Before arriving in Amsterdam, I met up with friends Kevin and Kim for a lovely little reunion weekend in Denmark and Sweden. Kim lives with her boyfriend Andreas in Helsingborg, Sweden, which is about 1.5 hours from Copenhagen by train and/or ferry. Kim has been living in Sweden for years now, but this was the first time I’ve been able to visit. We got to see their beautiful apartment and meet their puppy Beans.
The weather was cold and foggy much of the time we were there, but that didn’t stop us from exploring. We spent a couple of days walking around Copenhagen, doing some window shopping and enjoying a few of the tasty restaurants. There are so many beautifully designed stores and lots of tempting places to spend money!
Our first meal in Copenhagen was brunch at Aamanns, where we sample the traditional Danish open-faced sandwich called Smørrebrød. Mine had caviar, shrimp, soft-boiled egg, pickled onion, and greens and was so good. Another notable meal was a five course tasting menu at the Michelin-starred restaurant Relæ. They had the most delicious friend pork dumplings. We liked them so much we convinced the waiter to sneak a few more for us.
In additional to our culinary pursuits, we also managed to see a few sights. We visited the Louisiana Museum, a modern art museum about a half hour outside the city that is the most-visited art museum in the country. Afterward, while en route back to Helsingborg, we stopped off in Elsinore before catching the ferry to check out the Maritime Museum (a well-known project by the architecture firm Big). The museum was unfortunately closed but we noticed the nearby Kronborg Castle appeared to be open. The weather was cold and there was a thick fog all around, so we were the only people in sight. We wandered around the castle taking photos and trying not to freeze — definitely a memorable part of the trip and worth the frostbite.
The highlight of the trip for me was our visit to the local sauna in Helsingborg called Pålsjöbaden (good luck with that pronunciation), just a five minute bike ride from Kim’s apartment. The sauna floats above the ocean at the end of a long pier. Sauna goers bear it all here (no swimsuits allowed!) so the complex is split with women to the left and men to the right, thus the symmetrical arrangement. After a quick shower, you enter either the steam room or sauna, and then once you’re so hot you might burst into flames, you run outside and jump into the freezing ocean. Just before heading back inside to do it all over again, there’s about five minutes where you can sit outside and feel the perfect temperature.
It’s amazing how much we were able to see and do in such a short amount of time. A big thank you to Kim and Andreas for being such wonderful hosts! Hope to see you both very soon!
