Hayu Hamemayu

For the winter break 2019, we initially didn’t plan to go anywhere. The period between October to December was quite a hectic moment for us because Zaki had so many things on his plate: journals, book chapter, manuscript, seminar, conference to name a few. As a result, the daily loads that we usually share were suddenly on me and myself, there was no time (and energy!) to plan for any kind of trip. But then prior to his third-phase PhD Seminar which was scheduled on December 19, right after he submitted his manuscript to the reviewers, he said: “Can you find a good deal to go somewhere? Just a day or two. Not too far and most definitely not too expensive. I think we’re all deserve a short escape.”

The answer was of course “no” 😄

It was just a few days before Christmas. There’s no way we could get a good deal, unless we’re super rich. So we decided to just stay in Lund.

Luckily during those times, some friends were available for playdates and meet ups so we were quite “busy” for some times. But when you have a school age kid, holiday season could be a challenge, in the sense that you need to keep the kid(s) “entertained” every single day. So some times were barely enough.

My kid is actually quite easy to please. A set of books, some movies from Netflix or Viaplay, art project, playdates, baking together, are the things that can keep her busy for a while. Even so, there are still times when she says: “I’m bored.”

So I checked every possible options for a short trip, compare the pros and cons, and the result was: we’ll go to Copenhagen. Again. 😆

For those who live in Skåne area, such as Lund, Copenhagen is like a backyard. It’s proximity and easy access makes it always a good idea for a last minute decision. I personally never get bored with Copenhagen. I love its picturesque corners, its hipsters spots, its rhythm and many more. I just don’t really like the price. 😁

Thanks to #ScandicFriends program from Scandic hotels, I got a quite deal to stay in Scandic Front in Copenhagen for two nights on the first weekend of January 2020. Scandic chain hotels are indeed my favourite, especially because they serve generous and delicious breakfast. Like I said here, it is important to have a good breakfast before exploring 😊. For this branch in particular, I love the location. It’s very close to Nyhavn and just a stroll away from interesting places such as Amalienborg Palace and the Opera House.

As we had been to Copenhagen couple of times, we preferred to go to new places. So here are the highlights from last weekend getaway:

Seeing Polar Bear in Copenhagen Zoo

My first born mentioned couple of times that she wanted to go to Copenhagen Zoo. But I was always making excuses not to go because I didn’t think it was worthy enough. Turned out I was wrong. The zoo is really a nice, and a perfect destination for family with kids. We got to see Polar Bear (and fell in love with it instantly), Panda, and even Kangaroo and Tapir (that surprisingly do not feel cold despite the weather 😄). The kids can also pet the farm animals like donkey, rabbit and sheep in the Children’s zoo section.

The zoo has two areas separated by Roskildevej road, with an underpass that connects them. The day when we visited, the zoo opened from 9 to 16. We arrived at around 11 and still got plenty of time but felt that it wasn’t enough to explore the whole area, especially if you want to see every attractions such as feeding polar bear, training and weighing of the camels or feeding the elephants. I would recommend you to buy tickets online so you can skip the queue in the entrance. Also, if you want to see the attractions, make sure you’re already in the venue at least 15 minutes before the schedule to guarantee you a good spot, otherwise it would be difficult to find one. Even on winter like this, the zoo is really crowded.

Enjoying warm waffle in Nyhavn

Almost every time we go to Copenhagen, we always go to Nyhavn. That time also, as we stayed very close to this area, we didn’t have a reason not to go. So after checked in and rested for a while, we strolled around the area from the waterfront of Langelinie pier to Kongens Nytorv and made stop in between to enjoy waffle and churros at Rajissimo.

Eating Yummy Barbacoa at La Neta

Zaki and I were really into the Netflix series “Chef’s Table.” And it was one of its episodes that introduced us to this Mexican dish: Barbacoa. According to Wikipedia, barbacoa refers to lamb slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with special leaves called Agave. However, the interpretation is loose, and in some cases may refer to meat steamed until tender, often accompanied with onions and cilantro (coriander). The one that we had was beef and it was superb.

I found this place in Visit Copenhagen website. It was on the last day of our stay and we were bit reluctant to go back to Lund. Haha. We wanted to go to the Royal Library at first but it was Sunday so the library was closed. I then suggested to Zaki that we had lunch first before heading back to Lund. I gave him some options and it was firm that we’d try the barbacoa.

The taqueria is located in the area called Nørrebro, which is claimed as a true melting pot of all things delicious, fun and vibrant in Copenhagen. Too bad we didn’t have lot of time, to explore. Maybe another time 🙂

Anyway, how to travel to and within Copenhagen?

If you travel from Lund to Copenhagen, and are not planning to stay overnight, you can buy the 24 hours (return) ticket from Skånetrafiken. The ticket also cover some area of Copenhagen so you don’t need extra ticket to travel within the zones. Read about the zones here.

However, if you’re staying in Copenhagen for more than a night, you will need tickets to travel around the city. There are some options for this. You can buy Copenhagen Card that covers entrance tickets to some tourist spots, vouchers, and public transports. Or, you can buy City Pass depending on how long you stay. Another option is to buy single ticket from DSB app.

The one that worked for us that time was the single ticket because we didn’t travel around much. On Friday, we could still use the ticket from Lund, while on Sunday we used the ticket we bought to go back to Lund. We only needed one day ticket to one place (the zoo), so single ticket was the cheapest option.

Though we didn’t do much, it was a weekend well spent in the capital of Denmark. Would love to come again and explore other areas.

Tak, København! See you next time!