Copenhagen, I’m Your’s…
January 6, 2009 // Architecture + Life

Recently I’ve been thinking about traveling, something that I don’t ever do. I’ve never been out of the country before, Hawaii doesn’t count, so I’ve been dreaming of places I’d love to go. Tonight I’ve been dreaming of Copenhagen, scanning over Google Maps, looking at the geotagged photos of the area. It’s so interesting to go virtual sightseeing, something that even 5 years ago was absolutely impossible. I know a lot of you readers are from the area, so what’s a good time of the year to go? I’m guessing spring or summer is best, but I’m curious to get your thoughts.

I found the random photos above and kinda fell in love with them. The top one is the coolest apartment building ever (anyone know the name?) and the second one is funny because it’s painted on the side of a building. It’s a fun idea and looks better then just a plain old wall. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts or experiences traveling through Copenhagen to get some ideas and the such.

Bobby

  1. Although I’ve never been there, later this month I will be moving just north of Copenhagen. I am doing study abroad at the Technical University of Denmark for 5 months. Looking forward to it, and I’ll be checking the comments to see what people think of the city.

    Comment by MG — January 7, 2009 #

  2. I just moved to Copenhagen with my girlfriend (she’s Danish). If you’re from LA, I wouldn’t come during winter – the days don’t get much warmer than 32 degrees.

    If I were you I would come in early summer before July. Then everyone is still in the city, and it’s relatively warm.

    Comment by Rob — January 7, 2009 #

  3. The coolest apartment building ever is called the “VM buildings” – seen from above the building is shaped like the letters V and M. Located in Ørestaden near the capital. An area with tons of cool architecture :o)

    Comment by Kim Høltermand — January 7, 2009 #

  4. Im from sweden and have been to copenhagen a couple of times. It’s a charming city. I suggest you go during the summer it gets quite warm and it’s only dark for maybe 1-3hours a day.

    Comment by Alexander — January 7, 2009 #

  5. Come here in april/may or august/september for the best weather/atmosphere/events.

    If you like architecture like the top image we have a whole new city being built with tons of buildings like that. It’s called Ørestad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ørestad

    The other house is on my street. :)

    Let me know if you need any info…

    Comment by Jesper Frydenlund — January 7, 2009 #

  6. Oh yeah, you can read tons more here:
    http://www.cphx.dk/index.php?language=uk

    Comment by Jesper Frydenlund — January 7, 2009 #

  7. Yeah, spring or summer is the way to go. Copenhagen is fantastic that time of year. Right now it’s icy, snowy and very very cold, and people usually stay in doors most of the time. It’s almost completely dark here at 4 pm.

    Kind of funny about that wall painting.. I used to live very close by it, which is on Søndre Boulevard on Vesterbro, and I’ve walked past it lot’s of times, never noticing it was a painting.. It just kind of blends in when you see it from the street. But cool indeed.

    But you should definitely come to Copenhagen – it’s a great place.

    Comment by Lone — January 7, 2009 #

  8. Hey Bobby,

    If you ever make it out here, make sure you look me up!

    And be sure to check out Kim Høltermand’s pics (he left a comment above). They’re amazing.

    Best, Aaron

    Comment by Aaron — January 7, 2009 #

  9. You should definitely go to Copenhagen!

    When I travel I always notice alot of cool stuff, like nice shops, architecture and stuff like that and forget how fantastic our own Copenhagen is.

    If you’re going then check out: http://copenhagen.unlike.net/ to find out shops to stop by!

    Comment by Nilas — January 7, 2009 #

  10. woops http://copenhagen.unlike.net/ – is not just for shopping. Also Food, Hotel, Art, Culture, After Dark, Escapism..

    Comment by Nilas — January 7, 2009 #

  11. the name is VM husene, and it´s a project by former PLOT Architects now BIG…
    Visit http://big.dk/ and check it out. They do some quite progressive stuff, very influenced by dutch architecture…
    parkour at their buildings: http://vimeo.com/2295186

    Comment by Jeppe — January 7, 2009 #

  12. Hei bobby,

    You should definitely go to Copenhagen, although I’d echo the commentators singing spring/summer. While Copenhagen is nice in the winter, it really isn’t suited for people used to a warm climate.

    Another idea would be to pull an asian – not literally – and maybe do Stockholm and/or Berlin as well. While Norway the land of fjords is beautiful, it’s capital ‘Oslo’ wouldn’t be worth visiting when compared to Stockholm or Copenhagen, you’d be much better off with a trip to Reykjavik (Iceland) or maybe Berlin, if you haven’t been there.

    Anyway, if you do come by, drop me a line and I’ll take you out for coffee or something. It’s the least I can do, having spent so much time enjoying your blog.

    /c

    Comment by christian — January 7, 2009 #

  13. Hi Bobby.
    I’m from Copenhagen. Excited about your interest in the little city. You’r on top of my daily blogroll – lovit!
    I hope it’s okay that I’m throwing a bit of cph in your comment. Might be helpful for you or other interested.

    The first image is by an award-winning project made by architects Julien De Smedt and Bjarke Ingels (www.plot.dk / http://www.vmhusene.dk). Its called “VM-husene” (VM-houses) and it is situated in Ørestaden in Copenhagen. The project contains two buildings: V and M. Each building has actual form as its letter and gives a measured beautiful sight of the surrounding environments.

    The second photo looks really cool :). Copenhagen is not fully loaded whit stuff like that, though more and more is coming. Nonetheless the capital is worth visiting in spring or summer time!
    The city is famous for its well-preserved buildings. With a mix of the old and newer architecture it’s a unique place.
    Almost no skyscrapers in central Copenhagen – beautiful sky btw.
    Around 500.000 people. Almost everyone on bikes ;). Visit during the CPH Fashionweek – the atmosphere and nightlife is more lively.

    Some of my fav. Cph.:
    Arne Jacobsen http://www.arnejacobsen.dk
    Kilo Design http://www.kilodesign.dk
    Cover Magazine http://www.cover.dk
    PLOT http://www.plot.dk
    Konstellation http://www.konstellation.dk
    Wood Wood http://woodwood.dk/
    Vibskov http://www.henrikvibskov.com/
    Copenhagen X http://www.cphx.dk
    Kontrapunkt http://www.kontrapunkt.dk/
    Wonderland http://wonderlandonline.dk/ Make sure to pick up the free magazine in any creative store in cph.

    Sleeping?
    Hotel Fox, City http://www.hotelfox.dk (amazing, and worth paying for)
    Hotel Skt. Petri

    Going out?
    Jolene, Vesterbro (Meatpacking district)
    The Office, Østerbro
    MidWeekBrakes, Vesterbro (Meatpacking district)
    Rust, Nørrebro
    Bar Rouge, City
    Fox Bar, City
    “Nyhavn”, City (have a a cold beer in the sunny waterfront)

    Eating out?
    Mielcke & Hurtigkarl, Frederiksberg
    Madklubben, City
    Custom House, City http://www.customhouse.dk

    Denmark in the Urban Dictionary:
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=denmark

    Check out aok.dk (aok = all about copenhagen)
    (use google/translate?)

    Nicklas

    Comment by Pape — January 7, 2009 #

  14. I bumped into your blog totally random a few months back and have been following it closely since. Funny that you should focus on Copenhagen, but it’s a small world I guess :-)

    There has been a lot of good advice in the posts above, so I haven’t got much to add. If I were you though, I would visit during the Distortion festival (http://www.cphdistortion.dk/). It’s a week with lots of street parties all over the city and the weather is usually nice in June.

    Greetings from CPH
    - Emil

    Comment by Emil — January 7, 2009 #

  15. Thank you all for all the great comments so far! I swear, I think I have more readers in Copenhagen then I do in Los Angeles! haha

    Comment by Bobby — January 7, 2009 #

  16. i spend a little over a week there when i lived in London ….. if you go, you wont want to come back ….EVER

    Comment by jarred — January 7, 2009 #

  17. How can i forget distortion!? :).. Wicket!
    Emil, thanks.
    N

    Comment by Pape — January 7, 2009 #

  18. i’m going to copenhagen in november to visit family! :) i’ll send you pretty things, and tips.

    Comment by christopher bird — January 8, 2009 #

  19. Hello Bobby,

    Like everybody else I live in Copenhagen too (?!). I’d just like to recommend these bikephotos over on Flickr, which I think gives a pretty good impression what the CPH-vibe is all about.
    (Better check his summer pics :)

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/

    Comment by Jacob — January 9, 2009 #

  20. Hi!

    Lived in CPH for a year. I moved there from Los Angeles. The end of May June is the best time to be there. The Copenhageners are rejoicing the sun and warmth after a long winter. Bars spill out into the streets. Everyone is half naked… or perhaps it seems that way after being frozen for so long. That and the sun goes down at 11pm and comes up at 3am.
    You will have a round the clock schedule (Since Danes party at least until 5am) and love it!

    Comment by kelly — January 12, 2009 #

  21. Hey there Bobby,

    I lived in CPH for about a year since August of 07 and it was GREAT. If you decide to go soon, try to go around the time of the CPH fashion week (http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com). I went last year and it was really just a fun experience; I managed to get into some runway shows and after parties by simply emailing the contact person and asking to be added to the list.

    Take care.

    Comment by Sartorial Architect — January 14, 2009 #