Copenhagen - Food, Food and More Food
I have never been what you would call a foodie - maybe because I dislike a lot of things that seem to be included in good food, such as mushrooms and sea food of all kinds. But, earlier this month, we went with some friends to Copenhagen who do know what they are talking about when it comes to food, so much of our trip was spent eating all kinds of weird, yet in many times surprisingly good, Scandinavian food. And luckily, it was a 3 day weekend with the bank holiday, so we had some time to fit in some sightseeing with our food.
We started off our first day in the city with a segway tour. After trying them in Budapest and St. Petersburg, we liked to think we were pros and were excited to see the city. In 2 hours, we saw everything from the Little Mermaid Statue to the Royal Residences, to the canals and harbors. Riding segways through a walking & biking city like Copenhagen always makes you a spectacle. It's so funny to see people's reactions and we had quite a few people stopping to take photos of our group as we zipped around the city.
But don't be fooled, riding segways is hard work, so after our ride, we were ready for our first true Scandinavian meal. We stopped in a little shop off the main walking (and shopping) street of Strøget to try a smørrebrød. These are open faced Danish sandwiches, with rye bread on the bottom and whatever your topping may be.
After being much replenished, we were ready to hit the road again. This time, we headed to the other side of the harbour to look a bit more closely at the Church of Our Savior which we had seen from our segways. This is a Baroque church was built in the 1680's, however the most captivating part of it, the tower, was built about 50 years later. The unique part of it is the spiral staircase that goes around the outside of the tower, almost as if you could walk to heaven. We climbed the many steep steps up to the top and started to wind our way around the top of the spiral. Unluckily for me and my fear of heights, it was very crowded and windy that day, almost feeling as if the steps were shaking beneath us. After queuing up to get to the very tip top, I decided it was close enough, I could call it a day.
As a prize for making it so far, we stopped for a dessert at a pastry shop/cafe our friends had researched and enjoyed a bit of people watching.
Next up - Christiania. This was an area the hippies took over in the 1970's and set-up almost as a separate city within Copenhagen. They have their own set of rules (although I'm not sure how much is actually followed) and act independent of the city they are surrounded by. I have to say, I was not impressed. Sad little shacks, dirt streets littered with trash, graffiti which may or may not be art and people that obviously do not have their brain functioning at full speed. A quick walk through was enough for me before we headed back towards the hotel. We detoured by the Opera House to lounge on the lawn European style before we took the ferry back across.
That night was our biggest foodie adventure yet. We went to our first Michelin star restaurant (or at least the first one I've been aware of!) - Grønbech & Churchill. The interesting thing about these restaurants is that so much of it is about presentation. I'm used to greasy, sloppy, yet more often that not delicious Tex-Mex, BBQ and other Texas favorites. This was much prettier looking, and because there were so many courses, much smaller portions with each plate. Three hours later, we came out of the restaurant stuffed and pleased with our meal.
To work off some of the food, we strolled along the canal, snapping some photos and chatting before calling it a night to rest up for our second day in Copenhagen.
We started off our first day in the city with a segway tour. After trying them in Budapest and St. Petersburg, we liked to think we were pros and were excited to see the city. In 2 hours, we saw everything from the Little Mermaid Statue to the Royal Residences, to the canals and harbors. Riding segways through a walking & biking city like Copenhagen always makes you a spectacle. It's so funny to see people's reactions and we had quite a few people stopping to take photos of our group as we zipped around the city.
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| Getting comfortable on the segways |
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| Royal Residences - there are four matching buildings around the circle. One for the Queen, two for the Princes and one for guests |
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| The Little Mermaid Statue - we were sad to learn that H.C. Andersen's version ended much more sadly than Disney's - she loses her tongue and legs, and is stuck in purgatory for 300 years, or something similarly sad |
But don't be fooled, riding segways is hard work, so after our ride, we were ready for our first true Scandinavian meal. We stopped in a little shop off the main walking (and shopping) street of Strøget to try a smørrebrød. These are open faced Danish sandwiches, with rye bread on the bottom and whatever your topping may be.
 |
| 3 "smushis" at the Royal Smush Cafe. I had a ham one, chicken salad and fake duck (aka pork). |
After being much replenished, we were ready to hit the road again. This time, we headed to the other side of the harbour to look a bit more closely at the Church of Our Savior which we had seen from our segways. This is a Baroque church was built in the 1680's, however the most captivating part of it, the tower, was built about 50 years later. The unique part of it is the spiral staircase that goes around the outside of the tower, almost as if you could walk to heaven. We climbed the many steep steps up to the top and started to wind our way around the top of the spiral. Unluckily for me and my fear of heights, it was very crowded and windy that day, almost feeling as if the steps were shaking beneath us. After queuing up to get to the very tip top, I decided it was close enough, I could call it a day.
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| At the top of the staircase is a globe with Christ on top. While he looks tiny here, he is actually 3 meters tall. |
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| Views of the city from the top of the church |
As a prize for making it so far, we stopped for a dessert at a pastry shop/cafe our friends had researched and enjoyed a bit of people watching.
Next up - Christiania. This was an area the hippies took over in the 1970's and set-up almost as a separate city within Copenhagen. They have their own set of rules (although I'm not sure how much is actually followed) and act independent of the city they are surrounded by. I have to say, I was not impressed. Sad little shacks, dirt streets littered with trash, graffiti which may or may not be art and people that obviously do not have their brain functioning at full speed. A quick walk through was enough for me before we headed back towards the hotel. We detoured by the Opera House to lounge on the lawn European style before we took the ferry back across.
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| The Opera House - people had all kinds of things to say about it when it was built, including people who were afraid the roof would be blown away?? |
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| Sunset behind the Marble Church |
That night was our biggest foodie adventure yet. We went to our first Michelin star restaurant (or at least the first one I've been aware of!) - Grønbech & Churchill. The interesting thing about these restaurants is that so much of it is about presentation. I'm used to greasy, sloppy, yet more often that not delicious Tex-Mex, BBQ and other Texas favorites. This was much prettier looking, and because there were so many courses, much smaller portions with each plate. Three hours later, we came out of the restaurant stuffed and pleased with our meal.
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| Opera House at night |
To work off some of the food, we strolled along the canal, snapping some photos and chatting before calling it a night to rest up for our second day in Copenhagen.
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