'travel'

Ærø

July 25, 2014

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the island of Aeroe (‘Ærø’ in our weird language), one of the small islands of The South Funen Archipelago. Spending most of summer in Denmark, I am being completely unbiased when stating that this country is in fact one of the best places in the world to spend these warm months. We have it all; a pulsating city (just one I would say, but still!), beautiful coastline, lots of nature and open spaces, something I cherish deeply when temperatures hit 25 degrees. The island of Ærø is the perfect picture postcard of everything associated with Danish summer idyll, and such a beautiful place to visit for a couple of relaxing days away from the city.

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During our five days on Ærø, we both had time to chill at the beach (see that beach house on photo number five – these charming houses are everywhere on Vester Strand) and to bike around the quaint little villages and beautiful corn fields of the countryside. As anywhere else in Denmark, getting around by bike is highly recommended, but keep in mind that you can hop on all busses on Ærø free of charge and bring your bike for free as well – a lifeline nice having when the physical challenge gets a little too much! One evening we rode our bikes home after having a great dinner in the most beautiful garden, and this city girl was a little overwhelmed with the silence and prettiness of the surrounding landscape.

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Although we visited the island in the tourist high season, we often felt that we had the whole island to ourselves and we could have easily spent a couple of extra days on this island, me taking photos of just about everything I saw. Around 7,000 people live on Ærø, which makes this island the 12th smallest in Denmark. However, this place has not stopped in time nor do they rest on their laurels – on the contrary, Ærø is inhabited by with entrepreneurs that have created creative businesses here, producing local goods such as the most delicious ice cream I’ve ever had, beef sausages with nothing but meat and herbs from the beach and jam from Aeroe-gooseberries. This island is definitely a delight on both the eyes as well as the stomach!

– Invited to Ærø by the local tourist organization Visit Aeroe –

Vesteraas

July 19, 2014

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Before going to Ærø, I had done a bit of research on what to see whilst on the island. This place was definitely the one I was looking most forward to visiting and luckily, it didn’t disappoint whatsoever! Vesteraas is an ecological small holding in the middle of the island surrounded by the preserved nature reserve Voderup Cliffs. On these twenty hectares, the owners Nils and Maja are taking pride in bringing the fields back to their original and natural state. That means no chemicals, no fertilizers, no tractors; just Nils, his bare hands and several bee, butterfly and frog species that you will only find here and nowhere else in the world!

Vesterbænk

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Nils has a pack of Dexter cattle that are out enjoying themselves on the fields 365 days a year, rain or shine. From these, he makes the island’s world known sausages, that you can not leave Ærø without having tried. Vesteraas has a fruit garden as well, and apples, plums, berries and nuts are at your disposal. It is not difficult to feel a little excited about this place that also has two houses for rent; The Greenhouse and The House Towards The Sea (love that name!). Built in natural and sustainable materials, these two houses each fit a whole family (and then some) and holds everything you need to feel at home; bedrooms, common rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and even a garden belonging to each house. In The Greenhouse bathroom, guests are often a little surprised when looking up from the toilet; here is a small round window looking directly out to the stables at eye level with the bull and the cows. That’s exactly how close to nature you are at Vesteraas!

Vesteraas
Voderup 41, 5970 Ærøskøbing, Ærø

– Invited to Ærø by the local tourist organization Visit Aeroe –

Berlin favorites

February 15, 2014

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The Barn is a popular Berlin coffee institution. The combined coffeshop/roastery at Schönhauser Allee is a beautiful open room with a great atmosphere.

Gipfeltreffen in Kreuzberg is a cozy little café that serves delicious breakfast and brunch. If it wasn’t because I had a bunch of places on my list, we would have come here again!

Bonanza Coffee Heroes in Prenzlauer Berg is a cool little coffeshop on the lovely cobble stoned Oderbergerstraße. With vintageshops and cafés as its neighbours, Bonanza Coffee Heroes is the perfect place for a break in the sun.

NEST in Kreuzberg right next to Görlitzerpark offers a brunch buffet every Sunday from 10am til 4pm. For the price of 12 euro you can indulge in beetroot salat, homebaked bread, humus, cakes, fried vegetables, eggs and bacon and so much more. Definitely one of the best buffets I’ve ever had!

Berlin: Silo

January 27, 2014

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Silo in Friedrichshain might be one of the coolest coffeeshops in Berlin. This place is characterized by three things that are equally important whenever one needs a break from wandering around a big city: a good cup of coffee, a delicious piece of cake and some beautiful surroundings.

Morgan is the Australian owner of Silo and he serves a heavenly cheesecake with white chocolate and lemon (you have to try it, it’s even better than the one at Five Elephant which is supposed to be the best in Berlin!), homemade sandwiches, yoghurt with granola and a good looking brownie. He’s a real nerd about coffee and here you’ll find beans from local Berlin roastery The Barn, Kenyan roastery Ndimaini and other hand picked roasteries around the world. The coffee suppliers rotate every four months and good quality and taste is always guaranteed. Silo even offers a curated coffee subscription where subscribers get 250g of freshly roasted coffee delivered to the doorstep once a month. Silo handpicks the best of both espresso and filter coffee and they can also grind your coffee to suit your equipment. They may not have all of the world covered, but contact Morgan at curator [at] silo-coffee.com for more information and prices or check out silo-coffee.myshopify.com. And don’t forget about that cheesecake!

Silo Coffee
Gabriel-Max-Straße 4

Granada

January 4, 2014

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Last Spring, I got on airplane headed for Central America. I was going there to visit my sister, who had been living in Costa Rica for a few months, studying at the UN University for Peace (yes. She studies peace. I write about food and travel and we’re identical twins. Imagine what is feels like being compared all the time!).

For ten days, we travelled around Costa Rica and Nicaragua and it was an amazing experience. One place that made an impact on me in particular was the colonial city of Granada in Nicaragua. Located by the north bank of Lago de Nicaragua, this little city – perhaps it is actually a town – has facades painted in all the colors of the rainbow. The people of the city were extremely welcoming and helpful and even though there were quite a lot of tourists here, the atmosphere was very relaxed and pleasant; unlike in the capital Managua that we didn’t visit because all the locals strongly advised us not to. We spent a couple of days in Granada and that was plenty of time to get a good look at the city. The attractions are few but the tourist offices on the main street (you can’t miss it – it’s right by the big square and it’s about the only place with restaurants in the city!) offer a large variety of day trips with a bunch of outdoor adventures.

We stayed at the hostel The Bearded Monkey which was crazy cheap (2$ a night or something) and a cool place with a good location. So if you’re ever in the area, go spend a few days here!