8 things to do in both Copenhagen and Stockholm

I am chagrined by how far off our trip already feels. While it has been nice to be home, as in our house, it's hard to be back in the horrific, embarrassing, cruel dysfunction that is the US right now. Honestly, I've been trying to avoid the news as much as possible and am instead throwing myself into work (I just love my clients, y'all!) and home improvements. Hear me roar, people. I have been a renovating maniac in the kids' rooms and bathroom.

In any case, a number of folks have asked my thoughts on things to do in Copenhagen and/or Stockholm, so without further ado and in no particular order of love...

Copenhagen

• Eat one or more great meals. There is a LOT of truly excellent food in Copenhagen, so treat yourself by taking advantage of a culinary mecca. I have no doubt NOMA is marvelous so if you can get a reservation (I never could and not for lack of effort), go. If not, Amass was really special (see my review here). And so was Reffen which is the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of price and formality but is as delightful and good. While the former two are reservations and sit down and impeccable service and rounds of dishes, Reffen is an RV park of food trucks and happy people. We loved it so much we went twice. You can see some of my photos and read a bit more here. If you're near the University and want a really good lunch, try Paludan Bogcafe (books and food). (We were underwhelmed by the food at Aamonns 1921.)
• In addition to eating well, drink well! I was totally jazzed by Danish beers. Not Carslberg, although sure, it has its place, but the local breweries putting out exceptionally good brews. My favorites are the IPAs. Try those from Jacobsen and Nørrebro (the Bombay). 
• Skip the cabs! Walk, ride bikes, use the terrific public transportation system. Not only will you get exercise and see the city in a much more intimate way, you'll also save a lot of money as cabs in Denmark are expensive!
  Donkey Republic is a mighty rental bike presence in Copenhagen. The bikes are sturdy, have racks and elastic bands to hold bags, AND have handlebar-mounted phone holders which is great if you're using your phone for maps. We rode daily, often for miles and hours. Get the Donkey Republic app and you're good to go. 
  Equally user-friendly is the Danish DOT app which not only tells you all the bus and train schedules but allows you to easily purchase tickets whenever you need them. This is great to both avoid queues at the ticket kiosks but also because there are no kiosks on buses so what are you going to do?! (See below for what the apps look like in the app store.)

• Speaking of bikes, participating in a bike tour is a great way to get an overview of Copenhagen and learn some interesting stuff about the city at the same time. First thing the morning after we arrived, we did this three-hour small group tour and thought it was terrific. Our guide was fun, knowledgeable, and the tour helped us know what to go back to and what to not bother returning to (Den Lille Havfrue, the Little Mermaid, for example. She is lovely and I'm glad I saw her but she is tiny and mobbed and I was happy with the five minutes we spent with her in passing).
• The Free State of Christiania, aka Freetown Christiania. This 85-acre commune of roughly 850 people sits in the Christianshavn area of Copenhagen. Founded by squatters on an abandoned military base in 1971, it is a gritty, hippie place that for several decades did not pay taxes. Residents do pay taxes now but it remains a semi-autonomous town with its own flag and rules about cannabis use and sales. There are cafes, galleries, green spaces, and you can take pictures anywhere except on Pusher's Row. When you leave, a large gate reads: You are now entering the EU. This is a good article about Christiania. 

• Vor Frelsers Kirke. The spire atop this church was one of my favorite sights in all of Copenhagen. We passed it repeatedly, and every single time, I had to stop and take a photograph. You can climb to the top which is cool and also offers you gorgeous views of Copenhagen, the Øresund straight and bridge, and even to Sweden on clear days. 

• Day trip options: It's easy and quick to take a train from Copenhagen central to Malmö, Sweden, capital of the southern region of Skåne and third-largest city in Sweden; to Lund, Sweden, an ancient university town that is also home to the famed Lund Cathedral; and/or to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, a Danish town 35 km north of Copenhagen. While we did spend two full days in Malmö (click here for 7 things to do), we weren't able to make it to Lund or the Louisiana despite wonderful reviews of both.
• Amager Bakke and the nearby wind turbines. Amager is a state-of-the-art combined heat and waste-to-energy center whose design also makes it a ski slope in wintertime. As Copenhagen is flat as a pancake but full of outdoor-activity enthusiasts, this design decision is a brilliant one. And Amager is really attractive to boot. Denmark produces so little waste that it is now importing waste to burn at Amager. The link I included above provides more fascinating info about the Center. 
  Near Amager, you can get up close and personal to quite a few wind turbines. Their gentle swoosh is utterly hynotic, and it is extremely cool to watch them adjust to wind direction and speed in real time. Denmark has plans to be independent from coal, gas, and oil by 2050, and it seems well on its way to achieving that goal. 

BONUS idea for design fiends: Go to the Danish Design Museum and ogle the large collection of renowned and influential Danish chairs; watch the fascinating video on Børge Mogensen; and learn more about the Japanese influence on Danish design as well as the evolution and import of Danish design overall. 
Go to vintage markets (Port 33 Vintage is great) and home stores like Illums Bolighus and take in Danish design old and new. You never know what you'll find (see what we found here.)

Stockholm

• Eat one or more great meals. As in Copenhagen, we had some extremely sophisticated, delicious, accessible food in Stockholm. In both cities, the food was of a place, using local ingredients and prepared using, or inspired by, traditional methods, flavor combinations, and so forth. We cannot recommend more enthusiastically both Ekstedt (make a reservation well in advance) and Kagges (reservation not as crucial but why not). Wow, wow, memorable and fun. If you are hankering for non-Nordic food, try Cafe Brillo. We had a superb pizza there, complete with mozzarella di bufala. Sturehof is also supposed to be excellent. Swedish pastries are not, as far as I could tell and boy did I try, particularly good. Use the calories on beer/wine instead...
• So, once again, drink well too! The Swedish beers weren't as consistently good as the Danish ones, but there are some very good local breweries. I was super-impressed by the unique, cool, extensive wine lists in many places we ate, and by the enthusiasm for and knowledge of them by restaurant staff.
• Fotografiska. This photography museum was one of my favorite places. As y'all might know, I am passionate about photography, especially, but not limited to, portraiture, fashion, and nature photography. As it turned out, the two main exhibits at Fotografiska were shows by Cathleen Naundorf, a Parisian fashion photographer, as well as the founders of SeaLegacy, Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. The first was fun and beautiful, and the second was one of the most powerful exhibits I've ever seen. I was reduced to a quietly sobbing mess quaking in Tom's arms. That is what the best photography can do- move a viewer to an emotional depth that is unexpected or tucked away. I will never forget the SeaLegacy show nor will I ever understand why more (all?) people don't work ceaselessly to save our environment and natural world.
• The Nobel Museum. This museum is relatively small and unassuming but full of great and interesting information. I highly (!) recommend taking the free tours offered regularly. Each lasts 30-40 minutes if memory serves. On ours, we learned a lot about Alfred Nobel, his will, the reason behind splitting the Peace and other Nobel awards, the rationale behind which institutes are assigned to choose which winners, and so on. One of my favorite parts was the Literary Rebellion visitor participation activity: any visitor with something (hopefully intelligent and rooted in having actually read the book) to say about any of the Nobel Literature prize winners books that are on display can write a note and place it in the book. Notes looked like so many red feathers, sticking up from the many gems studding the room.

• Walk, bike, and boat! Yes, once again I urge you to skip the cabs (less expensive than in Denmark but still not cheap) and walk, bike, and boat through Stockholm. Much of it is beautiful, with treasures to the eye everywhere. As well, Stockholm is spread across an archipelago. Many of the central islands are connected via bridge but some require ferry to reach. 
  Unfortunately, Donkey Republic has not yet been welcome in Stockholm. So, you'll have to settle for the City Bikes which are fairly dinky and have nowhere to put bags or phones. To access the bikes, you have to bring your passports and money to a participating 7-Eleven store (I'm serious; 7-Elevens in Scandinavia are NOT what they are in the US. You can get bikes, train tickets, quinoa and paleo meals...it's both weird and nice.), fill out the applications, get your card, and then you can go access the bikes. Get the app so you can find stations to drop off and pick up from. Also, keep in mind that Stockholm has steep hills so prepare to use your bike gears and stand up to pedal when duty calls. 
• Speaking of boating, take a day- or overnight trip to one or more places in the Stockholm archipelago. If we'd planned ahead, we'd have booked a night at a hotel on Gotland and taken the ferry over one day and back the next (it's a 6+ hour ride; or we'd have investigated cheap flights into Visby). Since we didn't, we went to Grinda, another island suggested by a Swedish friend. Grinda was lovely- we spent 90 minutes kayaking around it, a half hour hiking around, and then had an overpriced but lovely lunch at the (one of two) restaurant there.
  The Waxholmsbolaget ferry is inexpensive and provides a calm, beautiful way to wind through the archipelago. You need no advance tickets. Just pick it up on Södra Blasieholmshamnen or Strandvägen, both of which are centrally located. If you head out onto the water, wear sunscreen!

• The Vasa Museum. This maritime museum's main event is the resurrected and restored Vasa, a 17th-century warship that sank not an hour into its maiden voyage. It lay submerged for more than 300 years before it was lifted in 1961. The ship is magnificent, and the salvage techniques are fascinating. Plus, this museum is literally the only place in all of Sweden at which we found air conditioning- it's to keep the boat in good condition, but during hot Swedish summers, it also keeps people in good condition!
• Should you want additional day trips, places we wanted to go but didn't make are: Uppsala, a university town (the university was founded in the 15th century for the love) and fourth-largest city in Sweden (and home of fictional St. Stefans, the psychiatric hospital in which Lisbeth Salander was held prisoner for two years). Uppsala is about an hour's train ride from Stockholm; and Artipelag, a cultural "destination" with art, photography, design, and dining that's about a two-hour boat ride from Stockholm. 

BONUS idea for fellow Girl With a Dragon Tattoo nerds: go to Södermalm and find Fiskargatan 9 (the fancy apartment Lisbeth buys) as well as the locations/facades where the Millenium offices and Mikael Blomkvist's apartment were filmed. Fun. ;)

Amass and Ekstedt: reviews of two more great restaurants

Our first eagerly anticipated dinner was at Amass in Copenhagen’s Refshaleøen area which seems to a gentrifying industrial park (where Reffen is, too). I love that kind of locale. Because cabs are very expensive in Copenhagen and because T and I like pretending we're locals, we took the metro and then a bus (the 9A, which would become a regular for us) and then walked the short remaining distance to the restaurant complex. This would be nothing remotely interesting except that I had on a mini skirt and 4" stilettos, a) because I didn't know what Copenhagen expected re: dress code in nice restaurants, and b) why not? I love to dress up? It was a date. Etc.

It should be noted that while I wore that mini skirt again later on our trip, I did not wear those infernal yet truly magnificent heels. #cobblestones #4" #publictransportation  In any case, Amass had this genius and lady-centric stairwell, so I was in good stead there (LOL. Puns.) 

Seriously. Why is this not de rigueur? 

As we would experience so many times on this trip, the service at Amass was a perfect blend of friendly, knowledgable, and uber-skilled. The servers worked as a team; you never knew who would bring you what, but each knew exactly where you were and what you wanted, and it was just a touch of magic. The nightly menu is a fixed one of various size: we chose the largest in terms of course number and never once regretted it. 

view from our table

We started with a pappadum-like crisp made from potato skins and dusted with green garlic and fennel powder, served with a potato-skin dip drizzled with fennel oil. 

Then a fennel broth with mustard green oil and flowers, an insanely fabulous bread made from fermented potatoes, yogurt, and flour alongside kale-two-ways dip. I must have this bread in my life again. And, as another aside, that gorgeous vessel in which the dip was served? Yes, it's made by a Danish father and son ceramics team, Aage and Kasper Würtz, and you can bet I attempted to buy one (per my tendency to buy beloved items from restaurants). Not possible BUT the pottery was sold at Illums Bolighus, and I pilgrimaged to the: Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Arlanda airport locations. Only to be denied. I did purchase two plates and a bowl -gorgeous- but I really wanted this extreme-wall bowl. Alas. 

Then onto a fava bean and cherry with lemon miso salad, and then a tiny 'burrito' of cured mackerel with cured egg yolk and horseradish wrapped in a Swiss chard leaf. The latter was a standout item. 

On to what was absolutely one of my favorite-ever dishes, roasted beets with black and red currants and beet reduction vinaigrette. Y'all, I cannot even describe the marriage of earthy, sweet, tangy, and smoky in this treat. Lawd!

Then, a rare cut of beef aged approximately 978 years with flowers and more (honestly, by this point I was just going with it) and then a s'more and then, a top-three highlight, malted barley cream with rhubarb sorbet and gratinee of herbs. I really do not know what to say about the malted barley cream except that I wish it were a mandated daily staple in my life. That is written/said with zero exaggeration. 

It was the best meal we had in Copenhagen and certainly one of the most memorable of our lives. If you are in Denmark's capital area, do make a point to eat at Amass. You do not need stilettos. Just bring an empty stomach!

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Ekstedt, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Stockholm’s Östermalm district, was one of the very best meals Tom and I have ever enjoyed. Opened by chef Niklas Ekstedt in late 2011, the eponymous eatery manages to offer exceptionally creative dishes crafted from the best quality local ingredients while remaining warm, friendly, and utterly without pretension. We looked nice but didn’t have to dress in an overly formal way, which we often feel makes a dining experience even better.

Ekstedt offers a fixed menu each night --five courses with the option to add on two additional dishes. You are welcome to add a wine pairing or order drinks a la carte, and the restaurant lets you know in advance that you should plan to spend roughly 3 hours enjoying the meal. You are also, in advance, welcome to note any allergies or dietary restrictions you have so that they can accommodate your needs. I don’t eat offal or baby animals, for example, and they had beautiful and equally delicious replacements for, say, the smoked reindeer heart that was chopped into the “Nordic taco” Tom started with. I had some gorgeous forest mushrooms.

The service was the smoothest choreography of professionalism, deep knowledge of the menu, and sincere enthusiasm for taking diners through the culinary tour: the kitchen and wait staff are having fun, and it shows. The lighting is dim enough to be relaxing but not to hide the food or strain middle age eyes, and the music is a compilation of old hits. If I had to succinctly describe the décor, I’d call it rural Nordic industrial.

Following our taco amuse bouche, we had a beautiful concert of dishes including two Norman oysters, smoked, with butter, apple, and nasturtium nestled in a pile of seaweed; endive, mussels, sunchoke (was it smoked?), juniper-smoked pike perch, and an ethereal foam of some sort; 
hay-fired mushrooms with sweetbreads (I got something other than sweetbreads!); and a rhubarb sorbet with strawberry something and a sublime nut butter and toasted nuts.

It was a truly spectacular, inspiring, memorable meal and was worth every penny. If you’re heading to Stockholm and want to treat yourself to something special, make an advance reservation and go to Ekstedt!

København

We arrived in Copenhagen early on the morning of the 5th and have been going full steam ahead since. The weather has been spectacular, a wonderful reprieve from the steaming pea soup we left behind in DC. 

For most of the first day we walked around getting our bearings and enjoying the Danish Design Museum. We are staying in the Latin Quarter, across the street from the University of Copenhagen. Founded in 1479, it is one of the oldest in Europe, and the main building is quite beautiful. 

the University of Copenhagen

The Design Museum was undergoing some (seemingly needed) renovation but we very much enjoyed the 20th century and Danish Design Classics exhibits. There was a fascinating film on Børge Mogensen, the famed Danish furniture maker, and an eye-popping collection of all the Danish chairs that inspired mid-century design and (many of which) remain beloved and revered. One of the coolest things I learned was the great degree to which Danish artists and designers were influenced by Japanese art, especially the way nature was expressed and honored through it. 

On a wall outside the Danish Design Museum: what remains after some of the ivy was stripped from the wall. I just love this.

Dinner on day 1 was at Aamann's 1921, a warm, stylish place whose chef, Adam Aamann, has updated the humble smørrebrød, an open-faced rye-bread sandwich traditionally loaded with mayo and meat, to a refined dish with more vegetables and herbs. Now known as the King of Smørrebrød, Aamann also makes the soaps for the restaurant bathrooms, and seemingly everything in between.

Our meal was a beautiful one but not terribly memorable; most dishes, including both our smørrebrøds (see the salmon one below), needed salt. But the service was impeccable, the ambiance inviting, and two of our choices, the BBQ ribs of free-range port, new onions, and rocket sauce, and the potato compote with pine shoots, gooseberries, onion, and bacon, were marvelous. 

Yesterday we started with a three-hour bike tour around Copenhagen which was really helpful in knocking out a number of sights in a single, educational way, and it was fun. Like Amsterdam, Copenhagen is a major biking city. The Little Mermaid? Check. Amalienborg, home of the Danish royals? Check. Churches and harbors? Yep. Plus the Free State of Christiania,  excellent history and exercise. 

^The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue) and the view of Frederiks Kirke from Amalienborg.^ 

^clockwise from top left: Nyhavn (New Harbor); the amazingly cool spire atop Vor Frelsers Kirke; my first snegle; a croissant (Denmark is known for its pastries).^

^the Free State of Christiania, a commune with delineated borders inside of Copenhagen. Though residents (~800) were once excused from paying taxes, they now do. Though you are really not allowed to sell marijuana in Copenhagen, the police seem to have given up enforcing the rules within Christiania. The only thing banned on Pushers' Row is taking photographs. It's a neat place although sadly, the original hippie ideals are giving way to drug-based crime and a rather impoverished life within (according to our guide).^

Last night was dinner at Amass. But "dinner" does the experience an injustice, so I'll write about Amass in a separate post. Go there if you can!

And today was a ridiculously fun day that proved over and over again that travel is the greatest education and opportunity for truly memorable experiences, that spontaneity, flexibility, and following your nose often result in magic, and that following your passions (specifically today: design and food) is always a win.

It involved a return trip to Refshaleøen, an island in Copenhagen's harbor (and where Amass is located), to spend the day eating and drinking through Reffen, an outdoor Copenhagen street food market built from repurposed shipping containers. There are food trucks, all manner of juice and alcoholic beverage, some art and idea labs, and a delightful vintage market. Due to a major finding at said vintage market, the day also involved renting bikes to head back into Christianshavn, the nearest neighborhood with an ATM, then biking back to Refshaleøen and getting a bit distracted by the Sweden-England game which required another beer and lots of cheering, then going to the market only to find it closed but determinedly banging on the door until the delightful Danish proprietor let us in with a gentle smile and an "I'd given up on you." I then explained the bike rentals and rides to and from Christianshavn, but not the half-drunk beer in my hand (sorry Sverige), to which he replied, "Oh, that is far. Well, let's pack it up."

watching the game in Reffen

The rest of that story, which includes a delightful encounter on the metro afterwards, will be detailed tomorrow. But for now, some final photos from Reffen which was utterly delicious and fun in every way.

That pulled pork sandwich was one of the single best things I have ever eaten anywhere. Also, three cheers for Jacobsen IPA and also Nørrebro's Bombay IPA.