and GREAT vibes. This place came highly recommended and did not disappoint. It was a bit tough for gluten-free options, but the fries I got were worth it alllllll. SO good & great energy.
Baan Thai isarn: I mean, we couldn’t NOT stop for Thai food at least once. :) This place was solid & SUPER generous portions.
Joe & The Juice: Yum yum yum yum. A Copenhagen classic-- and for good reason! Delicious juices, coffees, and healthy shakes. Also, their playlists are incredible. The vibe is *chefs kiss*
A FEW SNAPSHOTS & VIDEOS FROM OUR TRIP:
THINGS TO DO IN COPENHAGEN:
Rent a go boat and weave through the canals, buy a drink & a picnic, go swimming on the canals, walk the parks (our fav was Østre Anlæg Park), stroll past Rosenberg castle, rent bikes and explore (sooo bike friendly!), go-to Reffen (a shipping container food market with some of the best food we had!), explore the shops, wander in and out of all the amazing neighborhoods, explore Torvehallerne food market… I could go on and on! Simply, just put your walking shoes on and you will be entertained for days.
THINGS TO DO IN DANISH COUNTRYSIDE: First things first, rent a car, take a train, rent some bikes and explore outside the city! We wanted to see as much as possible & have freedom so we picked up a rental car from the airport and it was sooo easy. This country is BEAUTIFUL. And it was so easy to drive as it is nearly identical to the U.S. (drive on the right-hand side, steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car, etc.). The countryside of Fyn was absolutely beautiful with so many quaint little towns. Highly recommend. Two towns we recommend are Odense and Faaborg. A fun pitstop was Egeskov Castle— beautiful gardens, castle, and fun museums to explore! We highly recommend renting bikes in the southern part of Fyn— it was just rolling prairies, beautiful grassland, seaside towns, and rural roads…. *ahh* We biked through rural roads to a small beach town and it was stunning. Also, PLEASE check out the Archipelago Trail. This was one of the most peaceful & quiet trails I’ve ever been on. Such a fun way to see the area by foot :) If we had more time, we would’ve explored the coast more and done more nature-sight-seeing of the cliffs, sandy beaches, different parks, etc. but hey… that’s just an excuse to come back! :) Basically, just don’t underestimate all of the nature, unique landscapes, and adorable small towns Denmark has to offer. Copenhagen is amazing, but don’t be afraid to venture out, as well! You won’t regret it!
A FEW EXTRA TIDBITS:
Highly recommend getting this Copenhagen travel guide for only $8. My friend, Dani, who has lived in Copenhagen for 4 years compiled a super comprehensive & tangible guide with different cultural normals, language 101, food recommendations, neighborhoods, etc. As first-timers to Copenhagen, we found it SUPER helpful!
While Danish is (obviously) the main language, pretty much everyone speaks English. We tried to learn a few key phrases (hi,bye, thank you, etc.) but otherwise, we were able to speak English easily with pretty much everyone!
The metro was superrrr simple to use to and from airport, around the city, etc. We were very impressed by the public transport & how user-friendly it was.
The city is SO walk and bike-friendly! We walked & biked pretty much everywhere and felt super safe doing so.
Curious to know more about Denmark? Here is a short ‘n’ sweet Instagram post I did with a few fun facts!
All in all, this trip was SPECIAL. I couldn’t recommend visiting Denmark more highly. Happy Travels!