NEW YEAR, NEW DECADE
Hello, hello, hello! Welcome to 2018! I can't believe January is soon coming to a close, but that just means we're getting closer to warmer weather, right? So far, 2018 has been incredible. My best friend, David, became our first visitor to Ireland when he landed just a few hours before we did on New Year's Eve. We rang in the New Year, explored Dublin, drove west to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway, and celebrated my 30th birthday in Copenhagen. Enjoy reading about some of the things we can do when YOU come visit and get an inside scoop to my birthday weekend in Copenhagen.
When we landed back in Dublin after spending the holidays at home in Minnesota, we were excited to host our first guests in Ireland -- David and his friend, Nico! David and Nico both landed on New Year's Eve and we hit the ground running upon their arrival. We had no formal plans, other than dinner at Ely's, head to Dublin's NYE party on the river Liffey for the countdown to midnight, and then hit the town. The party by the river was complete with a concert by Kodaline, fireworks, and four dudes with water jetpacks doing flips on the river! It was a fun event and the best part is that it was FREE! We spent the rest of the night at this bar called The Globe where we imbibed and danced the night away. We actually have no pictures from the night, which just means that we lived in the moment, and I'm okay with that. :)
After NYE, Chris had to head back to work, so David, Nico, and I spent the week exploring Dublin. Despite the terrible winter, rainy weather we experienced, we saw a lot of sites, but most importantly embraced Ireland's pub culture. I have to say spending the week as a tourist made me re-fall in love with this city. Here is a list of some of the highlights and some pictures to go along with them. #scrollthrough
- Bottomless Mimosas / Bellinis @ Cleaver East
- Explored Temple Bar
- Jameson Distillery Tour
- Christ Church Cathedral
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- Dublin Castle
- Leo Burdock's -- many believe this to be the best fish 'n chips in town
- Trinity College -- The Book of Kells & Brian Boru Harp
- Guinness Storehouse Tour
- The Cobblestone -- one of Dublin's most famous pubs and "one of the best pints of Guinness in town"
- The Long Hall -- Bruce Springsteen's favorite Dublin pub
- The Dawson Lounge -- one of the tiniest pubs in Dublin
- Grafton Street Shopping
- Penney's -- no trip to Dublin is complete without a little shopping at Penney's!
On Thursday, we rented a car and headed west to go see the Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's most iconic views, and ended the night having dinner in Galway. David bravely volunteered to drive a manual car, shifting with his left hand, and driving on the left side of the road. He nailed it!
Fun bonus for us was having two ladies, Karida and Alyssa, who we met on the Jameson tour, come along with us! They are both Coast Guard seniors about to graduate this Spring and were so fun to have along. Here are some pictures from our trip. #scrollthrough
KØBENHAVN
Copenhagen, Denmark -- what a beaut of a place. I had heard nothing but good things about Copenhagen from others who had traveled there, but I hadn't imagined visiting there in the middle of winter. When David planned his trip to visit Dublin, we discussed jet setting to another city for my birthday weekend to properly celebrate turning 30. When we were looking at flights, Norwegian Airlines had round trip flights to Copenhagen for a cool €57, so Copenhagen it was!
Like every city we adventure to, we jumped at the opportunity to buy the Copenhagen Card. [this should be no surprise since we literally do this in every city -- it's such a good deal!] The Copenhagen Card gives travelers free admission to many of the main attractions, free public transportation, and other discounts at shops and restaurants. Like most cards, there are options for 24, 48, 72, and 120 hours. One thing that's a little different about the Copenhagen Card is that you have to physically pick up the card either at the airport or the train station, which is pretty annoying, especially if you land at the airport after the office has closed. Here's to hoping they hop on the Oslo train and include a QVR code in their app some day. Despite that, I definitely recommend getting the card if you visit!
Below is a rundown of our weekend stay in the City of Spires.
Friday, January 5th:
Chris, David, Nico, and I left late Friday night for a quick two hour flight to Denmark. With the Copenhagen Card, it was an easy 20 minute jaunt on the M2 subway from the airport to the city centre. David found us the most amazing AirBnB for the weekend. It was right next to the royal palace, which is centrally located, and had the best Danish design. It was perfect.
By the time we made it to our place, midnight had struck and I had turned the big 3-0, so we decided to go out and see what bars might be open. We walked over to the well-known area called Nyhavn and found exactly one bar that was still open. And to boot -- there was live music! It was the cutest little pub right on the canal called Hyttefadet with great energy. The live music consisted of a two-man band, who played a little something for everyone, from The Beatles to Britney Spears to 5 verses of Happy Birthday sung for me. Hyttefadet closed down around 1:00 a.m. and we weren't ready to kill the party, so we headed into town a bit and found Natcaféen, The Duke and Bonaparte, which was an eclectic mix of people and music. To be honest, we think it could have been cougar night. #lolz Cocktails were expensive, but the first few hours in my new decade couldn't have been better.
Saturday, January 6th - My 30th Birthday!:
I woke up on Saturday to not only surprise mimosas and warm cinnamon rolls, but also to the arrival of my friend Hanna! She had flown in that morning from Amsterdam and I was so excited to see her. We were now a group of 5 and I was feeling incredibly thankful for having some of my closest with me to celebrate.
We had a loose plan Saturday and since we lived right next to the Queen, we thought we'd check out her palace, Amalienborg, and the grand palace museum on royal history, the Amalienborgmuseet. Right as we happened upon Amalienborg, the changing of the guards was taking place, and lucky for us, the Queen was in town, so it was the full pomp and circumstance. There are several guard posts in the octagonal "square" [for lack of a better word], and the guards march throughout, so the Danish police are there to guide onlookers where they can stand. It is quite the ordeal and highly recommended. The changing of the guard occurs every day at 12:00 p.m., but get there earlier because they march [with a full band might I add when the Queen is in town] from Rosenborg Castle starting at 11:30 a.m.
The Amalienborgmuseet is located right there since it is still part of the royal palace. Admission is free with the Copenhagen Card, or 95 DKK, which is about $16 for an adult. The museum showcases photos of the royal family for many generations, has rooms in tact from when it used to be the royal residence, some crown jewels, and overall a historical look into the royal family. It was interesting to learn about their seafaring ways. The royal family typically spends the summers yachting throughout Denmark's territories, including trips to Greenland.
As you leave Amalienborg, a towering church meets the eye. Frederiks Kirke is rococco-styled architecture and nicknamed the "Marble Church". It's an imposing, beautiful structure built in the 18th century and has the largest dome in all of Scandanavia. It is possible to go up into the dome for a mere 35 DKK or $6 [note: they only take cash]. In the summer, it's open every day, but during the rest of the year, you can only go up on Saturdays and Sundays. We didn't go up, but I'm sure the view is great!
We had a little bit of a hard time finding a place to eat lunch probably because it was the middle of the afternoon, but we settled on Restaurant Esplanade. It was a bit fancier -- service and food were just okay, but the company was unbeatable.
After our afternoon pick-me-up, we headed to the Design Museum of Denmark. Denmark is known for its minimalist and modern design and this museum not only captures the essence of Danish design, but showcases its history and influence. Right now, the museum has an exhibit displaying haute couture by Danish designer Erik Mortensen, who was a designer for Pierre Balmain and Jean-Louis Sherrer in the 1990s. The dresses were stunning and there were videos playing showing the models wearing them on the runway. It was a very well done exhibit. One of my favorite exhibits was the Danish Chair, An International Affair, which was a room full of the evolution of the Danish chair. The museum was very cool and I would recommend it to everyone. Admission is free with the Copenhagen Card, or 115 DKK, which is about $19.
Because the sun sets at 3:30 p.m. in the winter in Copenhagen, it was dark by the time we left the Design Museum, so we headed back to our place to freshen up and drink a few cocktails before dinner. Because my friends are the best, they packed my "Mountain" cards, so that we could have some fun. For those of you who don't know, the Mountain cards are a deck of playing cards that you can buy at the Hofbräuhaus in Munich and each card has a picture of somewhere in Bavaria on it. When I toured Europe in 2011, I bought my first deck of these cards and created a drinking game called Mountain with friend Dave Matzen. The rules of the game are simple: flip over a card and if there is a mountain in the picture, you drink. Fun fact: 50% of the cards have a mountain in the picture. The game has evolved over the years and usually new rules arise with every group I play it with. Some versions involve giving away drinks, others involve placing the card on your forehead and wagering what you think you have, and my favorite is "People", which involves taking 4 sips if you get one of the people cards. Anyway, we played Mountain and had a lot of fun.
We celebrated my birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant, then hit up the coolest bar called Balderdash [thanks for the recommendation Alyssa!]. It's a cozy cocktail bar located in the center of old Copenhagen and their designer cocktails are not only delicious, but served with presentation. For example, flames:
One of the employees also heard it was my birthday, so they served up this massive cocktail for us to share. The bartenders/staff, cocktails, and hygge in this place were on point. 10/10 would go back.
Sunday, January 7th:
On Sunday, we woke up [later in the morning], ready to hit the ground running. One of the tours we were all looking forward to the most was a canal tour. The canal tours run pretty often and are free with the Copenhagen Card, so this was a no brainer for us. Despite the cold [and hangovers], we boarded our boat in Nyhavn. The boats are low-lying to make it under the low bridges and have indoor and outdoor seating. If you don't have the Copenhagen, the cost for the tour is 80 DKK or about $13.50.
Our tour guide was fantastic and we learned a lot about Copenhagen while enjoying the sunshine on the water. Here are some of my favorite tidbits from the tour:
Opera House
One of the most modern opera houses and also one of the most expensive to build coming in over $500 million.
Incinerator
Copenhagen gets 50% of its energy from burning garbage. The incinerator burns so much trash that Denmark has to import other countries' garbage. THIS IS SO COOL.
Royal Danish Navy
In 1982, one of the ships accidentally fired a missile that severed power lines, hit some trees and exploded, destroying 4 summer cottages and damaging 130 surrounding buildings.
Statue of David
Copenhagen has one of the many replicas of the famous Statue of David. Copenhagen's David is bronze cast.
Little Mermaid
Some people love her and take pictures. Others have blown her up [she's lost her head twice and that's not her original rock], sawed off her arm, and several have poured paint all over her.
Amalienborg & Frederiks Kirke
A canal view of the royal palace and Marble Church.
The Black Diamond
Copenhagen's Royal Library is Denmark's national library and the library for the University of Copenhagen. It is one of the largest libraries in the world.
Underwater Car Park
Nyhavn is tucked in between the buildings here and underneath the boardwalk seen on the right side of the picture is a 500-car, underwater parking garage.
Church of Our Savior
You can walk up the spiral staircase to the top! If you dare!
Christianhavn
This canal was designed to look like Amsterdam with its architecture and boats lining the water.
Cirkelbroen Bridge
Pedestrian bridge that celebrates the sailing culture of Copenhagen.
After the canal tour, we were ready to eat and David had found out about a market in town that we wanted to try. It was called Torvehallerne and it had tons of fresh food and dessert options. Bonus -- it's indoors, so we were able to warm up a little. Chris, Hanna, and I tried a Vietnamese street kitchen called Lele and it was delicious. I would definitely recommend checking out the market for some quick, yummy, and reasonably priced grub!
Next up for us on our list was to visit the Round Tower. The Round Tower was built in the 17th century and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. Denmark was known for its astronomical discoveries because of famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. After Brahe's death, Christian IV wanted to keep Brahe's legacy and studies alive, so he had the Round Tower built.
To get to the top of the tower, you have to walk around 209 meters, or about 700 feet, uphill, but the view is worth it! You really understand why Copenhagen is called the City of Spires when you're up there because no matter which way you're looking out, the city is littered with spires.
Admission is free with the Copenhagen Card, or 25 DKK, which is about $4.
#scrollthrough
The Round Tower is near some good shopping, so we popped into a few shops before hitting up the grocery store to get all the fixings for a delicious, home cooked meal. Hanna and Nico prepared the best salmon dinner and we enjoyed our beautiful space for the evening. That night, we stayed in and played a fun new drinking game called Piccolo. Nico had the app on his phone and it was such a fun game to play with a group of people -- we laughed our faces off! We went out a little later to a pub called Aloha Bar, which was basically empty, but one of the only places open on a Sunday night.
Monday, January 8th:
Monday morning we grabbed breakfast at the coolest place called Union Kitchen. It was one of those places where everything on the menu looked delicious and even the dinner menu made you want to go back later. They have a daily meatball special, which was really good, and our lattes even came stamped with a "rise & grind". This was probably the best meal we had in town.
Hanna had to depart for Amsterdam after brunch, so we gave our hugs and said our goodbyes. After we headed to a different part of town to Westbridge Tattoo studio. Really cool: WE SAW THE QUEEN DRIVE BY ON HER WAY HOME. On our way to the bus stop, we saw this black, classic car coming and saw the license plate was just a picture of the Danish crown and we were like what the? And there she was, Queen Margrethe II, clear as day, in a bright pink suit jacket, in the back seat of the car, riding back to her palace. Had we not gone to the Amalienborgmuseet, I don't know if we would have recognized her, so that was a very surreal and cool moment for us.
David and I had talked about getting tattoos together for years and we thought, when else would be better than my 30th birthday in Copenhagen? I had been wanting to get the outline of a triangle signifying Change, which in turn for me means growth. Then we did a little more research and found there are a bunch of triangle glyphs that all mean something different. David really liked the the idea, so he got two triangles himself that mean Create and Explore. David also has an equal sign for Equality, which I have admired, so I got one to match his.
By a stroke of luck, David was talking to a woman at Balderdash on Saturday and she was able to have her friend Elliott squeeze us in.
After getting inked, we had a few hours to spare before we had to head to the airport, so we headed to the Tycho Brahe Planetarium, which was nearby to the tattoo studio. The planetarium is known for its IMAX and 3D movies, which unfortunately, we didn't have time for, so we walked through the planetarium's limited exhibit. Honestly, if you don't have time to see one of the movies, I'd probably skip it. Admission is free with the Copenhagen Card, otherwise its 150 DKK, or about $25.
We headed back to town to get our things and grabbed a quick lunch in Nyhavn before heading to the airport. Overall, Copenhagen was fantastic. The town has all the royal and Scandavian charm and design you could want. The people are nice, it's easy to get around, and there's tons to see. We've talked about meeting up again and heading back in the summertime to rent a boat and go out on the canals ourselves. Wouldn't that be fun?
I want to give a big shout out to David, Nico, Hanna, and Chris for making my 30th birthday unforgettable. Love you guys!
There has been a lot of buzz from friends and family about visiting us, so I wanted to lay out our tentative travel schedule just so you all have it if you are looking at booking a trip:
February 2-4: London
March 15-19: Jeremy will be here
April 19-22: Amsterdam
May 4-7: Stockholm & Helsinki
June 2-10: Iceland -- not yet booked
August 4-12: Slovenia & Croatia -- not yet booked
We love visitors! Chris' friend from college, Jamie, came to visit this weekend last minute because she was in London for work and look at the sweet hike we did. This could be YOU!
We head to London next weekend for a trek out to Stonehenge. Can't wait! Until then ...
Skál! xo,
