Lifestyle: Copenhagen Weekender. Part 2
From my previous travel to Copenhagen in 2007, I had tonnes of Swedish Kroner left over which had lived in my drawers ever since. I thought they may feel a bit homesick and would love to return to their home country, so we planned to spent those Kroner on our Copenhagen Weekender trip.
For around £7.50 pp I bought train tickets to Malmö and within 35 minutes, the train "flew" us over the Øresund Bridge (Baltic Sea) to Sweden. My friend Anna, whom I met during my time studying at an International Language School in London awaited us at the central station. I had not seen her in six years and though last time we promised each other it won't be so long again for our next meet up, it kind of did. It felt even more emotional when we spotted each other and hugged for a long time. What a fantastic welcome to Sweden!
Day 2:
It is incredible how well Copenhagen and Malmö are connected. Within minutes you can be in an entire new country! Though growing up in Germany with neighboring countries just as close, I'm still impressed by it and even Alex felt so. If you think about it, it feels crazy that we've been in the UK on Friday, Denmark on Saturday and Sunday in Sweden. Lifestyle of the rich and the famous haha!
It is incredible how well Copenhagen and Malmö are connected. Within minutes you can be in an entire new country! Though growing up in Germany with neighboring countries just as close, I'm still impressed by it and even Alex felt so. If you think about it, it feels crazy that we've been in the UK on Friday, Denmark on Saturday and Sunday in Sweden. Lifestyle of the rich and the famous haha!
Anna and her partner Johan had booked a boat tour around the city's canal and harbourside for us so we sat down in glorious warm sunshine and enjoyed this incredible summers' day from the comfort of a softly rocking boat with the occasional refreshing little spritz of water on your skin.
I've visited Sweden's third largest city a few times, but same as with Copenhagen, the time spent here was always limited and short. It was fascinating and interesting to see how the city reinvented itself with the establishment of a university and developed into a cultural and thriving spot. Anna and I chatted along and I felt so relaxed that I've completely forgotten to take pictures. #oops
After the trip we hit town and bought some snacks from the international food market. The British stalls were hilarious, selling candy, tea and of course fish and chips with a massive portrait of HM The Queen. Australia offered typical BBQ's such as kangaroo and crocodile steak and the German, well Bavarian, stall had sausages. Not stereotypical at all. We strolled further along the canal and found a spot to sit down with cat sculptures. Earlier, our tour guide from the boat trip mentioned that these cat statues have the symbolic purpose of giving people company whilst they sit here and watch the world go by. Lovely idea what do you think?
Anna and Johan then introduced us to Swedish afternoon tea, aka "Fika". Swedes are just as obsessed with fancy afternoon tea as the Brits. I would say they do it even harder. So we entered this amazing cafe on the main high street and I was overwhelmed by the offer of cakes, tarts and sweet treats. It very much reminded me of a German bakery with lots and lots of delicious bakery treats from pudding (creme patisserie) filled eclairs, to strawberry tartlets, to Viking Rolls (marzipan with chocolate), crunchy chocolate cornflakes nests or coconut flavored chocolate balls. It was insane and stirred so many memories of my time living in Germany and generally on the European continent. Now and again I do really miss it, though sometimes I'm not fully aware of it and it hits even harder when I get reminded of the European lifestyle.
Anyway, overwhelmed by the amount of choice, I literally had everything that my greedy eye craved for. After all I was a) on holiday and b) still in possession of all that Swedish money, so yeah why not?!? I went for a strawberry tartlet, a Viking Roll (marzipan with chocolate) and a Coconut Chocolate Ball, which reminded me of a protein ball. Alex had a strawberry tartlet and another one with sweet sultanas. Sooooo good!
The day slowly turned into a late afternoon/early evening and Anna and Johan were keen to show us their brand new apartment located at the West Harbourside of Malmö. This is also the home to one of Europe's largest buildings, the Turning Torso, which hosts mainly flats and reminded me of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.
This part of the town was my favourite. Apart from shopping streets, I love the beach and I got totally spoilt. We watched children and teenagers swimming in the Øresund or jumping of the ridiculously high cliffs (dangerous but so impressive!). No one got hurt in case you're wondering. At some point we spotted people bombing it over the sea with jet skis and I felt really happy that moment. I'd love to ride a jet ski at some point in my life. It is on my bucket list of things to do before I'm too old to do it. It must be an incredible feeling of pure freedom to race over the water and enjoy the speed and energies. Aw I've just entered daydreaming mode!
The area was amazing, the weather again summery and I wished we could have stayed here forever. The sand of the beach was soft and powdery, the water was bathtub warm and crystal clear. The air felt fresh and I barely had to cough (I had a strong infection/sinusitis a few weeks ago which I couldn't get rid off, when you have to commute in jam packed tubes all day and work in an office in the high emission zone of Central London). The day could have not been better. Weather, beach, friends is all you need, right?
Anna's and Johan's apartment was another highlight of the day. Located on top of one of the newly built houses, we had incredible views over the Øresund bay with Copenhagen in the far distance. Their light and airy apartment was a pure joy and I felt very happy to see that my friend had this amazing flat and finally the lifestyle I had always wished for her to have.
Thought that we had already seen and enjoyed the highlights of Malmö, Anna and Johan went to absolute great lengths and took us to the "new place" in town for dinner called Pinchos. Be prepared for some absolute food porn to follow.
The restaurant right in the heart of town was decorated as an old theatre with some serious Moulin Rouge vibes. Think about Venetian masks, merry-go-around horses, red, red, and lots of red, pictures of circus and entertainment teamed up with warm, cosy lights and comfy chairs to sit on.
The concept of Pinchos is everyone's dream who loves spending time on their smartphones as you order your food via an app. Let me explain: once you've sat down and downloaded the Pinchos app (in Swedish only), you can scroll through the menu and order drinks and food. It comes handy, that each dish is listed with a beautifully shot picture to help making your decision. All dishes are tapas-sized meaning you can try and experiment with a variety of food. There's not only Fish & Chips, but a creamy mushroom risotto, quattro formagi pizza, sweet potato fries, mozzarella balls and a super cute mini burger. There's also burrito and a selection of vegetarian tapas available. You simply add anything you fancy onto your app which is then send to the kitchen. Once your food is ready, you'll receive a push notification and can collect your food from the counter.
Overwhelmed by the choices, we all decided to try different dishes and ordered two rounds. All food is prepared freshly and you don't want to end up ordering seven dishes (such as Alex!) at once. During my "first round", I decided to try the mozzarella balls, mushroom risotto and the mini pizza. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, don't you think?
Each dish costs around £3.5-4.5 which is a reasonable price. When I picked up my food I was so excited! look at the cute sizes, perfect if you're like me and love to switch tastes during a meal. The portions had just the right size for me and I simply enjoyed everything!
The restaurant right in the heart of town was decorated as an old theatre with some serious Moulin Rouge vibes. Think about Venetian masks, merry-go-around horses, red, red, and lots of red, pictures of circus and entertainment teamed up with warm, cosy lights and comfy chairs to sit on.
The concept of Pinchos is everyone's dream who loves spending time on their smartphones as you order your food via an app. Let me explain: once you've sat down and downloaded the Pinchos app (in Swedish only), you can scroll through the menu and order drinks and food. It comes handy, that each dish is listed with a beautifully shot picture to help making your decision. All dishes are tapas-sized meaning you can try and experiment with a variety of food. There's not only Fish & Chips, but a creamy mushroom risotto, quattro formagi pizza, sweet potato fries, mozzarella balls and a super cute mini burger. There's also burrito and a selection of vegetarian tapas available. You simply add anything you fancy onto your app which is then send to the kitchen. Once your food is ready, you'll receive a push notification and can collect your food from the counter.
Overwhelmed by the choices, we all decided to try different dishes and ordered two rounds. All food is prepared freshly and you don't want to end up ordering seven dishes (such as Alex!) at once. During my "first round", I decided to try the mozzarella balls, mushroom risotto and the mini pizza. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves, don't you think?
Each dish costs around £3.5-4.5 which is a reasonable price. When I picked up my food I was so excited! look at the cute sizes, perfect if you're like me and love to switch tastes during a meal. The portions had just the right size for me and I simply enjoyed everything!
For my second round, I ordered the mini burger, beetroot and goats cheese and two desserts, creme brulee and cheesecake. Needless to say they were amazing!
After food we strolled back to the flat. It was a typical summer's day evening: warm breeze, soft red coloured sky and a tranquil atmosphere. All you could here were people returning from the beach, that soft flip flop sound that you usually here all summer long and the occasional cry of a swallow. Again sometimes I really miss living on the European continent. We spent the evening on Anna's and Johan's balcony enjoying the view and a drink (or two).
With a very heavy heart we took the train back to Copenhagen at 10:30pm after a wonderful day.
My friend Anna also runs a photography blog and has mainly shot models and outfits. The pictures are incredible, so please do check it out!
Thank you so much for checking out today's post. I can't describe what an incredible weekend I had and I feel more relaxed after all those exciting travels, events and new impressions than from a weekend lounging at home. Isn't it amazing how a different environment and spending time with friends can contribute to your well-being? Hope you've enjoyed the series so far and will return for my final day in Copenhagen post!
With a very heavy heart we took the train back to Copenhagen at 10:30pm after a wonderful day.
My friend Anna also runs a photography blog and has mainly shot models and outfits. The pictures are incredible, so please do check it out!
Thank you so much for checking out today's post. I can't describe what an incredible weekend I had and I feel more relaxed after all those exciting travels, events and new impressions than from a weekend lounging at home. Isn't it amazing how a different environment and spending time with friends can contribute to your well-being? Hope you've enjoyed the series so far and will return for my final day in Copenhagen post!
That was so lovely to read! I'm glad that you enjoyed your stay in Malmö so much! I really love the little cat at the canal, especially when people with dogs come by, as the dogs are always so stunned by the not-moving cat. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd Västra Hamnen is one of my favourite areas of the city now in summer. I could sit there forever and look over the water and to the bridge. :)
Patti Shifting Tales