The Scandi Series: Denmark Edition
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Welcome to the ‘The Scandi Series’ a four-part travel series exploring the North of Europe and sharing everywhere you need to go to tick off those TikTok trends all whilst feeling like a local.
Starting from the bottom and working our way up the map, this series will cover everything from food, drinks, adventures and places to stay so you can live your best Scandi-girl life next Euro summer.
To kick things off, we are starting with Denmark specifically, Copenhagen. As the country’s capital, Copenhagen or ‘Havn’ is a bustling harbour city with a rich royal history and charming colourful architecture. However, today the city is best known for being a chic fashion capital, where biking is more stylish than walking and breakfast plates are a must in the morning routine.
Where we stayed
If you are wanting to try hostel life for the first time but are usually a hotel girl through and through (like me), the Steel House, is the way to go. Arguably one of Copenhagen’s most luxurious hostels, this urban New York-inspired establishment in the heart of Copenhagen will allow you to experience the buzz of the city all whilst sleeping in style. From mixed to single-sex dorms and private rooms, Steel House offers something unique and chic for all kinds of budgets.
For our city trip, my friend and I decided to opt for a six-bed all female dorm. As the largest type of dorm available at Steel House, this option was the second cheapest for us to choose from and the option that felt most the comfortable for us as first-time hostelers (the cheapest being a six-bed mixed dorm and we were not brave enough to do that just yet!).
Fitted with its own shower and bathroom, extremely comfortable king single bunks with towels and sheets provided, this room served us well for our three-night stay. Despite hearing horror stories from my friends about their previous hostel experiences in Europe, the Steel House team were nothing but accommodating, the facilities were well cleaned, and the overall atmosphere of the venue was social, hosting a mix of guests from solo travellers, businesspeople, and families.
For anyone considering staying at the Steel House when next visiting Copenhagen here are my three top tips to make your experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
- Make use of the Steel House bikes
For just $30 AUD for the whole day or $17 for three hours, you can feel like a true Copenhagener. We hired these stylish black bikes on numerous occasions allowing us to ride through the city’s backstreets and visit neighbourhoods just a little bit too far in walking distance (not to mention, you get a good workout in every day!).
- Become a morning person
If you’re like me and don’t like being rushed to get ready, I would recommend getting up and starting your day early. When sharing one bathroom amongst six people, it’s all about timing your activities right. One trick my friend and I worked out during our stay was to get up and out of the room before everyone else. Not only does this tactic allow you to shower and do your makeup in peace, but it also means you’re guaranteed a seat at some of the city’s coolest breakfast spots.
- Eye masks, earplugs or AirPods
The best way to get some shut eye after a long day of exploring is with an eye mask and a pair of earplugs. Blocking out the reading lights and the snores coming from your roomies pods, these two nifty tools are essential to getting a good night’s sleep. For me personally, I find AirPods a lot more comfortable and effective than earplugs and would highly recommend this Spotify playlist ’10 Hours of Continuous Rain Sounds for Sleeping’ to help you drift off.
Where we ate
Now, one thing I am sure you have heard about Copenhagen is that the city is full of funky restaurants, bars, cafés, and bakeries. With an endless supply to choose from eating out can be a slightly overwhelming experience so let me wrap up some tasty spots we dined at (some even twice!).
Apotek 57
If your TikTok feed has delivered you any type of content on Copenhagen hotspots, I guarantee you have seen Apotek 57 before. Located inside design studio Frama Studio, this eatery with a seasonal menu is a trendy breaky destination amongst locals and artistic spirits.
We headed to Apotek 57 on our first morning in the city and let me tell you what a great way to kick off the trip! With many delicious options on the menu my friend and I decided order a mix of things and share. We ordered the classic ‘Breakfast Plate’ featuring a sourdough bun, whipped salted butter, vesterhavsost (the most delicious Danish cheese), a soft-boiled egg with house-made jam, the granola with an apricot compote and a coffee bun.
One thing to note, is that Apotek 57 only serves filtered coffee, so if you’re a coffee snob like me, you may have to get your beloved flat white on-the-go when exploring the city.
studio x kitchen
Despite the delicious spread we were served at Apotek 57 on our first day, our meal at studio x kitchen on our second day in Copenhagen was so yummy that we paid it another visit on our final day in the city.
As another walk-in only and small venue, we recommend heading to this place when it opens at 8:30 am to get a good seat. Like Apotek 57, studio x kitchen serves seasonal and homemade plates for both breakfast and lunch and if this hasn’t sold you, the venue also has great barista coffee. Tucked away along a quiet street with sunny outdoor seating, studio x kitchen was definitely our favourite spot to savour the Copenhagen mornings. On our first visit I ordered the porridge with quince and pear jam topped with fresh apple and my friend got the house-made granola with coconut and rose, skyr, seasonal fruit jam, and together we shared a freshly baked apple muffin with apricot jam (the best muffin I have had in a long time). On our second visit I got to taste the delights of the granola after hearing my friend sing its praise.
Seks Bakery & Eatery
Whether you’re looking for something light or something that will fill you up, Seks has got it all. Nestled in the city centre, this eclectic vegetarian eatery with a Middle Eastern inspired menu is the perfect stop for a flavoursome lunchtime bite. Focused on supporting local, Sek’s adopts a farm-to-table approach where most if not all the ingredients used in their dishes has been sourced from local Danish farmers and Nordic producers.
As someone who likes something on the lighter side for lunch, I ordered a Smørrebrød forår, otherwise known as the “spring sandwich”. Picture, two slices of sourdough with romaine lettuce, vesterhavs cheese, egg, homemade mayo, radish, chives, black pepper and sea salt flakes from Iceland!! So unbelievably tasty!
Fabro
Fabro is an Italian favourite in Copenhagen. Offering a relaxed, affordable dining experience with homestyle cooking, Fabro came highly recommended to us by a friend who lived in Copenhagen for six months on her university exchange. Unfortunately, as a walk-in only venue we missed out on getting a table at this tasty venue during our city visit, but despite this, the vibes coming from the space were nothing by trendy, chic and very-Scandi (aka effortlessly cool!). So, all in all if you don’t mind an early dinner or queuing for a bit for a good meal, be sure to add Fabro to your foodie bucketlist.
Palazzo Diner
After calling defeat on getting a seat at Fabro on our final night in Copenhagen we headed to Palazzo Diner, another Italian dining spot that came highly recommended.
If you’re looking for a place where you can get good value for your money than this is the place for you. From the whipped ricotta with honey and lemon oil, sage and warm crispy bread starter plate to the Pasta of the Month – an almond pesto with truffle and white asparagus, as my main course, every bite left me wanting more.
Bakeries
A city trip doesn’t come without its sweet treat stops and thankfully Copenhagen has plenty of spots to help with this. My top recommendations are:
- Juno The Bakery (be warned there will be a queue)
- Skipper Bageri (the quieter alternative to Juno, and just around the corner too)
- Hart Bakery (plenty of spots around the city)
- Lille Bakery (located in arguably one of the city’s most indie areas)
Where we explored
GANNI Postmodern
Have you even been to Copenhagen if you haven’t been the GANNI Postmodern?
As one of Denmark’s leading fashion labels, GANNI Postmodern is a concept store where you can browse archived collections, samples, and exclusive runway pieces from the brand at up to 60 percent off.
We biked over here from our hostel on our first day, which was a beautiful ride over the water and allowed to see another part of the city. While sadly nothing caught my eye during my visit to the store, GANNI Postmodern is still a great place to pop by and have a window shop.
Reffen
If anywhere is a must see in Copenhagen during the summer its Reffen!
This market located within the city’s industrial area across the harbour is a site of colourful repurposed shipping containers functioning as street food stalls. From Pan-Asian to Argentinian classics and over eight different bars to taste and sip from, there is something from everyone at Reffen.
With terrace seating, a beer garden and waterfront deck chairs to watch the sunset by the harbour, the nighttime atmosphere at Reffen is perfectly youthful, vibrant and social and a great place to spend an evening with friends in the city.
Hot tip: If you have time and your legs are up for it, I highly recommend biking over from central Copenhagen. The bike ride is relatively flat and with the sun setting late in summer it’s a great way to experience “golden hour”.
HAY
Founded in Copenhagen, HAY is a Danish homewares company that fuses contemporary design with stylistic features from the 50s and 60s.
With their flagship store and showroom, HAY House, located in Copenhagen’s pedestrian shopping strip, Strøget, you should definitely pay this venue a quick visit during your city trip and even pick up a colourful piece to add to your home.
Thrift Shopping
While there are plenty of new brands to shop from in the city, Copenhagen’s thrift shopping scene is also one to explore and channel your inner Scandi girl.
There are plenty of thrift shopping destinations to shop from across the city, the best places were found were located along Jægersborrggade and Elmegade. And if you’re lucky you might get your hands on a GANNI or Samsøe & Samsøe piece!
Nyhavn
Now finally, for those of you wondering where everyone gets that classic Copenhagen picture like the one that’s featured at the top of this article, Nyhavn is the place to go. This 17th century waterfront district famous for its colourful buildings and historic tall ships moored along the canal, I would controversially argue is the Circular Quay of Denmark. Despite its beautiful architecture and scenery, this area is tourist central! So, if you’re wanting to avoid unlocking full tourist mode during your stay in Copenhagen but want to tick this spot off the bucket list, I would highly recommend getting up early and taking that photo before the crowd creep in.
