59.55 Hours in Copenhagen

The 2025 most livable city in the world lived up to its title from the jump as for $4.66 I was able to buy a train ticket from the airport to Copenhagen Central Station. From the time I cleared immigration, it could have taken me 20 minutes to reach my hotel if I hadn't become hopelessly lost trying to exit the train station (take the escalator up and not the elevator down). The most efficient airport transfer I’ve ever almost taken part in.

Monday

0830

In the hotel lobby, Mrs. AAR and I met with a couple of Subscribers who had flown all the way here just to join us for a 2.48125 day travel adventure.

0901

Sonny for coffee and a nosh. Sat outside and at 16° C it was getting a little too cold so . . .

1030

A second coffee and nosh inside at Conditori La Glace. According to their modest website ”Denmark’s oldest, and probably also best patisserie.” Quaint, but uninspiring.

1230

Boarded the Hop On Hop Off Red Bus to gain an overview of Copenhagen and to:

-Take a photo of all the people taking a photo of The Little Mermaid. While photographing it dawned on me that most of them thought the statue celebrated the Disney animated musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid loosely based on the eponymous 1837 Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and not the rather dark and unsettling source material that has the Little Mermaid becoming human, but then unable to return to the sea, consuming a potion that makes her feel as if a sword is being passed through her body, with the pain of losing her tail never leaving her, constantly feeling as if she is walking on sharp knives, and her feet bleeding terribly. All of that and she becomes mute!

it's not your daughter's Little Mermaid

-Take a photo of all the people taking a photo of the all the colorful houses lining the Nyhavn canal.

-Visit the MACA Museum and a special Banksy exhibit. While I'm not a fan of graffiti, for some reason I can connect with his subversive epigrams and dark humor.

-Enjoy an alfresco Aperol Spritz O'clock at Aamans Replik overlooking the harbor and the Copenhagen Opera House.

1630

A Flæskesteg (Pork roast with home-pickled red cabbage, Danish potatoes & gravy) at Axelborg Bodega, chosen due to our hunger (very) and its location (close to the hotel), that included live music. It was a little surreal as the place had a beer hall vibe, a pianist dressed like yacht captain, and a torch singer in a yellow chiffon cocktail dress singing ABBA tunes. Memorable.

1807

The Library Bar was selected to allow the gentlemen to retire and enjoy an after-dinner drink in a refined manly environment of leather chairs and wood paneling. A clubby space where matters of national security could be discreetly discussed. The only issue was a menu so cryptic it made choosing a cocktail nearly impossible. First an Orient Express (Rum, Lemon, Five-Spice, Saffron, Honey & Milk) was selected until it was noticed that it contained milk, then The Nutcracker (Fig infused Rye Whisky, Chestnut Liqueur, Amaretto & Lemon) only to be informed that it was served warm. So in the end we went with a Flackhattan.

A sophisticated cocktail in a sophisticated space.

2043

While hearty, the Flæskesteg wore off so a run to the 7-Eleven (Rådhuspladsen) across the gade (street) for a late night club sandwich was required. One thing that travel has taught me: 7-Elevens outside the U.S. are actually a culinary option. In this case clean, with a selection of packaged and freshly made sandwiches.

Tuesday

0930

The Living Room for coffee in a cafe that appears to be located in someone's spacious and well appointed living room.

1215

The Hop On Hop Off Red Bus ticket had 30 minutes left on it, which we used to hop on over to Christiania, an anarchist commune founded on a former military base. One of its main features was the opportunity to stroll through an open air drug market, but Pusher Street is now closed due to gang violence (didn't see that coming). I think this has taken some of the edge of the place with the craziest thing now being drinking a beer brewed with hemp at Christiania Bryghus. The fact that I could pay for my Christiania Pilsner with my Capital One Venture X credit card made me realize that the neighborhood may have gentrified a little bit since the first squatter popped a squat back in '71. Then a short walk over to . . .

1600

Hey Captain for a canal tour. The three young ladies and two youngish ladies on board our rather intimate boat found our captain, Nikolai, quite handsome (Kaptajn McDreamjy) which I think really improved their experience. Despite his youth, Nick did a fine job navigating the Hønsebroløbet, but I could have used a little more local color and little less Danish tax brackets: They start at 30% and top out at 60%, enabling free health insurance and college, though not free restaurant meals and cocktails which I'm thinking locals might find even more economically beneficial. Chatting with the other passengers while drinking a beer was a very relaxing way to spend an hour or so.

1745

Walked through Kongens Nytorv ("The King's New Square") and inspected the statue at its center. In Copenhagen if you see a statue of some guy on a horse and don't know who he is, King Christian would be a very good guess (in this case Christian V).

1805

If you visit Copenhagen and do not get smørrebrød, then I'm not sure you really visited. It's a traditional open-faced sandwich topped with cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese, spreads, and garnishes.

Kaptajn McDreamjy mentioned that Aamans 1921 made the best smørrebrød which was confirmed by Travel Man. Unfortunately the hostess required a reservation for an empty restaurant and gave off a fair amount of snoot, so we pushed on to his second best smørrebrød recommendation, Restaurant Møntergade, but they didn't serve smørrebrød after 1800. At this point we were so hungry that we ate there anyway.

Many people spend hours creating a detailed culinary itinerary and then there's me: eating a meal in Copenhagen based on the second best restaurant recommendation from some kid for a cuisine the restaurant doesn't even serve. And then having the best meal I had in Copenhagen: foie gras followed by pork chop of suckling pig with its skin/fat cooked in such a way to make it super-crunchy.

Unlike Aamans 1921, the perfect amount of snoot for a fine dining experience.

Wednesday

0900

A Ø12 Plate at Ø.12, the coffee & eatery conveniently located in the lobby of the hotel. Reservations required as there's a line out the door for people who must really want to wait a half hour to eat a very good "Avocado Smash, chia pudding, bacon, scrambled eggs, chili cheese sausage, cheese cheese, salmon, whipped butter, sourdough and rye bread," for $34. Now normally I don't pay anymore than $30 for breakfast, but this is Copenhagen and initially there was a possibility it was included.¹

It did come with a refillable drip coffee which is a rarity in Copenhagen.

1151

The gentlemen decided to visit the Danish Design Museum. While we could have easily walked there, it was decided to take mass transit. Much like the New York City Subway, or the Dublin DART, talking mass transit can give one unique insight into a city's culture. In this case the Copenhagen Metro was everything I expected from the most livable city on earth. A modern, and deep subway, easily navigable and thankfully without the need to get a ridiculous transit card, as you only need a paper ticket from the rider-friendly ticket kiosk. It operates on the honor system, though once on the train I was asked to show my ticket by roving ticket inspectors (I guess they could tell I was an American).

Meanwhile the ladies used this time to visit the Karen Blixen Museum.

1205

Everyone was queuing outside this very large marble clad church, so we queued too. It was for the eponymous Marmorkirken (Marble Church). I also noticed that it must have been a protestant church as all the alcoves were empty and if it were a Catholic one, they would be filled with statues of saints. Strikingly peaceful.

1217

The Designmuseum Denmark was outstanding and provided some real insight about how Denmark has gained an outsized influence on past and future furniture design, especially chairs. There is hallway of them that is in effect the Chair Hall of Fame (CHOF).

1509

After leaving the museum we each took a chair down the gade at Marmors cafe and compared the furniture design theory of Hans Wegner vs. Kaare Klint, while comparing a Carlsberg lager vs. Tuborg Red, all while watching the world go by. A thoroughly European moment.

It was also discussed that the only thing keeping either of us from designing and building our own furniture was the lack of a suitable workshop.

1600

Met up with the ladies for smørrebrød at Hallernes Smørrebrød. As there are multiple locations for this restaurant, of course the gentlemen went to the wrong one.

It was then determined that Hallernes Smørrebrød at the Torvehallerne (a food market) was the best place in Copenhagen to eat smørrebrød.

Well worth the wait . . .

1727

Walked to the top of the 115 ft Round Tower via a 7.5-turn spiral ramp to glimpse inspiring views of the City of Spires. Built as an observatory back in 1642, it is now a very effective way to walk off perhaps just a little to much smørrebrød.

1831

Reviewed the bust of the 2nd most famous Dane on the Frue Plads of the University of Copenhagen.²

2003

Some Havana Rum in lobby from the honor bar courtesy of the two Subscribers who participated in this Copenhagen Caper (many thanks to you both!). The real deal, distilled in Havana and not the Puerto Rican distilled knock off crap sold by Bacardi in the U.S.

Lodgings

The Hotel Alexandra could have been the perfect place to stay, as it was centrally located near the train station, across the street from the Copenhagen City Hall (Rådhus) and furnished with authentic Danish mid-century furniture. The problem: Our week long stay perfectly coincided with Pride Week, with its thunderous main stage located between our room and City Hall. While I think it effected my room rate, I know it effected my pre-11:30 pm sleep.

Our initial room (206) was little tight, so Mrs. ARR skillfully negotiated an upgrade to a spacious corner unit (428) where I created this Report to an unendingly pulsating/bass-heavy/industrial/dance beat. Not sure if the words I typed are a little better, but I know I typed them a little faster.

This place still uses an actual room key which is attached to an original heavy bronze key chain. It's an old school operation where guests drop their key in the key box upon exiting the hotel and ask for it upon return. Not sure how secure the entire operation is, but it felt very civilized.

Find yourself needing more Copenhagen? Then try Copenhagen: The Miscellanea.

Endnotes: I wanted to provide some very specific details that, while vaguely interesting, did not contribute to the overall narrative. Perhaps just wait until the end to enjoy.

¹ Breakfast was not included.

² The most famous Dane is of course Hans Christian Anderson.