It was our last day in Copenhagen and in the spirit of having no regrets, John and I talked ourselves into going to the harbor baths for a Danish swim. I described these a little bit in a post from Aarhus but again, this is such a Danish thing – people take advantage of the clean water in the canal to swim as a form of exercise. And we just happened to be staying 10 minutes away from one of the most visited harbor baths in Copenhagen.

Called Islands Brygge Harbor Bath is right across from the bridge heading to the city center so the view from there is pretty sweet. There are also multiple baths – 2 small shallow baths and 1 larger deeper bath. The water is checked daily so you know the conditions are pristine. There was no water temperature notice, however, but I’d read during the summer the water was around 65 degrees fahrenheit. Given that the temperature outside was 55 or so, it was going to be COLD. But again, no regrets.

John jumped right in (so proud!) and swam for literally 10 minutes. I however, had to psyche myself up – which took a while – but I did it! Well, in my mind I did it. I didn’t jump, I used the ladder, and I did get in the EXTREMELY cold water, and I did let out a squeal, but I did not swim. I promptly got out of the water and wrapped up. No regrets!

A long, long, warm shower later, we were on our way to meet Gaby at a bagel shop she’d heard about. L’original Depanneur Bagel cooks it’s bagels fresh every morning and also serves as a deli and bar. We were early and they’d just opened so we had some time to chat with the sweet man working in the shop. It’s interesting, the longer we’ve been here the more friendly people have been and this was no exception.

He was just so nice and engaging. A Dane who absolutely adores basketball! So he and John had a nice conversation about Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Charlotte Hornets, and a bunch of other basketball “stuff” I had no idea about.

Not being much of a bagel fan, I indulged in the cookie “edges” the sweet man brought us to try. But I have it on good authority that the bagels are delicious! And the vibe of course was great – it seemed like a small neighborhood joint where everyone would know your name – and your order.

It was a bittersweet goodbye to Gaby and we were on our own. It was our last day in Copenhagen and this girl needed one last pastry. Gaby and her friends had gotten pastries from Buka Bakery just the previous day and raved about both the cardamom brioche and the pistachio croissant. I was hesitant that anything could be as good as the cardamom croissant from Hart Bageri but was oh so willing to try.

I was NOT disappointed! John and I got both and split both. And luckily for me he was full from his bagel – more for me! Their cardamom brioche bun is their signature pastry and was moist and flaky and had (in my opinion) the right amount of cardamom. We had to google “brioche” because it was so similar to the texture of a croissant. If you’re also curious, here you go. The pistachio croissant was a croissant filled with a rich pistachio filling. And I cannot forget to mention that the espresso was served in a heated cup. Per my cute coffee snob husband that makes all the difference. Yum!

So many things yet to see but I only had a few more on my list. One of which was the Kongens Have – the King’s Garden. These are the lovely gardens where I’d read that locals go to hang out, let their children play and just relax with a picnic. The gardens surround Rosenborg Castle – a 400-year-old castle dedicated to giving tourists a glimpse into royal life in the 1600s.

We decided to wait the 90 minutes for the next entry to the castle itself – this is something that John really wanted to see. I have to be honest here – I was a castled out. This one was built in 1606 and is meant to take the tourist back in time so that they can get the feel of living as a wealthy royal during the 17th century. This one was fascinating – don’t get me wrong – and the digital tour was really well done. You could use your phone to walk through the rooms. Literally everything in the castle was labeled and you could read more about it. The tour also laid out how all of the royal players were related to each other. My favorite part, however, was the Treasury and the Crown Jewels that are housed there. Seriously over the top wealth and opulence in this place! And of course the jewels were fantastic.

I wanted to spend our last night in Copenhagen listening to live jazz at Reffen food hall. I’d read they were having live music when we were here earlier in the week. So off we went on the Donkeys. It was a beautiful night and the ride was hard – I swear both directions were uphill against the wind BOTH ways. But we really had a nice time. Ok – the live jazz was two fellas playing a bass and and a guitar while standing up against a mural of two drunk beers doing the love sign – but they were good. However, once we found a wonderful spot on the beach we enjoyed the sounds of a DJ playing what sounded like Billy Ocean from the 80s. All good though. Sitting on a chaise, surrounded by probably people of many different cultures, on a beautiful night, next to the man I love and drinking a lovely glass of wine – I could not ask for anything more.

I’ll end the trip with these memories. And of the gratitude I felt being able to do and experience these things. I am so lucky and I am so glad that I have taken the time to write about my travels so I can go back to them and relive the great times. Here’s to the next time….