Tips From VISI’s Editor-in-Chief Sumien Brink: Four Days In Copenhagen

PHOTOS Astrid Rasmussen iPHONE PHOTOS Sumien Brink

In September last year, VISI Editor-in-Chief Sumien Brink spent four unforgettable days in Copenhagen. It went something like this…

I was invited by Wonderful Copenhagen, the tourism organisation for the Capital Region of Denmark, to take a short trip to the city. It was a first for me in so many ways. Who knew it was possible to pack so much into four days?

TUESDAY

We arrive at Copenhagen Airport at 7 am. Outside it’s overcast and grey, but our companion for the next few days, Ditte Nytofte, is all smiles and sunshine. The first things I see as we leave the airport are rows and rows of wind turbines in the lush green parkland around the airport, impressive sculptures placed perfectly all around the park, and hundreds of people cycling to work. In no time we are booked into the newly refurbished Hotel SKT. Annæ, which has a courtyard shaded by a two-storey-high tree.

Conditori La Glace Confectionary: Our day starts with coffee and cakes at one of the city’s oldest coffee shops.

Strøget Shopping Street: Fuelled by cake and caffeine, we have the energy to walk all the way down one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in the world. We pop in at Hay Copenhagen, Georg Jensen, Royal Copenhagen, Illums Bolighus and a host of other Scandinavian design stores that line this iconic street.

Palægade Restaurant: For lunch we have classic Danish open-faced sandwiches, aka smørrebrød, as interpreted by young chefs at this highly rated restaurant.

Goboat: We hire a solar-powered boat from Islands Brygge 10 and discover more of Copenhagen from the water. I wonder where else in the world is a working harbour’s water so clean that children can swim in it.

Copenhagen Street Food: We enjoy pre-dinner drinks at the water’s edge, served at one of the city’s hip street-food markets, where food trucks offer dishes from 17 countries.

108 Restaurant: Our first day in Copenhagen ends with supper at 108, a spin-off of the famous Noma. This Michelin-star restaurant uses only local ingredients and cooking methods, such as pickling, fermenting and foraging. For me, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

WEDNESDAY

Guided Bike Tour
Day two kicks off with a bicycle tour, the best way to experience the city. I have not cycled in 10 years, but I am more than willing to give it a try. Unfortunately I come horribly short when I get a light bump from a cyclist speeding past me and fall off my bike. But I get up and manage to cycle all the way to the sculpture of The Little Mermaid. I must agree with René Redzepi, Danish chef and owner of Michelin-star Noma restaurant, that unlike the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House or our own Zeitz MOCAA, The Little Mermaid doesn’t exactly fill you with awe when you first encounter it. But it is certainly worth the ride.

Lunch at SimpleRAW: After working up quite an appetite, we eat a healthy and very good vegan lunch at SimpleRAW, a raw-food restaurant in an 18th-century building on Grabrodretorv, a picturesque public square in the Latin Quarter.

Local Craft
We visit some great local crafters’ workshops, including Sögreni, which still makes bicycles by hand!

Frederiksborg Castle in North Sealand
Set in the most beautiful formal garden on three islets, Frederiksborg Castle is a bit of a drive out of Copenhagen, but so worth it.

Meet the Danes
We have supper in a typical Danish summer house belonging to a couple who came up with the concept of inviting visitors into Danish homes. We enjoy delicious home-cooked food and a relaxed atmosphere in a beautifully furnished home.

THURSDAY

Arken Musem of Modern Art: No visit to Copenhagen would be complete with out a visit to the extraordinary Arken Museum, which specialises in Danish, Nordic and international art. The building resembles a beached ship and the museum shop is exceptional.

Den Gule Cottage Restaurant: This yellow cottage in the idyllic Deer Park north of Copenhagen serves food inspired by nature, the seasons and great produce.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: One of the most beautiful museums in the world is located some 40 km from Copenhagen. The buildings, the art, the setting (you can see Sweden across the water) and the incredible garden are all remarkable. This is the first time I experience an artwork by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, which is life-changing.

Tivoli Gardens: Nothing could have prepared me for the spectacle that is the Tivoli Gardens. I’m not a lover of theme parks, but this is a theme park with a difference. Everything is old and made from wood, and never before have I seen roses and dahlias this size! Dinner at Restaurant Brdr. Price is the perfect ending to a perfect day as we enjoy traditional Danish food made modern by brothers James and Adam Price.

FRIDAY

The Danes are a super healthy bunch who walk and cycle every where, and our final day in Copenhagen proves to be something of a fitness test. We start with a walk to the Botanical Garden by way of the King’s Garden and Rosenborg Castle, before we are treated to a late brunch at Aamanns restaurant, where a modern take on the traditional smørrebrød is served. Then we embark on a tour of the Torvehallerne, where I am tempted to buy too many gourmet goodies for my own good.

Ørestad: The afternoon is spent walking around the Ørestad district, which is built around nature and water. Featuring a mix of architect-designed residential and university buildings, the area has become popular with students and young families.

Last Night

After a drink at Hotel SKT. Annæ’s fine-dining restaurant Format, we have dinner at Denmark’s first rooftop farm, Gro Spiseri in Østerbro. Dinner is served in a glasshouse on top of a four-storey building. People from diverse backgrounds work together to shape the menu and select natural wines to accompany the dishes. (Our very own Kobus van der Merwe of Wolfgat fame cooked here last week!) What a way to end our time in Copenhagen!

SATURDAY

In the last few hours before we have to leave for the airport I have just enough time to visit the Design Museum Denmark to see first-hand all the Danish design classics and to buy designer toothbrushes at the shop.

Our last lunch is at Restaurant Manfreds, known as “The world’s only veggie-focused restaurant famous for its raw meat.” Steak tartare is the signature dish. Located in Jægersborggade, the restaurant is surrounded by small design shops, the Coffee Collective, Meyers Bakery and the sweets shop Karamelleriet, which makes the most amazing caramels.

After only four days I am not quite ready to go home. I suspect if I had visited Copenhagen in my 20s I might never have come back to Africa.