A Soul & Sanity Saving City Break to Copenhagen

Copenhagen has never been on our bucket list until now.  We’ve always been a fan of the city break. Getting away for a few nights, and exploring a new destination always does wonders for the soul, and our sanity.  For this very reason we always try to book a couple of trips a year. Ok, we hold our hands up, these escapes usually coincided with Arctic Monkeys tour dates, but they were city breaks nevertheless.  In between the fan girling, city sights were definitely seen.

With Arctic Monkeys on a hiatus, we only had our Avios reward flights voucher and date of travel to guide us on where to go for our next adventure. Typically we left things to the last minute and the clock was ticking before our reward flights expired. We therefore thought it would be a good idea to kill two birds with one stone, and combine our trip with Pete’s birthday, which conveniently fell on a Saturday. Winning!

Copenhagen it is then

Copenhagen it is then

Embracing the winter in it’s freezing glory, we decided to go Nordic and the search began for the ideal winter location. After whittling down flight times, Copenhagen was the destination of choice.  The flight is just under 2 hours, and the timings are perfect for a short city break. As this is a BA business route there is plenty of choice when searching for the most convenient flight time.  The fact that this small city is totally walkable also appealed to us.  As we’ve mentioned before walking is Vibes Life Us’ favourite mode of transport.

To Fly To serve

Landing at 2pm on the Friday, then leaving at 6pm on Sunday, gave us 48 hours to explore Denmark’s beautiful capital. BA have been given a hard rap lately, mainly due to the changes on short haul flights. What!! No free food and drink ?!?!  But we couldn’t fault the staff, from check-in to landing they were outstanding.

The boy who doesn’t sleep

Emerson is 10 months old, fully mobile, and into everything!! A totally different experience compared to his last flight at 4 months. Gone are the days when he slept most of the way, and when he wasn’t sleeping the order of the day was feeding or changing. So the little touches that BA put on for families go a long way in making the journey a bit easier, and less stressful for us all.

Parent perks

Parent Perks

We checked in at Heathrow’s mammoth T5 and were ushered to the designated family zone. Touch! Here, Emerson was made a fuss off and given a sticker that he displayed proudly, along with a BA story book about the adventures of Ollie the pilot. Ever the grateful child, and with an audience he flashed his one tooth grin. He’s cute but I think we need to have a word with him about some how using his gummy charms for an upgrade. I’ve heard that’s where the free foods at!

Frequent flyer in the making, Emerson with his well earned sticker

On board, the parent perks kept coming.  If ever there was a reason to have a child it’s to board the plane first, right?! Never mind the anxiety that comes with the gamble on whether the babe is going to drive your fellow passengers crazy, for the entire flight.  E was given another little gift; the Sky Flyers Log book.   To be signed by the pilot onboard, Emerson’s air miles are clocked for each journey he completes. Pete’s excitement levels went through the roof at the end of the flight.   We were invited to squeeze into the cockpit to meet the pilot, where we got him to sign E’s book, and tally up those miles.  For the record it’s only 550 miles to Copenhagen.

Don’t touch the buttons

Hello Copenhagen

Copenhagen airport is no Kalamata.  With plenty of places to shop and eat, it took us a while to find the lift down to the baggage hall. Once our bags were collected, it was on to the metro. Finding your destination is easy enough in Copenhagen, there are only 2 lines, conveniently called M1 & M2. The airport (Lufthavnen) is at the end of the M1 line.  Both lines go through the main city centre, so you really can’t go wrong.  Taking the Metro is quick (under 20 minutes), and much cheaper than a taxi at only £3.  A ticket to Nørreport is most likely the cheapest thing you will purchase in Copenhagen, it is a notoriously expensive city.

SKT. Petri on Krystalgade, the heart of the Latin Quarter

The Heart of the City

Our hotel was a very convenient 5 minute walk from Nørreport. SKT. Petri is in the heart of the Latin quarter.  Situated on a quiet corner, you can reach most landmarks within a 30 minute walk.  This stunning design hotel was previously a department store, but now plays host to 288 stylish rooms. The listed building had a total revamp a few years back,  and the result is a laid back luxurious vibe.  Which we instantly fell in love with.

Emerald Green accents

For those that don’t have a buggy

Looking to Reception from the bar

The main reception lobby is a huge open airy space, with floor to ceiling windows. Monochrome geometric floors and vast circular lamps, give a magnificently luxe result. The black and white theme is off set by bright emerald green sofas, and a light fixture that is covered in jungle greens.  Bringing the outdoors inside, the effect is vibrantly beautiful.

The evening Ambience

Me & Em, matching the Hotels colour theme

Some of the amazing Art on show

Room with a view

The beautiful Copenhagen sunrise

These raspberry chocolate truffles were amazing.

We booked a superior room on the 4th floor, with spectacular views overlooking the University of Copenhagen’s old library, and the magnificent Church of our Lady Cathedral. The stark contrast between the old buildings outside, and the super chic design of the room is highlighted perfectly by huge windows. Stretching across the width of the room, with a windowsill wide enough to sit on, It made a perfect spot to take in the Copenhagen skyline. Complemented with a room brewed cuppa, in the handleless mugs.  These mugs blew our minds.  How can you have a mug with no handle ?!?! Ha Ha.

Emerson couldn’t get enough of the view

Great place to chill, after a days sightseeing

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We are suckers for boutique styling, and spent half an hour getting “pics for the gram” and making full use of the free Wi-Fi before heading out.  Art Deco inspired white wall panelling, a funky edgy mirrored wardrobe, and the beloved emerald green mushroom lamp made this room totally Instagram worthy.

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Amazing view; check.  Classy decor; check.  But the most imperative hotel requirement has to be the comfort of the bed!  Fear not!  It was incredible, a super king with a thick quilted mattress topper, meant that we spent the night sleeping on air.  Even with the sleep thief invading the bed in the early hours, we had enough space to all sleep comfortably.   Which made the early morning Birthday wake up call bearable, and ensured we were fresh to tackle the days sightseeing.

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Hey Baby

The hotel is totally accessible, a number of lifts go up to all floors, so there were no issues wheeling Emerson around. It’s always a bit of a worry with such stylish hotels whether they are going to be family friendly, but SKT. Petri couldn’t have done anymore to make us feel welcome. The travel cot supplied in our room was in amazing condition and the bedding was the cutest penguin covered duvet and pillow.  Which Emerson soon become obsessed with.  For familieswho are travelling with older children you are able to get interconnecting rooms.

Trying to escape

To Dine

SKT Petri has 2 restaurants; the SKT. Petri Restaurant, and the adjoining P Eatery next door.  We ate in both for breakfast.  Starting the day the right way for Pete’s Birthday we booked the P Eatery for an à la carte breakfast. Freshly cooked omelettes, Eggs Benedict, and a super tasty pimped out oatmeal filled us up nicely before the sight seeing commenced. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to dine there for lunch, or dinner but the menu sounds superb – “a Nordic kitchen with a Mediterranean touch”

Breakfast of champions

The tasty Oatmeal from the P Eatery

Emerson enjoying his freshly cooked a la carte Omelette

Buffet Goals

The Petri Restaurant is located within the lobby.  The breakfast buffet here on our last day was unforgettable. I  really don’t know where to start.  From pressed ginger juice to the sweetest iced coffee, SKT Petri served everything your belly desired. The Danish Pastries were a high point, having spent the previous day hunting them down with no luck. Along with the early morning sweet treats, we couldn’t resist trying pickled herring.  Whats a trip to Scandanavia without some pickled fish for breakfast.  Sweet and meaty, and topped with an olive it was actually a perfect breakfast dish. I could go on about how good the food was but I’ll just leave you with some foodporn instead. Yes, we were the annoying couple holding up the waffle queue so we could capture that perfect picture.

Pickled Herring

Danish’s for days

Shots, Shots, Shots – Ginger of course

When you can’t make up your mind

To Drink

Next to the Restaurant, is the Petri bar. A great space to unwind, and warm up after a days sight seeing. The evening atmosphere is relaxed with dimmed lighting, and candles.  Enjoying a well earned cocktail, the bar staff were friendly, quick and well informed.  At the back of the lobby there is a beautiful courtyard which unfortunately doesn’t open until April. As a result we didn’t get a chance to check it out. One thing we do know is that they have an artisanal pizza oven!! It doesn’t get more amazing than that!  It’ll be worth coming back when its warmer to sit back, soak up some sun, with a cocktail or 2.

SKT Petri restaurant in the lobby, looking out to the bar

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To Ride…. or not in our case

Copenhagen is officially the most bike friendly capital of the world. 62% of the capitals residents ride bikes to work, and only 9% drive.  It’s the first thing you will notice, bikes really are everywhere.  The Danish cyclists are a lot more chilled, than your London cyclist.  The bicycles come in varying styles, and the cyclists are young and old. It seems that everybody cycles, and as you can imagine this results in a very clean, unpolluted city.

Hiring a bike is the perfect way to take in the city sights! Finding a place to rent a cycle is easy, as cycle shops are everywhere.   SKT. Petri also have their own hotel bikes that you can hire for the day. We didn’t do this, we thought Emerson is just a bit too small, and wriggly! We didn’t trust ourselves, not being every day bikers (or him). That said we did see plenty of locals with their young children in trailers and bike seats though.  They’re the pros.  Next time we would definitely look to hire bikes.

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The Verdict

In conclusion SKT. Petri is the perfect location to make the most of a short time in Copenhagen.  Most importantly, the staff that we encountered were all most helpful and attentive.  For such a slick looking hotel, the vibe was laid back and casual.  Meaning I could walk around in my Uggs, and puffa jacket – don’t judge it was freezing.  When we visit Copenhagen in the future (which we will!)  SKT.  Petri will be our first port of call.  The only thing we would do differently is have the buffet breakfast every day it’s that good!!

So what did we do in those 48hours? Subscribe to our blog for our next post: Danish Vibes – What to do with 48 hours in Copenhagen, with a baby in tow.

As always we look forward to your feedback, please leave your comments below.

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