Tuesday 28 March 2017

Copenhagen



Copenhagen had been on my travel hit list for what felt like forever so I was really happy to finally get around to booking a mini break there this year. 
We opted to stay at Axel Guldsmeden which is an eco friendly and certified organic hotel close to the centre of town. When we arrived I was really impressed by how homely and cosy this hotel felt, it definitely had some 'hygge' factor which I had been hoping for.


Our Junior Suite was a really lovely room which had the added bonus of a huge freestanding bath tub at the bottom of the four poster bed. We were provided with bamboo toothbrushes, organic cotton bath towels, cruelty free toiletries and reusable water bottles to fill up from the tap.


This hotel was really perfect for our short stay and on one of the days we decided to make use of their own bike hire which made getting around the city really easy and it was very handy that we could just bring the bike right back to where we were staying. The hotel also has a small spa which we paid a one off fee of about £30 each to use for the whole duration of our stay. This was a really welcomed luxury especially in the evening and after being in the cold all day. 


On our second day in Copenhagen the weather really wasn't that great and we both had a bad case of saddle sore so my husband was really keen to try out the city's Green Mobility scheme which allowed us easy access to electric cars which were dotted around the city. We were so surprised by how easy this service was to setup and use and through the app we were able to walk up to and unlock a car and off we went! It was pretty amazing.


It also enabled us to get around to some places which were much further afield and take a road trip over the Oresund Bridge to Sweden. We ended up using one of these cars to drive ourselves back to the airport which worked out cheaper than getting a taxi and was more fun! Because these cars are electric they're really eco friendly and the city recognises this by allowing them to park anywhere for free.



We really enjoyed our drive over the border into Sweden and we got a really great view of the connecting bridge over the water, it was however much more expensive than we had imagined with the toll each way costing €50! You can watch our little road trip adventure in this vlog.

Copenhagen really exceeded my expectations in terms of being vegan friendly. There was so much choice and more places to visit than we even had time for! I was surprised because I had never really heard this city raved about by fellow vegans when really it deserves some recognition as an incredible choice for vegan travellers.

Vegan Eats  



We happened to stumble across Friends 7 Brgrs on our first night and it ended up being a great option. Although not a purely vegan or vegetarian restaurant they do an amazing vegan burger, fries and alioli dip. We really enjoyed our meal here! 


42 Raw is an amazing little vegan cafe perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch. The food we enjoyed here was incredible and possibly the best of the trip. As well as delicious breakfast bowls, pancakes and brunch plates they also have a selection of vegan cakes and counter products suitable for enjoying in or taking away. 


Our experience of the Paper Island street food hall was such a good one, I was very tempted to go back again later on during our stay. This place is full of different street food stands but even before we arrived I had Fala Fala pencilled down as a great option and thankfully the recommendations were not wrong. Their falafel pittas and fries were seriously good! This was the perfect lunch spot for us after building up an appetite biking around the city.


Copenhagen Contempory art gallery is also next door and well worth checking out as they had some really interesting installations including these wish trees by Yoko Ono.



We stopped at The Living Room one evening for a hot drink and it ended up being the most 'Hygge' find of our whole trip. This place is super cosy especially if you head downstairs to the darker room areas with comfy sofas and arm chairs. They have different plant based milks available and free wifi so it's a great place to stop to recharge for a while.




This was a great little cafe for a pit stop one day and the sign outside really made me giggle and drew me in. We just enjoyed a coffee here and they do offer some plant based milks. I believe they also have a couple of vegan options on the menu too - including f***ing good avocado toast! 


Souls was probably the most anticipated restaurant of our whole trip as it had been recommended to me so many times and I had seen some pretty impressive photographs of the food available. The first time we attempted to visit for breakfast it was closed for refurbishment and I was absolutely gutted. It did however open up again later that day so we decided to head back for dinner. When we arrived it was packed and I regretted not booking a table but thankfully the kind server squeezed us in as he recognised us from the earlier failed morning attempt to dine there. We both opted for the BBQ mushroom burgers and they were absolutely amazing! Sadly it was so dark inside it was impossible to get any decent photographs of the food. If we had more time I would have loved to visit there again for one of their brunch plates.  


We stopped at Cafe N for brunch one day and it was nice to go somewhere that felt less touristy and more like it was filled with locals. It's a really chilled out and cosy cafe that serves up some pretty impressive vegan food. We both picked the brunch plate and it did not disappoint. 


We made a brief stop at this infamous vegan bakery one day and picked up a couple of cinnamon buns to take away with us which we ended up enjoying inside the warmth of the e-car. I was amazed to find out that there is a purely vegan bakery in Copenhagen and the selection of treats available was pretty mind blowing! 


We enjoyed breakfast / brunch at Hope on our final day in Copenhagen and i'm so glad that we fitted this little gem in. It wasn't somewhere that had been recommended to me and instead somewhere which we happened to stumble across and I was so happy that we did. This was probably the most beautiful food we enjoyed during our whole stay and the presentation was seriously on point. Again this is a very chilled cafe which I could have easily sat in for a few hours. I also loved the interior design and decor of Hope.

Dop




I could not leave Copenhagen without trying one of Dop's infamous tofu hotdogs! It came with mustard, ketchup, gherkins and some kind of crunchy onion flakes which I believe are a traditional Danish hot dog toppings and it was divine!




On our drive back to the airport to go home we couldn't resist a little pit stop off at the Nice Cream shop I had heard about via Instagram. Even though it was really cold outside I couldn't wait to order one of their amazing looking acai bowls which was topped with a mountain of strawberries, banana, chocolate, coconut and nut brittle. It was quite simply an amazing concoction and pretty beautiful to look at too! 

Cool Shops



This shop was pretty close to our hotel and was my favourite shop of our entire visit. It has a mix of clothing, homeware, gifts and accessories and was just the ultimate place to coo over trendy Danish designs. A little pricey but the perfect place to pick up something authentic for your home. 

Hay



I had heard about Hay before visiting Copenhagen and I was excited to find it directly opposite 42 Raw where we had breakfast. This shop is more furniture than small trinkets but it really is a beautiful shop well worth checking out if, like me, you're into Danish / Scandic homeware and design.  


I came across Gagron whilst exploring the 'Jaegersborggade' street which had been recommended as a nice shopping street. I absolutely loved this shop and I think I spent about an hour in there looking at everything. It's devoted to eco friendly and sustainable living and is filled with nicknacks, homeware and cool inventions for your home. If only I had a bigger suitcase I could have easily have spent a lot of money in this shop!




This entire street was really nice to wander around and pop in a couple of shops. There's a mix of small independents and vintage / second hand shops. It's also home to the Kaktus shop which looked amazing. 

Fun Things To Do...




I think overall we had the most fun just exploring what the city had to offer on foot and on the bikes and losing ourselves along all the quirky little streets. It's a tourist hot spot but you can't not visit Nyhavn and it's colourfulness kept bringing me back to take more and more photographs. It's also nice to just sit outside one of the many bars / cafes in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings. It was freezing cold when we visited but the cafes generally all have heaters and blankets which made it even more enjoyable and 'hygge'. 




We also really enjoyed taking a canal boat ride from Nyhavn around the city. It only took an hour to do the entire route and it was great to see the sights from a different view on the water whilst getting some information and history about the architecture and culture.


One place which was slightly off the beaten track that we really enjoyed visiting and photographing was the Superkilen bike park.  


If you enjoy biking or skateboarding then this is the place to go! I personally just enjoyed snapping away and getting some interesting angles on the camera. It's just a cool place to hang out for an hour or so!


If you're feeling romantic you could place a love lock on a bridge like we did! I had planned for this and got my husband a personalised engraved padlock for Valentines so we were well prepared. It's something we've never done before and I thought it would make a nice memory of our time in Copenhagen. We placed ours on Bryggebroen bridge which I think is officially known for its love locks. I did however later notice that there were also quite a lot of love locks on the bridge at Nyhavn which I probably would have chosen as it's more of a central and famous point in the city.


All in all we had the best time exploring Copenhagen and I would really recommend it to anyone looking for a European mini break. With e-cars, e-bikes and e-boats available for hire there seems to real a emphasis on it being an environmentally friendly city which was really impressive to see. It's also probably the cleanest city I have ever visited. My only regret is not having more time to perhaps visit a couple of modern art galleries or the design museum which also looked pretty good.



        


If you'd like to see more of my trip to Copenhagen then be sure to check out my vlog!        
Share:

6 comments

  1. Awesome blog Sarah! Loved all the beautiful photos. Seems like you packed a lot into this trip, and I'm salivating at all the food photos! I agree, how could you not walk in to that cafe after seeing that eloquently advertised avocado toast, made me laugh too 😂.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Julie! So sorry for late response, I just found so many comments in my spam folder! Copenhagen is so great for vegans, i'm sure you'd love it! xx

      Delete
  2. These photos are incredible. I have always had Copenhagen on my list of places to visit alongside Berlin and Krakow as it always looked so intresting and different. The food looks amazing, its so important to me when planning a city break - if I can actually eat there lol.

    Have you ever been to a beach resort that was good for Vegans? Thinking somewhere like Lanzarote this year for a sunny holiday.

    www.hellosaralou.blogspot.com

    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahh thank you so much! We love Ibiza for a vegan friendly beach break and the last time went we found so many lovely places to eat. Just search Ibiza on my blog and you should see the posts! xx

      Delete
  3. Wow! Copenhagen looks beautiful, and it sounds like you had an amazing time! Wonder what it's like for gluten free travellers (I've got coeliac disease so have to avoid gluten at all costs!)- I'd love to go!

    http://carriepawleyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Yes i'm sure you'd find lots of gluten free options too, they seem very clued up when it comes to catering for all :-) xx

      Delete

© Sarahs Life And Style | All rights reserved.
Blog Design Handcrafted by pipdig