I wasn’t an expert in Denmark but mostly a fan of Danish design interior brands. I had heard of Copenhagen before and when the chance arose for Design matters, a popular design conference, I had to visit and make my way to Scandinavia, a subregion in Northern Europe.

Day 1 – Saturday, September 24, 2022

It was a 9-hour flight to Helsinki, but luckily was flying business class with a lay-down seat. It was wonderful and I was spoiled! 

On my stopover, I was admiring the Helsinki airport and its gorgeous Scandinavian design. Even their bathroom was styled and designed like mine.

After landing in Copenhagen, I checked into my chic but affordable hotel, The Huxley, and picked up a quick dinner nearby before finally getting some rest to combat the jet lag. 

Day 2 – Sunday, September 25, 2022

I headed to a little bakery called Buka and had a pistachio croissant and coffee. It was delicious and hit the spot. 

I went to Tivoli Gardens to spend most of my day there. It was nice to people-watch, wander around and just enjoy this charming old amusement park.

For lunch, I decided to try Gemyse, a vegetarian restaurant with 1 Michelin star. It was a very good lunch but the decor was what won me over. It was a beautiful greenhouse garden with Scandinavian touches.

After more wandering the park, I had a cake and coffee break at Cakehagen. It was pretty good as well and I even saw some band marching around.  

After the park, I decided to walk along Strogen Street, the most popular shopping pedestrian street, and headed to Gasoline Grill to try their famous burgers. It was a good burger but I think Shake Shack still wins me over more. Their fries weren’t anything special either. 

Day 3 – Monday, September 26, 2022

I met up with Sarah and Thorvald today and we started with pastries at the oldest bakery in town, Skt. Peders Bageri. I had a cinnamon danish. It was good but nothing too memorable or special. Next, we saw the changing of the guards march toward the royal palace and also saw the Queen’s Jewels in Amalienborg Palace Museum. 

We had lunch at Restaurant Palægade, which Thorvald’s mom, a local recommended. It was a traditional smørrebrød lunch and my fried plaice fish was crispy, and salty with perfect flavor. 

We wander a little into Christiania, a self-governing society that feels like a hippie-run area. A little sketchy due to illegal Marijuana, no photography rules, graffiti, and some unique characters wandering about.

From that, we had dinner at Kanalene, where the fish head stood out the most It was good but nothing too special. 

Day 4 – Tuesday, September 27, 2022

We started the morning at The Yellow Coffee Bar and I tried a classic danish breakfast. It was an assorted platter of breakfast foods like eggs, sausage, and pancakes. 

We headed to the Design Museum next but I was a little underwhelmed with their exhibits and gift shop. I think this might have been due to parts of the museum being under renovation. I was definitely expecting to see more modern danish design.

We had another smørrebrød lunch at Toldbod Bodega but this time, you assemble it yourself. It was different but tasty nonetheless. Thorvald said this place feels homier like granny’s kitchen compared to yesterday’s classy spot.

We wandered to Kastellet, a star-shaped military fortress, and then see the famous “The little mermaid” sculpture. 

I ended the evening visiting the Trovehallerne Market and grabbed some great tacos at Hija de Sanchez. 

Day 5 – Wednesday, September 28, 2022

On the way to the design conference, we came across Reffen, this shipping container food area that was incredibly cool! Too bad they were closed for the season, otherwise this looks like a great place to grab food. 

The main driver for visiting Copenhagen was to attend Design Matters, a design conference. We checked in, got our badges, and attended the first day of the talks and workshops. It was nice to experience this again since it’s been at least 3 years since the last one. It felt energizing and reminded me of my passion for design again. 

For dinner, Sarah and I ate at Paté Paté. The steak dish was deliciously made, not too raw yet still soft and full of beefy flavors. It hit just the right spot. 

Day 6 – Thursday, September 29, 2022

It was the second day at Design Matters. There were some great and diverse talks here. I enjoy the talk about finding happiness in what you do and the sketches that came along with it.

I noticed a flagship store for one of my favorite Scandinavian home brands, Ferm Living. With dinner nearby, it was the perfect time to stop by, and OMG! It was a beautiful store. From the building, the windows, flooring, everything was to my design taste. I was in love. 

After that, we headed to Barr Restaurant. Their interior design was filled with coziness and hygge and I couldn’t get over it. Little did I know, this used to be the location for a world-famous 3 Michelin-starred restaurant, Noma, and is owned by the same chef. The bread already impressed me. It was this warm toasty poppy seed sourdough paired with a light salty butter. Then the first and second course was beautiful and tasty, even if it wasn’t my favorite. The winner was the main courses that Sarah and I shared, a crispy pork chop and a grilled fish dish. They were both so good, I couldn’t compare or decide which one I liked better. The dessert was a little tart for my taste though.   

Day 7 – Friday, September 30, 2022

I took a train to Malmö, Sweden —just to knock another country off my list. It wasn’t Stockholm but just a short 40-minute train ride away. I wandered the charming old town a bit to soak in the architecture.

Then had lunch at the Malmö food hall. This food hall was small but didn’t lack in design, style, and variety. I had a bolognese pasta dish from Papi and it didn’t disappoint. 

I stumbled into a home store called Bolia and it was gorgeous. I wanted to buy everything in the store and it was almost as stunning as Ferm Living. Too bad it’s only based in Europe.

I headed back to Copenhagen shortly after and I wanted to do the canal tour. It was a bit chilly but it was nice to see the city by boat and also give my legs a rest. 

For my final dinner, I was debating what to eat and found a casual but popular spot called Baest. This spot served wood-fired pizza from an oven imported from Naples. The reviews were high and I was craving pizza. So despite it being way out of the way, I ventured out there and hoped they could sit me. After a short wait, I got a table at the bar and was enjoying one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. It was a pillow-soft sourdough crust with an almost soggy center topped with freshly in-house made mozzarella, and salty salami with a hint of sweet tomatoes. It was comparable to the pizza I had from Naples and I am still dreaming of this pizza today. 

Day 8 – Saturday, October 1, 2022

It was a gloomy morning and I debated on visiting an old town, Dragør, or the popular Glyptotek museum that was next door to my hotel. In the end, I picked the museum because it was just easier with luggage and convenient. The museum primarily featured sculptures from Rome, Egypt and Greece.

It was a nice visit before my flight to Oslo, Norway. I was especially fascinated with how they showed us the sculpture recreation with painted colors.

---

Copenhagen exceeded all my expectations, from being so design-forward, a foodie haven, and just charming all around. It was finally so nice to be able to venture out of North America again to experience a new culture and environment. I’ve missed this and forgotten the joy I feel when I travel to a new place. It almost feels like a past life.