DENMARK – Page 3 – Scandelights

A day in Copenhagen

Published on September 2, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A day trip to Copenhagen with Maria, Daniel and toddler Otto during the summer feels like a well established tradition by now and I hope we keep it up for many years to come.

Despite heavy rain as soon as we stepped out of the car we had a great day in the Danish capital. Luckily that was the only shower that day.

We started, like last year, with an early lunch at Wanna B and we can confirm that their burgers are still nice. Otto agrees and he especially liked the dressing.

After a walk and some shopping (mainly at Companys, & Other Stories, Cos, Hay and Notre Dame) we were in the mood for fika and wanted to sit down and found a nice café in the Main Library in the city centre near the pedestrian street (i.e. not the Black Diamond / Sorte Diamant) called Democratic Coffee Bar.

Daniel the coffee connoisseur was very pleased with the coffee and Maria and I liked the Danish with cookie dough filling. My organic juice drink was really nice too.

Then we headed to Copenhagen’s answer to Borough Market; Torvehallerne. Finally! It was my first visit here so we systematically hoovered the place from side to side so as to not miss anything.

There are plenty of nice shops selling pantry product as well as fresh produce, restaurants and take aways, Compared to Borough Market Torvehallerne feels very fresh and organised and it is a lot more spacious. But Borough Market is more well-stocked and offer more than one seller selling a similar product so you can compare and choose.

Luckily the weather turned and we had a sunny afternoon and evening. Perfect for a break and a glass of cava at the Cava Bar outside in between the two food halls.

We decided to get a takeaway since we had trouble choosing food and settled for a weird combination of smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwiches) and sushi for dinner.

The smørrebrød from Hallernes Smørrebrød were really nice and pretty too! We had one with marinated salmon, one with plaice and remoulad, one with roast beef and fresh horseradish and one with eggs, prawns, cress and lemon zest.

The rolls from Sushi Lovers were all amazing and super fresh. I will definitely come back here both to shop and eat. Thanks for a lovely day, guys!

Wanna B, Kompagnistræde 4, 1208 København K, Denmark

Democratic Coffee Bar, Krystalgade 15, København, Denmark

Torvehallerne, Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark

Dinner at Fortunen Bar & Spiseri, Copenhagen

Published on August 18, 2013August 15, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Copenhagen is only 20 minutes away from Malmö by train so you can imagine how many Swedish people there are in Copenhagen any given day. A lot of Swedes work here and lots come as tourists. And although I love to visit Copenhagen myself, I don’t like feeling like a tourist here. I feel I have spent too much time here and know it too well. Plus the language isn’t a problem; I can even count in Danish (which is a bit tricky for some).

Although very cosy and nice, I didn’t want to run the risk of ending up in Nyhavn where all Swedes hang out. It is by the riverfront and lovely but I have yet to find a nice restaurant that isn’t a tourist trap there. Instead I did some research on aok.dk (All about Copenhagen) to find somewhere low key with nice food and suitable to bring a baby to. Fortunen had all that and we really enjoyed our evening here! And the secretly enjoyed being the only Swedes in the restaurant despite the very central location.

It was super windy here by the river so we sat outside and had a drink but went downstairs into the cosy restaurant to enjoy our meal.

The menu consists of small plates (which I love) and you could choose any three for DKK 250 which we thought was great value for money. Maria and I chose the same dish to start and absolutely loved this creation of girolles, corn, potato foam and pickled onion.

Daniel chose the poached egg (which was very lightly poached and therefore when you stirred it became a sauce) with beetroot, yellow beets, peas, charred leek and parmesan. Also very nice!

The next dish for Maria and I were the hanger steak (onglet) with seaweed, shiitake (?) mushrooms and a soy jus. A great combination of flavours that really worked. And the meat was fabulous – one of my favourite cuts.

Daniel had cockrel with lentils and little gem lettuce and really enjoy the whole dish but the jus from the lentils was amazing.

After these dishes Maria and I were quite content and could move on to pudding, but since the dishes weren’t that big we completely understood that Daniel might need something more. He was so considerate that he ordered what he estimated was the quickest dish on the menu (all cold ingredients) so we didn’t have to wait too long. It was mackerel with buttermilk, broadbeans and dill and looked super fresh and light but might have been even better to start with than after a warm dish.

Then it was time for pudding. This time Daniel and I chose the same one; olive oil icecream with strawberries, beetroot meringues and white chocolate. It was incredibly nice!

Maria’s dish was even more interesting with the combination of vanilla icecream, buckthorn, caramel and dried black olives. It was gorgeous too!

I can highly recommend this restaurant. I love the mix of gourmet food combinations (that work) without the fuss, the nice ambiance and attentive service (at least from our waitress, not sure about the others).

Fortunen — Bar & Spiseri
Ved Stranden 18
1061 København K

A day in wonderful Copenhagen

Published on August 15, 2013August 14, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Growing up int he south of Sweden and it is safe to say that I know the Danish capital better than the Swedish one because of the close proximity to Copenhagen. We also had Danish TV channels growing up and I still feel like part of me is Danish.

When I was at University in Lund my friend Maria and I went to Copenhagen for the day quite often, just wandering around looking in shops and having a nice time. It is a small city but it has a lot more to offer than Malmö or Lund and the vibe is so very different.

With me living in the UK now I have less time to visit Copenhagen, even though I try to fit it in sometimes, and this summer Maria, Daniel and I decided it was time to go together again. We also had their son Otto coming with us. And as it was a really hot day it was handy to blame the baby for all the pitstops we did when we needed refreshments or to sit down.

We drove over the pretty Öresund bridge (as in The Bridge) and after having found parking and a quick walk it was lunch time. We opted for the outside tables at Wanna B and their burger (also the lunch special) but their avocado salad with cashew nuts looked lush too. The burger was really nice, served with cheese and bacon in a ciabatta bun with chunky fries and a chilli dip.

Then it was time for some shopping. We made a stop at Kirk an interior shop at Strædet that I really like. The style is quite British and masculine.

We also discovered Hay House, one of the two shops in Copenhagen from the very popular brand. Hay House has apparently been in the same spot for the last four years and yet neither of us has noticed it. It is well worth a visit though. The shop is set in a large flat with decorative molding on the ceiling, parquet floors and large windows. It would be great to live here but it works as a shop too, displaying their lovely designs in the different rooms. We also had coffee and cake at Illum and dinner in the evening, but that restaurant review will get its own post.

Denmark: Helsingor and the Karen Blixen museum

Published on November 22, 2012 by HannaLeave a comment

Even though I am Swedish and love my country, Denmark is like a second home to me. Because I’m from the south of Sweden, I even fly to Denmark when I go home, and the train from Copenhagen takes only 12 minutes to Sweden. It is that close.

Because of the close distance I also grew up with the Danish television channels, and we always went on family holidays or day trips to all over Denmark when I was little.

I still really like Denmark, it has a different vibe than Sweden. A little bit more relaxed and less controlled. A little more bohemian if you like.

When I went home to visit my parents last weekend, we went to Sweden for a day. Our first stop was the little town of Helsingor, only 20 minutes away from Swedish Helsingborg by ferry. Again, so close.

We have been here several times before, and it is a cute little town with picturesque houses, littles cafés and shops.

As usual we popped into this amazing cheese shop that also sells wine, charcuterie, biscuits and jams. They are also happy for you to taste the cheese before you buy it.

There is a certain smell in Danish cheese shops, as their own domestic cheeses are rather smelly. They are lovely though, and my dad’s favourite, so we parted with quite a large block of Sorte Sara, and a few other cheeses.

By the harbour there is a square with a large flower stall and my mother always buys something here.

We also popped into an old café, to avoid the tourist traps, and had a lovely open sandwich with a tonne of prawns and mayonnaise, followed by some cake.

When we left Helsingor we drove south along the sea front towards Copenhagen, where you see some impressive houses, lots of swans bopping in the sea and little cute harbours for sail boats.

A while after the half way point to Copenhagen you pass Rungsted, and it is in that village you find the Karen Blixen museum.

Blixen was a famous author and artist who lived parts of her life on a farm in Africa. She is most famous for the books about her time there that was made into the Oscar winning film Out of Africa with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Rungstedlund is her home that after her death was made into the museum it is today. To the left there is an exhibition about her and straight on is her home preserved as it was when she lived there.

Denmark: Nykobing, Falster and Koge, Zealand

Published on August 7, 2012 by HannaLeave a comment

When I was back in Sweden I left the country for the neighbouring Denmark for a few days with my parents, just to get away a little. We drove down to the island Falster and back, making stops along the way.

Nykobing-Falster is a cosy little town with plenty of German tourists.

We arrived in the afternoon and found a cute bakery called Bjornebagaren (the Bear Baker) named after the statue outside.

On the way back to Sweden we stopped in Koge, a lovely old city quite close to Copenhagen. We found another café there in a nice courtyard looking typically Danish with yellow walls, green windows and hollyhocks in the flower beds.

We also had icecream, and since I was little I always order guf (like marshmallow fluff) when I am in Denmark. Yum!

Denmark: Gisselfeld, Zealand, Denmark

Published on August 2, 2012August 2, 2012 by HannaLeave a comment

My parents are good at coming up with nice places to visit, both at home in Skåne and across the waters in Denmark. As we were driving down towards the islands Lolland and Falster we stopped at Gisselfeld Abbey; a castle with a lovely orangery, park, shop and restaurant.

The orangery is really big and contains lots of different plants, and although I find it beautiful I definitely have a shorter attention span to such things than my gardening mother.

Isn’t it beautiful?!

Outside of the orangery there was a nice display of pots and plants and inside it was full to the brim with geranium and little orange trees.

I really appreciated the beauty of this place but when the blod sugar levels drop I was really pleased to find the restaurant on the grounds.

The restaurant and cafée was just as nice as the gardens. The tables were wooden and painted in a dark green and there was a box filled with cushions by the counter to put on your chair and sit comfortably. Even the table decorations were thought through and consisted of edible pea shoots. How clever!

Both mum and dad went for the Paris patty; a beef patty served on bread with a poached egg on top and served with three different sauces. Simple but well cooked.

I was super hungry and went for the homemade burger served with quickly pickled cucumber and homemade dressing. Very nice!

Gisselfeld Klostercafé

Gisselfeldvej 12

4690 Haslev

Denmark