Gettin’ Hygge in Copenhagen

Hygge is a Danish word that describes a sense of coziness and comfort, wellness and contentment. It’s become a bit of a cultural phenomenon within the last decade or so with lots of books written on how to achieve the “hygge“ lifestyle (such as The Little Book of Hygge; The Danish Way to Live Well“. I achieved a little hygge of my own on a short September 2022 trip to Copenhagen with my spouse and another couple who are dear friends.

Water-biking in the city center

The genesis of the trip was an impromptu, wine-induced lunch booking at the highly rated Copenhagen restaurant Noma. Noma has long been at the top of “best“ restaurant lists and I’d been following them for years. One evening at home, luck struck and I was finally able to secure a long coveted reservation. Emboldened by a few glasses of Chardonnay, I immediately booked lunch for four without consulting anyone or knowing who we’d ask to join us. You pay for the full reservation (which is not inexpensive) in advance with no refunds so this was a bit of a gamble but, thankfully, our friends readily agreed to join us and flights and hotels were quickly booked.

The main entrance to the restaurant Noma

As I‘ve noted on prior trip planning blogs (here and here), I am pretty loyal to American Airlines and the oneworld alliance. That meant a trip booked with airlines miles on British Airways from Washington Dulles connecting in London Heathrow and on to Copenhagen‘s Kastrup International Airport. Choosing the right hotel was a more complicated affair since we were staying with others. The Marriott choices (my other go-to) were uninspiring and inconvenient so I elected to go the more boutique/local hotel route. Lots of time searching for the right location and price point led me to the 25hours Hotel in the Indre By neighborhood in central Copenhagen. As luck would have it (and proof that my sleuthing skills are top notch), the same hotel was featured in a New York Times article the following week.

The quirky 25hours Hotel

Like many flights in summer and fall 2022, we were met with flight delays from the onset. Our flight to London was delayed with just enough time to make our connection (versus the several hours we’d planned to meet our friends and hang out in the Heathrow Galleries lounge) but nonetheless we arrived in Copenhagen on time as a group. A quick taxi took us to the hotel which was absolutely charming and quirky (though the rooms could have used more clothing storage areas and hangers). As it was early In the evening, we checked in and then quickly met for a drink in the airy and open lobby bar (the Assembly Bar) before heading to dinner. Copenhagen is a very walkable city and it took about 10 minutes to arrive at the wonderful Restaurant Palaegade, the first of many outstanding meals in Copenhagen. Palægade is noted as a very busy and popular lunch venue serving the famous Danish smorrebrod open-faced sandwiches (more about those later) but a more relaxed and traditional dinner restaurant. The staff was absolutely delightful and welcoming, a trait we’d find all throughout our trip, and we were quickly seated in a cozy wooden booth in the small dining room. The menu is Danish with French influences and consists of medium-sized dishes perfect for sharing. The food blew us away and I am still dreaming of the truffle toast with Troldgaarden ham and the incredible homemade wheat bread. Not one dish was a miss!

The Assembly Bar in the 25hours Hotel

The deliciousness of Restaurant Palaegade

The next day we had a 9 am Highlights & Hidden Gems of Copenhagen city walking tour booked through With Locals, a company I like and use frequently. The three hour tour was the perfect introduction to the city and allowed us to bookmark places we’d like to visit later and see more in-depth. We started by the university and saw the Copenhagen Cathedral (Vor Frue Kirke) among several prominent government buildings. We then made our way down to the waterfront and by some of the oldest streets in the city. At Christiansborg Palace we saw the royal horses being worked and some of the gardens behind the legislative buildings. We walked back up to the main shopping area, Stroget, and stopped for patries and coffee (yes, Danishes in Denmark!) at a lovely little bakery called Buka. Continuing on to the port area of Nyhavn, with all of the charming colored houses for which Copenhagen is so well known, we were able to see the modern Opera House across the water. We continued the tour by seeing the Amalie gardens and a second royal residence, Amalienborg, where the Danish Royal Family actually live. We finished the tour with a short stop at Hans Christian Andersen’s home and a walk through the King’s Garden (Kongens Have) and a view of Rosenborg Slot, yet another royal palace and museum.

Highlights from the walking tour

For lunch we were having a modern twist on the traditional Danish sandwich, smorrebrod. Smorrebrod is a Danish open faced sandwich, topped on a very hearty rye bread and often served with herring as one of the toppings. It’s a ubiquitous lunch food for the Danes. Selma is a Michelin Bib Gourmand rated restaurant with an updated approach to these delicious specialties. The restaurant also has an extensive local craft beer and aquavit collection, both of which are the usual accompaniment to smorrebrod. We split a trio of herring based sandwiches and then tried the tomato (which was a tangy and sweet combination of pickled, dried, and fresh tomatoes) and shrimp salad versions. The tomato version was absolutely my favorite and I am determined to recreate it at home. It was our second incredible meal and we all left with a great appreciation for smorrebrod.

The smorrebrod at Selma

After lunch we carried on with our own walking tour, catching an easy Uber to see the Little Mermaid statue by the waterfront. The statue, erected in 1913, is based on the Little Mermaid fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, which was the basis for the famous Disney movie. The statue has become a symbol of Copenhagen and a big tourist attraction. Right next to the Little Mermaid is the Kastellet, a 17th century fortress with imposing rampart walls. The lovely area had a park like feel with families and children taking in the sunny day. Walking our way back into town, we passed the gorgeous St. Alexander Nevsky Russian church and the imposing “marble” Frederik’s Church. Making our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Cafe Victor for a much needed break and a cocktail, I really enjoyed their white Negroni so much I had to have two! We stumbled across this really charming bar full of beautiful people and were so glad we did. A quick turn of the Round Tower (literally next to our hotel) and then a short rest before dinner.

Our own walking tour of Copenhagen

As I mentioned in the opening of this blog, the main impetus for this trip was lunch at the esteemed Noma (scheduled for the next day). Since we were here, we added on dinner at the “Best Restaurant in the World”, Geranium, which was this evening. I’m a big fan of the “World’s 50 Best” list and have never done wrong by following it. Noma was number one in 2021 and now Geranium is number one in 2022 so, naturally, we had to experience both. Given the significance of these two, I’ll write a separate blog of our experiences there, comparing and contrasting them and letting you know which was my favorite.

The first of many beautiful dishes at Geranium

After so much walking, eating, and drinking the day before, plus a little jet lag thrown in the mix, we allowed ourselves the pleasure of a leisurely morning the next day. The hotel arranged a taxi for us to head out to Noma and I’ll write about our experience there in my next blog. The lunch was a long one, at least four hours to be sure, so afterwards we headed back to the city center for a little walk around. Our friends were leaving (already!) the next morning so they did a little shopping and my spouse and I took a short nap. Such a luxury to take a nap on a vacation! During our lunch at Selma, the server mentioned two things to us: 1) after all our “Nordic bullshit food” we should try a “gasoline burger” and 2) we should head to see her English boyfriend tending the bar at the Nimb hotel. She was most definitely right on all accounts.

Some of what we would be eating at Noma

Before heading to the Tivoli Gardens (home to both the Nimb bar and an outpost of Gasoline Grill), we stopped at the supposed oldest continually operating gay bar in the world: Centralhjornet was opened in 1917. One never knows about these claims and the bar was smoky and the bartender very rude. We stayed for a quick drink and headed out, crossing that off our list. The bar at the Nimb hotel was another matter altogether. Wow, just wow. This was probably one of our favorite bars ever and we all have been to a lot of bars in our lifetimes. The building dates from 1909 and has always been on the vanguard of style, music, and culinary arts. Now a luxury hotel, the old ballroom is where the sweeping bar resides. With cathedral ceilings, cozy fireplaces, intriguing wall murals and numerous plush seating options, it was a haven of tranquility and relaxation. The Englishman (mustachioed and tattooed) was indeed there and said that he’d been expecting us - what a welcoming greeting for folks who’d only been in the country for two days! The cocktails were classic, crisp, and strong and served in exquisite stemware. We could have stayed there forever but sadly had to force ourselves onto the next adventure.

The not-so-great oldest gay bar and the very great Nimb bar

The rest of the evening consisted of the famous ”gasoline burgers” and the amusement park. The Gasoline Grill, established as recently as 2016 in a central Copenhagen gas station, is regarded as the best burger in Denmark and maybe the world? Luckily for us they have a location within the Tivoli Gardens amusement park (just around from the Nimb). The formula is simple and so, so satisfying - a few burgers, French fries, and simple drinks, including milkshakes. It was indeed a welcome break from the high cuisine that we’d been enjoying so far and a fun experience to sit outside and watch the passersby in the amusement park. Very festive. And the food was as good as advertised - soft, plush potato buns with a just cooked, juicy burger, melted sharp cheese and the Grill’s own signature sauce. Tivoli Gardens is one of the oldest and most visited amusement parks in the world, situated on a compact lot right near the city center. It’s such a charming and nostalgic place full of a number of older rides, lakes and fountains, restaurants and shops. There‘s a large grassy area and bandstand in the middle of it and we happened on a Danish/punk/feminist band (at least as far as we could understand). The crowd was a mix of families and young people enjoying the music so we stopped for a while to get our groove on too. A few more turns of the small park and we headed back to the hotel after such a long day. Our friends were leaving in the morning so we said our goodbyes to them before laying our heads down.

Gasoline Grill (the burgers weren't pink, it was the lighting) and Tivoli Gardens

The next morning was our last full day in Copenhagen and we started it rather late again and nearby the hotel. There’s a lovely old church, Trinitatis, which dates from the 1630’s right outside of the hotel. We popped in there for a quick visit and had breakfast/lunch at one of the many famous polser (hotdog) stands around Copenhagen. This one was Dop which is an organic producer of the famous snack. We ordered two the traditional way (loaded with ketchup, mustard, remoulade, fresh and fried onions and pickles) and they were glorious.

Trinitatis, Round Tower and polser!

After such fulfillment, we walked back down to the river front to visit the National Museum of Denmark. We‘d passed this the prior day and were interested in learning more about Danish/Viking history as well the history of the city. While the layout of the building was a little disjointed and confusing, the exhibits were of very high quality and interest. The collection covered the range of Danish history and of special interest was the Dagmar Cross, an 11th century Byzantine reliquary. We also enjoyed the special exhibit, The Raid, focusing on a Viking invasion, which was an innovative combination of film and artifacts. There was a nice bookstore and gift shop as well as a cafe offering drinks and a good range of foods.

Treasures from the National Museum of Denmark

Exiting the museum we meandered our way back to the main shopping area, Stroget, for some serious Nordic shopping. We started at the Royal Copenhagen porcelain shop with its mix of traditional and contemporary designs in their classic blue and white. After that we found great success in menswear clothing at the Illum department store. This high-end emporium granted us great success with Scandinavian brands such as: J. Lindeberg, Wood Wood, and Norse Projects to name a few. Keeping with the hygge theme I picked up a few really nice sweaters. We had a very early flight the next morning so intended to tuck in early after dinner near or in the hotel. As we made our way back, we found a quaint little French wine bar called Bar’Vin very close to our hotel and decided to take a break and have a glass of wine. We sat at the bar chatting with the bartender and one glass of rosé turned to two so we decided to just have our dinner there. So glad we did because the food was again, and no surprise really, delicious. We started with a plate of their house made truffle salami, then risotto and beef tartare as appetizers followed by a shared casserole of pork, vegetables and polenta. So delicious and authentic, this truly was one of those very happy discoveries.

Shopping and Bar'Vin

As luck would have it for us (though not for our friends), their flight was delayed which forced them to spend an extra day in London. We had a very lengthy layover (think 8 hours) so we made plans to meet up and head out to Windsor. Queen Elizabeth II had just died and there were people going to the royal palaces to pay their respects and lay flowers. We wanted to do the same and Windsor is an easy distance from Heathrow and a charming town in its own right, see my prior blog post from a July 2022 visits here. We popped into a taxi from the airport (after leaving our carry-on bags at the very convenient luggage storage place in terminal 5) and picked up our friends at their hotel. The taxi had to drop us off in Eton due to the traffic restrictions in town, which was fine because it’s just across the Thames River from downtown Windsor. Though the town was busy, there were not as many people there as I had expected. We walked through the lengthy route that had been set up for visitors which took us up the Long Walk to the Castle gate there. We paused to pay our respects and admire all the flowers, signs and Paddington Bears which had been left in remembrance. Walking back through town we popped into a few shops to gather some Queen Elizabeth memorabilia and then headed back to Eton for lunch at the Côte Brasserie restaurant which overlooks the river and the Castle. We were all so glad we’d had the opportunity to meet up again and pay our respects.

A quick trip to Windsor to remember her Majesty

Unfortunately travel delays continued for us with delayed flights and switched aircraft which caused us to be crammed in the middle of an aisle of four in premium economy. It was not a great flight, and I won’t be considering premium economy again anytime soon. We eventually made it back with fond memories and full bellies from this cozy and food-obsessed capital of Denmark. It was a really wonderful trip.