Kung Fu Izakaya

It may be dark in here but it sure is a good time with the right people. Kung Fu Izakaya Bar isn't quite a den, but with a little modifications it could be. The bar doesn't seem too interested in that, though. Instead they go for the cool, trendy and modern. Normally I'm not a fan of that, but when you can also get food - didn't taste it, but the people that did seemed happy - it evens it up. In the end I'll recommend it. That's what it all comes down to.

 

Sundevedsgade 5

Copenhagen, Denmark 

Sokkelund

I always get so bored walking in Sokkelund, a cafe in a rich pat of Copenhagen. It looks like any other place, it's dreary and yet, somehow I've been coming here a lot. Maybe because it's good for so many things: brunch on Sundays, spontaneous dinners, meetings, you name it. Besides their food is good. Good, not great. And as Harper's Bazar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey once said: "good is the enemy of great". But even though I have such strange feelings towards this place (not liking it, but still seeing why it's good, no, okay), I've still decided to included it. At least, now you know where to have your next meeting in the Danish capital, right?

 

Smallegade 36

Copenhagen (offically Frederiksberg, but come on, it's practically the same thing), Denmark

Byens Bogcafe

If I was a coffee shop in Copenhagen, this is what I'd do: I'd struggle onto my two legs, kept deep down in the ground. I'd struggle to free my arms, kept tied to me by windows and cement. And I'd struggle to walk. I'd walk and walk and walk until I got to a place where there seemed to be no coffee shop in sight. I'd walk down the path, ignoring the neighbors from the windows eyeing me from the comfort of their homes. When I'd finally get to my destination, Edvard Thomsens Vej 47-49, I'd sit right down in the grass and let my arms cover Byens Bogcafe (The Book Cafe of the City) in one big embrace. Because that's how I feel about this place. I feel like I want to hug it and tell every single person there that I dig their idea to create a place where books and coffee are first priorities and where reading is not frowned upon. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Edvard Thomsens Vej 47-49
Copenhagen, Denmark

Granola

Do you know what's good? Milkshakes. So after you've been to Thiemers Magasin and bought What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt (because you really should buy and read that book), you can cross the street and enter Granola, a cozy - and often crowded - place in one of the most pleasant streets in all of Copenhagen. They also have this lunch plate of various items for those of us who can't decide, but just leave enough room for the milkshake, too. It's gooooood.

Værnedamsvej 5
Copenhagen, Denmark

Thiemers Magasin

Damn, I'm sorry. Life got in the way as they say, and suddenly I didn't have time for my petite blog that I therefore let down. Boo!

Now that I've started again, I want to let you in on a - in Copenhagen - wellknown fact: Copenhagen has a lot of bookstore. Most of them suck though. I mean, they really, really suck. Most of the time it seems about 90 per cent of them have no idea what they're doing and that's why it's a beautiful thing to enter a shop that does. Know what it's doing, I mean.

First of all, Thiemers Magasin in the middle of Copenhagen offers something that is almost unheard of in the literary environment of the Danish capital: readings. Readings! Let's have more! When I lived in New York, I went to readings all the time. Then I move back to Copenhagen and they're gone! Thiemers Magasin, that lovely place, know that readings belong to any truly great bookstore. Because Thiemers is truly great. They offer seats outside, you can buy tea from the counter where a woman is sitting, reading a book. But most important, they know their books. There are no stupid crime novels here. No mindless, hip authors sprawl the shelves. There a crime novels, yes. Hip authors too, yes. But they're only here if there's quality in their work, and that what I most love about Thiemers Magasin. They allow themselves to be part of the elite.

 

Tullinsgade 24

Copenhagen, Denmark

Saiakangi Kohvik

The final entry on Tallinn is also the place with a pretty unpronouncable name for those of us who are not Estonians: Saiakangi Kohvik. Despite of those particular difficulties, this little cakeshop is one cozy place. But then again, in Tallinn what isn't? The girls behind the counter are definitely nicer to the locals than the tourists, but who can blame them really? After all, this is situated right by the tourist centre and it must be rare that they see fellow-Estonians in here. Despite of being overly visited by tourists, the cakes here are really, really delicious which must be the reason that the locals still occasionally do visit.

Also, in winter the windows are wet with steam from inside. Some people don't like that. I do.

Saiakang 3
Tallinn, Estonia

Krambude

If you've been to Olde Hansa, you've been to Krambude as well. This is their store, Old Hansa's that is, and has everything that is even remotely medieval. From things you'd buy (the pointy shoes!) to things you'd never (those glasses!). The people working here are always so jolly - this is the perfect word for what they are, trust me - and the light always dim. What do they do when it's also dark outside?

 

Also, everyone loves taking pictures of Krambude. Just look at the last picture and see if you spot the professional-looking photographer...

Vana Turg 1
Tallinn, Estonia

Les Petites Disain

Les Petites Disain is quite hidden away in one of Tallinns many cobbled streets, and if I hadn't gotten semi-lost I would've never found it. I'm glad I did. This is a locals haven, where handcrafted jewellery and handbags/wallets fight over attention from the many fashionistas walking in and out. If for nothing else, go to Les Petites Disain for merely people-watching.

Müurivahe 28
Tallinn, Estonia

Knit market

I don't knit. I don't make clothes. I don't design. I don't color co-ordinate. I don't do any of those things. But that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate a good knit market when I see one, and Tallinn's knit market is the damn best one I've seen so far. Old ladies fight for attention over wollen socks and knitted sweaters, and in winter they wear their own products while freezing their socks off (not literally). I also hear from a reliable source that it's quite cheap. I wouldn't know.

Müürivahe

Tallinn, Estonia

Bogapott

Bogapott: the one place I was never able to find until one day where I stumbled upon it. One day as I was walking up the hill to the viewpoint over Tallinn's Old Town I decided to figure out what hid behind the wall, going up the hill. And boom! I find Bogapott, the place I've been looking for for so long. Why have I been looking for it? Because it's gotten hyped in my mind, that's why. It's a ceramic and cafe in one. Maybe that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when the ceramics are this well-done and the food is this good (think simple rustic kitchen with a certain Estonian flair), the hype is quite deserved.Just to add to the "at home"-feel of the place, there's constantly a cat running around between chairs and tables, miawing for food. Some may find that annoying. I find it cute without being cutesy.

Pikk jalg 9
Tallinn, Estonia

Kehrwieder

This opinion is from a hot summer day. One of those summer days where you can do nothing but sit outside. Outside, mind you. Outside, so you can only get a glimpse of the adventures of inside. And I have a huge feeling that it's that warmth of the sun that leaves me unimpressed with Kehrwieder, the most hyped cafe in Tallinn. Once inside it looked like a cozy cave, but outside it was a tourist trap. Inside next time? Yes, please.

Saiakang 1
Tallinn, Estonia

Mida Kinkida

Sometimes you find something that's so funny and quirky that it makes you love the entire store you found it in. When you find two of such things in the same place, someone in that store is quite awesome. Mida Kinkida is that kind of place. First of all they have a pair of slippers displaying a mouse on one side and a fish skeleton of the other. Okay, that sounded lame, but look at the pictures and you'll know what I mean. But that's not all.No, sir. They also have a little ball of yarn - I can find no better way to explain it - that's meant to be a real fat cat. And who doesn't love a fat cat? I know I do.

28 Müürivahe
Tallinn, Estonia