HOME TOUR

Copenhagen!! Part 1 of exploring lovely Denmark! We’ve been waiting all summer for Aubrey and Cade’s passports to come in the mail, even expedited, they took awhile. We had hoped to thoughtfully plan a European trip but didn’t know if it was going to work. So we didn’t give it tremendous thought until August snuck up on us and the passports finally came. The end of August looked busy with Matt’s job. There was only one week where it looked like it may work to travel abroad. The problem was the turnaround time to plan / book a trip was ridiculous, even for us (see our trip to Portugal here).

Our passports came on Monday, I started looking at airfare to Europe on Wednesday, Matt got work approval, we booked tickets on Thursday and we flew away on Sunday. I get that this is crazy and not the way 99% of the population travels. And to do it with three little kids, you might as well commit us. But the thing is, it was SPECTACULAR. We had no time to form expectations, we couldn’t overly plan our days so there was naturally more flexibility and the joy of being able to travel again made little inconveniences a non-issue. So come along my friend on a summer trip to Copenhagen–part 1 of exploring lovely Denmark and add this one to your bucket list.

FLIGHTS

Flights to Europe can be expensive and seem to range significantly no matter when you book them. Truthfully, other countries were higher up on my bucket list than Denmark, but given the cost to travel to some of those destinations, I eventually broadened my search. Of all the cities in Europe, Copenhagen was the least expensive, equivalent to what we normally pay to fly home to California.

I knew absolutely nothing about Denmark, except for its location in Europe and the fact that we had watched an episode of Somebody Feed Phil in Copenhagen and it looked delicious. Copenhagen has more Michelin star restaurants than any other city in the world–a foodie’s dream come true.

So we hit the ground running, COVID tests for all of us (they accepted both PCR and rapid tests at the time of our travel) and no one in Denmark wore a mask unless you were in the airport. Some restaurants asked us for a “Coronapass” which I think is a European thing that proves either your vaccination status or current negative test results. Our test results for entry sufficed and we made sure to have those with us. You do need PCR or rapid tests to renter the USA for anyone over the age of 2. This was a bit of a hassle but tests are free in Denmark and we found the airport testing site to be the most prepared for US travelers given some glitches they were having with their system. We spent 8 days in Denmark with a bonus day thrown in there because of a return delay related to a hurricane affecting east coast travel.

HOTELS

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about travel, especially now with little kids, a good hotel makes all the difference. This is not the place to skimp on a trip because you do spend quite a bit of time at your home base and location is huge. We found ourselves popping back in to the hotel several times a day because it was so conveniently located to let the kids go to the bathroom, grab a snack, change clothes. This kind of access is especially important in inclement weather. We almost always try to find a “boutique luxury hotel” if we aren’t going the AirBNB route. This sounds fancy but what you usually get from this kind of search is a collection of smaller (not name brand) hotels that have a unique feel and exceptional service.

I found Sanders Hotel after a quick search of available hotels and immediately knew it was “the one.” I love design and the aesthetic and feel of a hotel matters to me. Sanders Hotel was 2018 Hotel of the Year in Europe and it truly is stunning. Exceptionally designed with spectacular food and the staff was among the kindest I have ever met. We arrived home with an email from Julie from Sanders Hotel waiting in our inbox. When you’re traveling with little kids, that kind of kindness sticks out because let’s face it, kids can be annoying, loud and WORK. We stayed in a one bedroom suite and it was perfect for us as they brought in two cots for the kids.

For our time on the island of Æro to see the fairytale town of Æroskøbing (which I’ll cover in depth in the Danish countryside–part 2 of exploring lovely Denmark) we stayed at this AirBNB in Marstel (about a 15 minute drive away from Æroskøbing). To be honest, this was literally the only accommodation I could find on the island given the last minute-ness of our trip. There are lots of options if you have a bit more planning time but this house was adorable and I would stay in it again. Nils the owner was thoughtful and very thorough which helped with the check in process given our arrival time was late at night and we needed to get the kids to bed.

Our last two nights were at Clarion Airport Hotel back in Copenhagen. We gained a day at the last minute which meant instead of staying the night before our flights at an airport hotel just for the convenience, we were there for two. Not ideal but it worked. The breakfast buffet was quite good and perfect for kids. Our return flight to Boston had a departure time of 6 am (which meant getting the kids up at 3:30 am to check in for our flight).

| Rain Coat | Rain Boots (several years old, similar here) | Hair Clips |

 

PLANNING YOUR TRIP

I always start trip planning by taking a piece of copy paper, turning it landscape orientation and writing out our days into columns. On the bottom I put where we are staying, at the top I write the date, day of the week and the weather that day as it gets closer to a trip. The day of the week helps because it is an easy glance down and know what not to see on a particular day. For example, a museum you are wanting to see is closed on Mondays. If I’m really on my game I write out lunch / dinner ideas if I know we’ll be in a certain area. I often let the weather drive our plans for a day because if I know it is going to be raining all day, that’s probably not the day to do a full city walking tour (We found the BBC to be the most accurate, weather-wise). We had several days of rain in Copenhagen but the first day was going to be the heaviest (and boy were they not kidding about that!). I planned a visit to the National Museum and the Aquarium for time out of the rain. Here’s what my itinerary looked like for this trip:

Denmark is very family-friendly. We packed along our stroller so we could have a place to put coats, snacks, etc. and to tie Aubrey down if necessary.  Of note, they do not let you gate check a stroller like they do in the States. We had to check it all the way through and didn’t get to use it for our 3 hour layover in Amsterdam. It also arrived in Copenhagen broken but still usable. Riding the Metro was super easy with kiddos. We got a 96 hr Copenhagen Card which allows you unlimited rides on the Metro and train (we bought two because that covered all our kids rides too). The Copenhagen Card is supposed to be easy to download on your phone but we had trouble and ended up buying it online and picking it up at the Tourist office in the Central Train Station. This card gets you free admission to most major sites in Copenhagen and was definitely worth it.

Day One (our first full day):

We woke up around 8:30a but only with an alarm because Denmark is 6 hours ahead of EST and it was the middle of the night for us. We had breakfast in the hotel and asked the hotel to help us find the kids rain boots. The contacted a local department store and sent us off in the right direction. Because this trip was so last minute, my Amazon delivery of rain boots / coats for the kids did not come in time.

Magasin department store had a lovely kids section and we found what we needed and more. It was fun to experience a Danish department store and I could have lingered for awhile. We then headed to the Tourist Information booth at the Central Train Station to pick up our Copenhagen card and from there took bus 2A to the National Museum.

Here we followed the museum-provided Children’s tour to highlight artifacts that were more fun for the kids. I’m a history buff and it was fascinating. I wished I had had more time to go through it without chasing down a 2 year old but we knew deep diving into Danish history was just not going to happen for us this trip.

From here we walked in the rain to the Metro, through some quaint streets and then rode about 15 minutes out of the city to the Aquarium which is near the airport and an easy walk from the Metro.

The Aquarium, Den Blå Planet, was stunning, thoughtfully designed and had some amazing exhibits. The kids were entirely engaged and this was a highlight for them so we let them pick out a souvenir for our trip. This aquarium is not included in the Copenhagen Card and as of our visit the end of August 2021, you needed to reserve an entry time. It was easy to do day-of for us. Kids under 3 are free and it’s open 365 days a year.

We headed back into Copenhagen on the Metro to grab an easy (kid-friendly) dinner at DØP, a hotdog stand from Somebody Feed Phil, located in the Strøget, a pedestrian shopping street.

We meandered back to the hotel, stopping for treats at a coffee shop. Then it was early to bed which we were all very excited about.

Day Two:

The sky cleared a bit today with periodic sprinkles, apparently this is a very “Danish Summer” per the hotel. We loved it and it just felt right for this city, especially given all the delicious coffee shops which love oat milk as much as we do! We were able to get them steamed oat milk a couple times a day which especially helped my picky little two year old fill her belly.

Taking advantage of a dry moment, we walked over to Nyhavn to catch a canal boat tour. Per Rick Steve’s we went with Netto-bådene cruise which is just midway down the city side of the canal. It was not crowded and we got a lovely hour tour of the city from the water.

Today was going to be our walking the city day and it didn’t disappoint. From Nyhavn we walked to Rosenborg Castle and the King’s Garden.

In the gardens just outside the castle there is a sweet little playground for the kids. We tried to stop at each playground we found, at least for 10-15 minutes to let the kids have some unstructured playtime. Even though we were doing a lot of walking, play evokes a whole different side of their little brains and we wanted this to be a fun trip for all of us. We then walked around to the Rosenborg Castle entrance. They required you to stow all bags in lockers outside the castle and leave the stroller outside.

From the Castle you go back outside and just around the corner to what looks like a basement entrance. This is the National Treasury where the crown jewels for the queen are kept under high security. We were told to keep Aubrey quiet because loud sounds set off an alarm. This terrified my boys (and me) but they were the quietest I have literally ever heard them. I’m thinking of implementing this tactic on the home front.

We walked from Rosenborg Castle to the Little Mermaid Statue, stopping at a playground on the way to a restaurant we saw on the harbor from our morning canal cruise.

The restaurant was called Seaside and a-mazing. We were there at an in between time and avoided crowds which was nice.

Following our meal we walked through the Kastellet, which is beautiful, to see the windmill and then through Amailenborg Palace, home to the Danish royal family, and the Marble Church on our walk back to the hotel.

It was a lovely day but at 25,000+ steps, called for an ice cream stop back at Nyhavn for the kids.

Day Three:

This was our “checkout of the hotel morning” because we had planned an evening drive and had ferry tickets over to the Island of Æro. Matt and I had fully packed our bags up the night before so our morning could be a bit more leisurely. The only thing planned was Tivoli Gardens, a quaint amusement park in the center of the city from 1843, one of the oldest in the world. But it didn’t open until 11 am so we had a late breakfast, checked out of the hotel, reconfirmed our rental car drop off and then took the metro to the “amazement park” per my kiddos.

Tivoli Gardens is adorable and worth it, even if you don’t like amusement parks. The gardens are stunning, they have good food inside (eat at the Gasoline Grill) and the rides are fun. The Copenhagen Card covers admission but you need to buy ride tickets separately. Matt got himself and the boys unlimited rides passes and then bought individual tickets from kiosks in the park for Aubrey and I.

Highlights for me in Tivoli Garden was sitting under an ivy “umbrella” and having tea with sweet Aubrey. She had steamed oat milk and we “dinked” our glasses gleefully while the little boys tackled more roller coasters. I hope you enjoyed our highlights from Copenhagen. What a truly lovely city! Oh but the Danish countryside. Just you wait! Hop on over to Part 2 now.