A winter weekend in Copenhagen

This past weekend, my parents came to visit, which is always great. Since they’ve been here a couple of times now, they already start to feel at home, and we can skip all the touristy stuff and focus on spending some quality time together, doing what we like.

On Saturday, we started off on Ravnsborggade, where we browsed through the antiques/ vintage stores. I wish I had known this place earlier, because it is amazing! There are at least 8-10 antique stores side by side, and you could spend countless hours hunting for treasure. Some of the stores specialize in furniture, some in clothes and accessories, some in decorations and glassware. And some are just basements crammed full with old stuff - electronics, pieces and parts of furniture, glass panes, old newspapers and magazines, and all sorts of undefinable kitsch. I highly suspect that you could hunt down some seriously great finds in places like this, but you’d probably have to spend hours upon hours.

We didn’t spend much time in each store, but I did find a treasure: this beautiful small Barbour cross body bag, that my dad spotted under a bunch of fur coats and granny blouses!

After our little shopping excess, we were in serious need of some refreshments, so I decided to show my parents the burger heaven that is Halifax. We slouched into a booth in their restaurant near Nørreport station and feasted on their delicious burgers and fries - seriously, best fries in town. I promise! With our full bellies, we only managed to make our way back home for a well-deserved nap on the couch.

After darkness had fallen, we headed into Tivoli, which is just as amazing in its Christmas outfit as it is for Halloween. The theme this year is “Christmas in the Alps” in celebration of the oldest rollercoaster’s 100 year anniversary. I’m always amazed and touched by the beautiful light-and-music show they put on at the lake. Like last year, the music is from The Nutcracker, and the lights and water show is just so pretty. Definitely go and see it! The rest of Tivoli is just as pretty.

To conclude the night, we headed over to the Plaza Hotel’s Library Bar to warm up with a cocktail. There was live piano music, and the girl did a great job. Seeing as there isn’t a lot of room in the bar, they had to get creative with their Christmas decorations! I also felt like a princess for about 10 seconds, while sitting in this awesome throne chair.

On Sunday, we went for breakfast/ brunch - honestly, if my life consisted exclusively of brunch and cocktails, I would be perfectly happy! I picked out The Union Kitchen in a street just off of Nyhavn, and it was a great choice! They are just the right mix of edgy, hipster, industrial chic with a dark twist, and they make great food and coffee - expect a separate post coming soon!

After a quick stint into Magasin, we headed back home, where we spent the rest of Sunday relaxing, taking a walk in the crisp, windy winter weather, making æbleskiver, and cooking a nice homemade dinner. Then, as is a good old German tradition, we watched “Tatort”, a crime series before heading off to bed. All in all, a perfect early winter weekend! Hope you had a great one, too - and have a great week!

Perfect sunny family weekend in Essen

Last weekend, I visited my sisters in Essen in the Ruhrgebiet in Germany. The weather forecast was on my side already, promising sun and warm temperatures - much, much needed, since Denmark does not seem to grasp the concept of spring… We do get sun, too, but it’s really tricky, because it’s still super cold and windy, so even though it’s April, I’m still wearing my winter coat. I did give my beloved trench a try, but soon regretted it and switched back. But it can only be a matter of weeks now until it gets warmer…

Anyway, in Essen, the weather was beautiful all weekend! I arrived late on Friday, and one of my sisters had to work, so we didn’t really do anything big Friday night. We used Saturday to catch up on some sleep and started with a big homemade brunch, before we headed out to the city to get some shopping done! My parents came out to Essen as well, so we had a lovely family “reunion”, enjoying some coffee in the sun before heading back home for a sort of “pot luck” early dinner - we basically bought and prepared all kinds of food, everything we were in the mood for, and not necessarily with a concept - awesome!

Coffee and wine - perfect spring combo!

Coffee and wine - perfect spring combo!

Saturday night, it was time for some cocktails, and we chose Neon Café & Bar (http://www.facebook.com/neonessen), where they have a happy hour arrangement and make killer cocktails. Plus, the super cute server brought us free shots with cassis flavor. Definitely recommended!

Cheers!

Cheers!

On Sunday, we went to Unperfekthaus for brunch. This house is awesome, it’s relatively central in Essen, a huge, 5-story building with a large café/ restaurant area on the ground floor, and the top floors are occupied by artists’ studios, music practice rooms, community areas, etc. It’s very hippie-like, and a super laid-back atmosphere. You basically pay a time-fee, based on how long you stay (they write down your arrival and departure times) and are free to help yourself to drinks the entire time (i.e. coffee, tea, and soft drinks). To this, you can add various amounts of food, e.g. just one plate, or the full buffet. We chose to pay 12,50 EUR for the brunch buffet, and we were not disappointed! Starting with standard breakfast items (bread, fresh rolls, yoghurt, fruit, cereal, jams, cold cuts, cheese etc.) to more brunch-like stuff (baked beans, eggs, bacon, sausages) all the way to full-on meals, such as gnocchi in a creamy sauce with herbs, soups, lasagna, potato salad, etc. Of course there were also cake, muffins and pudding for dessert! So basically, we spent the first 2 hours of our stay trying to stuff ourselves with as many of the yummy dishes as possible. Let me tell you now, it’s completely impossible to try everything - even if your choice is limited, e.g. by being a vegetarian like my sister! Afterwards, we strolled through the different floors, peeking into the studios (part of the deal is that the artists let visitors walk through their studios), all the way up to the roof top terrace, where we sat in deckchairs and enjoyed the sun for another 2 hours or so. All in all, a brilliant day, and I can only warmly recommend the Unperfekthaus (http://www.unperfekthaus.de)

Unperfekthaus, Essen

Breakfast of champions!

Funny table for sale at Unperfekthaus

Enjoying the good life - roof top tanning!

Enjoying the good life - roof top tanning!