Well my sweet friends, it’s taken me two weeks to build up the courage to write this. That sounds very dramatic but I’ve fallen into a deep PPD (post party depression) after my trip and I couldn’t force myself to write about the experience without tearing up. I’m now almost settled back into the real world and have accepted that life can’t be a never-ending string of soy cappuccinos, pastries, museums, and walking in circles around European countries with your best friend who you only get to see every other month. The trip was one of my favorite experiences ever and I’m forcing myself to write about it partially because I know you loyal readers have been waiting with bated breath (crickets) and also so I don’t forget everything that happened.
I’m writing this from a trendy cafe in Williamsburg where I’m eating a donut and drinking a soy cappuccino. Lay off me – I needed to get back into my European headspace. Also I am pretty excited I found this place because I think they only sell to attractive Brooklynites and chubby Jewish girls (based on a very brief survey I did with my eyes) so I’m in a great place. Let’s do this.
Let me first say that Copenhagen might be my favorite city I’ve ever been to. The food is incredible, the people are kind, the streets are clean and easy to navigate, the museums are wonderful, and dear God I have never seen more attractive people in my entire life. I’m talking tall, bearded, genuinely nice gentlemen who know how to dress. Essentially my very own version of Heaven, now with more heavily accented Europeans.
Food
The good
We stumbled into our airbnb and immediately needed sustenance. After our pretty horrific plane experience (described here) we set out to eat whatever was furthest away from the mayonnaise sandwich-raisin chocolate-light beer we witnessed regurgitated on the plane ride. We wandered around the neighborhood we were staying in, København V, and sat down at Fleisch. The free bread came with a giant bowl of free chicken liver pate and within seconds we were in pure joy mode. We went on to eat plates of meat and cheese and fish. We also ordered a celery dish and were accidentally brought an extra plate of meat which is easily my favorite food mess up of all time. Some more meat with your meat? Yep. The chef even stopped by to see if we liked the new dish he was debuting for the first time that night. The whole experience was dreamy and the perfect palate cleanser after the aforementioned barf fiesta on Icelandair.
We followed up that meal with some pastries in a cafe the next morning. Surprisingly not sugar free. Who knew? I kept eating them just to make sure.
A guy in a shoe store directed us to cute square surrounded by restaurants. I mostly wanted him to direct my mouth to his lips but I settled for a boozy lunch with Ange where we ate a massive plate of meat and cheese and a heart shaped cauldron of muscles. I’m pretty sure there was a green lettuce of some sort involved in one of those dishes too.
After a couple hours of buzzed wandering we popped into a little restaurant and mixed things up by ordering a giant platter of meat and cheese. We’re nothing if not consistent.
And for second dinner (see 20 Tips For Staying Healthy While Traveling in Europe) we went to Kiin Kiin and had maybe the most excessive and delicious Thai meal I’ve ever eaten. The meal starts with an onslaught of 8 or so amuse-bouches that are each presented in a different way. A vial of soup was delivered via a green box of grass, street meatballs were served from beneath a glass case initially obstructed with a pillow of fog, and there was a meat dish stuffed into a tiny ceramic egg. So like basically how I eat every meal. Actually it was reminiscent of the bachelor party scene from parks and rec where Ron deems Essence as “the wrong way to drink alcohol.” But this was the right way to eat Thai food – at least once in your life where you don’t ever look at how much you spent because you decided to LIVE! The rest of the meal was just as rad and we spent over four hours trying a dish, talking about how it was the best and weirdest thing we’d ever had, and then gulping down giant glasses of wine. Not a bad night.
Coming off our Icelandic yogurt high we indulged in Skyr parfait for the next two days. This is where I tell you that I was probably singlehandedly keeping Lactaid in business during this trip and I owe them a lot. Thank you Lactaid, love my vicious lactose intolerance.
After getting caught in the rain coming back from the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (one of my favorite museum experiences of all time – they currently are hosting a huge retrospective of Yayoi Kusama’s work) we found a teeny Italian restaurant near the train station. Empty except for us two, damp and tired Americans, we expected nothing and then sat in silence as we pounded down a delicious trough of pancetta ravioli and a margarita pizza. When in Rome. Or Copenhagen, I guess.
Our final meal in Copenhagen was pizza. As I’m typing it I’m acknowledging how weird it is that we ate pizza three times in one week but it was very much worth it. This time it was at an expensive place near our apartment that had great cocktails. The Canadian couple next to us said they thought we were from Boston based on our accents and we only almost punched them.
The bad
Nope. Can’t say anything bad. One time we had sort of dry carrot cake but it was probably only bad in comparison to all the 💯💯💯 meals we had.
The questionable
I ate some weird Haribo licorice that looked like worms. Honestly, it was still kind of good. Copenhagen is #blessed from a culinary perspective.
Drinks
The good
Angela had a beet cocktail at that first restaurant we went to. If possible, I would have bathed in it – it was that good. Sure it would have stained my skin and probably burned in certain areas but the heart wants what it wants.
Coffee coffee coffee. My coffee addiction was in full swing here. I was pleasantly surprised to see most restaurants had non dairy options. Technically it wouldn’t have mattered based on the fact that I was mainlining Lactaid but I appreciated it.
The bad
Still can’t complain. I did have a Riesling glass 3 or 4 at Kiin Kiin and I hate Riesling because it seems like a really good drink only if you’re 16 and drinking wine for the first time. Or if you’re my mom who has the tolerance of a 16 year old drinking wine for the first time.
The questionable
While not really a drink but a liquid, so a variation on the theme, I just want to take this time to talk about the bathroom in our giant apartment. We had two bedrooms, a living room, a massive dining room, and a hallway long enough to workout in, but the bathroom was 10 feet x 2 feet. Yep. 2 feet. And that’s being generous. The shower and toilet and sink essentially all existed in one hallway and yet it was kind of cozy and nice. Going to the bathroom right after one of us showered was a little damp but it was fine. I would gladly be damp and happy in Copenhagen than dry and content elsewhere. Wait. Should I make that my Tinder profile. Just kidding I totally deleted Tinder. Yep. Definitely.
Activity
The good
Walking! I’d like to thank New York City for training me to walk and preparing me for this trip. We logged upwards of 25 miles in the time we were there and I only tripped a couple times each day. I’m an adult!
Biking. We rented bikes and spent about 8 hours cycling around the city. I highly recommend this because unlike the horrors of Boston or New York, Copenhagen is built for bike commuters and it’s a super cheap and efficient way to get around. Pro tip: check your bike before you leave the shop or you might end up with a faulty seat that immediately drops and makes you look like you stole a BMX bike from your 13 year old neighbor. Ange – you’re a trooper.
I did not fall down any glaciers. I’m learning! (Please note that there were no glaciers to fall down.)
Day drinking in the past has lead me mostly to 6 pm hangovers and shame spirals. Day drinking on this trip lead us to buying tickets to The Rundetårn Tower, and hiking up 137 feet to an observation deck overlooking the city. #thisis28
Dem Kayla workouts tho. As you may remember, Angela is a fit human adult who prioritizes working out, even on vacation. She forced me out of bed at 8 am on two separate occasions to squat, lunge, and cry much to my dismay. The downstairs neighbors must have been thrilled.
The bad
Stairs. Dear god. Our Airbnb on the third floor was actually four excruciatingly steep flights up. It took an embarrassing amount of time to drag luggage up and down those stairs. I did a solid amount of that yawn you do at the top of the stairs to hide how painfully winded you’ve become.
The questionable
While renting bikes was one of the best choices we made, neglecting to check the weather and getting caught in an epic rainstorm at night was not our finest decision. I managed to drop my license and catch a cold in about 15 minutes while we biked as quickly as humanly possible home.
Overall this was probably the most active couple of days on the whole trip. I felt like I had a ton of energy and who wouldn’t when they’re surviving off a mostly meat and cheese diet? Copenhagen was a dream of a city and I can’t wait to go back – just waiting for my new Danish husband to whisk me away.
Farvel! We’re off to Prague next.
The Struggle 