Choosing Our Adventure

Today was a day of fits and spurts, interrupted by plenty of rain. Or maybe that should read, today was a rainy day, interrupted by moments of activity. Either way, we were wet! The forecast called for rain all day, varying from 20% chance to 100%, and we were met by all percentages of it.

Coffee Collective coffee labs

To kickoff the day, we walked to the Coffee Collective right on our block to grab a hot chocolate and a wonderfully bright Ethiopian pour over. Eli declared his hunger level was in critical condition, so we headed down the street for some delicious Danish porridge at Grød, with Eli naming it his best meal of the trip.

A brief planning session had us deciding to head back down to Vesterbro to hit up some more shopping. Copenhagen is a quintessential European city with all the small, short and mazy streets. We are still struggling to get up to speed with our map reading and sense of direction in this city. We easily biked our way down to the area we were looking for, but then proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes getting turned around looking for the shops we wanted.

Soaked

Eventually we found what we were looking for, but by this point there was a light drizzle happening. By the time we had visited a few shops, it had upgraded to a full deluge. What to do? Rapid fire decision making had use headed into the meat packing district to Prolog Coffee Bar, for a respite from the rain and a coffee & cocoa to warm us up.

When it became clear that the rain wasn’t letting up, we made the brave decision to just head back to the flat … a 20 minute bike ride in the rain. Thankfully, shortly after departing the rain subsided and we were allowed to ride a little drier.

We spent the next couple of hours staring out the window, checking the weather app and plotting our next move. Around 3:30, things had calmed to a light mist and our anxiousness got the best of us. So we put on what dry clothes we had and biked back down into the heart of the city so Eli could hit a couple of vintage shops before they closed.

With the shopping concluded (for the day), we didn’t know what to do next. A quick scan of our map showed we were just blocks from Rundetaarn, the Round Tower, a landmark of the city and one of the best ways to view the whole city from above. Its an easy walk up the tower thanks to the fact there are NO STAIRS!

Unfortunately, when we reached the top a downpour had ensued. We waited for a brief break in the action then scurried outside to capture some glorious shots of the city and storm.

Magic

Back down on solid ground, with the rain dropping hard and fast, we had yet another crucial decision to make … bike to dinner or to the flat. Eventually we settled on dinner, and when the clouds broke, we scrambled to the bikes and were on our way.

But it didn’t last! Barely arrived at the bikes the rain began in earnest. By the time we had biked 5 minutes, we were soaked and slightly miserable. We pulled off to the side, and decided we were too disheveled to enter a restaurant, and so we headed to the flat.

Arriving at the flat about 7:30, we were in a race against time. You see, here in Copenhagen, most kitchens close between eight and nine o’clock. We frantically scanned the map of the local area for something that was both open, and worth eating. Thankfully we stumbled upon Blaabjerg & Madsen, recently crowned “Best Burger Frederiksberg.” Closing at 8:30, we had just enough time to throw on some slightly damp clothing and walk the two blocks to order some burgers! With burgers in hand, we stopped to grab some milkshakes at Paradis ice cream parlour.

It was a great way to end a wet and wild day.