We started our Scandinavia trip with a visit to Copenhagen, the charming capital city of Denmark. Arriving very early in the morning, after dropping our bags in the hotel, we headed for Strøget, the main shopping and dining street in the center of town.
We immediately spotted scrumptious pastries in a window of Lagkagehuset, a bakery that locals recommend as the best in Copenhagen.
We tried several different kinds of sweets. Tebirkes is a pastry similar in shape to a croissant, filled with a sugar and butter paste and sprinkled with white poppy seeds (birkes) on top.
Spandauer is a traditional Danish, a round pastry with a center of custard or raspberry jam.
We also tried a Kløbenboller, a sweet vanilla and orange flavored buns filled with raisins.
After this breakfast we were definitely ready for walking everywhere around the city.
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At the City Hall Square, we found some interesting dragon sculptures, a neat sign for Carlsberg beer saying "Probably the best beer in town", and some very cute hand-painted elephants.
The elephants were part of the summer exhibition designed as a campaign to save the Asian elephants, and were a huge hit with my daughter who had a lot of fun spotting them all over town. Bon Bon, the candy elephant, was her favorite.
In the City Hall Square, we also saw the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish author of fairy tales.
After quite a long walk to the harbor area, we were delighted to finally find the statue of Little Mermaid.
The royal castles in Copenhagen are very beautiful and fascinating to visit.
Christianborg castle is where the very first castle was built by Bishop Absalon, the founder of Copenhagen, in 1167. Beneath the Christianborg castle, we visited the ruins where parts of the Absalon's castle and as well as the second construction, the Copenhagen castle, can still be seen.
We were also able to walk through the castle itself, including the gorgeous Royal Reception Rooms and the Great Hall which contains tapestries telling the history of Denmark.
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In the Amalienborg Palace, the winter home of the Royal family, we saw changing of the guard.
The Rosenborg Castle hosts Royal jewels and the oldest Royal gardens that are a lovely retreat for both locals and tourists.
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We couldn't miss visiting Tivoli, the famous amusement park and gardens in Copenhagen. We were very lucky to spend the day there with our long-time friends who now live in Copenhagen and showed us around. In Tivoli, our friends took us to a konditori (bakery shop) that served Æbleskiver, the Danish pancake spheres served with jam. The Æbleskivers, traditionally eaten only around Christmas time, were not actually on the summer menu, but our friends requested that the bakery make it for us so we could try this wonderful Danish treat.
For lunch, we sampled Smørrebrød, open sandwiches at Peder Oxe, an excellent restaurant in the charming little square just off Strøget.
Dream herring fillets were served in a creamy dressing spiced with anchovies and accompanied by rye bread. This was our favorite sandwich.
The tiny bay shrimps were also delicious with lemon and caraway-seed buttered bread.
The most unusual sandwich for us was the smoked eel, a silver eel smoked with juniper berries.
A shot of Aquavit was just the thing to go with the Smørrebrød.
For one of the dinners in Copenhagen, we went to trendy Bio Mio, a restaurant that features healthy fusion cuisine with 100% organic fresh ingredients and beverages. This unique place has no waiters and the meals are ordered directly from the chefs who are making it behind the counters. The menu lists detailed description of the ingredients that go into each dish including the health benefits.
We tried the Cool Fish and Moroccan Meatballs, both of which were terrific.
Cool Fish - "Saithe fried in sesame served with a potato salad and
beetroot cream. The saithe are green on WWF’s list, because the stock is healthy and there are no significant problems with bycatch. A symphony of colours, vitamins and omega-3, which provides you with a lovely and light satiety. The saithe is a lean fish, rich on iodine, potassium and selenium. Good for your body and the conscience!"
Moroccan meatballs - "Dreamy meatballs of minced beef in a spicy tomato sauce served with a warm tabouleh of bulgur wheat, nuts and dried fruit as well as a cold mint sauce. BioMio’s version of the classic, which makes you think of two special dogs".
Our casual eats in Copenhagen were excellent and we also had an amazing dinner at one of the Michelin star restaurants in the city. This was a perfect culinary experience which I will describe in detail in my upcoming post, so please stay tuned!
