It’s 1am on a cold Sunday morning in Denmark, Copenhagen, and I have a stomach-ache from the 7/11 pizza slice that I had wolfed down while walking to one of the capitals famous jazz bars, La Fontaine.
The morning prior I had been sitting in my small, damp Edinburgh apartment, waiting patiently until it was a reasonable time to head off to the airport. The anxiety of flying has made me permanently unable to do any sort of strenuous activity in the hours before take-off, so naturally, I clean the outside of my windows.
Copenhagen first hit my radar while I was on my Pinterest feed, not just the city itself but instead images of gorgeous woman in casual yet perfectly curated outfits (Scandi style). Scandi style is a minimalist, functional style originating from Nordic countries, emphasizing simplicity. It features neutral colour palettes, organic textures such as wool and linen and clean lines, this style is also well known on social media as the ‘clean girl aesthetic’.
However, despite my social media pages being flooded with this style, this is not what persuaded me to visit the capital. It was the annual winter blues that got me, a disease that seems to spread around Scotland like the plague the second the festive season was over. Most of us during this time start to research our top vacation spots, most likely somewhere warm with a nice coast to finally suck up some of that much needed sunlight! But not me. I decided to go somewhere even colder. Denmark.
La Fontaine is Copenhagen’s oldest jazz bar, first operating in 1927. Located in the heart of the city, it has served as a staple for live jazz for nearly a century. It was a must-see item for me and my close friend Cate when we visited. After arriving at our hostel at around 11pm (Danish time) to find one of our roommates had already taken up most of our room with various articles of clothing and was now asleep in bed, we hurried to leave again. Escaping to the hostel bar to try our first classic Danish beverage (a vodka red bull) and then heading out to hear some of the city’s best jazz.
By this time, it had hit midnight and me, and my travel buddy hadn’t had a full meal since breakfast. To our luck and surprise, Copenhagen is filled with the popular American convenience store, 7/11, where we could fuel ourselves up with a cheap and cheerful slice of pizza. We ended up arriving at the jazz bar with 15 minutes left of the set (this ended up being 30 minutes) so the bouncer was kind enough to let us in for free, however depending on the night entry fee can range from £10-£20 for live music sessions.
I hadn’t been to many jazz bars prior to this visit, but I have to say I was a fan of La Fontaine, the interior was cozy and intimate with warm red lights and candles, not forgetting the outstanding talent of the band themselves. The kind of place you can step into and step out of anything going on in the outside world, a place where you can’t tell if you’re still in 2026 or back in the 70s.
A Sunday in Northern Europe is a quiet day, where many businesses are closed, allowing for a slow-paced end to the week. This is no different in the city of Copenhagen. Walking through the streets of the city at 8am on a Sunday morning in January is a quiet and calming experience, replacing the noise of cars is the gentle turn of bike pedals of the occasional cyclist. I experienced this on my first morning here, I had woken up early to visit a popular breakfast spot before the rush, at this time one of the only places starting to come alive where the bakeries and cafes getting ready to serve up classic Danish cuisine.
Atelier September is a neighbourhood café with multiple locations throughout the city. Serving traditional Danish breakfast foods such as Comte omelettes and porridge. When I visited, I tried out their ‘Morning Plate’ which includes a thin slice of Comte, sourdough, hard-boiled egg, whipped butter and blueberry jam. This breakfast was right up my alley and was a reassurance that my primary school packed lunches of cheddar and jam sandwiches weren’t as weird as my classmates insisted.
After a filling breakfast it was time for sight-seeing, and at the top of my list was Rosenborg castle.
Rosenborg Castle was built by one of the most famous Danish Kings, Christian IV, in the 17th century. The renaissance castle was originally built as a country summer house. The interior of this castle has been almost perfectly preserved. Gorgeous tapestries and hand panted slates cover the walls, creating a perfect canvas to house some of Denmark’s greatest cultural treasures. This is not one of the medieval ruins we are used to in Scotland, while beautiful in their own way, this castle is a piece of art. Giving the appearance that it was built more to show off than to protect its people from a battle. This is evident in some frivolities found throughout the castle such as thrones carved out of narwhal tusks, that were historically believed to be unicorn horns, and the glass room, a room entirely dedicated to showcasing Frederik IV impressive collection of glassware. After admiring everything, I made sure to swiftly exit that room before I broke anything.
It was now snack time, and what could be more perfect than a Danish pastry. At Juno Bakery you will find freshly baked sourdough bread and buns and pastries. What they are most well-known for is the famous cardamon bun, my friend tried one of these and she loved it, while I opted for a blueberry, lavender pastry which was a little out of my comfort zone however I can truly say it was one of the best pastries I’ve ever had. It was also the perfect amount of sugar to keep us going on a cold day of sight-seeing. If I do ever return to Copenhagen, I will be getting a cardamon bun, just so I can say I’ve covered all the bases.
The Glyptotek is one of the leading antiques museums in the Nordic countries and houses one of Europe’s finest collections of French art from the 18th century. Entry for a student under the age of 27 runs about £12.50, which I thought was worth it.
As soon as I entered the museum, I was welcomed by a room of exotic palm trees planted in a circle formation, at its centre a fountain with a sculpted roman figure of a women and her children.
As I walked through the exhibitions I was outstand by the sheer amount of Greek and Roman art pieces, carved out of anything from stone to iron. These pieces once served as depictions of Greek gods or emperors and now line the side of this museum’s rooms, waiting for those fortunate enough to lay their eyes on them.
These pieces aren’t the only magnificent thing in this gallery. The Glypotek also has a large Ancient Egyptian collection. This exhibition houses more than 300 pieces and holds works from an era with a total duration of more then 3,000 years. The extreme length of this era makes it possible to see both the development of Egyptian art and significant works from each period. From monumental sculpture and architectural elements to the world of the Egyptian gods. And of course, the mummies in the basement.
After a long day of walking, sightseeing and historical art it was time for a good meal. And what better place to visit than the famous Pico Pizza. Known for their iconic tasting menu of 3 mini pizzas or 2 and a seasonal salad, this restaurant has become a Copenhagen icon and was one of the places I have to say I was inspired to try after seeing its countless social media mentions. In desperate need for some vegetables, I opted for the menu option with a side salad, consisting of green kale, radicchio, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, pickled Jerusalem artichokes, orange, machego & vinaigrette, it was delicious, and I am now inspired to try recreating it.
The pizza menu itself is extensive with exotic and interesting pizza combinations, including a detailed vegan and vegetarian section. The two pizzas I chose during my visit were the ‘Sweet Cheesus’ and the ‘Truffle & Thyme’, and to pair a glass of their house wine. I’m not sure if it was due to me working up an appetite with all the walking and sightseeing I did that day, but this was amazing. The flavour combinations were perfectly curated to complement each other instead of overpowering and the crisp white wine acted as a palette cleanser between bites. Despite my choice to go for the lighter option there was still plenty of food to feed me up, and even some leftovers to bring back to the hostel for a quick midnight snack!
Day 2 in Copenhagen, and another excuse to get out of the hostel early to try out a new café. Mad & Kaffe is a chain of cafes in central Copenhagen serving brunch, lunch and dinner. This café has a pretty unique way of ordering, instead of a menu each customer is given a checklist of a mix of savoury and sweet breakfast items, here you can choose anywhere from 3-7 items which are all served at once on a tray. This way the customer can mix and match to their preferences as well as trying new things at the same time. To fuel me for the day I opted for the 5 plate option in which I chose; the goats cheese tart, Greek inspired yoghurt, overnight oats, scrambled organic eggs and the brown sugar croissant cake which came to a total of 160 KR (£18.50) which I thought was a reasonable price for the amount of food that filled me until dinner that evening.
A 50-minute walk from the café, is the iconic Danish town, Nyhavn. Nyhavn, meaning “New Harbour”, is an iconic 17th Century waterfront district. Renowned for its brightly coloured townhouse and historical wooden ships, it was built the 1670s, once serving as a commercial port and was once home to the famous fairy-tale author Hans Christian Andersen. It is also an iconic picture spot, where one poses in front of the brightly coloured houses (guilty!), although I don’t think I looked as stylish as some of the portraits taken there in the past due to my heavily layered jackets and scarves.
Another 20-minute walk and we reached the ‘Little Mermaid Statue’ (Den Lille Havfrue) an iconic 4.1ft bronze statue by artist Edvard Eriksen, unveiled in 1913 at the Langelinie promenade. As beautiful as the statue is I recommend only visiting it if you are nearby in the city anyways, as I do not believe it is one of the most outstanding things Copenhagen has to offer (especially if its winter as the sea breeze makes it very cold).
As I mentioned earlier, Copenhagen is a city well known for its fashion sense, so I obviously had to do some shopping. The city is in doubt one of the best places to go vintage shopping, one of the vintage shops I stopped into was the store ‘Vintage Maniac” where I purchased a leather jacket, despite it still being too cold to wear this in Scotland without another layer over it I hope it will be a staple piece for me in the summer months.
Another must do on my list was to visit Pico (the hair and jeweller not the pizza place) to shop for some new hair accessories. As stated on their website it is the ‘walk in closet’ for beautiful jewellery and accessories, specializing in both timeless staples and on-trend items. Here, the staff will help you to pick out and even teach you how to wear certain hair clips, I personally could have spent all day here but had to drag myself out after successfully purchasing a new makeup bag, French pin, and matching bangle.
After a fabulous dinner at Poulette and yet another glass of wine at Pompette (Dua Lipa inspired) the day ended with me and Cate walking back to the hostel late at night in the crisp Copenhagen snow, a magical experience to end a perfect trip.
There is no doubt that Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in Europe, however I think it’s true value comes from its heart. It’s warm and relaxed nature makes it one of the most welcoming places I’ve visited in my life so far, and that’s coming from someone who hates the cold!
I do, however, plan to return this summer to experience the capital in its prime.
