denmark :: copenhagen :: general

[yoyobay]

hello all

 

i am going to be spending 8 months in copenhagen as part of a student exchange and am seeking advice for places to live. it is proving to be rather difficult and was wondering wether anyone has experience with this or is perhaps even looking for a roommate from august onwards. also is there anything i should keep in mind in terms of suburbs? any help would be much appreciated.

 

cheers

[Soultoft]

finding a relatively cheap place to rent and live as a student in copenhagen these days is exceedingly difficult. most of my circle of friends here in copenhagen either knows the person they're renting from or have bitten the bullet and bought an apartment.
in regards to the suburbs, the best place to be as a student is probably in either vesterbro, nørrebro, nordvest, (østerbro) or indre by, so basically the centre of the city because these areas have the most activities, and shopping possibilities. frederiksberg and gentofte are the 'richest' suburbs, and consequently mostly inhabited by families with children.  other than that 'new' parts of the city has begin sprouting up, amongst others the construction of an entirely new part called ørestaden, and the revitalization of sydhavnen. copenhagen university also has a number of good dorms, for example tietgens kollegiet and regensen but the waist list is (nearly) eternal.
 

Edited September 22, 2014 by Soultoft

[yoyobay]

finding a relatively cheap place to rent and live as a student in copenhagen these days is exceedingly difficult. most of my circle of friends here in copenhagen either knows the person they're renting from or have bitten the bullet and bought an apartment.

in regards to the suburbs, the best place to be as a student is probably in either vesterbro, nørrebro, nordvest, (østerbro) or indre by, so basically the centre of the city because these areas have the most activities, and shopping possibilities. frederiksberg and gentofte are the 'richest' suburbs, and consequently mostly inhabited by families with children.  other than that 'new' parts of the city has begin sprouting up, amongst others the construction of an entirely new part called ørestaden, and the revitalization of sydhavnen. copenhagen university also has a number of good dorms, for example tietgens kollegiet and regensen but the waist list is (nearly) eternal.

 

 

 

thanks very much for this. managed to find a place through the housing foundation of the university which is a nightmare to deal with but at least gives you the opportunity to guarantee a place before you actually arrive in dk. met a few people that had to fly back home because they couldn't suss a place, pretty serious shortage of housing i guess.

[Njalle]

^you serious? I'm contemplating purchasing some apartments and rent them out (for an exorbitant sum).... this might just work

[Landscape]

It's pretty common knowledge that there's a shortage of apartments to rent for students in Copenhagen. However, students probably won't pay an "exorbitant sum" for them.

[Njalle]

they get aid from the government, and add to that a part-time job and financial support from parents. otherwise I'll just rent out to expats who are here for a short period of time.

[herpsky]

booked a seat at Höst. Should be interesting.

[n_ls]

How was it? Been wanting to go there for a while now. 

[herpsky]

i'll post somewhat of a detailed review on the spots i visited. i completely forgot. 

host is very good. i wouldn't call the food comparable to some michelin stars i've had but the service is very good and the food is highly entertaining to look at and to eat. as far as the cost:performance ratio goes, it's very, very high. i saw a couple of danish businessmen entertaining japanese businessmen there. the best thing is their gin and tonic, which is made with geranium infused gin and some artisananl tonic water. it is by far the best gin and tonic i've ever had in my life.

Edited April 21, 2015 by herpsky

[jaac]

Moving to CPH on the 9th of May. If anyone has advice, connections or recommendations on long term (6 month) accommodation i would be more then happy to receive a PM. I'm 26, tidy, friendly and will be working a fair bit.  Keen to hang out with anyone as well.

[herpsky]

Started working on the write-up for Denmark. This is all based on the 48-hour stay I had in Copenhagen so, by no means, I'm an expert. 

 

Here's the first part, which I sent to one of the fellow OG sufuers who is leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow.

 

Denmark

Traveling to Denmark:
If you are traveling from an area outside of Europe, you will most likely have to fly into Europe first and then get on a connecting flight. Use rome2rio and momondo to map out the most efficient and least expensive route.

With that said, I don’t recommend using a super-cheap budget airline. These companies have strict baggage restrictions and don’t allow you to transport the massive amount of stuff you are about to or have acquired in the EU. I personally used air berlin to travel from Berlin, TXL. The flight was approx. 60 or 70 USD round trip, which was slightly higher than the price of a super low budget airline. The seat pitch was actually more than I’m used on American companies and the service was really great. No complaints whatsoever.

Take the subway from the airport into town. The surface rail doesn’t run as frequently and is kind of a pain.

Transportation is very convenient and easy. Just make sure you pick up an all you can ride train pass from an airport vending machine.

VAT: Make sure you show up to the airport early on your way out to get the tax-free forms stamped by the Danish customs. You won’t get refunds otherwise. 

Cash: ATMs are everywhere. My American ATM cards worked without issues. As far as having an IC-chip CC goes, I was able to get away with swiping magnetic at most stores. 

Fast and reliable wifi: One of the few places in the city that had reliable, fast free wifi was at the University’s library lobby. Anyone can enter. It’s a good place to relax to upload /curate your life on social media if you are into that sort of thing.

When to go: Just avoid summer. Go in March or April if you can. Great time to go. 

Food: Pretty expensive. If you are gonna go, you might as well go to Noma. Just make sure you book months in advance.

Coffee: there are some notable roasters and shops in Copenhagen. Koppi puts out solid beans and suggest that you buy some b/c you can’t find outside of the EU.

Places to stay:

Hotels in Copenhagen are ridiculously expensive. Two things I suggest: Book an intra-EU flight on expedia and use the special combo deal to book a hotel. You usually get up to 50% off and you don’t have to book the hotel at the same time. I think you get a 10 day grace period. Airbnb is the option I’d recommend. Make sure you have a GSM phone with a good SIM card that you know will work in Denmark. If you have to play phone tags, it’ll be a problem. I suggest Vodafone Ireland roaming SIMs. 

Areas to stay: I personally would NOT stay near the central station. That’s sort of where all the big hotels are. I stayed near the Rosenborg Castle Garden and enjoyed it. The area near the University and norreport station is convenient (for me at least). Lots of places to eat at and see.

What to buy in Copenhagen:

I seriously wish I had known this before traveling but Scandinavian designer items are VERY affordable. For example, a Norse Projects t-shirt is something like 29 to 30 USD even before the VAT refund.  Made in UK new balances were really cheap too. Other great deals to be had: Acne, B&O, AI AI AI, Hay, and others. Will explain this in further detail.

[Landscape]

Huh, where did you find Norse t-shirts that cheap? They're ~50 USD at their store.

[herpsky]

Huh, where did you find Norse t-shirts that cheap? They're ~50 USD at their store.

maybe the exchange rate? I bought a blank, dark grey boat neck and it was like ~30 euro?

 

oh yeah, the norse store website has an insane mark-up for non-EU customers (i might be wrong though) because I saw a bag I wanted in store. When I calculated it came out close to 130 USD, when I looked online it was like 200 USD. Even with the 20% VAT discount, it's no as cheap. 

 

Norse store is absolutely one of the most well curated, concept driven - very minimal, stores I've ever been to. Their shoe selection is amazing. They are not necessarily limited but they have a strong focus on mono-tone normcore / grandpa sneakers from Nike (kind of an oxymoron but hey), NB, and others. Also, they have Veilance, lots of weird Porter collabos like those I've only seen at B-jirushi Yoshida, and Nanamica jackets (they had really crazy looking mountain parkas). One dude recognized my Veilance, and he was like "I prefer that over nanamica". I was like "chye".

 

I didn't think of Norse Projects as much of anything before going to Denmark but I really like it now, and I've started buying a bunch because it fits my style and budget. Also, their stuff is cut for skinny tall dudes, which makes sense because every man and woman in Copenhagen is tall af, and skinny.

Edited May 24, 2015 by herpsky

[conqueror]

norse have always been great and once upon a time used to let non-EU customers pick which currency they wanted to pay in.

[Landscape]

Oh, that sounds weird. I was asking as I'm from Denmark and when I visit their website the cheapest t-shirts cost 350 DKK, which is about 50 USD, and I don't remember their clothing being cheaper in-store. Maybe I should go again soon, although sales should come in a month or two.

 

Tbh I'm neither skinny nor tall but I still manage to have some of their stuff fit me decently, although it is indeed cut quite slim.

[herpsky]

norse have always been great and once upon a time used to let non-EU customers pick which currency they wanted to pay in.

sorry didn't mean to neg rep. magictrack pad. lol

[herpsky]

I have taken like a shit ton of pics but i want i just don't wanna show u guys everything all at once

 

I'm not as well versed in sneakers any more but they have lots of interesting in-lines and weird adidas (looks to be consortium – one of them was a foot patrol) that I've never even seen out in the US. Also, CPs and vans.. Everything is very...subtle and monotone here. The burgundy  suede 1500s are insane.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2015 by herpsky

[Njalle]

A few additions to Herpskys guide:

 

1. Hotels are expensive. I hear good thing about the Generator hostel - cheap, beautiful and centrally located. If you do decide for a hotel, SP34 is a good option. 

 

2. Most things in Copenhagen is within walking distance, so you don't need a 48h ticket. One-way tickets to and from the airport should suffice. If you know how to ride a bicycle and know the traffic rules, cycling is a great option.

 

3. Summer is the best time to go IMO, but late spring and early autumn is good too.

 

4. Dining is expensive, but Noma is insanely expensive. There are many great options that are much cheaper, not to mention it is impossible to get a table at Noma. Try Relæ, Amass, Studio or Bror for Noma spinoffs. In the slightly cheaper category, try Manfreds & Vin, Nimb Terrasse or Le Troi Cochons. In the dirt cheap (but still good) category, try Grød, Gorms or Tommi's.

[EG562]

Im heading to CPH in a couple weeks 9.13-9.17 for a inspo trip.

Are there any events I should check out?

I have a good list of retail : storm, woodwood,soulland, norse, .... anything else?

Also looking for any art/music/design related pro tips.

[ProfMonnitoff]

norse have always been great and once upon a time used to let non-EU customers pick which currency they wanted to pay in.

somewhat OT but...

 

a lot of stores (or maybe payment processors, not sure) do this but its always a ripoff

 

when paying by card, always pay in local currency and let your bank take care of the conversion, if you're with any major bank you'll get pretty close to the real exchange rate that way

 

if you pay in your own currency, you'll pay at whatever exchange rate the shop decides to give you, which will never be as good as your bank's, often the shop exchange rate will be worse by as much as 10%

Edited September 2, 2015 by ProfMonnitoff

[Marw]

Anyone got any recommendations for Breakfast/Brunch and pastry? I'm going this weekend!

[conqueror]

somewhat OT but...

 

a lot of stores (or maybe payment processors, not sure) do this but its always a ripoff

 

when paying by card, always pay in local currency and let your bank take care of the conversion, if you're with any major bank you'll get pretty close to the real exchange rate that way

 

if you pay in your own currency, you'll pay at whatever exchange rate the shop decides to give you, which will never be as good as your bank's, often the shop exchange rate will be worse by as much as 10%

 

well, yeah. but the norse site let you pay in either USD or EUR for example, and the exchange rate (at the time) with AUD always favoured USD so i always chose that option.

[Njalle]

Anyone got any recommendations for Breakfast/Brunch and pastry? I'm going this weekend!

I hear good things about Møller on Nørrebro.

[fads]

I liked Brødflov in Frederiksberg

[Landscape]

Im heading to CPH in a couple weeks 9.13-9.17 for a inspo trip.

Are there any events I should check out?

I have a good list of retail : storm, woodwood,soulland, norse, .... anything else?

Also looking for any art/music/design related pro tips.

You could check out Han Kjøbenhavn as well.

[EG562]

Right on thanks!

 

Got reservations at Amass, waitlisted at noma. I have one other dinner night open, what would be a good choice?

[pikko80]

Right on thanks!

 

Got reservations at Amass, waitlisted at noma. I have one other dinner night open, what would be a good choice?

 

try Bror, 2 chefs that (as everybody else in copenhagen) used to work at noma thats doing some really funny stuff i you can stomach it, for instanstance, we got, bulls balls, cod head and lambs head in 3 servings; brain mousse, eyes with fresh truffles and tacos with all the meat from the head.

 

Pony is pretty cool aswell, they serve the best bread i have ever had, fucking amazing, could do a whole dinner of that bread, haha

 

hit up Manfreds for a lunch tartar, one of the best i had and i had quite a few

[Landscape]

If you're more into "fine dining" a good option could be Formel B or perhaps Höst which got a design award (but the food isn't as good imo, but the price is also better). Other options I'd recommend, although it's been a while since I've been there is Krebsegaarden and Umami.

[Njalle]

Restaurant Alchemist would also be a good option. It is brand new and is very playful.

 

Otherwise, head for Tivoli and dine at Nimb Terrasse, which is my personal favourite in Copenhagen. There are several Nimb restaurants in Tivoli, but Nimb Terrasse is the best one.

[EG562]

If amass is our "fine dining" night , id like to try something more middle ground and casual. We're two co-workers from portland, oregon... so nothing super high end. Host looks good, as does pony. 

 

Any great beer spots? Ive got mikkeller bar on the list.

 

Any good casual seafood / oyster  lunch spots? Kodybyens fiskebar? Is this better for lunch or dinner?

 

Is copenhagen street food more of a lunch spot ? I read about some chef from noma making tacos, really want to check this out.

Edited September 10, 2015 by EG562