Olde Hansa

You've heard of it (or maybe you haven't, I don't judge) and always thought it to be some sort of tourist trap. I'm here to tell you that it's not. Oh, no. The medieval restaurant of Olde Hansa is the shizz, people, and there's not a single thing wrong with it. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Olde Hansa is a medieval-themed restaurant in Tallinn that takes itself seriously. Everything here is from the olden days, even the menu. Even the bathrooms. Even the lights. Even every single thing. But is the food good, you ask. The answer is yes, goddamn, yes. The food is excellent and may I recommend the Himalayan lamb?

Vana turg 1
Tallinn, Estonia

Controvento

I've been to Tallinn in search of intel for all of y'all and I got it. First on the list is Controvento, which is not a restaurant that deals with Estonian food, but Italian. "Italian food in Estonia?" you may ask and snicker in an inappropiate way, but snicker not! This is some good Italian grub and extremely cozy as well, seeing that it's placed in the middle of the best alley in Tallinn (I kid you not). However, when it starts to rain the waiters are very slow with the umbrellas which was unfortunate for a bunch of people on one almost-sunny day in August.

Vene 12 (but really it's placed in Katariina käik)
Tallinn, Estonia

8-Tallet

Right by the aforementioned library is a café inside the (apparently) best architectural design in the world. I don't care much for architecture, but I do care for coffee so off I went to Cafe 8-tallet where you can sit by the water and have brunch, coffee, lunch or whatever else might strike your fancy. I just went for water and coffee and a copy of McCabe's The Butcher Boy, but still it was great sitting in the sun and just enjoying the summer while it lasted. One thing though: I am sure that when summer is gone and I no longer look for a place to sit outside, this would not be my first choice. The indoor seating is too hip and sterile for my tastes, and the prices too expensive. But when the sun is shining and I've been to the library (almost) next door, it's a pretty obvious choice.

Richard Mortensens Vej 81
Copenhagen, Denmark

Ørestad Library

Sure, I know it's pretty weird to include a library in a lifestyle blog, but I happen to love books so take it or leave it. If you're smart, you take it because Ørestad library might not be huge or glamorous but it has sun chairs outside in summer. That's right: it has SUN CHAIRS outside in summer. When I came across that the other day as I was picking up my copy of Sienkiewicz' Quo Vadis that finally arrived, I knew that I had to include the library in my blog. It's simply to good of an initiative to ignore and that's why Iwant everyone to make one big "hooray!" for the library in Ørestad, a distant part of Copenhagen. Every library should have that. It's freaking brilliant.

Arne Jacobsens Allé 19
Copenhagen, Denmark

Brostræde Is

Also outside of Copenhagen is Brostræde Is where you can get some of those old-fashioned Danish ice-creams and get to stroll around the old town of Helsingør at the same time. Total score. The icecream here is almost (last time there were some pretty weird hard ice in the chocolate ice cream...) always the best. And outside there's always a good atmosphere, because seriously, who can be mad when they'r eating ice-cream? Not me and not anyone.

Brostræde
Helsingør, Denmark

Skotterup Spiseri

We're back in Copenhagen, though not quite. Because Skotterup Spiseri is in the small, small town of Snekkersten. For you who dismiss that as then being unimportant may have another think coming because Skotterup Spiseri is placed in the far end of scenic Strandvejen (the Danish version of L.A.'s Highway 1), and makes for a great pitstop on the way to wherever you're going.

Brunch is pretty good, wine is better.

Strandvejen 232C
Snekkersten, Denmark

Palace Bar

It's placed in Temple Bar, so you'd might think this is a spot for the tourists and you'd be almost right. Because the tourists are here, yes they are. But so are the (drunk) locals, either hitting on ladies at the bar or falling asleep holding a Guiness. Funny how all this is authentic when done by locals, but tasteless if by tourists. However, in Palace Bar - which has a quite classy interior - the everyone is on their best behaviour and the result is rather delightful. Also, they make good Irish coffees.

In more alarming news, Palace Bar is also the place where a guy shot himself last Christmas after ordering a whiskey at the bar. But before this puts you off, let me tell this that Palace Bar doesn't really make you want to kill yourself. It's way too cozy for that (and please, can we make more of an effort to embrace everyone at Christmas time so people don't go around shooting themselves from loneliness and depression???)

21 Fleet Street
Dublin, Ireland