If you hadn’t gathered from my first blog post, I liked Copenhagen rather a lot. It’s a city of cosy, tasty, friendly, and pretty things so what’s not to love, really? Turned out I enjoyed our second day even more than our first, so if you’re fancing an autumnal getaway any time soon, read on.
A morning stroll near our hotel
I’m not sure what the exact area around our hotel was called, but it was in the Old Town next door to Tivoli, if that helps. Good travel blogger, Lily! The Tivoli themepark itself was closed when we visited though, so no rollercoasters on this trip. I’m sure you’ll agree that these streets were so very darling anyway – this particular spot was on Magstræde in the Old Town and the coloured buildings looked especially quaint against the blue skies.
Brunch at Torvehellerne
We continued with the food hall theme of the previous day, but headed for one in the opposite direction this time. I usually wake up ravenous but after eating (heartily) pretty late the night before a leisurely morning stroll for brunch was fine by me. Naturally we couldn’t *not* choose pastries for breakfast – when in Denmark and all that. I spotted some extortionately priced baked goods during our trip but these from Laura’s Bakery weren’t too crazy. After much deliberation I chose a ‘creme snegle’ which I’m sure you can imagine I pronounced perfectly in my Northern accent.
I overheard a couple of British people compare Torvehallerne to Mackie Mayor in Manchester and I’d say that’s a pretty accurate comparison! Busy food hall with lots of options and long queues for coffee.
Couldn’t resist a little mooch around the flower and produce stalls outside too.
Probably my only regret from this trip is not trying a traditional Danish smørrebrød; these open sandwiches looked right up my street, especially those topped with all kinds of seafood. Especially regretted it when they cropped up on the Great British Bakeoff the week after.
Botanical gardens
This spot wasn’t on our (admittedly loose) plan but when we realised we were only around the corner from the gardens at the Torvehallerne, we thought we might as well pop in. And I’m glad we did – the late morning light + crisp autumnal day + pretty gardens made for a 10/10 lovely Sunday morning stroll.
I’m a little obsessed with shooting through things, as you can probably tell. 50mm f1.8 lens, how I love thee.
Couldn’t resist dicking around with self-timer for a puddlegram shot too.
Considering the forecast was for rain I think we were pretty lucky! I’d definitely recommend early October as a perfect time for a jolly to Copenhagen.
My travel buddy in all her bundled up glory – I would point you in the direction of Ellie’s blog for her Copenhagen blog posts, but this gal has been on so many trips lately that Copenhagen posts are in a lengthy queue. Not jealous of all those trips at all of course.
Rosenberg Castle
More of a wander past than a visit to the castle, but we saw it nonetheless.
I am that friend who will shout ‘Don’t move!!!’ and make you think something awful is going to happen when in actual fact I just spotted a cool reflection in your glasses and wanted to snap it.
In typical travel blogger style I spend the weekend with my SLR around my neck, small camera in one pocket and phone in the other (need to streamline this situation, I know) and alternated between all 3 for photos. Sometimes my phone camera just captures a scene best – the above shot was taken on my Huawei P20 Pro and I think it did a damn good job of making everything pin sharp.
The Round Tower
This spot came up on every ‘must visit’ list and a couple of people recommended it so we thought we probably should stop by. Always nice to see a city from above – helps with getting your bearings too y’know. Unlike most towers (or any I’ve climbed, anyway), Copenhagen’s has a sloping spiral walkway in lieu of stairs. Easier on the leg muscles, more confusing not knowing how far you’ve climbed. I saw one person carrying a pizza box to the top – that’s one way to do your lunchtime picnic. We did pay admission for this one (by that I don’t mean we avoided admission elsewhere, just that we mainly kept to free attractions) but the small fee was worth it for the view.Â
If you look closely you’ll just about spot the Øresund Bridge over to Malmo, Sweden in the distance – t’was quite a view from all the way up there. This trip gave me a wee taste of Scandinavia and now I want to go back for more – Sweden next to be ticked off the list, maybe?
Marble Church / Frederick’s Church
Is that not the most Instagrammable church you ever did see. Not being religious we didn’t stop too long at the Marble Church, but it was a pretty building to see either way.
Amalienborg
Walked through en route to the other side of town and stopped for pics because the it made a perfect outfit backdrop. That’s about all I have to say on that one tbh.
Relaxing by the waterfront
Wander around London or Manchester for a day and your legs will be knackered, and your best bet for a casual sit down will be hoping for a space on a bench. Wander around Copenhagen for a day and your legs will also be knackered, but there will be deckchairs free to borrow and plenty space to sit where you wish. This kind of thing was exactly what made Copenhagen feel so chilled and relaxed, and of course the blue skies and waterside views didn’t hurt.
Getting up from those comfy chairs after resting our weary limbs was a tast, let me tell you. My leopard booties held up well and didn’t rub or hurt me at all though.
Christianshavn / Freetown Christiania
Our boat tour had passed through Christianshavn the previous day, and the area looked pretty enough to warrant a proper explore on our second afternoon.
Freetown Christiania was a weird one. We didn’t really research much about if before heading over but heard it was a creative/hipster area kind of thing, so headed over expecting it to be similar to Strijp-S that Ellie and I visited in Eindhoven earlier this year, or Telliskivi Creative City I saw in Tallinn a couple of years ago. T’was not the case! Turns out it’s a ‘commune’ with its own set of rules, hash dealing streets, and a ban on taking photos. We saw one girl be approached and firmly told off by an intimidating looking guy just for taking a quick snap with her phone. Some websites describe the area as a friendly, liberal neighbourhood but we weren’t so keen on the feel of the place so didn’t hang around long. Just my opinion! The wider area of Christianshavn seemed lovely in all its autumnal glory though. Â
Not sure which I loved more, the morning hazy light or golden hour glow – Copenhagen was a mighty photogenic city that’s for sure.
In classic city break style we then wandered back to our hotel and crashed for a couple of hours, before spending our second evening much the same way as the first: hunting down good food that wasn’t extortionately priced and having a good natter whilst sitting by a patio heater. Just with tea instead of cocktails this time. And just like that, our little spontaneous trip to Copenhagen was over!
Lily Kate x
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