by Wendy

I love reading travel blogs, and there are so many talented writers out there. While I like travel stories about exotic locations and adventures, I also like stories that celebrate more accessible experiences and find joy in simple things. During trips near and far, I try to balance the sensory overload and thrill of the journey with taking time to pause and appreciate the setting. With that, I give you my quiet guide to Copenhagen, Denmark.

My husband and I were supposed to go to Sweden first, but that leg of the trip was cancelled last minute (too long a story to go into now). We had to hustle to reschedule, rebook, then deal with a long flight delay, a missed connection in Iceland – so we arrived in Copenhagen relieved, kind of tired, and excited to be in Scandinavia for the first time.

The first full day we were there, we took a lovely boat tour, walked around Nyhavn and many picturesque streets, talked to friendly Danes, visited The Little Mermaid statue, and had one of the most perfect happy hours ever. I think the restaurant was called Toldboden Harbour (my notes said Toldeciden but there seems to be no such place on the internet), and it is not far from The Little Mermaid. There is a basic, beautiful outdoor seating area with wooden benches and tables and views of the sea. Jack and I sat with cold refreshing beers in the light warm sun, recapping the day and laughing about how much effort it took to get to this city. We were delighted to be there, and have a tranquil moment to enjoy that relaxed, perfect contentedness.

It was one of those times when you manage to slow the rush of new sights and sounds, take a deep breath and just feel grateful. Those times stick in my mind. I remember a similar setting with my sister April when we were college age travelers in London – the first city of a busy multi-leg European trip. We were a little overwhelmed, but we got out there and saw the landmarks, museums, went to Wimbledon, walked around cool neighborhoods, tracked down a cheap and delicious Indian buffet recommended by our guidebook, learned how to navigate the Underground. But I always come back to this one specific memory of us taking shelter from the chilly rain in an alcove outside of Westminster Abbey, sitting on a bench, talking, drinking hot coffee and watching the city go by.

This post may have put some of you to sleep. Or you might be thinking, Thanks Wendy. This quiet guide is quite lame. Did you really fly all that way for happy hour? I can have a sit down with a beer on my porch. The Little Mermaid is your travel recommendation for Copenhagen? Well, duh. Oh, and a bar you don’t quite remember the name of. Not helpful.

But wait! I do have a few recommendations. During our stay, we checked out the National Museum of Denmark (extensive exhibits on Vikings and Danish history), Christiania (the famous hippie commune that considers its land to be separate from the EU), and the Museum of Copenhagen (more than what you’d expect – when we were there, exhibit topics ranged from the history of city residents to the philosopher Kierkegaard to Legos). We tried the traditional open faced sandwiches as well as late night kabobs. And yes, we had plenty of occasions to sip a drink and relax, without feeling guilty that we weren’t doing chores, or working, or working out – because we were on vacation in beautiful Copenhagen. Sorry, I digress about happy hours again, and I have two more actual items for the guide…

Hotel Sct. Thomas – Let’s get this out of the way – the room is small and the bathroom smaller. There was no ledge to separate the shower from the bathroom floor, just a drain in one corner and curtain. I didn’t love this. But Copenhagen can be expensive, and this hotel was in our price range. I would stay here again if we got a good rate and it wasn’t the middle of summer (the room was a little warm when we visited in spring, we had to open the window, not sure if there is any other air conditioning. Some street noise – not busy city noise, more like a few friends talking before riding away on their bicycles). The good points were: 1) our room included a delicious complimentary breakfast 2) the breakfast was really delicious 3) hotel was clean with comfortable beds 4) great neighborhood. Accessible for getting around, and seemed to be more residential. Surrounded by trendy bars, stores and restaurants. Including…

A great Copenhagen restaurant

Madklubben -We were having a drink in a different part of the city, and were pleased when the waiter recommended a cool restaurant that happened to be in our hotel’s neighborhood! It was fun to go to the local hipster spot, the rye whisky drinks and local ingredient emphasis reminded us of the trends at home. But there were plenty of surprising elements. A dish consisting of stalks of leeks – and that’s it. The incredible homemade dark bread, dense and almost malty. The amazing flavorful radishes – yes, radishes! The smooth rhubarb mousse desert. Like most people we talked with in Copenhagen, the waiter was friendly and spoke English with ease.

Maybe showering in a small corner of a bathroom, dining on leeks and tales of my happiest happy hours won’t get me into the hall of fame of adventurous explorers…but at least you have further evidence that various travel styles are welcome here on Looks and Leaps!