places I love (#keeleradventures // denmark).

A few months ago my wanderlust started transitioning from the ever-present whisper into more of a shout and I knew it was time to plan the next adventure. My sister was going to be in New York, so we capitalized on the fact that she was already thousands of miles from home and put a #keeleradventures trip on the books. I'm a sucker for Scandinavian design in all forms and northern Europe has always intrigued me, so with a friend in Copenhagen the first stop was Denmark, followed by Sweden and (for a hot minute) London. 

Each place we visited was equally epic, so I'm going to break this up into three posts. Ready? Here we go...DENMARK. 

Copenhagen might be a perfect city. It's pristine, friendly, easy to maneuver and full of culture. I fell in love before I left the apartment. Every day was spent wandering the islands (did you know Copenhagen is a series of islands?? I didn't) getting lost down new alleys and enjoying the sunshine by land and sea alike. 

Near the end of our stay, we boarded a train headed a few hours outside the city to visit Fyn, an idyllic island, and stay in Nyborg where our friends grew up. By the end of our stay we had eaten far beyond our weight in homemade Danish meals, wandered around the countryside, and made new friends. 

Copenhagen surprised me. I was excited to visit, but wasn't ready for how much I would love it. It's a city you feel immediately comfortable in, a city that welcomes you with open arms and hugs you tight so you want to stay forever. 

The Danish have a word, hygge, that doesn't really translate in English. Here's a blurb about it I found: 

A love of or need for hygge is an important part of the Danish psyche. Hygge is usually inadequately translated as "coziness." This is too simplistic: coziness relates to physical surroundings — a jersey can be cozy, or a warm bed — whereas hygge has more to do with people's behavior towards each other. It is the art of creating intimacy: a sense of comradeship, conviviality, and contentment rolled into one.

Maybe it's hygge that is what makes Denmark such a warm and welcoming place. I felt like I belonged from the minute I arrived and that doesn't happen very often. Hardly ever. So it's really special when it does. 

Here are some of my favorite places to eat, play and take in all that Denmark has to offer (and naturally, a ton of photos). 

coffee. 
Original Coffee
Democratic Coffee 
The Coffee Collective 

do. 
Design Museum (if your knees get weak when you see a beautiful minimalist chair...this is for you). 
Superkilen (a super-rad urban "park" that is weird enough to be worth the trip). 
Rosenborg Slot (go for the crown jewels).  
H.C. Andersen's Hus (in Fyn, visit a great little museum celebrating the Danish king of fairy tales). 
Go Boat (a must do. rent a solar powered picnic boat from this band of beyond hip Danes and captain yourself around the Copenhagen canals). 
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (an hour by train outside the city, the views of the sea and the epic art exhibits make this a must). 
Tivoli (Denmark's oldest amusement park, full of restaurants, live music and a 100 year old wooden roller coaster). 

shop. 
HAY (the Danish design mother ship. I wanted to move in. If they shipped internationally I'd be in trouble). 
NORR 

eat. 
Mikkeller Bar (okay, we didn't eat here and I'm not sure you even CAN eat there...but this bar was one of my favorite spots. grab an outdoor picnic table and enjoy!). 
Gorm's Pizza (with a few locations, this pizza place is popular, order ahead!).
Madklubben (a restaurant where they purposefully hire employees who AREN'T experts on the food, so that they can solely focus on great customer service. The food is amazing, just don't expect your waiter to know what it is!). 
Paludan Bogcafe (a bookstore/cafe hybrid frequented by local students). 
Vespa (an amazing four course experience tucked away in a TINY restaurant space). 
Wokshop (the Danish can do good thai. real good thai). 
Torvehallerne (the gourmet market to end all markets. seriously. we were here every day).