The City of Dreams – København
I spent a wonderful time in the beautiful capital city of Denmark – Copenhagen last week. Apparently, their summer was rather cold and rainy so we didn't expect such hot summer weather as we actually got due to the general heat wave in Europe. Lucky us, we enjoyed seven full days of sun and fun – oh yeah!
I absoultely fell in love with Copenhagen from the first day on. For those of you, who have already visited the city might feel with me, the others have to experience it themselves or simply trust me. Lively, easy-going, green and hip: there are so many feel-good words that clearly describe the city and its inhabitants. The Danish people are so friendly, open and helpful. On top of that they have style - and by that I mean real style. They naturally know how to dress in a simple, individual and natural way. Not to mention their genius interior design such as HAY – designer and manufacturer of contemporary furniture. As a matter of fact, when you're in Copenhagen you definitely won't miss out on stylish design whether it's on the city streets or countryside, in their houses or on the people themselves.
Wherever they go, the Copenhageners tend to get there by bike. Can you imagine, we were able to see the whole city by bike! The only time we had to take an Uber was after a crazy shopping day because we couldn't pack all our bags on our bikes, but that was it. Just for your information, the city already has almost 400 kilometres of cycle paths, and is planning to achieve its eco-objective to be the world's first CO2-free city. How ambitious is that?
Food-wise Copenhagen has to offer a great variety of different specialities from all over the world, especially their Scandinavian delicacy such as their unique Smørrebrød – literally spread bread, or open faced sandwich. Smørrebrød is based on rye bread and can be topped with almost anything such as my favourite topping avocado, fresh herbs, sea salt and pepper. Even if you suffer from food allergies or follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle you won't miss out. As always when I'm somewhere abroad I had to check out all their hip vegan and raw-food restaurants and cafés.
My absolute favourite spot which I warmly recommend to all of you when you visit the city is called "Souls" founded by two Australians. They serve seriously healthy and delicious plant-based food. I admire their philosophy which also reflects the city's eco-conscious spirit: they want to put the soul back into food by offering locally sourced food of the highest quality for people who are conscious of not only what they put into their body, but also of the footprint it leaves in order to get whats on their plate. The founders keep their Australian approach of being straight forward yet laid back – they are honest about their produce and want to offer an alternative for people who want to enjoy "worry-free" food. On top of that they are so welcoming and friendly, which makes you directly feel like it's your home. By writing this, I want to thank the founders and staff of Souls for creating such a wonderful place to be, eat and relax. The world needs definitely more of such places than this – thank you very much!
We had the pleasure to enjoy their açai bowls, homemade cashew yoghurt, avocado smash on rye bread and their famous brunch plate. By the way their coffee with plant-based milk of choice such as soy, almond or coconut milk is heavenly delicious as well. Here some impressions:
My absolute favourite brekkie: the açai bowl topped with homemade granola, coconut, banana, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi and mint.
This is their homemade cashew yoghurt topped with homemade granola, coconut, passion fruit, kiwi, raspberries, strawberries and a blueberry infusion. So creamy and yummy!
Avocado smash on rye bread topped with cherry tomatoes, red pickled onions, radish, lamb's lettuce, fresh thyme, sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper.
Another great breakfast place is GRØD which means "porridge" in Danish. This café only serves porridge for breakfast but in several varieties with lots of different toppings and superfoods. Some of the toppings are: fresh fruits, berries, almonds, hazelnuts, cacao nibs, bananas, peanut butter, apple & berry compote and skyr. Additionally, it's possible to chose the porridge to be gluten- and diary free made with almond milk, such as the "acai-chia porridge" we decided to try. Porridge might sound boring, but this will never ever compare to the ordinary porridge only made out of milk and water. You definitely have to try them, as well as their coffee with almond milk and freshly made juices. We went for the "carrot-apple-lemon-ginger" and "beetroot-apple-lemon" juice, which were absolutely to die for.
The world definitely needs more of such wonderful places.
Kærlig hilsen,
Fabienne.