this summer we went to portugal for a few weeks, we were mainly going for my brother’s wedding, to catch up with family and friends whom we miss so much, and hadn’t seen julia since she was a newborn. we always love going home to portugal, but it doesn’t really feel like we are going on a trip together. so we also wanted to go somewhere new,  a short flight away from portugal, easy to bring julia with us – and of course, we weren’t really looking for a beach destination.

we decided on copenhagen and stockholm, both child friendly cities, plus, it wouldn’t be too hot. we stayed in copenhagen for three night and picked an hotel in indre by, so we could easily stroll to nearby coffee shops and restaurants.

we typically left the hotel in the morning to go explore the city, and after having a casual lunch, we came back to the hotel, so julia could have a nap, before heading out for an early dinner.

tivoli was undoubtedly one of our favorite spots, it’s the second oldest amusement park in the world, opened in 1843 and it must be the prettiest amusement park ever – all amusement parks should be this magical, right!? although julia is too young to enjoy it, it was nice to stroll around and she even went on her first ride with James! i hope we can come back with her in a few years.

unfortunately, during this time of the year (end of july) most of the high end restaurants are closed for vacation, but luckily, the city is packed with cute little restaurants and coffee shops in every neighbourhood, where they serve delicious flavor combinations with the freshest ingredients, and perfect cappuccinos every time – i’m officially a fan of the danish food scene!

amongst our favorites for a quick meal on the go were bristish chain joe & the juice and big apple (pictured above), a chain of cozy coffee shops were we had delicious danish bread sandwiches – dense and light at the same time, have you tried it?

we stopped by a park, ostedsparken, to relax and play with julia, she loved chilling on the grass. we don’t have many spots with grass for kids here in turks and caicos, so it was really nice for a change.

we had the most delicious dinner at sticks ‘n sushi, this place specializes in sushi and small skewers, denmark has amazingly fresh fish, so no wonder the sushi was so good.

i’m glad james insisted to go on the canal tour, i was a bit skeptical because of julia – was it going to be too hot, where would we leave the stroller, what if she has a tantrum and we’re in the middle of canal? in the end it was fine, she had a long nap so i enjoyed the views, just not many pics, but the tour is totally worth it and we got to see other sides of the city we couldn’t stroll to – the little mermaid, the opera house, and a peek to christiania amongst others. the tour leaves from the port of nyhavn, we loved the colorful houses here, and copenhagen is such a safe and baby friendly city, that it was perfectly fine to leave the stroller just by the dock.

there are several castles and palaces in copenhagen, at least we got to visit one – the rosenborg castle. it was beautiful, and we specially liked the park that surrounds it, busy with people of all ages, drinking, eating and sunbathing.

the round tower or rundetaarn, was around the corner from our hotel, it’s an icon of copenhagen since 1637. we strolled/climbed the  209m long spiral ramp to the top. at the very top, there is a niche where you can see this view of the city, but as soon as i saw the little hole we had to go through…i had to run downstairs – vertigo and claustrophobia all in one! too bad i always miss all the pretty views from touristy attractions, oh well, at least i have the picture taken by james.

we read about torvehallerne on our wallpaper city guide on copenhagen, it’s 100% our type of place, a food market with more than 60 stalls, and walking distance from our hotel – perfect to stroll to with julia and grab something delicious without having to wait forever. everything we ordered was delicious, but we specially liked laura’s bakery, the coffee collective and smag, where i had a delicious vegetarian salad topped up with green pea pesto and carrot hummus. we also had the best organic oats and caramel ice cream stick from engmark is. and the list goes on.

pictured, the freshest fish from fiskerikajen.

i didn’t do much shopping, but was tempted to, if you are planning to visit, make sure you go to stroget, packed with stores. i did get a quick peek at cos, &other stories, illums bolighus and magasin du nord.

there is so much to do, see, visit, eat in copenhagen, i can’t wait to go back! copenhagen is clean, safe, organized, and ‘apppealing’, its not cheap (compared to other european cities) and it’s a very child friendly city, there are strollers and kids everywhere and it’s very easy to walk around the city. i don’t know what took me so long to visit!

if you would like to visit, visit copenhagen has a lot of info on the city.

other my sea story travel adventures here, and a post on stockholm on the way.

picture 25 from laura’s bakery, all other by myseasetory.