Design diary: Copenhagen
You could say that we ended up in Copenhagen for a February weekend on a whim. More precisely – a Black Friday, too-good-to-be-true airfare-induced whim (my sister has become all too accustomed to getting frequent texts from me like, “SAS has roundtrip tickets from Chicago to Copenhagen for $400. You in?”).
We knew upfront that the circumstances wouldn’t be perfect: we were both tight on PTO days, so we’d have to make the most of a long weekend. We knew we’d have to be jet lag jedis: by the time we’d had a chance to fully adjust, we’d have to turn right back around and head home. And we knew that the weather would be far from ideal: likely cold, overcast and dark, with late sunrises and early sunsets.
But lucky for us, we didn’t overthink it: we requested a few days off of work, plunked our credit cards down, and started obsessively Googling things like “Copenhagen design scene” and “do I need a full-length parka in Denmark in mid-February” (in our experience, the answer is no).
Before we knew it, we were en route to what would become one of our favorite European cities. The highlights were many, including:
- Saunas (looking at you, Villa Copenhagen – IYKYK)
- Baby’s first smørrebrød (a Danish culinary invention that predates Noma by several centuries)
- More Scandi-chic concept stores than my design-loving heart could handle
Keep reading for our love letter to the Copenhagen design scene.
On a favorite indulgence – the European long weekend
I won’t lie: I used to think that Americans who jetted off to Europe for a long weekend were certifiably insane. Between the sky-high airfares and the inevitable disruption to your circadian rhythm, it just didn’t seem worth it to me – until I tried it.
There are 3 rules to making this type of trip worth your while. The first rule is simple: optimize for convenience. Direct flights only, no connections or long drives required. As much as possible, you want to minimize the amount of time spent in transit, aside from your transatlantic flight.
The second rule: master the art of recovering from jet lag. After years of international travel, I finally have a formula down: no caffeine the week of my trip, a prosecco-and-melatonin-gummy cocktail to help me wind down on the plane, and at least 20,000 steps after I land. If you cannot survive on day 1 without a nap, cut yourself off after 90 minutes. Don’t be afraid to self-medicate within reason, whether you need uppers (another cup of coffee) or downers (a sleeping pill).
The third rule? Accept what you cannot change: that you will absolutely, positively, not get to do everything on your list. We left Copenhagen with a long list of spots that we simply didn’t have time for: museums (architect and designer Finn Juhl’s house, The Glyptotek), restaurants (Noma, of course, and Sankt Peders Bageri for cinnamon rolls), bars (Curfew, Balderdash) and shops (The Apartment and Erik Bendtsen’s ceramics studio, among many, many others).
Moral of the story? Take the Eurotrip, even if you can’t swing a full week away. Just try not to be too smug when you tell people you’re jet-setting abroad “just for the weekend.”
On whether hygge lives up to the hype
About a decade ago, the world went gaga for the Danish concept hygge (pronounced “hoo-ga”), which is defined as “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” That’s a word salad-y way of saying, basically, cozy vibes that make you feel good.
Part of the hygge mystique stems from how it helps the Danes survive during dreary, dark winters: think cozying up in front of the fireplace with plush blankets and warm beverages, bathed in soft candlelight and surrounded by piles of books, with nowhere to be and nothing to do but enjoy your own company.
We saw signs of hygge all over Copenhagen:
- Restaurant patios outfitted with fire pits, heaters, twinkly lights and luxe blankets (and in one case, chic furs) thrown over the chairs – and packed with diners, even in February.
- Lush winter gardens – spacious, light-filled interior courtyards with sweeping skylights and greenery galore (On our list for our next visit: The Glyptotek’s palm tree-filled winter garden, which has likely graced your Instagram feed).
- Sauna culture. The 10,000-year-old practice of getting your sweat on in tiny, enclosed spaces is alive and well in Copenhagen. For even more hygge, consider capping off a sauna session with a few laps in a heated pool – a ritual which became part of our evening wind-down routine during our stay at Villa Copenhagen.
Not pictured? Me, frantically scribbling down notes and snapping blurry pics of hygge-inspired vignettes to recreate at home.
On eating well – even in Noma’s shadow
About a minute after we bought our plane tickets, I added our names to the waitlist at Noma. This iconic three Michelin star restaurant has been named “Best Restaurant in the World” no fewer than 5 times and made global headlines when it announced that it would be closing in 2024 (spoiler alert: it didn’t, and as of this writing is still accepting reservations).
We had many lucky breaks on this trip – but getting off of Noma’s waitlist wasn’t one of them. But does that mean we didn’t eat well in Copenhagen? Au contraire. We quickly learned that many of the city’s top restaurants, bars and bakeries have Noma alums at the helm. These establishments often apply Noma’s signature New Nordic Cuisine ethos in novel ways – whether that’s the locally-sourced beef and brews on tap at POPL, a gourmet burger joint with a deceptively simple menu, or the tortillas made fresh daily using indigenous heirloom corn varietals imported from Mexico at Sanchez, an upscale bistro in trendy Vesterbro.
Our favorite culinary experience in Copenhagen, though, was a refreshing break from Noma-mania: we bopped all over town on a guided food tour that had us scarfing down everything from organic hot dogs to black licorice twists (a Danish favorite that I can’t say I care to try again) to an impressive spread of smørrebrød, open-faced rye bread sandwiches piled high with toppings like roast beef and pickled herring.
We left the tour feeling pleasantly stuffed, in need of an afternoon nap, and with a long list in my iPhone’s Notes app filled with our guide’s recommendations for other restaurants, bars and bakeries to check out (we have him to thank for stop at Det Lille Apotek, the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen with its charming mishmash of chintzy interior styles).
On Copenhagen’s vibrant art scene
Copenhagen has long maintained its reputation as one of the world’s great design capitals, as the birthplace of midcentury Danish Modernism and home to high-design contemporary brands like HAY, Ganni and Georg Jensen. And the exhibitions at Designmuseum Danmark – covering objects from ceramics to textiles to furniture and more – bring its design heritage to life in vivid, sometimes technicolor, relief.
But insiders have long recognized that Copenhagen punches above its weight in the art department, too – with world-class museums, royal architecture and interiors, public art installations, and meticulously curated private collections (looking at you and your $2 million art collection, Villa Copenhagen).
The crown jewel (well, aside from the ones on display at Rosenborg Castle)? Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, a complex of long, low exhibition halls and a sprawling sculpture garden that integrate seamlessly into the Danish coastline 35 kilometers north of Copenhagen. Come for the special exhibitions (we caught Dana Schutz’s Between Us, a retrospective so arresting that it later inspired my sister’s own portrait painting practice), stay for the permanent collection’s must-sees (including a Yayoi Kusama infinity room, a gigantic bronze thumb by César, and three Alexander Calder mobiles that sway hypnotically in the wind in the outdoor sculpture garden).
But perhaps our favorite thing about Copenhagen’s art scene was that it wasn’t contained solely within the four walls of museums and galleries; rather, it spilled out onto the streets and parks in the form of free public art. Our favorite installations included:
- Kosmik Rum (Cosmic Room) by Tróndur Patursson (Faroese, b. 1944), a domed, mirrored room where visitors can immerse themselves in a kaleidoscopic fever dream of deep blues, purples and grays, located just across the bridge from Nyhavn.
- Blue Earth by Maj D (Danish, contemporary), a massive, hollow sphere adorned with more than 10,000 pieces of plastic waste in every shade of blue (you can spot turquoise bowling pins, discarded Crocs, and even a Frozen-branded pail). While we saw Blue Earth when it was on display during the 2023 Copenhagen Light Festival, the installation now travels worldwide to raise awareness for the dangers and urgency of climate change.
- Fragments of reality by Alessandro Lupi (Italian, contemporary), a kinetic installation that involved suspending small mirror fragments across a canal in central Copenhagen. The mirrors glimmered and glittered in the wind, catching beams of sunlight by day and street lamps at night. The overall effect? Magical.
On shopping for Scandi-chic souvenirs
I’ll be brutally honest: we just barely scratched the surface of Copenhagen’s shopping scene (another casualty of our short-and-sweet itinerary). But, true to form, I did manage to fill my suitcase with a few memorable treasures:
- An exhibition catalog of the Dana Schutz retrospective, Between Us, on view at Lousiana Museum of Modern Art
- A glittering glass Christmas ornament depicting King Christian IV’s crown
- A set of hand-thrown, hand-glazed ceramic bowls from Studio Arhoj (which have become mainstays in my kitchen rotation, especially since they’re microwave and dishwasher-safe)
- A silk scarf in a lively blue-and-white floral pattern with a graphic striped border from Arket, which looks lovely tied around the handle of my favorite leather tote bag
On my next trip to Copenhagen, The Apartment is at the very top of my must-visit list. This concept store meets design showroom has a cult following among interior designers and offers a masterclass in layering colors, patterns and textures in unexpected ways. While I fully expect to do more window shopping than buying – even small decorative items start at a cool $1,000+ – a girl can dream, eh?
More Copenhagen tips, tricks & recs
- City guide: Copenhagen for design lovers for design-forward recs for where to stay, eat, drink, explore & shop
- Review: Villa Copenhagen, for an in-depth review of our stay at the buzziest hotel on the Copenhagen design scene
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