Thursday, December 27, 2012

Sunny Boxing Day Winter Walk

Boxing Day was a beautiful sunny frost day in Helsinki.



Despite of the cold weather it was lovely to walk around and admire the winter scenery.


 










Lots of snow and a crispy frost overall



  


Afternoon it got a bit more cloudy and I headed to Seurasaari



















Everything was covered with snow

 


Beautiful winter sceneries

 

 
















Sunset came early in the afternoon so...



...it was time to head to Yobot for a nice warm cup of coffee together with brownie and froyo.







Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Hotel Chocolat

I found a chocolate heaven from Copenhagen: Hotel Chocolat.

Østergade 13
British concept was established in 1988 and has now spread all over the world. Hotel Chocolat grows their own cocoa and produces different variants, such as liquid chocolate, sweets and Cocoa Juvenate beauty range.

There is also a nice cafe in Copenhagen store and lots of goodies to buy.

 
















 I go only one advise in my mind when making my order :-)  



Fiskebaren in Kødbyen

There are several great restaurants located in trendy Copenhagen Meatpacking District Kødbyen. I had run into the name of Fiskebaren in several different places and it had always received good reviews.  

Flæsketorvet 100
Fiskebaren was really a great experience not only because of the excellent fish and shellfish, but also for good service and lean interiors.



















Service was also superb and you got a good overview of the menu. Still, I did not dare to take the oysters, but maybe next time... Now I settled for scrumptious razor clam served with malt bread for starters instead.


There were so many tasty dishes on the menu and I chose cod with beetroots and porridge as main course. So tasty - and really filling.


Although I was already pleased, I could not resist taking dessert and took a portion of wild dark chocolate, which was mind-blowing!

Also my friend's sorbet was finger-licking good


So no need to re-consider next time when choosing a dinner place in Copenhagen!


Christmas Shopping In Copenhagen

Short weekend break in wonderful Copenhagen enjoying Christmas spirit, shopping a bit and eating well.


We started our trip by visiting Danish brewery Carlsberg's Visiting Centre in Valby, less than half an hour by bus 18 from the centre. Premises of the original brewery from 19th centrury guiding you through history of the Carlsberg story.

11 Gamle Carlsberg Vej

 
 











And you get to taste 2 beers with your entrance ticket at Carlsberg bar.














It was really charming Christmas feeling all over the town.


















One must-to-see for me were the wonderful table settings at Royal Copenhagen - the brand now owned by Finnish Fiskars. This year's theme was Songs of Christmas designed by 6 differents artists. My favourite one was Caroline Henderson's Swedish style table with name badges for example for Olof Palme and Astrid Lindgren.


 

 













Royal Copenhagen store was extremely popular as were the main department stores Illum and Magasin.



Imposing Christmas lights also outside on shopping streets and not at least Tivoli.




The coolest restaurants are located in Meatpacking District Kødbyen and this time we decided to test Fiskebaren. It is essential to book the table in advance as the restaurant is really popular. I ate 3 courses and they all were stunning so Fiskebaren went straight to my top list of restaurants. Here I am coming back the next time when visiting Copenhagen.


Fish tank
Other dinner places were my old favourites Sticks n' Sushi and Wagamama.

Dinner at Sticks n' Sushi
Teriyaki salmon at Wagamama
Cosy Friday evening in Bang og Jensen.

Beer and glögg
Copenhagen never fails to delight!