Christmas in Copenhagen: a Scandi winter wonderland
11.12.2023 - 11:09
/ theguardian.com
/ Winter Wonderland
To be in Copenhagen in December is to experience truly exhilarating tastes of Christmas. The air is heavy with the scent of caramelised almonds that are sold in red and white striped paper bags, while stalls on the harbourside at Nyhavn are dispensing glögg, mulled wine with almonds and raisins. And there’s Julebryg, Tuborg’s Christmas beer, delivered to bars across Copenhagen by horse-drawn wagons.
Danes also head to their iconic amusement park Tivoli (tivoli.dk). In gardens created in 1834, you’ll find giant pirate ships, a Chinese pagoda and more than 1m glowing lamps. Denmark’s Queen Margrethe personally designs the costumes for the ballet performances that Tivoli holds each Christmas; this year it’s The Snow Queen, based on the fable by Hans Christian Andersen.
Tivoli has one of the oldest rollercoasters in the world, the famed wooden Rutschebanen, built in 1914, but it also has some of Copenhagen’s best restaurants, including Brdr Price, which adheres strictly to classic Scandinavian cuisine in winter – cod cosseted in butter and cream, and duck with red cabbage. If you want to push the boat out, Copenhagen’s most luxurious boutique hotel, the Nimb, is housed in another of Tivoli’s fantastical buildings.
At Christmas in Tivoli, there’s the scent of real fir cones, plus glögg and apple pancakes. A branch of Illums Bolighus, Copenhagen’s most exclusive department store, sells some of the most tasteful festive ornaments on the planet, along with the essentials of Danish design. There are candles in every shape and form (but usually white), because the Danes light more candles than any other nation on earth.
While Scandinavia will never be a bargain break, Copenhagen’s inhabitants have come up with ways of mitigating their own rising costs of living with a spot of fællesspisning – communal dining. Set-price meals where everyone sits at long tables and eats at the same time are currently all the rage in Copenhagen.
Most famous is Folkehuset Absalon (absaloncph.dk) in Vesterbro. A former Lutheran church has become a community building, with a restaurant, yoga studio, pottery classes and not-very-serious activities, including darts, created as a social project by Lennart Lajboschitz, the founder of Tiger. Many of the sessions are held in English because, well, this is Scandinavia and it’s seen as a sensible thing to do, and Absalon’s evening meal is blissfully simple – and cheap. Tickets can be booked online, but you can also see if there are places left by turning up at 5pm. There are Christmas parties on Fridays and Saturdays with songs and traditional food, including their delicious rice pudding, all for 350 kroner (£40).
This ethos is spreading to hotels, too. In 2020, Kanalhuset