Every year I go on a city trip. Like, I’ve been to Paris, Berlin, Glasgow, Rome.. and this year I decided to explore Copenhagen. I booked for 3 nights, what also gave me about 3 days. Denmark’s capital was on my travel bucket list for quite a while as it’s so known for its sustainability. I will tell you all about my trip and I’ll give you a nice list of hotspot you should definitely check out if you decide to explore this amazing city! What might be fun is to tell you about my expectations, then tell you what I did in the time I was there and in the end I’ll tell you about my conclusion. Another thing I’d like to say before you start reading, is that I normally plan my trips into detail. I plan an exact route, put down the places I will eat etc etc. This time I didn’t. I don’t know why exactly. I just didn’t make time for it and left it a little too late. It was very new to me, but as you’ll read, it turned out fine.

EXPECTATIONS
I went to Denmark before, when I was very young, but I do not remember a lot of it. So my expectations are based on what I’ve heard and from what I’ve seen on pictures etc. I expect a lot of modern shapes, straight lines, squares etc. I also expect veganism to be very accessible. A bit like in London, but then with a whole different atmosphere. I expect a lot of sustainable choices, like paper bags, cups, recyclable materials etc. and not too much plastic. I think the Danes are friendly, with a good knowledge of the English language and for some reason to be looking very intellectual. You know, like the people you see in optician adverts, haha!

WHAT IT WAS LIKE
– Day 1
My flight was on Thursday at 14:00, from Gatwick. I drove there, what made everything so much easier. Before I headed off I wanted to quickly pick up my new glasses, but it turned out the M4 was all closed and so I didn’t want to risk it in the end. It’s a good thing, because it was quite busy on the alternative route. Even though I left a lot earlier, I arrived at the long stay parking at the same time as I had planned if I had left Newbury later. It was fairly easy to park the car and take a 5 min bus journey to the terminal. My flight was on time and everything went smoothly. It was the first time I traveled with a backpack and the first thing what made it so much easier, is that I needed a lot less space for it to fit into the luggage spaces. It was very windy and rainy in the UK when I left, but it was all sunny with blue skies stepping out of the aeroplane. What a great start! It was super easy to get to my AirBnB. It was only a few metro stations away from the airport and a 2 min walk from the metro station. My hosts were the kindest people. I felt so welcome and it was like I already knew them. I so appreciated their hospitality. I charged my phone a bit and did a little bit of relaxing, before I went to find myself some dinner. I used the super handy app from HappyCow to see where the nearest vegan restaurant was. This turned out to be ‘The Organic Boho’, what was only a 30 min walk away. So off I went. That is where the trouble started. A while ago I got new shoes, Vans. I love them, but it’s taking me a while breaking them in. I thought they will be fine and all the walking on my trip will give it the final push. Boy I was wrong! My feet were hurting so much after those 30 min, but at least I got there.

The Organic Boho > all vegan!
The Organic Boho was such a nice little restaurant. There are a few seats inside, but some lovely seats outside too. It was in the evening, but still quite warm, also because I walked. So I decided to sit outside. The only trouble from sitting outside is that it’s not the best location for this as it’s located at a very busy, not pretty looking, street and so there are cars right in front of you. I ordered inside, a cauliflower burger. There was also the option to choose for falafel instead, but all vegans know falafel by now, so cauliflower it was. It was a great choice, because it was delicious. It was such a yummy bread roll, with a cauliflower steak as a burger. Great idea! What a good first meal. I really enjoyed that. The girl at the till was super friendly and their menu looks very nice. Definitely check them out. 

With a lot of pain I made it to a bench that was overlooking the water. Luckily I was carrying some plasters with me, so I freed my feet and covered the sore areas with Peppa Pig plasters. It was actually a nice spot where I was sitting, because there were so many ducks, gees and even some swans. All with babies! The cutest thing! When the sun was all down I made my way back to the AirBnB. My feet were still painful, but a little better than it was before. I was wondering how I was going to do this trip with sore feet though. I always walk a lot on my city trips, like 12-15 km a day. I just really hoped it was all going to be magically better by the next morning.

-Day 2
My feet weren’t better and my shoes were just as painful. Somehow I still made my way to the centre. I planned to have brunch at 42 Raw. When I was almost there I came through the main shopping street and I quickly popped into the H&M. I bought some simple summer shoes. I was doubting what to get, because flip-flops were very tempting, but walking 12-15 km on flip-flops would also be quite disastrous. So I went for the in between solution. It felt a lot better than my vans though and it turned out 42 Raw was around the corner from there.

42 Raw > all vegan!
The whole lay out looks quite posh, with the pretty golden letters and the high ceilings. They have a few long tables you can sit on, no seats outside, but a few seats at the window though. I was lucky to sit right there as I always look for as much daylight as possible, to take a good picture of my food for you. I went for the brunch. This means that you get a little bit of everything. At 42 Raw this means you get a pancake with bananas and goji berries, yogurt with apple and granola, sweet potato chips with sauce and seeded bread with houmous and smashed avocado. I also got a green smoothie. It looked so nice together and it was all really delicious. They also do a lot of treats and I chose a big healthy, chocolate chip cookie for later. What I didn’t like is that the smoothie came into a big plastic cup with a straw!

I decided to walk around a little bit and that’s when I discovered a lovely shop called Plint. It’s filled with pretty things and it’s so nice to have a look around. I found beautiful black cutlery I really wanted to have, but I wasn’t sure I was able to bring the knives and forks in the aeroplane. The girls who worked there was also not sure and even tried to google it for me. Another customer said he was quite sure I wasn’t allowed and actually I was quite convinced it was going to be impossible. I almost put it back, but then came up with the idea to post it to myself. So I bought it anyway. It’s going to be so nice for in my van. The post office was around the corner and so I posted the knives and forks to myself. Next to the post office was the Rundetaarn (The Round Tower) and I’m always up for climbing something for a nice view. The entrance was only 25kr (about £3,95). The best thing was that there was an art exhibition too. So halfway (gives you a good break from climbing it too!) you can look at that. The art was from different artist, also 4 Dutch people. I loved a lot of things. It was different, but with a message and I love art like that. It makes you think about the every day things. Another round up you are able to learn about the Rundetaarn itself (another little break from climbing it). The climb isn’t that bad actually, as it’s a flat floor and it’s basically just like walking up a hill. The last bit are stairs, but then you’re rewarded with an amazing view. I stayed up there for at least 20 minutes. I just love to take it all in from the top. I definitely recommend doing this. And for less than 4 quid!

From the top of the Rundetaarn I saw a park close by and that is where I walked towards when I got down again. It turned out to be Kongens Have. This is Denmark’s oldest royal garden, it dates back from the 17th century. It’s a beautiful park and it’s the garden from the gorgeous Rosenborg Slot. It was built in 1606-34 by Christian IV. This was his favourite castle and he eventually died here too. Nowadays the crown jewels are kept here. I enjoyed my cookie from 42 Raw on a bench next to it. From there I just walked to one of the exits and across the street from there was the Statens Museum for Kunst. In front of the museum was water, like a fountain, but without a fountain. Instead there were actually chairs in there, with the possibility to sit on a chair with your feet in the water. A few people were already doing this and of course, with my sore feet, I had to do this too. The water is about 25 cm deep and my jeans weren’t the kind you can easily pull up, but who cares that they got wet, it was so enjoyable. I sat there for over half an hour just enjoying this and the sunshine. Whilst I sat there I saw the sight seeing buses pass by all the time, so I decided to get tickets from the nearest bus stop.

I went for the all including ticket, what gave me access to 2 bus routes and the boat tour for 72 hours. I know it’s super touristy to go on these sight seeing buses, but I like them. Not only because you get to see a lot of things, but I especially like them for the information you get during the tour. The history, some inside jokes, cultural habits and traditions etc. I did the whole bus tour and didn’t get off anywhere but the famous Little Mermaid statue. The bus driver stopped for 5 minutes there so I could get off and take a picture. Very nice of him. I heard that people were disappointed by the size of this Little Mermaid, but because of this I expected it to be even smaller than she actually was, haha! It is a beautiful statue though. Then I finished the rest of the tour. I must say that I was a little disappointed with the information given during the tour. It wasn’t that much. The driver also really took his time and all together it was at least 2 hours, what should have been 1,5 hour. It didn’t matter though, it was still nice to see it all and get a good feel of the city this way. When I got off the bus it was dinner time and I decided to go to Simple Raw.

Simple Raw – all vegan!
I couldn’t find it at first, but that is because the restaurant is a little under street level and their sign isn’t that clear. The girls that work there are lovely and super helpful and friendly. Simple Raw has lovely little menu books with pretty pictures, what makes it very easy (or very hard.. hehe..) to choose. I went, of course, for a burger. Maybe I should start a burger blog, because it’s my favourite. This one was super tasty too, my goodness! I really enjoyed it and the juice with strawberries I chose was delicious as well. There are quite a few tables inside, but as the weather was still so nice and I’m always quite warm from walking everywhere, I sat outside. The chairs aren’t the most comfortable though, but as soon as you bite into the amazing food you forget about that.

I headed back to my AirBnB with such a satisfied feeling. Thanks to the nutritious food of course, but also because of a very good and sunny first proper day.

-Day 3
After another great night of sleep (I always sleep so well on city trip, thanks to all the walking and many new impressions), I headed to Yellow Rose. I went there yesterday as well, just very shortly, because I saw they had waffles. Turned out the waffles come with the brunch, so I decided this was the place to have brunch today.

Yellow Rose – all vegan!
This place!! It looks amazing, with the beautiful soft yellow and soft pink colours and all the amazing details. It’s a bit like 50’s/60’s meets boho. They have window seats (I love window seats!) with comfy cushions and they have quite a lot of seats in general. It’s a good size cafe, while they kept it cosy. I just wanted to live there. Also because they do ah-mazing food! I went for the brunch as I wanted the waffles, but I got a lot more of course. It was a lot in general I think and it was all so good. The waffles were on point with the whipped up soy cream, but all the food was so fresh and delicious. I think this was really worth my money. I didn’t want to leave, but as I only have a few days, I wanted to make the most of my time of course. So before I went I also bought some snacks for later. I couldn’t choose, so I got a lemon cake with cream and fresh berries on top, a peanut butter/banana and chocolate cupcake and there was a cookie with nuts I per se wanted to try. Hehe.. oh well.. it’s the holidays! 

I went back to the starting point of the touring buses to do the Christiania tour. It was a very full bus, but they only go every hour, so I took it. It was a very nice tour, less long, but I like the neighbourhood. It’s where all the hippies live, haha! There is street art and it’s all about recycling etc. After the bus tour I went straight to the boat. I was lucky again as there was a boat just coming to pick up more people. I had a good seat in the front. When I was waiting for it to leave, it started to drizzle a little, but it was lovely to feel the cool rain on my sun-warmed skin. The best bit of the boat is that there is a live guide, a lovely girl who could speak so many languages fluently, fascinating. Halfway the tour, when we were in the middle of the big river it started pouring so badly though! The guide handed out plastic poncho’s, but I refused, because I was a little wet anyway already and I don’t want to use plastic (anyway) for something I actually love. It was crazy really, like standing in the shower. My make up washed off my face, I couldn’t look because of all the water in my eyes and within a minute I was completely soaked. After like 3 minutes it stopped, but imagine yourself standing under the shower for 3 minutes and you have an idea what it was like. It was a lovely boat tour though, you get really good views of Copenhagen this way. Especially of Amalienborg, the Opera house and the part they call ‘little Amsterdam’. When I got off the boat I considered buying new clothes, as it was only the middle of the day, but it would have wasted too much time to walk all the way back to the AirBnB. Instead I walked towards the cafe where the son of my AirBnB hosts works. I said I would have a look. It’s called the Big Apple. Next to the Big Apple is a lovely spiritual shop called ‘Tessies’. They sell:crystals, jewellery, clothes, buddhas etc. Very lovely to go inside for a bit.

Big Apple – omni!
The Big Apple is a juice and sandwich bar, but it isn’t vegan, nor vegetarian. The guy behind the bar was really nice though and he made me a green smoothie, called the ‘purifier’. He wanted to put it in a plastic cup, but I asked if he had a glass instead. He didn’t, but he did have a paper cup. So I went for that, at least it’s better than plastic. The juice was delicious. They do a vegan sandwich too, in case you want to have a quick bite to eat. The best bit of this cafe is that they have some awesome relaxing areas. I sat down stairs in a cosy corner under the stairs, filled with cushions. You can also go up stairs and there a some sort of bed you can chill on. I love this and I think every cafe should have this. I sat in this cafe for an hour, ate the peanut butter cupcake and called my mum for a bit. Just to catch up and in the meantime to get dry a little.

I really wanted to get to the popular Nyhaven and so I took the bus to get there. Just because the bus was there anyway and Nyhaven was the second stop. Nyhaven is the place you always see when you see a picture of Copenhagen. I’m sure you either think of this or the mermaid statue when you think of Copenhagen. Nyhaven is such a lovely area. It’s a shame there aren’t any vegan restaurants or cafes, but I really liked to see the colourful houses and boats. Nyhaven means ‘new harbour’, what is funny as the harbour is actually 350 years old. It’s a must see when visiting the city! I took another look at my Happy Cow app and I decided to walk towards Green Burger. It was a lovely walk, partly through Kongens Have. When I arrived I wasn’t super hungry yet, so when I got there, I first sat down a little further down, to enjoy the last sun rays.

Green Burger – all vegan!
Because their colours are green and yellow it really reminds me of the Subway. I have no idea if they did this intentional, but I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking this. I think it’s a shame actually that they used these colours, because it doesn’t make it very appealing. Or maybe they didn’t want to look too fancy, to make it look a little bit more cheap/accessible. Anyway, I ordered a classic burger menu. This included a drink and fries. I went for the sweet potato fries, of course. I took a seat at the window as your burger will be brought to you. The girl at the till was such a lovely girl. She was super helpful and even wrote down some vegan cafe’s/restaurants down for me. After about 10 min my meal was ready. It all looked so good and the sweet potatoes were so so good! I know I say this a lot, but they really were the best I’ve ever had. So crispy and delicious! The burger was very good too. I really enjoyed this meal. They were one of the cheaper places. I payed about £15 for this. The prices at Green Burger are actually the same as in London, but for Copenhagen, that’s cheap, haha! 

I walked  from Green Burger all the way back to the AirBnB, what means I walked for 1,5 hour. Lovely walk!

-Day 4
Now call me crazy, but on my last morning in Copenhagen I walked all the way back towards Green Burger. Even a little bit further, because that is where the restaurant Souls is. It was recommended by a few people, so I wanted to go. On my way I made a quick stop at Christiania. The people were just setting up their market stalls and they were dealing drugs all around me. It felt like I was in Amsterdam, haha! They sell a lot of souvenirs, but nothing I’d buy. It was nice to see though and I really liked the beautiful street art everywhere. It was nice to see it. Just before I arrived at Souls I passed a lovely eco shop, called: EcoEgo. Unfortunately it was closed, but otherwise I would definitely have a quick look. They sell all things that are reusable etc.

Souls – all vegan!
At Souls I was quite hot from the walking and as all the tables inside were taken or reserved I went for a table outside. It’s located next to quite a busy junction, but it’s ok. I ordered the brunch and also a strawberry smoothie. The smoothie was quite runny, almost a little bit like a milkshake. It was tasty though and the brunch itself was good too, with fresh fruit. I especially liked the cashew yogurt, very different, but very tasty. Even though I wasn’t sitting inside, I have to say that the interior is very nice. Even the toilets are super lovely. The staff was very friendly and I understand why it was recommended. Next to me sat a Dutch couple from Rotterdam and I spoke to them for a bit, what was nice, but as I wanted to go to the beach for a bit, I had to go. 

I walked all the way back to Christiania, but then I took the metro to the Amager Beach Park. I could easily do this, because it’s the same metro that takes me to the airport. The beach is a 5 min walk from the ‘Amager Strand’ station. The beach in Copenhagen is artificial, but it was still nice. To feel the sand and the cool water on my feet was great. It was quite a cloudy day, with a fair bit of wind, but that didn’t stop some people from going swimming. Even kids were swimming. So brave! After half an hour I had to get up and say my goodbyes to Copenhagen, because it was time to head to the airport. It was almost dinner time, but there wasn’t much to eat at the airport. There was a Yo Sushi, with a limited menu, so there were basically only 3 vegan options. Better than nothing though. Later I discovered there were a few vegan options at this place called Retreat. So I got a salad and a chia pudding. It was super super delicious, but so much plastic again. So disappointing, especially if it’s the only real meal you can get. I got to the gate on time, but then it turned out the fight was delayed. When we finally got into the aeroplane they said it was going to take another 2 hours due to the weather at Gatwick. Half an hour later we were in the queue, but then a man decided he wanted to get out. Seriously? So we had to taxi all the way back to the gate for him. Before all the safety procedures were finished and the doors were closed again there was another half an hour passed. Oh well.. I was reading Harry Potter, so that is what I did for 4 hours straight. I didn’t mind. No need to stress about things you can’t control. I’ve had a lovely holiday and I won’t ever let things like this ruin it.

CONCLUSION
I think Copenhagen is definitely worth a city trip. I really enjoyed my stay. I love the architecture and the friendly people. The people are very real, easy-going and straight forward. That is why they remind me of the Dutch. They are very good looking (guys with long hair and skateboards everywhere.. gosh!) and they are all very good at speaking English. Something what you will really notice as well is that they live a slower life. Nothing much is rushed, like it is in London. People actually wait when the light is red, even though they could have crossed at least 10 times. They cycle a lot, at a normal speed, not quick quick quick.. The food is very good. There are a lot of all vegan cafe’s and restaurants + everything is so fresh and a lot of it is organic too. So great!

Something that was disappointing to me was the amount of plastic that is still being used. For a city that wants to be carbon free by the year 2025 and the way they are good at recycling, I thought things like this would have been so much better over here. You also have to keep in mind that Copenhagen is very expensive. If you are eating all your meals out, bring a big bag of money, haha! I solved this by only eating 2 meals a day. So I would go for brunch around 11:00, get a treat (or 3.. haha..) at that same place for later in the day and then I’d have my dinner around 19:00. This easily kept me going, but it still cost me about £50 a day. But overall I loved it here! I really felt at home and even imagined myself living in Copenhagen. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would.

HOTSPOT LIST:
–The Organic Boho: Prinsessegade 23, 1422.
–42 Raw: Pilestræde 32, 1112.
–Plint: Købmagergade 50, 1150.
–Simple Raw: Gråbrødretorv 9, 1154.
–Yellow Rose: Peder Hvitfeldts Stræde 17, 1173.
–Tessies: Fiolstræde 14, 1171.
–Big Apple: Fiolstræde 18, 1171.
–Green Burger: Frederiksborggade 26, 1360.
–EcoEgo: Nørre Farimagsgade 82, 1364 .
–Souls: Nørre Farimagsgade 63, 1364.

Did you visit Copenhagen yet? Or will you now after reading this? I’d love to hear about your experiences or plans to go! You can let me know in the comments below or show me your favourite picture of this lovely city via Instagram by tagging me. Thank you! X