Ørestad is a new addition to Copenhagen, it’s futuristic, innovative and, I think, beautiful. But if you don’t live there, there’s not much going on in the area.

So unless you know where to find this sculpture, or you happen to be staying at the Bella Sky Hotel, you will almost certainly miss it, because it’s located in an unlikely place: not at all where you would accidentally pass by, but I think that just makes it more interesting.

Hop on the metro in direction Vestamager, get off at Bella Center Station, and walk back a little by Ørestads Boulevard. If you have looked out the window of the train to the right side, you will have spotted it already.

A concrete bridge leads you to the island itself, and in the middle there is a granite pillar ornamented with female bodies over which water constantly flows down. Around the column, there are four pavilions with roofs of colored glass. It’s perfectly beautiful in daylight but I recommend you go see it in the evening when the lights are on.

The entire thing is created by the same man who is behind Nørrebros Heart, the artist Bjørn Nørgaard.

The area behind Lovers Island is part of Amager Fælled, a nature reserve, and that somehow adds to the experience, realizing that you are standing in the city and in the middle of nature at the same time.

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Kærlighedsøen | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
The corner of Vejlands Allé / Ørestads Boulevard | Amager
24 hours daily

Should you happen to be on the Dronning Louises Bridge after dark walking towards Nørrebro, you might notice a large neon chicken on one of the rooftops on your right hand. This is the much loved Irma Hen, so loved that it’s even mentioned in a popular Danish song. It was put up in 1953 and as far as I know it is now protected.

Originally it was an advertisement for the ecological and fair-trade oriented Irma supermarket that still exists today, and in fact is one the world’s oldest grocery chains,  but over time it has assumed the status of a landmark for Nørrebro.

It’s was switched off for an hour for the very first time in 2009 during Earth Hour and is now turned off once every year in the same context.

Dedicated fans have made a site that can keep you updated on the number of eggs Irmahønen has laid so far (It only works when the hen is switched on).

In addition to being a local darling, Irmahønen is also very productive laying seven eggs per minute. Not many chickens can brag about that.

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Irma -Hønen | Art & culture | Free
Sortedams Dosseringen | Nørrebro
24 hours daily

Housed in an old Poulaine shoe store, Brass Monkey is a blast from the past. Back in the 1940s Don The Beachcomber, the worlds first Tiki-bar opened up in Hollywood. Brass Monkey in Vesterbro, is trying to bring back the celebration of Polynesian culture, the fruity rum-based drinks and pacific island bar snacks.

Tiki-drinks are made with lots of juices and flavors like pineapple and banana. Drinks are served in traditional porcelain Tiki Mugs and served with loads of rum. Brass Monkey boasts the largest selection of rum in Scandinavia.

Their snacks include fish burgers, shrimp skewers and other delicious pacific island bar foods.

Opened by the crew behind the best classical cocktail bar in Copenhagen (Check the Salon 39 article), Brass Monkey aims to continue the traditions of classical bartending – impeccable service, a little bit of showmanship and honest great tasting drinks – that has rendered Salon 39 so successful.

Brass Monkey is dark and decorated with wood carvings and palm trees. The bartenders wear Aloha Shirts and don’t be surprised if you get a Lei hung around your neck when you enter.

One of my favorite things to do is get a Volcano – a big tub of tiki-licious cocktail for 4-5 people served with 5 extra long straws. You can’t really be sparse with the alcohol in Tikis. Maybe that’s the reason that I’ve never had a boring night out at Brass Monkey. Or maybe it’s because you never know when they’ll break out the Limbo stick at Brass Monkey!

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Brass Monkey | Bars | Cocktail DKK 85.00
Enghavevej 31 | Vesterbro | +4533223433
Wed – Sat 20:00 – 03:00

Far away from downtown Copenhagen and even a bit out of the way from downtown Frederiksberg, lies a small cheese shop near Peter Bangsvej Station. Even though it is out of the way, it is most certainly worth the trip. I frequently do a 20 minute bike ride detour home from work to buy cheese in the small shop.

Grand Fromage is originally from Denmark’s 2nd largest city Århus, but due to their popularity with Copenhagen restaurateurs, they opened up a small shop in Frederiksberg. Grand Fromage is run by father and son, who both have a cheese-making background. The family have been cheese-makers since 1883. This of course shows in their selection of products for sale in the shop. Cheeses are chosen from small artisan producers in Denmark as well as France, Italy and the UK.

The staff is of course extremely knowledgeable (it is usually the son working the shop) and you can be quite sure you’ll get a taste of cheese and a good story when in the shop. Apart from cheese, the shop has a small selection of Salamis, hams, freshly baked bread and relishes and other condiments to go with a cheese platter. My personal favorite is the French Epoisses de Bourgogne which you can get at Grand Fromage at a perfect level of ripeness. It becomes extremely smelly and runny when it is mature enough to eat. Yummy!

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Grand Fromage | Shopping
Peter Bangs Vej 89 | Frederiksberg | +4538161303
Tue – Thu 10:00 – 18:00, Fri 10:00 – 18:30, Sat 09:30 – 14:00

Wullf+Konstali is a strange little shop. It is part small café, part coffee house, but mostly it’s a place where you can buy delicious things. They call themselves a Food Shop and I think that is quite an accurate name.

In the small shop there are a few places to sit, an Apple iMac with internet access for free use, free wi-fi, but most people stop in to pick something up on the way somewhere.

In the morning people choose the freshly made bread from the artisanal bakery on their way to work. Later in the day the delicious sandwiches and salads are popular with local business people and various workers in the area. When people start getting off work they stop by to bring home Beuf Bourgoignon or Spagetti Bolognese.

For the sweet tooth, there is a large selection of quality chocolates from Summerbird as well as home made cookies, brownies and cupcakes. And of course a selection of coffees, tea and juices.

The bakery is located on Lergravsvej 57, 2300 København S and has the same hours and selection as Wulff+Konstali on Isafjordsgade as well as an open bakery where you can watch the bakers in action.

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Wulff+Konstali | Coffee & tea, Snacks
Isafjordsgade 10 | Amager | +4532548181
07:00 – 20:00 daily

Salon 39 is a cocktail bar and restaurant in the Frederiksberg neighborhood of Copenhagen. It is small place with an amazing ability to mix a few ingredients together to create outstanding flavors in both food and drinks. It started out as a cocktail bar founded by two Copenhagen friends, a Michelin-star trained chef and a trained bartender from Hotel Vier Jahrzeiten in Hamburg. They wanted to create a great cocktail-bar while serving a few simple dishes and snacks so people would stay around instead of leaving to go get food elsewhere.

Food is prepared with lots of love and great ingredients, cocktails are made with the best liquors imported from around the world; Pisco from Chile and Peru, Bourbon from small American distilleries and homemade infused vodka and cognacs. One of my favorite things to do is sit at the bar, let the bartender surprise me with new concoctions and listen to him chat with off-duty cocktail-bartenders from around Copenhagen who somehow always hang out at Salon 39. Don’t be surprised if the topic is something geeky, like how to make the perfect ice cube for shaking cocktails.

The décor is dark and somber. The soundtrack is vinyl jazz records. The main reason I love this place is their insane passion for making sure that both food and cocktails are the very best. Not the most fancy, but the very best.

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Salon 39 | Bars, Restaurants (Italian ) | Cocktails DKK 85.00
Vodroffsvej 39 | Frederiksberg | +4539208039
Tue – Thu 16:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 16:00 – 02:00, Sun 11:00 – 15:00

This may not be the most obvious tourist destination and it does have a limited lifespan, but if you’re in the neighbourhood anyway, I think it’s worth a visit.

The Copenhagen metro system is expanding with a City ring which is supposed to be finished in 2018. One of the larger construction sites is located in Nørrebroparken. The large hole in the ground and the huge white indefinable machines, roaring and doing God knows what inside the enclosed area, is spectacle enough on its own.

The large gate to the construction site is mostly open during the day, so you can see what’s going on. But even when they are closed you can sneak-peak at the progress through several windows in the fence surrounding the site. And that’s another thing to look at: the fence.

It’s more than half a kilometre long and decorated with different kinds of art. Local artist and children from nearby schools and institutions have covered large parts of the fence with different kinds of artwork.

One of the pieces you can see is the remains of the large trees in the park that had to be cut down to make room for the construction site, now changed into art and put on display on the fence.

My own favourite is on the part of the fence facing Nordbanegade where miniature models of local shops and institutions are put up, like Rust and our local bus 5A.

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On the fence | Art & culture | Free
Hillerødgade | Nørrebro
24 hours daily

Assistens Cemetery is a popular spot for sunbathing and picnics, but if you’re not completely comfortable with the idea of baring skin among the tombstones, there is a fine alternative very close by. Behind the cemetery and between Holy Cross Church and The Metropolitan School is Hans Tavsens Park. The park was founded in the early twentieth century in a former part of the cemetery and is Copenhagen’s first public park.

In the park are some beautiful statues such as The Artemis Fountain by Johannes Bjerg.and Michelangelo’s Moses (well, a copy of it, anyway).

The park’s grill can be used free of charge and behind The Metropolitan School there are paved ball courts and climbing walls and a mini golf course. During opening hours you can borrow golf equipment in the playgroup buildings next to the golf course.

At the other end of the park near the church is a playground for smaller children.

Whereas Assistens Cemetery is a very tranquil place, Hans Tavsens Park is quite naturally a lot livelier, but you can easily find a peaceful spot away from the hordes of soccer-playing boys.

You can enter the park through the cemetery, or from Jagtvej via a somewhat humble reddish brown wooden gate, or from Hans Tavsens Gade.

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Hans Tavsens Park | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Hans Tavsens Gade | Nørrebro
Park 24 hours daily | Mini golf Mon – Thu 09:30 – 17:00, Fri 10:00 – 17:00

Copenhagen has an almost brand new opera house. I have an excellent view of it from my office, and in my opinion it looks like a very large hat that someone has placed on the horizon of the city. And though the inside of the building is quite stunning, catching a performance there is definitely in the more expensive category of entertainment.

Luckily it is possible to find offers of fine art such as opera and poetry elsewhere, and – might I add – at a more affordable price. In an abolished church on Møllegade lies Literaturhaus. The place harbours a variety of events from readings by national and international writers, poetry duels, discussions, opera improvisation and stand-up opera – both of which can be rather overwhelming experiences – to electronic ambient and presentations of new releases of classical music.

Listening to, or rather experiencing opera at Literaturhaus is very different from going to an opera, and you don’t even have to be a huge fan of the genre to be impressed and enjoy yourself.

The original reason that I know of this place is less poetic: the owner rents out the church for social events, and my friends and I rented it some years back for a large party.

Prices too are in a completely different league than the big opera house.

Check out the program on Literaturhaus’ website. Unfortunately not all of it is translated into English, but some is.

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LiteraturHaus | Art & culture, Music | Entrance up to DKK 150
Møllegade 7 | Nørrebro | +4533329818
Depends on the event

I first saw them November last year. Back then there were only four of them: two bears, a monkey and a rabbit to be precise. One day they were just there, sitting in a tree.

Last time I counted, the number had grown to more than thirty, and almost every week new stuffed animals arrive to join the party. For the most part it’s good old teddy bears, but dolphins, crocodiles, elephants and a great deal of other plush creatures have come to join in. They have spread from their original tree, and now occupy the whole of two trees.

I pass their hangout every day twice, but I still haven’t been able to catch a glimpse of any of them arriving at the scene. It is quite a mystery what makes them gather in this particular area, where (to be honest) not much else is going on.

Maybe they are there to keep an eye on the skaters on the nearby ramp, or maybe they are looking after the friendly, harmless bunch of unemployed that hangs out drinking beer and having a smoke in a shack on the same spot of green.

Whatever the reason, they are not telling.

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Where teddy bears meet | Art & culture, Relaxing
Prags Boulevard | Amager
24 hours daily