Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen Part 3

After lunch we headed to Nyhavn to wander around the harbour. This is probably the part of the city that is the most recognisable as Copenhagen with its vibrant coloured buildings and historic tall ships.

Although still very cold, the cafes and bars that dominate this part of the city looked amazing against the backdrop of the bright blue sky.

We strolled down the opposite side to get the best view and photos, as well as to see house number 20 where the famous Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Anderson used to live. We reminded the girls of the song ‘The Ugly Duckling’ that their grandad used to sing to them when they were little, that Hans Christian Andersen wrote.

Nyhavn is also a great place to hop on a boat trip, but we decided against this as we wanted to keep moving to stay warm.

Christianshavn

Across the bridge is the compact district of Christianshavn and it too had its fair share of things to see. Beautiful architecture, cool cafes, chic restaurants and a very unique style. It’s quiet streets and old houses actually reminded me a little bit of Amsterdam.

Christianshavn is also home to Noma, a restaurant which has been voted the worlds best for the last 4 out of 5 years. It is located in an eighteenth-century warehouse right on the waterfront. Scandinavian food is the focus of its menu and many of the meals will consist of about 20 courses including 10 appetisers, 7 main dishes and 3 desserts. Bizarre ingredients such as nordic coconuts, reindeer moss, sea urchin toast, cod roe, beef tartar and ants, potato and plum ice-cream, crispy pork skin with chocolate and berries and a very normal sounding, danish pastry feature. I wonder, is Michelin starred food really that good or just food experiments with pretentious diners as the guinea pigs?

Anyway, by that time our blood sugars were running low (not really) but any excuse to eat another pastry (look what has this place done to me?) and we stumbled across a cute little cafe/shop called Sweet Treats. You can have breakfast, lunch or just coffee or a smoothie but they also sell special roasted coffee beans, tea, olive oil and organic juices to take away. It’s quite small with only a few tables and a high bar with stools at the window but this just adds to its appeal, and of course the candles.

We decided to indulge ourselves with cheesecake and lemon meringue pie (which is not featured as the girls had eaten half of it before I could get a picture).

There are some stunning old churches in Copenhagen, no less so than one of Denmark's most famous, the Church of Our Saviour. Large amounts of money have been spent on renovating the spire and every year, more than 60,000 people climb to the top which is 90 metres above the street. The view from the top was voted the best in the city by the Copenhageners themselves.

The last 150 steps are on the outside of the spire so not an ascent for the vertiginously challenged!

The tower is closed in January and February so we were disappointed we couldn't do this....next time.

Next stop was to visit Amalienborg Palace which is the official residence of Queen Margarethe II and the Danish Royal Family. The palace is uniquely made up of four mansions in the same square. We left it a bit late but the best time to visit is at noon to witness the Changing of the Guard where they march from their barracks through the streets of Copenhagen and end up at the palace.

Last stop of the day was back to Torvehallern Food market for dinner at Sushi Lovers. Not a typical danish dish you would think but the plates that were being carried passed us looked too good to miss.

There were so many different options to choose from so we ordered three different tasting dishes/plates to get the most variety possible. The flavour combinations were amazing, the rice was cooked perfectly and the beef teriyaki was the best thing ever. Turns out, Sushi Lovers was selected to participate in World Sushi Cup (yes, that’s a thing) in Tokyo.

Now onto dessert. That’s the great thing about these type of food halls that are in many of the cities we have visited, you can pick and choose exactly what you want and you can actually see the food and sometimes even 'try before you buy'

What is it? Black Forest Gateaux of course.

In Part 4 of our trip to Copenhagen it's all about the bikes, a porridge only restaurant, the world's smallest hotel, a new district to explore and why I will definitely be coming back.