DENMARK

The adventure in Denmark began on the roads towards the town of Odense, where we spent the night at a campsite. The campsite was like a resort with jumping castles, slides, pools and spa. We relaxed for the night in the spa and basked in the luxurious gypsy life. We woke the next day to find issues with the coolant level in Kermit. Worried, we drove to Odense center and found a mechanic to service the vehicle. Once we had the all clear, we drove on our quest toward Copenhagen again. Driving through the fluorescent canola fields, we spent the afternoon weaving through small towns before pitching camp at a truck stop by the edge of a bridge.

The next morning we arrived in Copenhagen and spent our first day getting our bearings. First we headed to the town square for an expensive breakfast (like everything in Denmark!) and skyped home. Then we drove the streets hunting for famous restaurants, skate parks and looking for a reasonable campsite. We finally found a great campsite just outside the city. We spent our Sunday relaxing and meandering through the indoor food market, Torvehallerner, finding incredible Danish produce of every nature. We sampled, we bought. We fell in love all over again. We devoured food from around the globe with a Nordic touch, everything from sushi, confit duck rolls and soft Italian nougat. The afternoon we strolled Copenhagen’s longest street Stroget at 1.2km we worked off our snacks while window-shopping, wishing we had endless Danish Krone to indulge in some hip fashion. We cooked up a feast of market produce at the campsite before calling it a night. 

Our third day in Copenhagen was spent at Bakken, the worlds’ oldest amusement park that has been entertaining people since 1843. Set back in a stunning garden, we were expecting to find an old rundown park now converted to merely a viewing attraction. However, we were pleasantly surprised to watch the park come to life with roller coasters and the infectious sound of children’s screams of pure pleasure. We unleashed the kid within ourselves, riding on all the roller coasters until we were on an extreme adrenaline high. That energy was then well used at the skate park for the afternoon, well for Matt at least. That night we turned in early, parking out the front of our new home for the next three weeks, Amass restaurant. We then began staging (working for free) at Amass, an incredible two Michelin star restaurant.

Matt Orlando, head chef and owner of Amass restaurant, has a resume that most chefs would dream of, from Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in London, to the worlds best restaurant Noma in Copenhagen and then to top it off Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York. The man has enough credentials to make him an egotistical, arrogant chef that you would expect at this level of fine dining. Matt Orlando however is not. He is a down to earth, passionate chef whose contagious positive attitude shows in his food, his team and their work ethic. The food is Nordic and refined with emphasis on local produce and sustainability. The restaurant works as an ecosystem. With gardens out the back supplying herbs and vegetables to the restaurant, while any compostable food waste is used to feed the worms and fertilise the garden.  Little is wasted and everything is treasured for its natural beauty. This is the kind of restaurant the Matt and I have been aspiring to be apart of. The hours are long, as to be expected, yet enjoyable, even though we are mostly picking herbs and doing medial tasks for free. There are so many new techniques to learn and absorb, taking note for future menu ideas. 

It is as perfect as we could have imagined, sleeping out the front of the restaurant in Kermit, we use the toilet and (luckily) shower facilities at the restaurant before turning in each night and doing it all over again. The first week there was Eurovision song contest going on across the road making for a manic week in the restaurant. With a mainly quiet beginning to the week we were able to take a night off to enjoy the food for ourselves, dining in the restaurant, which was such a phenomenal experience. The slow week was made up for by a buy out on Saturday night for an exclusive pre Eurovision party, with performances including last years Danish Eurovision winner. The buy out lead to a rare early finish on a Saturday night at 9 o’ clock, so we joined the team for a drink at a whisky bar in town. 

The week went by so fast, we found ourselves enjoying our weekend with Sunday spent regrouping, doing washing and cleaning Kermit.  On our other day off we joined head chef Matt and sous chef, Jens for a trip to a farm with incredible ancient green houses to sample every variety of herb and vegetable, many we had never even heard of before. We enjoyed lunch with the owner of the farm, in her beautiful conservatory and headed back during the afternoon. That night we dined at Manfreds wine bar, a certified organic restaurant with the stunning Nordic cuisine 90-100% organic. Such a relaxing way to end a remarkable week in Copenhagen, at this point we weren’t sure if we were every going to leave.

The next week at Amass was just as exciting, with matt moving to pastry section, while I moved to cold section, it allowed us to learn more and absorb new techniques. Saturday was another exciting function evening, with a private birthday party (for the richest man in Croatia) booking out the restaurant for a no-expense-spared rock concert and canapé function with international performers and guests travelling from around the globe. Then before we knew it, another weekend off had arrived. Sunday was again spent as a lazy day, recovering from a busy week at work and sorting out all the boring necessities. Monday was a beautiful sunny day, so we headed to Tivoli, the amuse park and gardens in the center of the city. However, once inside you forget its central location altogether and lose yourself in the whimsical wonderland with rides, quaint restaurants and beautiful gardens to explore, its encapsulating. The afternoon was then spent at the skate park, as the beautiful weather carried into the night.

The third and final week at amass was an exciting one, with busy services all week and a fantastic day off on the Wednesday. Wednesday morning we spent foraging for wild rose hips and beach horseradish. We rode to a deserted island on a tandem bike and learnt about all the wild herbs growing in urban settings while walking in the sunshine. Then we headed for lunch at Noma. Yes, Noma. Rated number one restaurant in the world for four years, the three Michelin star restaurant was stunning inside and out. The innovative Nordic cuisine relies on Scandinavian ingredients, including ants!

The rest of the week at Amass was enjoyable, in fact we had fallen so in love we were trying to find a way to get a job and stay forever. Alas, it wasn’t going to happen, instead we found ourselves saying our farewells at a Sunday garden party/Thai barbeque in the Danish summer sunshine.  The following day we went on an adventure to Malmo, Sweden with Sookie, a lovely stagier from Singapore, we met at Amass. We visited the turning torso building and had lunch by the water with a view of the Oresund Bridge that connects to Copenhagen.

Now it is our last day in Copenhagen. We are going to hire bikes and ride around the city and take it all in one last time. Sad to be moving on, however there are so many exciting adventures still to be had. Next stop Berlin, Germany!!

GERMANY- PART 1

Our German experience begins in Bremen in the North. The town of 

Bremen is tranquil town with beautiful gardens and secret hidden streets. We explored for the day, visiting the Town Musicians of Bremen - a famous statue of a rooster on top of a cat, perched on a dog, on the shoulders of a donkey. 

The 13^th century Dom St Petri 

church was a remarkable sight also, with vaults, chapels and cellars all within the intricate walls and stained glass windows.  The town hall was equally as impressive and the square beneath it held a quaint flower and produce market selling all the local favourites. It was around lunchtime and our first German treat beckoned us, a traditional bratwurst with mustard.  

Then of course, we were off for the afternoon in the search for a German skate park, however the first seemed disappointing. So onward we drove towards Hamburg, spending the night at a campsite just out of town. The following morning we woke on a mission for a decent skate park, and alas we found one where Matt spent the morning rolling around while I basked in the beautiful sunshine. We enjoyed the rest of the sunshine through the streets of the industrial city of Hamburg seeing the sights and stopping for a German Riesling and a Carlsberg by the water before calling it a night. We drove onward on our quest towards Copenhagen to the lovely little town of Kiel, where we enjoyed our first schnitzel and a pilsner in the square.

 

We drove until the afternoon where we found ourselves in Flensburg, looking for another skate park and a place to sleep. We stumbled across a quiet street down by the water where we walked to a beautiful beach and relished in the daylight. We cooked hamburgers by the pier and ate while watching the boats come in for the day before exploring another stretch of beach. During our explorations we discovered mussels growing on the rocks within the shallow water and we foraged for mussels as the sun began to set. We went back to Kermit with our exciting find and cooked the fresh live mussels in white wine, garlic and shallots and devoured them. They were the most exquisite mussels we have ever eaten, plucked straight from the shoreline in Flensburg, Germany. However, the day wasn’t over as yet, as we chased the sunsets into the dark. Running along the beach soaking up the picturesque night and appreciating how lucky we are to be here, on the other side of the world. 

We woke and enjoyed breakfast by the water before heading into the town of Flensburg. Needing to get Danish Krone as we were crossing the border, we searched the town that seemed awfully quiet. We eventually discovered it was Labor Day in Germany and we weren’t going to find anything open, so the long drive towards Copenhagen began again. Onward to Denmark!