Translated to ‘Merchant’s Harbor’, its abundance of incandescent shop-lined streets and proximity to the brackish Baltic Sea deem Copenhagen worthy of its name. Discover its charm through the lens of Morgan Jones and Christian Atherton as they explore the colorful avenues, cafes, and canals of Nyhavn and beyond.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CRISTIAN ARTHERTON
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"Every time I meet someone new, I try to ask them what their favorite place they’ve ever traveled to and what their favorite hotel in the world is."
What locations did you visit?
On this trip specifically, we were in Europe for a month for work and pleasure. We visited London, Portugal, Copenhagen, and the Netherlands.
Where did you stay?
(Sad but) lucky for me, my best friend had just moved there, so I got to crash at her stunning apartment in Osterbro.
Three words to describe your journey?
Crisp, inspiring, adventurous.
Discoveries or hidden gems along the way?
Kings Park became our favorite place for grabbing a bottle of wine after work, or having a picnic. It is pristine and beautiful and such a great place to people watch and get inspired by Danish style. Loved this one street (Elmegade) we discovered while on a walk one morning that had so many amazing vintage and well-curated shops.
If the location were a color? A sound? A taste?
Mustard yellow. Lapping water. A perfect pastry.
What left a lasting impression?
The way that design is truly injected into everything – even the public restrooms, the airport, the transportation and city design – and the sensibility of how taking care of one another is a part of their culture.
A local must-see or must-do?
Must cold plunge in the canals! Feels especially amazing by following it with a coffee and cardamom bun!!
The best thing you ate and where to find it?
Loved dinner at Bottega Barlie – shared a handful of plates and everything was delicious! Cardamom bun from Hart Bakery is a must! (Not for eats but) Bar Vivant is a chic wine bar we loved.
Go-to spots to take in arts and culture?
Took a solo day to train out to The Louisiana Museum and had the best time. Could have spent 3 more days there!
Wellness experiences or places to slow down?
INDGANG was a place we went our first morning for an Aufguss sauna ritual. We were familiar with Aufguss prior to our trip, which is a sauna practice starting with what I think of as a sauna shaman who melts snowballs filled with essential oils on the sauna rocks, and then proceeds to make the sauna as hot as possible over the course of 15 minutes as we inhale the essential oils and attempt to last the full time. The Nordic experience was so much cooler than the Aufguss rituals that I attend at home in Brooklyn, especially since we cooled off in the canal as our cold plunge before going through another cycle. My friend had to book this for us a few weeks in advance, and it was more of a local spot as we seemed to be some of the only non-Danish people there and it wasn’t directly in the city, but absolutely loved it and felt like a million bucks after a few cycles.
Your favorite scenic route or way to get around?
We walked almost everywhere, took the metro, and on our last few days, mustered up the courage to hop on bikes!
What item(s) do you always pack?
An oversized Ralph Lauren white button-down, my camera, and a great pair of pajamas.
Do you have any exploration rituals?
Don’t overplan. I like to plan a few things to anchor my time in a place or to get a harder reservation, but then once I arrive somewhere, I really lean into the serendipity of seeing where each day takes me. If I’m in a city, I want to start my days going for a long walk getting lost in random neighborhoods and streets and stumbling into coffee shops along the way. If I’m somewhere more remote, I want to take advantage of nature, discover places through my curiosity and through a sensory experience in the moment. I think that with social media, it’s so easy to take part of the individual discovery out of travel – to arrive somewhere with a perfectly curated trip, already knowing all the places that you want to go before you’ve even stepped foot there. But there is something so romantic and special about just letting your days take you where you happen across along the way.
Best way to discover somewhere new?
Every time I meet someone new, I try to ask them what their favorite place they’ve ever traveled to and what their favorite hotel in the world is. Word of mouth recommendations from true human connection are always my favorite.
Travel tips or secrets to share?
The city is made for biking! It’s definitely intimidating and I can’t say I mastered it on this trip, but it is definitely true that biking is the fastest and easiest way to get around the city – and if all of these moms can bike with 2 kids in their basket during rushhour, then I am determined that I can gain confidence eventually to spend a week in Copenhagen and use a bike as my sole transportation…
Where to next?
We’re heading to Savannah, Georgia next for a shoot, which I’m thrilled about as it’s always been on my list. And I’m in the process of planning a hiking trip either to the Dolomites or South America for this summer!
Tag @paravel to share your journeys with the Paravel community. Follow @morganmariejones and @ckatherton to join Morgan’s and Cristian's journey.