keeler adventures // denmark (copenhagen)

after nearly a week of other worldly adventuring in the faroe islands, we headed back to denmark for the real reason we were there. about an hour by train from copenhagen, nyborg was the perfect place for a danish wedding. we stayed in the bottom floor of this airbnb, celebrated love, had an incredible meal here, and wandered around town for the weekend before returning to copenhagen for some final adventures. 

I've already wholeheartedly proclaimed my love for this city, so I'll spare you the gushing. I will say, it's one of the few places I've returned to, and every time I visit, I love it a little more. here were some highlights from this round: 

we stayed in this airbnb (which was wonderful!) and then hotel danmark - which we loved. 

we took an adorable canal tour with hey captain (the perfect alternative to the huge tour boats you see everywhere), wandered around the royal palace, eyed the crown jewels at rosenborg castle and enjoyed happy hour in the grass of the king's garden, climbed to the top of the round tower for the best view of the city and did some roller coastering in the twinkly wonderland of tivoli. 

our epic noma adventure aside, we stopped for coffee and treats at the corner (a noma offshoot), had some of the best mexican food of my life (and I live in AZ!) at sanchez, sipped all the danish beers at brus, reveled in the sunshine by the water with natural wines and snacks at den vandrette, fell in love with the pizza at baest, the pasta at mirabelle and all.the.things at cafe atelier september. 

everything about denmark is magic. the people, the food, the feeling of being there. I can't wait to go back. 

keeler adventures // denmark (noma).

well, I'm ruined for all past and future meals. 

as a steadfast fan of great food stories and over-the-top adventuring, I've long followed rene redzepi and his mythical restaurant. 

noma. 

nestled in a tiny corner of copenhagen and with a lengthy stay at the top of any list of the world's best restaurants, it was a place I never really thought I'd visit. four years ago on my first trip to denmark, the closest we got was brushing past the entrance on a boat ride through the city. 

because, you see, dining at noma is not as much about the food (but it's definitely about the food) as it is about the experience. the getting there. the being there. you've got to work for it. 

this year, with weddings to celebrate, we were headed back to denmark. with four years between visits, redzepi had shuttered the doors of the original noma and was reincarnating it nearby in quirky christiania. with less than 48 hours in copenhagen at the start of our adventure, the window was small, but we knew we had to try. 

alarms were set to wake us in the middle of the night in the pursuit of an elusive seafood season reservation.  

an adventurous friend was talked into flying across continents to spend 72 hours in copenhagen just to be our fourth diner. 

pep talks were given to mom (and instastories of live sea cucumbers hidden) to get her prepared. 

flights with no room for error were booked. we landed with an hour to spare and zero minutes of sleep between us. 

before we knew it, it was over. pete wells can paint the picture of the experience far better than I can. 

the humans, the food, the building. the warmest of welcomes. the coziest of rooms. I will never not be in awe of the experience. making eye contact with the 38 or so other diners was always met with a near imperceptible glimmer of a person trying to be cool and contain themselves amidst the most special of circumstances. 

at one quiet point between raw jellyfish and sea cucumber gonads, I overheard one of the waiters speaking to a table nearby. they were gushing about some magical dish or another, and the waiter crouched down and said with a grin "we know how hard it is for people to get here. we know how long they wait. we just want it to be something really special". 

and something special it truly was.