A family holiday to Amsterdam & Copenhagen
In 2018, we decided to escape the cold of winter in Melbourne and go on a family holiday. Since Noah arrived, we had only been on trips to Singapore & Malaysia to see extended family, so this held the prospect of quite an exciting adventure. A few ideas popped up - Hokkaido, Tokyo, Chiang Mai, Seoul, Taiwan. One concern with these options were these countries are primarily non-English speaking and navigating a new city while managing a toddler might not be the easiest. Not to mention the potential challenges if he got sick or needed to see a doctor.
We ended up deciding on Copenhagen, given the locals speak English and it is lauded as one of the safest cities in the world. You might have heard of parents in Copenhagen leaving their napping babies in prams as they proceed with their daily activities — I experienced this first hand when I visited the city in my 20s. A couple parked their pram outside the cafe where my friends & I were having breakfast before politely asking us to let them know if their baby started crying, and proceeding to enter the cafe to get a table for themselves.
A close friend had recently moved to Copenhagen so it was a good opportunity to visit her as well. And upon further research we discovered Copenhagen is filled with whimsical playgrounds which would delight toddlers and bigger kids alike. We added Amsterdam to the itinerary as well, since it was only a short flight away.
Of course, traveling so many miles with a toddler poses challenges of many natures, so we decided to break the trip up as much as possible. We stopped over in Singapore to see family for a few days, then transited in Dubai for 21 hours while staying at the airport hotel to rest & recuperate before heading to Amsterdam for 3 days, and onto Copenhagen for the remaining 9 days of our holiday. No flight was longer than 8 hours, which made it manageable. For those with kids, I highly recommend doing the transit hotel stay in Dubai. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we made (think black out curtains, having a shower, sleeping in a horizontal bed, plus there’s Shake Shack!)
As we head to our hotel in Amsterdam, we are greeted by tall, narrow buildings. Cyclists ride to and fro and when a tram passes by, Noah points it out with excitement. Our accomodation is tiny and we play Tetris to fit our luggages into skinny cupboards. The next morning we are all up at 4am, our bodies as yet unadapted to the European time zone. We head downstairs to the hotel lobby to get some breakfast, only to be told by the concierge that breakfast only starts at 7am, and he can only offer us a banana from the complimentary fruit bowl in the meantime. To our surprise, we quickly discover that breakfast places open much later than we expect - 8am is early. To pass the time, we head to a nearby park, dancing on the green to the Wiggles with Noah. The first bakery is open at 7.30am, and our order of hot pastries & coffee are quickly devoured.
Over the next 3 days we explore Amsterdam on foot, accompanied by intermittent rain and the prevalent smell of weed along the grungy streets in the city centre. We take a pause from the city to head to Miffyland in Utrecht, and all this time I’m wondering who is having more fun in Dick Bruna’s colourful world - the small kid or the big kid (Krystin). Food in Amsterdam doesn’t leave a lasting impression, though there are a few standouts — a hearty apple pie at Winkel 43 and a Dutch fusion degustation at Guts & Glory (where Noah so charmed the chefs that he got a free dessert and a photo to commemorate the meal). On our final day, we are blessed with some sun and we take an evening walk by the canal and watch the golden light dancing across the narrow houses.
The flight to Copenhagen is a short 1 hour and 20 mins. The city is beautiful - an intersection of clean design and warm sensibilities, just as I remember it. Our accomodation at Ibsens Hotel is a welcome change from Amsterdam - spacious enough for the 3 of us and characteristically Scandi minimalist (complete with accent pillows from Hay House). Our bodies clocks have finally synced with the rising of the sun and we spend lazy mornings in bed with Noah eating rice crackers, followed by a daily routine of checking out one of the city’s attractions, a visit to the playground, and one meal at a food market & the other at a restaurant in order to maintain some sort of a budget in one of the world’s most expensive city.
Our introduction to Copenhagen’s street food scene starts off with a warm, wonderful bowl of Danish porridge at Grød. Other budget-friendly Danish fare that leaves a lasting impression is the egg taco at Hija De Sanchez and hot dogs at DØP.
New Nordic cuisine is minimalist cool and very much seasonal, a reflection of the city’s heartbeat of clean flavours and sustainability, reminding us of the Japanese. Pillowy sourdough pizza at Bæst, a simple yet inventive vegetarian meal at Manfreds (the carnivorous exception being the excellent tartare), a delicate meal replete with textures and flavours at Restaurant Radio and a relaxed Italian-Danish lunch at Mirabelle are our top picks.
What surprises us the most is how good the pastries are - the combination of Danish precision and balance wrapped in a small textural package of flour & butter. Everything at Juno Bakery is sublime, with the freshly baked cardamon buns the frontrunner; we devour the chocolate strawberry tart from Meyers Bageri. We go on a croissant off - the espresso glazed and chocolate croissants at Andersen & Maillard taste as good as they are photogenic; the almond croissant at Democratic Coffee is everything an almond croissant should be - beautifully flaky with an almond syrup cream; the humble plain croissant at Cafe Det Vide Hus with an expresso is perfect for the everyday.
Tivoli Gardens is a treat - the world’s second oldest theme park, romantic and whimsical, with ice cream shops, amusement rides, open air ballet and twinkling lights. Rundertarn is a round adventure for Noah to climb and at the pinnacle, one of the best views of the city. Grundtvigs Church is a marriage of minimalism & reverence in a building of worship, leaving us in awe of the perfect symmetry and serenity.
We chance upon playgrounds everywhere as we explore - the most memorable ones are the supercool Superkilien and the Tower Playground - a miniature replica of the city’s attractions which we visited early in the trip.
But as with most things in life, the most memorable times are often those unplanned - another friend arrives in the city on a last minute work trip and suddenly there’s a Melbourne reunion in the unlikeliest of places. We buy a bottle of wine from Ved Stranden 10 and armed with glasses from the wine bar, head to a canal tour of the city together. It was undoubtedly a delicious bottle but it is the summer sun on our faces, the cool river breeze and being in good company that makes it quite unforgettable. Noah gets into the spirit of celebration by walking up and down the boat using his juice bottle to repeatedly give a group of Danish girls cheers, much to their amusement.
Despite spending 9 days in Copenhagen, we feel like we could there stay longer. You know a city has won your heart when it leaves you wanting more.
