I can't believe it's been nearly two months since the hubby and I had our little getaway to Copenhagen! We hadn't been away together without Ruby for over a year and this was the first time it's been just the two of us since we became parents! So it felt pretty special. As lovely as it is to go away as a family, a three year old is not interested in hours of shopping or spending a leisurely afternoon in a nice bar, or eating some fancy food, so this is exactly what we filled our three days with! Oh and maybe the odd lazy lie in too! :)

We stayed in an Air BNB which was relatively basic, but it did the job and was in the lovely area of Frederiksberg. To be fair, the Scandinavians version of basic is still way more stylish than what you'd get at home!

I had come armed with a heavily bookmarked copy of the Copenhagen Style Guide which barely left my hands the whole trip! On the first evening, we took a recommendation for dinner from the book and headed to Kul which was in the meat packing district. The book said it was great food at affordable prices, but being our first night in the city we were still a little taken back at how expensive it was! We went for a shared dish of ribs and had the steak tartare as a shared starter. The food was really delicious though and we were completely stuffed by the end!

We had a lovely first breakfast just around the corner from our apartment in Coffee Collective, which is renowned in Copenhagen for its coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker but hubby said it lived up to the reputation and I enjoyed a pretty amazing hot chocolate. Fuelled up, we headed to Jagersborggade, a street that has a number of independent shops, cafes and restaurants along it. We soon discovered that despite having a lie in and a leisurely breakfast, we were still too early as most of the shops don't open until around 11am!

It was worth the wait though for cute little shops like Vanishing Point (above) and Kaktus (below) I slightly regret not buying anything in Vanishing Point - it's always the way when it's the first shop you visit isn't it?!

Next we headed towards the centre of the city and made a stop off at the Torvehallerne food market. Lots of cool places to grab a bite, plus independent food brands selling their wares, as well as a few plant and flower stands too.

Not in my trusty book, but well worth a browse, is Stilleben. There are two stores in the city and they are beautifully styled spaces filled with homewares, plants, books, art prints and stationery.

In the heart of the city, just near to the Rundetaarn (The Round Tower) we discovered Plint - a lovely store filled with gorgeous homeware and lifestyle products. Again there were many things in here I was sad I couldn't fit in my hand baggage!

Any design lover is unlikely to miss Hay House during a visit to Copenhagen. Right in the middle of the city, the huge two floor space is packed full of stunning Danish design, from sleek sofas to simply-designed tableware to the most covetable of stationery. My other half isn't usually that interested in the homeware stores I drag him round, but I think even he was impressed with this one! It's a must to come away with a little slice of Hay in your luggage, even if it's just a tea towel!

We spent the early evening exploring the Christianshavn neighbourhood, and wandered into a bar for a quick sit down and a glass of wine. What we hadn't realised was that it was the bar to one of Copenhagen's Michelin star restaurants 108. We could never have afforded to eat in there, but it was certainly nice to have a drink in the lovely little bar.

After a wander around the harbour area with the sun setting, we came upon La Halle, a cool space where we stopped for an early evening snack and a beer. Then, as we'd had a pricey meal the night before we decided to just go for a burger later on near our apartment, which was much cheaper, but very delicious!

Next morning (my birthday!) we headed to Værnedamsvej - another lovely street worth a stroll. My trusty style guide directed us to Granola for breakfast, which was very nice. It feels like an old fashioned salon but didn't feel gimmicky and the food was very tasty.

Next door to Granola is Blomsterskuret - a stunning plant and flower shop - small but perfectly formed. Across the road, Shop Dora is well worth a browse with its mix of contemporary design and vintage finds.

We spent the afternoon exploring Frederiksberg. It's such a lovely area, away from the hustle and bustle of the main part of the city and lots of lovely shops to nip in and out of. Along Frederiksberg Allé, we visited Design Delicatessen, Rack Buddy and Aniel, all very different but all equally as lovely.

Probably my favourite shop we visited on our trip was Bak shop. If you happen to buy the Copenhagen Style Guide book which I had, do note that the address for this shop is listed incorrectly. Initially I was gutted to discover it was no longer on Jagersborggade as the book suggested. But, while strolling Frederiksberg, we unexpectedly came across it on Gammel Kongevej. It is a small shop, but hopefully my photos convey how beautiful it is - filled with plants and botanically inspired items, ceramics, glassware, stationery and magazines - all beautifully displayed. This was one shop I didn't leave empty-handed!

We had a quick lunch stop in possibly the most stylish fast food restaurant I've ever seen! Jagger is not on the same scale as McDonalds (there are just four around the city) but it is light years ahead in terms of aesthetic and design. The food was really good - great for a budget pitstop.

As it was my birthday, we decided to walk (quite the distance!) back to Jægersborggade to go to Istid, to have one of their liquid nitrogen ice cream cocktails. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there! So instead we wandered a few doors down to Gonzo Cafe for a drink, a cosy cafe/bar filled with plants, candles and slouchy cushions. A lovely spot to rest your weary tourist feet at the end of the day!

I didn't take my camera when we went out in the evenings, so the first photo above is via the restaurants website - I wanted to include it though to show you as it how gorgeous it is! I was recommended Vaekst through Instagram, and when I heard it had a greenhouse in the middle of the restaurant I knew I wanted to spend my birthday meal there! It was a real experience and we thoroughly enjoyed it. When we've been to fancy restaurants before (on the rare occasion!) we often feel it is overdone or a bit stuffy, but here we felt relaxed and at ease, with staff who were informative but not overbearing. We went for the tasting menu with wine pairing - the pic above shows the plate that came with our aperitif (which wasn't listed on the menu) and in the copper pots is worms!! I was a little unsure at first, but it was actually really delicious - I'm glad I gave it a go! (sorry for the rubbish iPhone pic!) It certainly wasn't a cheap meal, but I felt like we really got our moneys worth and it was a special treat night out.

On our last morning, we just had a few hours before we had to head to the airport, so we stuck around Frederiksberg, returning to Coffee Collective for breakfast and checking out the flea market which is on on a Saturday morning. On our way to the subway, bags in tow, I discovered that Bloom was finally open - I'd walked past this plant shop nearly every day and it hadn't been open, so I was chuffed that it finally was. I left hubby on the street with the luggage while I chatted plants, magazines and Instagram with the lovely owner and got a bit snap happy in her gorgeous little green oasis. The perfect end to a perfect trip! It really is a great city and I do hope we get the chance to return one day. If you haven't been, then do! Just make sure you save a few pennies beforehand, it's far from a budget city break, but well worth it!