PHOTO DIARY: Roskilde, Denmark, June 2017

With our flight leaving Copenhagen in the evening we had to get from Aarhus to Zealand, whilst also managing to visit a ton of places en route. Of course we managed it, whilst also having a couple of great meals in the process.

DAY SEVENTEEN

Copenhagen on a budget

When you think about a cheap city break, Copenhagen probably doesn’t spring to mind. In fact, Denmark has a reputation for being one of the most expensive countries in the world. And you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that. With a 25% sales tax (VAT for my British friends) added to everything, shit gets expensive. But don’t let that fool you into thinking you have to splash the cash to have a good time. Copenhagen is definitely doable on a (reasonable) budget.

Now, my recent trip to Denmark was not a budget holiday and it would be disingenuous to pretend that it was. However, despite spending a small fortune on food come dinner time, we pulled back costs on others things and were pretty budget friendly most of the time.

PHOTO DIARY: Copenhagen, Denmark, May 2017

Oh Copenhagen, how I love you dearly!

There's a lot of cities I've visited that I've fallen in love with, heck most place I travel to I fall in love with. But there's very few cities where I get that "I want to live here for the rest of my life" feeling. And Copenhagen is one of them. I knew in advance of our trip that I'd fall hard for the capital of Denmark. And fall hard, head over heels, crying at the thought of leaving, I did. There's just something special about Scandinavia, something that pulls me back to this part of the world year after year, that makes it feel like home. And Copenhagen is that Scandinavian mecca that expresses everything I love about this part of the world. The design, the laid back attitude, the beautiful food, the beautiful people, and that feeling that everything fits together 'just right'.

We spent a whirlwind five days in the city, seeing and eating everything we could. We even hopped over to Sweden, and drove around the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen. This post is a lengthy one but I enjoy recording what I get up to each day on holiday. So grab yourself a cuppa and settle down for an insight into my 120 hours in Copenhagen.

DAY ONE

Memories of Denmark

I'm not long back from a two week and a half road trip around Denmark and my goodness I cannot wait to tell you how amazing this country is. Having visited Copenhagen back in 2009 I was expecting the rest of the country to be wonderful, but I was blown away by just how charming, pretty, and full of joy Denmark is. Denmark isn't like Copenhagen, well maybe Aarhus is a little. Cities are small, villages are full to the brim of cutesy, colourful houses, and day-to-day life is peaceful. Not to mention that the people are some of the friendliest you'll find.

A couple of years ago Steve and I did a road trip around Iceland which was indescribably out-of-this-world. Whilst Denmark doesn't have the same dramatic landscapes, it does have it's own unique style of beauty. Denmark is flat, when you come across a hill it's a big deal, which is why there are so many cyclists. The luscious, green landscapes stretch as far as the eye can see. The coast is an eclectic source of glorious white beaches and dramatic cliffs. The architecture is stunning, from rainbow coloured bungalows, end-of-the-world light house and sand swept churches, stunning design museums that will make you want to move in immediately, and ancient Viking fortress ruins that are so incomprehensibly old it's hard to believe they're real. Denmark has it all and when you take into account how small and easy to travel the country is, it's the perfect place for a stress free and beautiful road trip.

Whilst I'm hardly a pro on Denmark I feel like we covered so much ground that I can give you an excellent overview of the country. Some of the places we visited I would return to in a heartbeat, whilst others I could happily never visit again, not because they weren't nice but because I left feeling satisfied. Plus there's still a few parts of the country I need to save for another trip.

Where to eat in Copenhagen, Denmark

A big reason for wanting to visit Denmark was to indulge in New Nordic cuisine. I love the concept of using only the most local of ingredients in your cooking. Not only does it promote local business and environmentally friendly practices, but it also leads to innovation, exciting and unique flavour combinations, and dishes that you can't find else where.

Had we not been spending over two weeks in Denmark, I would have liked to have visited a Michelin starred restaurant such as Geranium, Kadeau, or Relæ. But with Noma closed during our visit, I had this all or nothing mentality - if I couldn't visit the restaurant that invented the New Nordic movement then I'm not going to bother with the others. Anyway, my wallet breathed a sigh of relief when it realised it wouldn't be forking out for these types of meals.

That being said, Denmark, as I'm sure you've heard many people say, is not a cheap place to eat. With a 25% sales tax, the cost of eating out can rocket. Most of our dinners hit the £70 to £90 mark which is of course expensive, but also comparable to some of the restaurants Steve and I frequent in London. While this is extremely far from a budget dinner, the thing I will say is that the food in Denmark is some of the best I have ever experienced. The quality of the ingredients, the inventiveness of the flavour combinations and the exceptional service meant that I never once felt a meal wasn't worth the price.

What I did come to realise is that there's isn't a huge difference in price between your casual all-day cafe type places and somewhere a little higher end. If you can afford to spend a little extra per person when it comes to dinner then it's worth seeking out those higher quality restaurants, you will not be disappointed.

If you want to eat well without going bust then my best advice is to avoid alcohol, or at least wine. Steve and I don't tend to hit the booze too hard on holiday, a few bottles of local beer will do us just fine which is great because this is a much more affordable option.

So onto the food. I did a lot of research for where we were going to eat and it absolutely paid off because everywhere was wonderful and I cannot wait to share my recommendations with you.

BREAKFAST / BRUNCH