We cannot believe that it’s been a whole week here in København (Copenhagen)!
Okay, it’s been more than a week, we’ve been busy! Let’s cover a lot of things quickly:
Flights
We decided, since we weren’t doing a honeymoon for a bit, to splurge and get business-class seats for the overnight flight from PHL to LHR. Historically, neither of us have slept well on that flight, so we wanted the best chance at a good night’s sleep. We also learned that when you pay lots of money to sit in a comfy seat, you get treated like a human being with real food options. Still airline food, but darn good airline food. Also, can British Airways please install fans on their planes? I know the Brits don’t believe in air conditioning, but there’s no need to punish a plane full of passengers like that.
After the first flight, we braved a morning at Heathrow and its many bus rides and extra security screenings in order to hurry-up-and-wait for them to decide which gate our flight to CPH would be. That flight, under 2 hours, was such a breeze, and is one that I would happily do again.
Oh, and this is who greeted us at CPH, reminding us how much we paid to bring Pepper and Anise over.
Moving into a Hotel
We stayed at one of the many Scandic Hotels in Copenhagen, specifically this one because it allowed for pets. We had an amazing view of the city center from our 15th-floor (16th, for the Americans) room!
We only ate two meals at the hotel, since there were so many other options around for food, so I made sure that y’all get to see this. I ordered “Stuffed Danish Welfare Chicken”, which is named because the Danes have very high animal welfare standards, and the Mrs. ordered a Wienerschnitzel. Paired with beers from Royal Unibrew, and we had a fantastic meal. I’ll do another post sometime just with food, because I could go on forever here.
Kattesnacks til kattene
“cat snacks for the cats”
Our two cats, Pepper and Anise, also made the journey, albeit a little differently than our own. We coordinated with a pet-moving service in order to have experts guarantee we had all of the paperwork, vaccines, and travel information correct. We were actually on the same flight as the cats, and saw their carriers getting unloaded in Heathrow, but then they stayed an extra day just be pampered and checked on by a vet. What was extra fun were the excellent photos sent to us by the courier before the flight.
The cats made it just fine and were delivered to the hotel, adjusting very quickly to their new surroundings, and plotting their takeover of the city.
Let’s go shopping!
Some of the essentials we needed were pet supplies, food, power strips and cords, computer accessories, and, of course, furniture. We’ll cover that last one later.
Right near the hotel was a hardware/home improvement chain called Harald Nyborg, and Harald indeed had the goods. Litter, box, scratching posts, power strips, trash bags, even some HDMI cables so we could plug our Steam Deck into the TV and play LEGO Star Wars together! Harald is the man.
Plenty of online shopping has taken place, mostly to order things that are either too obscure for major stores (furniture for hiding a litterbox, anyone?) or are much harder to transport without a car. Speaking of, we’ll cover bikes in a bit. Another shop that was in close proximity to the hotel was Netto, a Danish grocery chain that’s all over the city. It was quick and easy to get some snacks and essentials, and I’m very fortunate the self-checkout can switch between Danish and English. It should also be said that the Danes learn English at a young age, and will quickly switch to it the moment I start massacring their language. Not once have we ever been harassed about learning Danish, and everyone has been very pleasant and understanding!
Home Sweet Home
A few days of hotel living gets old quick, so we were very happy to meet our new landlord and get the keys to our new apartment! The apartment had recently been upgraded, including the addition of LOTS of closets and drawers in the entryway, and a very spacious kitchen island. We were also very fortunate the find a 3-room apartment (2 bedroom, 1 living/dining room), which gives us plenty of space for our hobbies and hosting anyone who may visit. The apartment has its quirks, as does Danish design in general, but we can cover those in another post.
The Swedish Nightmare
Given what part of the world we’ve moved into, you probably are already guessing what store this is about. That’s right, IKEA; bigger and bolder here than anywhere I’ve seen in the US. This entire next section is written with my love and respect for the Swedes and their furniture. It was us, the Americans, who messed up. Emboldened by our overconfidence and can-do attitude, we bit off much much MUCH more than we could chew. Maybe it was ambition, maybe it was the fact the IKEA here felt two or three times as large as any in the US, maybe I was a little sleep deprived with bad judgement. Who’s to say?
We went in with a list of things to look at, and only a few to buy: bed frame, mattress, linens, pillows, desks, barstools, some kitchen supplies, maybe a couch. The same afternoon we got our keys, we rented a minivan from someone local using the GoMore app (sort of like a ZipCar or short term rental except from the actual owner of the vehicle) and drove out to Taastrup, since their IKEA had things in stock that the Copenhagen one did not. We took our time perusing the showroom, getting ideas, and “what-if”-ing each other into a fairly full cart of essentials. Three blue FRAKTA bags later, and some other stuff that didn’t fit in them, we went back inside for Mrs. Dailey’s first IKEA dining experience (I think the meatballs get better the closer you get to Sweden), and to put in our furniture order. About half the stuff we were able to collect ourselves from the warehouse, and only 2 or 3 things had to get brought out to the car later.
This was our downfall. We packed everything in the car so perfectly, we hadn’t even considered that a couch would come 99% assembled in a box bigger than our car’s cargo space. But that’s exactly what happened. At 20:00, on a very cold and windy Danish night while the store was closing down, we were playing tetris with a van whose rental period had been extended 4 separate times. IKEA couldn’t take the couch back for shipping, since it was already paid and ‘delivered’ to us, but they were able to call a local company who could come by with a truck and deliver it that night. Had we been even a minute later, things may not have worked out as the driver was about to get on the highway and was able to turn around to help us. This couch may be the single most expensive thing I’ve ever purchased from IKEA, but after the driver helped schlep it to the elevator and into our apartment, the cash paid for delivery and tip was absolutely worth it.
From now on, everything else is getting delivered. If I’m already spending thousands of krone on this stuff, what’s another few hundred krone for curbside, or even in-apartment, delivery? (1 DKK is 0.16 USD, and 1 USD is 6,30 DKK. Also, they use commas and decimals the opposite of what Americans do, so it’s 1.234,56 instead of 1,234.56)
Bikes, used by 50% of commuters in Copenhagen
I’m calling myself out: My sort of embarrassing fun fact is that I couldn’t ride a bike until college, a place that made me sick of walking everywhere.
The summer after my freshman year, one day I got so angry about not being able to do it that I got on the cheap bike I had, rode up my parents’ driveway, up the road and around a neighborhood, and back. Needless to say, I’m not as good as most people on a bike, but I made do.
Here, it’s just kind of expected that you have and ride a bike. Since we sold our cars back in the US, we were prepared to drop some cash on decent (but not too fancy) bikes. Apparently the only major crime that happens in Copenhagen is bike theft, which is ironic to me considering so many people already have bikes. Buying one was very easy, we went to a FriBikeShop location near our hotel, looked at their inventory, asked to test-ride some of them, and once we were happy the shop got them tuned up and road ready in a matter of minutes. After paying, we got a stamped and signed receipt and insurance paperwork for the bikes. Unlike the US, many bikes here are sold with built-in locks that will immobilize the rear wheel, and information about that lock is how insurance can help if your bike gets stolen. People do still use larger, traditional bike locks, but these built-in ones are great if you’re just running in and out of a store.
Since bikes are also replacement for cars, planning out storage and carrying is crucial. Many bikes already came with the rear cargo platform above the wheel, and some come with baskets. I had to get a basket added to mine, to handle grocery shopping and package pickup, and the shop worked out a great deal since the one I wanted wouldn’t fit.
The Danish Wal-Mart (& the mall)
If any Danes are reading this, I’m sorry for the comparison. Bilka is a massive store similar to a Wal-Mart or Target in terms of what it offers. Groceries, clothing, home goods, some appliances, but groceries are where it really shines at the Fields Mall location. Every part of it is as overwhelming as a Wal-Mart is in the US, but just in Danish.
We have been going here pretty regularly just to get random things, but the big highlight was the snack bar out front. Sandwiches, pastries, and, of course, hot dogs. The Danes love their hot dogs, and I’m still not entirely sure why when they also have access to German, Polish, and other sausages pretty regularly. Being the Americans we are, though, we had to give it a go. Outside of the cored-out baguette/hot dog roll, we got to try a couple unique condiments (curry ketchup, anyone?), and the hot dogs were fantastisk! Aside from regular ones, they also offered chorizo (sold out at the time), cheese filled, and a few others.
Truly, vi spiser hot dogs.
That covers week one’s shenanigans! stay tuned for what comes next when I finally get around to updating y’all on weeks 2 and 3
Farvel for nu,
Ryan
