Sleeping En Route to my New Favourite City

This blog documents the best work trip imaginable to Copenhagen, to one of the loveliest, friendliest, cleanest and happiest cities imaginable. Our journey started in St Pancras station with pastries and a thick, delicious cup of the best hot chocolate in London (it really is that good!), from Peyton & Byrne, only moments away from the Eurostar terminal.

Baked goods in hand, we passed check-in quickly and seamlessly and made our way to the quiet carriages of Standard Premier. Two hours later we were dragging our suitcases to left luggage at Brussels Midi to make good use of our short time in the Belgian capital. My colleague (a bonafide Railbooking pro) knew we could use our Eurostar tickets to take us from the station to Brussels Central, and a few more steps saw us in the heart of the Grand Place. I had a new roll of film in my shiny vintage film camera and I was able to point and click to my heart’s content. We wandered, ate chocolate, people watched and found a deserted restaurant on a quiet backstreet to tuck into moules frites. After cramming the best of Brussels into a few hours, it was on to Cologne! We pulled into Cologne at dusk and used our time to stroll around the Cathedral and stock up on sustenance for our sleeper train! A feast of sausage, Haribo and crisps was purchased, and I boarded the sleeper more excited than I had ever been for a train journey in my life! My first experience aboard a City Night Line certainly didn’t disappoint. Our private economy double was spacious enough for the night, had sturdy beds and provided all the comfort we needed whilst still feeling like a great adventure. I closed my eyes in Germany and opened them again the next morning in Denmark! Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen was so much more than I expected! As we wandered from the station, past the Tivoli Gardens to our hotel, we found a clean, friendly, happy and beautiful hive of activity. All the business, infrastructure and activity of a national capital meets the laid-back, peaceful, almost quaint feel of a small town. We headed straight to Nyhavn, snaking our way through the streets with little need for a map. This journey uncovered more of what a melting pot of culture and beauty the city is! Arty coffee shops, incredible architecture and historical sculptures and statues appeared at almost every turn and the sun gleaming off the canal on the perfect spring day certainly didn’t hurt our spirits either! Nyhavn itself was a picture postcard of Europe at its finest. For the equivalent of £4 we took a boat tour around the canals, passing ultra modern homes after one twist and a huge replica of Noah’s Ark after another. Fountains, battleships, an opera house and the former home of Hans Christian Anderson unfolded in front of us and children swimming in the crystal clean water smiled and waved. A quick, fresh seafood lunch at a touristy Nyhavn café proved to be yet another pleasant surprise and fuelled us for our walk to the Little Mermaid! From there it was on to one of Europe’s oldest theme parks. Founded in 1843, Tivoli Gardens was a feast for the eyes! It was so exciting I forgot to even be grumpy that my colleague wouldn’t come on any of the rollercoasters with me! We played in the arcades, took a narrated fairytale ride and ambled around watching the twinkly lights and pop up concerts before heading over for a huge dinner! With a friendship that is largely based on a mutual appreciation of the perfect burger, we scoured the internet for the best place to fulfil our cravings for meat, cheese and bread. ‘Cocks and Cows’ on Rømersgade fit the bill perfectly, with local craft beers, young and friendly staff and a faultless burger topped with bacon, sharp cheese and blackened jalapeños served with sweet potato fries! A few expertly mixed cocktails followed and I fell into bed beaming, debating where to place Copenhagen in my list of the ‘top three European cities’. I have since urged everybody I know to make the journey. And flying seems so needless when you can take the train and experience three cities instead of one. Plus, why anyone would deny themselves a picnic on a sleeper is, in my greedy opinion, unfathomable!