One of the great joys of living in Europe is the cornucopia of choice, of historic adventure, of culture and content, right on the doorstep. The Old World, in western parlance, is sitting there, waiting for you – just a few hours at most from where you may be, easily reached and explored in a weekend. No longer, though, is 48 hours in Europe just for the Europeans, no, no. Us Londoners are being told that a long weekend in New York is but a hop, skip and short flight away so, by virtu of logic, ever falling costs and ever quicker flights, Europe is for our cousins in the US too. Well, those on that East coast at least.
As you may well know, whilst HedgeBrunch is built to build business, we are also more than a little concerned with a healthy balance of work and play. So, having not seen a new part of the world for at least a month, we thought, hell, it’s time we went somewhere as yet unexplored and, therefore, we found our pin landing on Copenhagen for our latest European weekend adventure.
We arrived on a Friday lunch, fresh from London and ready for a good time away from The City. Copenhagen, on the western flank of the Danish archipelago, has a similar ratio of good-to-bad weather days as the UK (albeit with far more brutal winter days, we’ll grant them that) but we got so very lucky with the first real summer days of 2018. A perfect 26 degrees Centigrade greeted us and the Danes were noticeably in a damn good mood because of it. We’re told they’re always welcoming but this put an extra shine on our arrival. Like the Brits, the weather is worthy of conversation here.
Copenhagen airport to town centre is, as you would expect from the ever-organised Scandinavians, a breeze. 20 minutes on a swift and clean train had us feet from our home-from-home; The Nimb Hotel. It really couldn’t have been a better setup for a weekend away – challenge one; get away and explore somewhere new whilst avoiding the hassle and rigmarole normally associated with international travel. Challenge two; find the right hotel, of course.
Since our trips to Morocco and Gstaad last year we’ve come to realise that Small Luxury Hotels of the World know how to pick the spots we like. Yes, they do know what they a are doing. Oh so very well. Wherever you are going and whether it’s for a quick weekend away like this, a bespoke business trip or a proper ends-of-the-earth vacation they are on-point. Each of their 500 partner hotels is carefully hand selected and has to maintain it’s high standards year in year out, The Nimb, overlooking Copenhagen’s world famous Tivoli Gardens, proves this in abundance.
Greeted with the warmth we had already come to know (the Danes somehow manage to be achingly smooth yet maintain an almost child-like sense of wonder and welcome at the same time), we checked in to our junior suite. Impeccable Danish design, clean black mahogany lines, a giant four-poster draped in luxury linens, every trimming you could want – we realised just how sleek and unique this hotel was. However, adult and alluring as it is, there is big-kidness about the place too though, which was really quite special.
Opening the door onto our balcony, expecting the customary 3 by 8 rectangle jutting out over the floors below, we were greeted by not only a space big enough to entertain a small Viking hoard but one bathed in glorious sun, bedecked with an unnecessarily welcoming sofa and dining space with a brass band heralding a full on celebration – as if we just returned victorious from the world cup. (Watch our Instagram video of this here). Now, we’ll grant that the brass band was part of a music festival in the Willy Wonka-esque Tivoli gardens below but still, you know, it was a pretty cool entrance. We’ll be insisting on this same treatment wherever and whenever possible from now on, that’s for sure. Quite a start.
Quickly onto lunch, because a weekend break is nothing if not continuous consumption of the food and drink of your host city punctuated, briefly, by a wander here and a museum there. Is it not? Nimb is home to five separate dining options, each as appealing as the next, so you’d be forgiven for just rolling, horizontally, from one to the next, but there is of course a pretty great city out there to explore too, don’t forget.
Our exploration was still to follow, so we opted for Fru Nimb, the hotel’s Scandi-classic open-faced sandwich restaurant. A deliciously light homemade Rullepølsen coupled with a crisp Sancerre and some good company, not to mention an ebullient welcome from the lovely team, set us on the path for a fantastic weekend.
Heading out into the the city and over the next 48 hours we made the ambling easy and the consumption regular, exploring the sites of the city at a delightful snail’s pace. We’ve long ago learnt that packing in too much sight-seeing into a weekend break is a recipe for disaster. Pick a few things, leave some time for getting a little lost stumbling-upon the unknown (often the most enjoyable approach) and focus on eating and drinking well. Everything else will fall into place.
We recommend swinging by the iconic Nyhavn canal side, visiting one the many the vibrant and enticing food markets, strolling round The Copenhagen Lakes (with time to laze on the banks if you can) and heading to The Danish National Gallery or Museum too. More than enough to keep you going. Oh, and above all. Get thee a bike. They are ubiquitous in and around the city and a brilliant way to soak up the atmosphere and blend in with the locals. They are available to hire from the hotel and a must for a good weekend.
The Nimb Hotel is at the centre of Copenhagen which makes it very easy to nip out for a few hours exploring and return to freshen up, eat and recharge. We made perhaps unadvisedly frequent visits to their superb cocktail bar on regular breaks. It has some of the most innovative offerings we’ve had this side of New York City and it served as embarrassingly focal, focal point for our weekend. It’s also very much worth spending some extended time in the Tivoli Gardens ambling around, enjoying a some coffee and cake or taking in a show on one of the three stages (everything from full rock concerts to the aforementioned brass-bands). Whilst in Tivoli, we’d also highly recommend the greenest of Nimb’s eateries, Gemyse. A garden restaurant with greenhouse-style dining rooms, fire pits and incredible organic vegetarian menu. Try the grilled avocado and Kimchi. You’ll thanks us.
If you’re planning a trip to Copenhagen any time soon we whole-heatedly recommend The Nimb. Wonderful design and facilities throughout with a warm welcome and delightful service from a well informed team. Luxury with style, taste and a healthy sense of fun.
To learn more and book head to The Nimb – Small Luxury Hotels of The World.
