winairtravel

Our stop in the vibrant city of Copenhagen, considered the coolest kid in the Nordic block and is usually voted the happiest place on earth, was unexpected and unplanned.

Our Norwegian Air flight from Bergen, Norway to Providence, Rhode Island in the U.S. was cancelled so we were rerouted to Copenhagen then on to New York’s JFK airport. It was indeed a very disappointing redirection considering that my wife and I had our 6-month and 17-month old babies in tow but instead we chose to focus on the positive side that we would be able to visit Copenhagen for two days all-expense paid by the airline.

Welcome to Copenhagen!

 

Where We Stayed

The airline booked us at the contemporary AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen which is a 10-min drive away from the airport. A complimentary airport shuttle runs between the airport and the hotels near it.

From the proudly Danish-branded Bang and Olufssen TV to the minimalist yet artistic room design and furnitures, the 4-star hotel was indeed a fresh lodging experience for us.

 

This is the hotel room almost in its entirety taken using a panorama shot.

 

The room was spacious enough for my wife and my two little babies.

 

 

I just loved the tiny living area.

 

 

Around Copenhagen

Our hotel was located just roughly thirty minutes away from the city center so it was easy for us to roam around the city.

The hotel where we were staying was located in Bella Center and there was a nearby metro station just less than five minutes walk.

 

 

Surprisingly, only debit cards were accepted to buy metro tickets at the automated kiosks in the station.

 

 

Our only metro stop for the day was Nyhavn.

 

 

This was the view when we went up from under the metro station on our way to Nyhavn.

 

Here are some snapshots as we walked our way to Nyhavn.

 

Finally……

….we reached the busy, touristy area of Nyhavn.

 

 

The colorful facades of 17th and 18th century buildings that house restaurants, bars and cafes lined up the river.

 

 

 

My wife and my daughter in the Nyhavn area.

 

 

The famous Nyhavn building.

 

 

There’s also a love lock bridge in the area.

 

 

I sure do loved the tourist boats and historical ships docked in the river.

 

 

We also witnessed the breathtaking and heartbreaking act of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei as he barricaded the windows of the Kunsthal Charlottenborg museum with more than 3,500 salvaged life jackets worn by migrants and collected on the Greek island of Lesbos temporarily to celebrate World Refugee Day.

 

 

The artwork was named “Soleil Levant” – French for “Sunrise” – and was inaugurated on World Refugee Day.  Ai Weiwei wants to put attention to the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, or as he calls it, the human crisis.  The beautiful thing about this piece is that every one of those life jackets, 3,500 life jackets, represents a human story.

 

 

Next are some photos of the yellow buses plying around the city…….

 

 

…..the hop-on, hop-off tourist buses…..

 

 

 

…..and finally the amazing bicycles and their protected cycle tracks.  There are more than half a million bicycles in Copenhagen, more bikes than people.

 

A staggering 36% of its residents prefer bike as the mode of transportation in going to work and school.

 

 

Copenhagen is probably the most bicycle-friendly city in the world.

 

 

The Dining Experience

The dining experience in Denmark has been redefined largely by NoMa chain of restaurants that started in Copenhagen. We did not have the time to dine on a NoMa outlet (yeah as if we could beat the waiting list) but I could say the food scene in Copenhagen is truly one of the best in the world. If a Japanese city embodies a meticulously-prepared Asian food, I could say that Copenhagen does the Western food to perfection.

At our hotel, a simple dish of tatar of hay smoked salmon, tarragan mayo, pickled onions and crispy herbs was presented perfectly not mentioning its awesome taste.

 

The pasta was prepared un-Italian, tasting like a five-star new dish. This was just fettucine with creamy mushroom sauce, roasted mushrooms, asparagus, North Sea cheese and watercress but it tasted heavenly.

 

 

Even a simple chicken salad took our breath away!  Grilled chicken (really out of this world taste!), heart lettuce, anchovy mayo and North Sea cheese sour dough crumbs.

 

Finally, this was my favorite although the picture does not justify the taste. ‘Nordic Beef’ Burger, brioche bun, bacon, smoked cheddar, spicy aioli, pickled red onion relish at the AC Hotel Bella Sky.  Even my wife agreed that this burger tastes very good!

 

Some drinks in Danish version.

 

For desserts we had them in the city center in Restraurant Vita near Nyhavn.

First we had the Gateau Marcel. Just a simple chocolate mousse cake that’s perfectly done. The dark chocolate probably did the trick! 

 

My daughter obviously loved it!

 

 

Next we had the Cre’me Brule’e, The brittle topping of the contrasting layer of hard caramel over the rich custard base was just too tooth-inviting. Either paired with my wife’s coffee or my red wine, this was simply perfect!

 

Back to the hotel food….

Our breakfasts were complimentary at the hotel and the choices were one of the widest I have seen in a 4-star hotel.  Well, enough for the food but yes food has been one of the most striking things that we experienced in Copenhagen in addition to the Nordic hospitality. No wonder why this has been voted the happiest city in the world!  Great food makes everyone happy! Chomp, chomp, chomp!

 

See you again Copenhagen!