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!

All pump(kin)ed up: Halloween Tivoli

As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I love Halloween Tivoli! I also love Christmas Tivoli, and summer Tivoli, but that’s a story for a different day - you can be sure, though, that a post on Christmas Tivoli is definitely coming up!

It had been raining like crazy last weekend, but we were hopeful that it would stop come Monday (doesn’t it always?!), so a friend and I headed out Monday afternoon to take a look. As expected, the Tivoli decorator teams went completely berserk, and we loved it! First of all, pumpkins EVERYWHERE! Second, spooky decorations. Skeletons, zombies, spider webs, you name it, it was there.

DSC_0293

DSC_0297

They also have a special haunted house called Hotel Scary, but since we’re both huge sissies (okay, it’s me. I’m the sissy), we decided not to enter. I should say that I’m probably the easiest person ever to startle and scare, so I tend to stay away from haunted houses and the like. I’m too young to die of a heart attack!

DSC_0302

“The perfect way to ruin a good date”

There’s plenty of fun things to do for kids as well, and since we’re just big kids, too, we happily stirred in the witch’s cauldron for a photo op.

DSC_0309

Did I mention that there were a lot of pumpkins?

DSC_0304

HUGE pumpkins!

DSC_0314

GIGANTIC PUMPKINS!

DSC_0305

If you feel you’re in need of a break from all the pumpkin madness, why not treat yourself to a nice hot chocolate at one of the cafés - doesn’t this look super cozy?

DSC_0299

We rewarded ourselves with a huge portion of churros with caramel sauce, and continued to wander through the spooky atmosphere. I really love the way they put these pumpkin-head figures together in little scenes!

DSC_0323

We left before it went dark, but I can only imagine that the park will be even more awesome (and spooky!) when darkness has fallen and all the undead rise! On the way out, I did indeed almost suffer a minor heart attack - one of the park attendants was wearing white face paint and white contact lenses - eek! After dark, there are even more costumed staff roaming the walkways, so I will obviously only go back with my Viking to protect me!

Have you been to Halloween Tivoli yet? And did you dare to enter Hotel Scary, or chicken out, like I did?

Weihnachtliches Kopenhagen

So, mein erster Post also auf diesem neuen Blog!

Saisonal passend beschäftigt der sich natürlich auch direkt mit der wunderschönen Weihnachtsdekoration und -atmosphäre, denn die wird in Kopenhagen bereits ab ca. Mitte November ausgepackt! Während ich also noch, ganz amerikanisch angehaucht, mein Thanksgiving am 28. November plante, musste ich schon ganz panisch feststellen, dass an Dekoration leider nur noch weihnachtliche Farben und Motive in den Geschäften zu haben war. Doch mittlerweile ist ja nun Dezember, da kann ich mich beruhigt ganz auf das Weihnachtsfeeling einlassen!

Hier ein paar weihnachtliche Eindrücke:

Lichter und Weihnachtsfiguren am Hotel d’Angleterre:

Indoors-Schlittschuhbahn im Fisketorvet (Einkaufszentrum)

WP_20131203_005

Weihnachtliche Dekoration und Lichtermeer im Tivoli

SavedPicture-201312514748.jpg

WP_20131203_018

Bei einem Besuch im weihnachtlichen Tivoli darf natürlich die angemessene Verpflegung nicht fehlen: Kakao mit Schuss (Rum), einen dampfend heißen Glögg, und natürlich Æbleskiver mit Erdbeermarmelade und Puderzucker… Die Adventszeit in Dänemark ist einfach toll!

Weihnachtliche Grüße,

Laura