Everybody has a journey muse—the one who appears to know how you can savor a spot completely. Mine is Dua Lipa. Her current publish about “funmaxxing” (translation: maximizing enjoyment) would possibly as effectively be her journey manifesto. Not as a result of she’s chasing hidden gems, however as a result of she makes the on a regular basis really feel price celebrating: a terrific pastry, a waterfront espresso, a brand new metropolis simply ready to be explored. So, in true Dua vogue, my husband Cam and I deliberate a Copenhagen to Berlin journey devoted to doing precisely that.
On this diary:
I. The Danish Coast: Rox Resort
II. Copenhagen: Bikes and Bites
III. Berlin: Wilmina
A Riviera Temper on the Baltic
Earlier than ever setting foot in Copenhagen, I used to be already captivated by its fame for easy cool: the impeccable interiors, the unimaginable meals, the enviable model. However earlier than diving into the town itself, we began our journey alongside the Danish coast, able to verify into certainly one of Europe’s coolest new pool golf equipment. The quiet seaside city of Køge, simply half-hour outdoors of Copenhagen, is probably not the obvious location for a seashore resort, however the second the doorways swing open, Rox Resort makes a compelling case for swapping the Mediterranean for the Baltic.
Assume French Riviera seashore membership meets Danish design, with three year-round swimming pools, sun-soaked decks, daybeds and a sauna. Inside, the foyer appears like a front room, social membership and maximalist moodboard rolled into one. A cocktail bar doubles as a reception desk, velvet armchairs, patterned chaises longues, crackling fireplaces and a smoky signature scent within the air. Overlook every thing you recognize about Scandinavian minimalism: Rox is right here to have a little bit enjoyable.
The Nice Danish Wind-Down
We shortly undertake Rox’s unofficial costume code: an impossibly plush gown and squishy slippers. With the afternoon solar scattering diamonds throughout the ocean, there’s little motive to alter. Finally, we commerce the gown for dinner at Smith, the place floral glowing tea flows beneath pineapple lamps, palm tree trinkets and chinoiserie wallpaper that feels straight out of The White Lotus. The true star, although, is the Arctic char with trout roe, chives, asparagus and champagne beurre blanc, served alongside Denmark’s final summer time staple: new potatoes.
A Birthday on the Rox
I’m so well-rested the subsequent morning I almost neglect it’s my birthday—till Cam arrives at breakfast with a plate of little pink sprinkle donuts. Fortunately, the remainder of the Scandinavian unfold is a bit more balanced. Our desk view convinces us to stretch the morning a little bit longer, so we head towards a lookout level within the distance. We wander by Køge Marina and Cam gathers wildflowers from a close-by discipline as a present for me. On the best way again, we cease on the swimming dock, watching a number of courageous souls tackle the Baltic on a crisp morning.
In Sizzling Water
Then comes the crown jewel of Rox: the pool membership. Beneath a domed glass ceiling, the indoor pool glows underneath pure gentle and the sultry sounds of Khruangbin, with plush two-person loungers and tasselled umbrellas making the artwork of doing nothing really feel just like the birthday deal with. The nice and cozy water, simple chatter and gradual tempo create that excellent swim-sleep-stay-awhile rhythm.
Lunch arrives poolside at Dumpling Bar, an open kitchen the place the drunken wontons steal the present—creamy shrimp and rooster tucked right into a miso broth with chojang, coriander, rice pearls and chives. Outdoors, the 97°F heated pool buzzes as dads have a good time Danish Father’s Day with beers in hand, whereas saunagus classes are in full swing inside the glass-walled sauna, the place a “gus grasp” fills the room with aromatic steam.
Up on the rooftop, one other heated pool overlooks the Baltic, surrounded by a terrace lined with pink daybeds that really feel made for a Pinterest board. For many who can’t sit nonetheless, there are padel courts; for everybody else, the Fireroom gives a comfortable hideaway for post-swim drinks by the hearth. I can solely think about how magical it feels right here in winter.
An Night Properly Performed
That’s our cue to go to The Birdcage, a double-height glass field perched on the nook of the lodge. With a hovering fire, a horseshoe-shaped brass bar outfitted with a stunning Swedish bartender and each indoor plant you would think about, it feels just like the type of place designed particularly for golden hour.
We finish the evening in The Playground, Rox’s indoor video games hub, battling it out on the dart boards over fries as pool tables, ping-pong and shuffleboard fill the room with pleasant competitors. It’s precisely the type of simple, unpretentious power you hope a birthday ends with.
Copenhagen in Movement
The following day, we bid farewell to Rox Resort and head into Copenhagen, not too long ago named the world’s happiest metropolis. Naturally, we determined to perform a little boots-on-the-ground journalism to seek out out why. The primary clue? Bikes. In every single place. An estimated 745,000 of them (outnumbering vehicles greater than 5 to 1 and even the town’s inhabitants). So we do because the Danes do and hop on two wheels. I’ll admit, I’m nervous at first. Copenhageners take biking significantly, and the very last thing I need is to disrupt the superbly choreographed rush-hour circulate. However with each experience, my confidence grows.
Quickly, we’re zigzagging throughout the town: to Kødbyen, the Meatpacking District, for Nordic seafood at Kødbyens Fiskebar; to Reffen, Northern Europe’s largest road meals market, for a traditional Danish sizzling canine piled with pickled cucumber; and to Broens Avenue Meals, the place we take within the postcard-perfect Nyhavn waterfront earlier than grabbing the fifth finest burger on the earth from Gasoline Grill.
A Metropolis Constructed on Bread and Butter
One in every of my favorite rides takes us to Nordhavn, a placing neighborhood the place colourful up to date structure meets traditional Danish design. There, we tick off a breakfast I’d been dreaming about at Atelier September: thick slices of sourdough, 24-month-aged Comté, seasonal jam, a superbly soft-boiled egg and, stealing the highlight, a mound of whipped butter. It’s about as Scandinavian as a morning can get.
Danish could also be notoriously troublesome to study, however we change into fluent in a single phrase shortly: bageri. After a number of days in Copenhagen, it’s simple to grasp why Marcus from The Bear got here right here to excellent his craft. We throw ourselves into the pastry scene, beginning with Andersen & Maillard’s gooey brunsviger and Orsa’s legendary banana bread with espresso cream. At La Cabra, our favourite espresso cease of the journey, a barista sends us to Sinne Fuel Bakery, a tiny self-service spot with no social media—simply trays of heat pastries, together with a syrup-soaked, cardamom-laced bake that turns into an immediate spotlight. The one shut contender? Lille Bakery’s blomster bun: oh-so-buttery, delicately floral and in contrast to something I’d tasted earlier than.
The hits maintain coming. At Juno the Bakery, impossibly tender, buttery cardamom buns justify the lengthy line. And no pastry pilgrimage is full with no cease at Hart Bageri, the bakery featured in The Bear. We make our strategy to the Holmen location, order a Spandauer layered with flaky pastry, vanilla custard and marzipan, then take pleasure in it overlooking the harbor with Amalienborg Palace within the distance.
Based on Locals
One afternoon, we meet up with Cam’s cousins, Copenhagen locals who give us a crash course in Danish residing. Over brunch at studio x kitchen, Jack sums it up completely: “work laborious, play laborious.” It tracks with every thing we’ve skilled to date.
Anna’s suggestions lead us to Rosenborg Fort, the Botanical Backyard’s glasshouses and Designmuseum Denmark, the place we get a lesson within the nation’s legendary design. Naturally, we squeeze in some window buying too—stopping at Louise Roe, Tekla, Studio Arhoj, Ferm Residing and Pico, the place I depart with a number of new hair equipment and a renewed dedication to dressing like a Copenhagen native.
In Dua We Belief
Earlier than leaving Copenhagen, I’ve one last mission: following in Dua Lipa’s footsteps. We begin at Poulette for the rooster sandwich she’s known as “one of the best I’ve ever had,” pop proper subsequent door to her pure wine bar favourite Pompette, wander the gardens at Noma Initiatives and end at La Banchina, the waterside café the place she was not too long ago hanging out. We find it irresistible a lot we return twice—first for Danish cola on the docks, then once more the subsequent morning, swimsuits lastly packed. Lattes in hand, Cam finally takes the plunge into the Baltic, ending our journey with essentially the most Copenhagen second possible.
The Previous, Preserved
A fast 50-minute flight throughout the Baltic brings us to Berlin. We head to Charlottenburg, a quieter nook of the town, the place an unassuming gate on Kantstraße opens right into a courtyard wrapped in climbing greenery and full of wildflowers. Above the doorway is one phrase: Wilmina.
As we cross the courtyard towards a towering metal door, I lastly reveal the key I’ve been retaining from Cam: “This was once a girls’s jail.” Initially a courthouse and a jail the place feminine resistance fighters had been held in the course of the Second World Struggle, the positioning grew to become the Charlottenburg Ladies’s Jail in 1946, later serving as a juvenile detention centre earlier than closing within the mid-Eighties. Somewhat than erase that historical past, architects and house owners Armand Grüntuch and Almut Grüntuch-Ernst preserved traces of the previous whereas remodeling a constructing as soon as designed for separation into one which now invitations folks to assemble.
Unique cell doorways nonetheless body the corridors, uncovered brick peeks by plaster partitions and barred home windows now flood areas as soon as designed for confinement with pure gentle. Our 775-square-foot Backyard Suite captures that transformation completely. With a kitchenette, ethereal residing space and the prettiest dried flowers, it feels heat slightly than austere. Then I spot a teal rest room door labeled Kirchenraum—German for “church room.” A fast Google translation leaves me questioning if we’re standing the place the jail chapel as soon as was. In some way, that solely makes the house really feel extra particular.
Kreuzberg Can Wait
After lattes from Lotta, Wilmina’s café, we spend the afternoon exploring Charlottenburg, together with Schloss Charlottenburg, one of many largest palaces on the earth. Dinner at Comedor proves the neighborhood does distinctive Mexican meals, too, earlier than our plans for a DJ set in Kreuzberg are changed by one thing slower: attractive non-alcoholic cocktails at Lovis Bar, tucked beneath Wilmina’s glowing courtyard lights.
Berlin, at an Simpler Tempo
The following day, we ease into the morning with breakfast: a variety of high-quality, unapologetically German choices. However the actual standout is Wilmina Brot, the lodge’s personal bakery, supplying pure sourdough, croissants and buttery knots from its on-site storefront, making a lodge with its personal bakery my private model of heaven.
We shortly study that Berlin on a Sunday strikes at its personal tempo. Town is quiet as we wander by leafy Tiergarten, earlier than making our strategy to Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage website set alongside the River Spree and residential to 5 world-renowned museums. Alongside the best way, we cease at Acid Mitte for what we’ve now realized to name a BMO—a Bolle mit Ost, a Danish staple of heat sourdough bun, thick whipped butter and cheese (this one is phenomenal). From there, we be part of a motorcycle tour and let Berlin reveal itself one historic landmark at a time.
After a riverside drink and a fast currywurst cease, we make our method again to Wilmina. Tea in hand, we head as much as the rooftop by way of the sculptural staircase illuminated by a Bocci gentle set up. On the prime, a 10-metre pool stretches throughout the rooftop, looking over Charlottenburg’s pink roofs. The stillness up right here is placing, providing a second to soak up the constructing’s layered historical past. For these inclined, a softly lit sauna sits close by—one other quiet invitation to decelerate even additional.
Discovering the Magnificence in Plain Sight
Someplace between all of the pastries, the bike rides, the rooftop swimming pools and the historical past classes, I spotted Dua Lipa had it precisely proper. Funmaxxing isn’t about cramming extra into a visit—it’s about noticing extra when you’re there. Copenhagen and Berlin reminded us that pleasure not often hides in secret locations. Extra typically, it’s ready within the apparent ones, if you happen to give your self sufficient time to savor them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Monika Markovinovic is Passport Journal’s editor and a contract author who embodies the spirit of a real Gemini, balancing her love for journey with the comforts of dwelling.
