Fair warning: this will be a long post.
On Saturday, April 1 the kids and I boarded the flight at 5 pm. I thought that seven hours and thirty-five minutes went by fast. The kids ate very little and slept for a few hours. I couldn’t sleep and was too tired to read so just sat with my eyes closed. After SAS served us breakfast, the kids ate a little, and we landed in Copenhagen with no issues.
To get to our Airbnb we took public transportation: the metro! The kids did great- I was very impressed with how they were in the metro. They handled the elevators, escalators, and train switches with no issues.
Arrived at our Airbnb, got in, unpacked. This Airbnb is family-oriented so they have plenty of toys (Legos), books and puzzles. Absolutely perfect for us. We were told we are welcome to use whatever they have: coffee, cereal, grains, etc.
Day 1. Vesterbro. Arrived, unpacked, got the lay of the land. Went to a bakery, went to a store to get milk, found a cool playground. Came back, had lunch, went downstairs to yet another playground. Showered, brushed teeth, played a bit more. Fell asleep when it was still light out (thanks, time zone difference!) In other words, day 1 (the arrival day) was spent getting to know the neighborhood, surrounding streets, and playgrounds as well as going to the nearby store for some basics: milk, crackers, bread, etc.
Day 2. Gearing up! Nyhavn and Tivoli Gardens.
First thing in the morning we took a metro to Nyhavn. In essence, it’s a canal with brightly colored houses, boats, and tons of cafes and restaurants. It makes a lovely, leisurely stroll. Of course, we had to have coffee, ice cream and a waffle.
Then we headed over to Tivoli Gardens – only one Metro stop over from Nyhavn plus some walking. Always some walking! We spent about 3 hours there, mainly doing the kiddie rides and Rumpus Klump playground.
Tivoli had a line and I chastised myself for not ordering tickets online. After about 20 minutes we got in. It was a lot of fun for the kids! And even for me. But it was very cold (for us). Everyone else seemed to do just fine: sitting outside, enjoying coffee, beer, and wine. That is when I realized that a pattern is coming out: we don’t have adequate clothing and other people do.
Side note: after our Airbnb hosts found out that we are a tad bit underdresses for spring Danish weather, they loaned us the brown snowsuit that R is wearing in pictures plus a warm, long coat that I am wearing. They didn’t have anything in Lyra’s size, we layered up and she was just fine.
Day 2 had a lot of walking. I’ll back up. This whole trip is a lot of walking. It was hard on the little guy to walk so much. We took metro we’re possible but then you also have to walk from the metro to your destination. Even for L, at the end she started being sensitive. During day 2, I wasn’t at my best parenting-wise when our day wrapped up. The walk to the metro from Tivoli gardens was hard.
Day 3. Christiania and the Aquarium. Started at a local pharmacy (because they both have dry cough). Then walked over to… Wait for it… The Metro! Took a train to Christiania community, went to a bakery there and roamed around. I personally wanted to see this intentional community within a community. After about an hour, my curiosity was satiated. Christiania was full of street art (some very cool), but it seemed dirtier than the rest of Copenhagen and somewhat less safe.
After Christiania, we walked to the metro station and took it all the way down to Kastrup, where the National Aquarium of Denmark is located. The Aquarium was well worth the visit. They lent us a stroller and we spent about 2 hours there looking at ocean creatures. I found it very relaxing.
In many section of the Aquarium there were bleachers for you to sit so you can enjoy the viewing of sea creatures plus ice cream and coffee “stations” where you can buy a treat and enjoy as if you are in a movie theater. They also had “fish petting” stations: I found the whole experience very child-friendly. Needless to say, the kids had a wonderful time.
Day 4. Frederiksborg Castle. Already Wednesday! Today I was determined to visit Frederiksborg castle– the largest and “the largest Renaissance complex in the Nordic region.” The castle itself is now the Museum of National History with “500 years of Danish history with a collection of portraits, history paintings, furniture and applied art.” You can really see the grandeur of Danish monarchy here. The castle did not disappoint.
Visiting the royal rooms was a bit stressful because I really had to watch the kids like an eagle. There is no running and, of course, no touching, because, you know, porcelain vases, gold mantel clocks and paintings… Exquisite and fragile. Also, if I was travelling alone, I would have lingered over objects much longer but with two kids it had to go faster.
On the third floor of a castle there was a special exhibit by Marie Hald, a Danish photographer whose work challenges the idea of feminine.
After our visit to the castle, we slowly walked through Hillerød, a gateway to the castle, and had lunch on our way to the train. Took the train back and arrived to the house at around 5PM. Bedtime routine was as usual: dinner, showers, teeth, books, and bed. Even in Denmark.
Day 5. Botanical Gardens and the Museum of Natural History. Today we took a metro to the Botanical gardens and wanted to explore museums in the area. Well, I wanted to explore the Art Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and other museums in the same vicinity. You can guess how many we actually visited. One. We roamed around Botanical gardens (very beautiful and a beautiful day) then ended up in a Natural History museum. I especially enjoyed the special exhibit Wildlife Photographer of the Year where photographers from different countries compete for best image that captures animals in the wild.
Dinner was at Ych! Pizza in Enghave Plads, a non-fussy place near our Airbnb serving salads and pizza.
Day 6. Visiting a friend and Louisiana Modern Art Museum.
A sister of a very good friend lives in Copenhagen. She invited me and the kids over for tea. We walked to the train station, then took a train from Døbbelsbro to Hellerup. Hellerup turned out to be a small, lovely town. We walked from Hellerup train station to our friend’s apartment which had a full breakfast spread waiting for us, with tea, coffee, and Danish danishes.
After some breakfast and an amazing conversation, N drove us to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. I bought tickets in advance so we skipped the line (learned my lesson from our Tivoli experience). Louisiana is packed with art to the brim and it has a three-floor (!) childrens section with clay, painting, Lego, collage, theater masks making and other crafts. In essence, kids can create their own art.
We spent about 1.5 hours just in the children’s section. That meant that afterwards we did not have energy for anything else. We breezed through other exhibits (Dana Schutz, Gauri Gill, Nan Goldin, Louise Bourgeois, etc) and tried getting a table in the museum café (ha, nice try). So we decided to go home instead. Walked to the train station, boarded a train back to Vesterbro, had dinner, took baths, and read books. And thus concluded our last day in Denmark.
Day 7. 2 AM. R woke up crying because he threw up all over himself. I showered him and relocated him into my bed, and he continued retching there, too. He slept in between the retching sessions. It was a hell of a night.
Day 7. 9AM. Back to the US. I am beat. Thankfully, I booked a good flight (12PM) so we didn’t have to wake up early. R’s vomiting subsided and he seemed his old happy self. Just with bags under his eyes. We took a Taxa to the airport and waited a bit there. R was asking for food and juice so he was feeling better. Shortly after take off, he fell asleep since his sleep the night before was interrupted about seven times by vomiting. The day after our trip, both L and I came down with the same problem. I’m just thankful it wasn’t on the plane.
Takeaways
- Denmark is extremely family-friendly. Playgrounds are everywhere, public transport is clean, timely, and safe. Locals are very helpful. Cafés – for a quick pick-me-up coffee and a pastry- are plentiful. Many sites have activities designed specifically for children. Locals were actively engaging with the kids: an immigration officer asking for “help” stamping their passports, a barista asking them questions, a lady in the metro making conversation about where they are from. We felt welcome.
- Next time I should bring my laptop. In the evenings, after the kids went to bed, I stayed up to read or catch up on fellow bloggers’ posts. I wanted to write but doing it on my phone was cumbersome.
- Carry-ons only – best idea ever.
- Not having a stroller for R – still on the fence with this one. We made it work but, man oh man, did we have difficult moments due to his unwillingness to walk. And walk we did.
- Future plans: if we ever go back (which I would absolutely love to), we should rent a car and see the rest of Denmark.
Mom of Children 