Graham’s notes

With the lovely weather we’ve been having here for the past couple of weeks, it’s been tempting to stay outdoors and catch the last sun of this Indian summer but a couple of new exhibitions in Copenhagen have managed to get me inside for an hour or so. At Nikolaj Kunsthal, Shane Brox unveiled his ‘Beauty in the Beast’ show last week. Soft sculptures made from upcycled materials such as foam, wool, wire and string resemble otherworldly creatures – spiky, cute, scary and comical by turn – in an all-enveloping environment that uses touch, sound and even vibration. Meanwhile over in the O – Overgade gallery, rising star of the queer art world Rasmus Myrup shows his ‘Precoming’ exhibition. Here word play and wit are central with mixed media sculptures bringing together folklore, sex, humour and the natural world. Check them both out before they close in January and October respectively.

Robin’s notes

Oysters, caviar, champagne and watches. What do they all have in common? Well, that’s how my weekend started: all because of the release of Tudor’s new Pelagos FXD model. With a couple of other watch nerds, we gathered at the showroom and were the first ones to get our hands on it. In such great company, full of talks related to this topic, one glass easily turned into another (with one whisky sour on the side – sorry!). When I was not busy sipping and slurping oysters, I tried on different watches and especially compared my most favourite watch, Tudor’s Black Bay 56, with its younger sibling Black Bay 54. I know I’m repeating myself, but it’s just a great sports watch. One of the best, especially for its price tag.

More events like that, please. That’s the mix I love.

Robin’s notes

What would a weekend be without going to the gym? Well, that might be only me, but I really love it. It is just a great way to start the day during the weekend. And it feels even better to do so when your whole working week is full of bar visits with a client. You know, to somehow balance out that lifestyle of ours… Five bar visits equals one gym session, right?! But jokes aside, it sets you up in a good mood for a whole day and you feel energised after. Sometimes it’s Saturday, sometimes it’s Sunday for me. And that’s because I am trying to have a full rest day after each session.

If you follow me, you might have noticed that I partnered with the Bruce app. It’s a platform which not only gathers different gyms under one subscription but offers also different activities, it’s a great way to try from time to time something new or get out of my comfort zone…

So now, my session is done, as is my weekend’s beauty routine, and the weekend can start.

Graham’s notes

I’ve always been a live theatre fan but my Danish is still not really good enough to follow a whole play here so during my Copenhagen years, I’ve gone more to dance performances where the spoken word is much less central. Last week was the annual Kammerballetten season: a collection of four new ballets, all to the accompaniment of live chamber music by Trio Vitruvi. It was a stunning experience with four very different dances: a performative piece with live singing by a baritone from the Danish Opera, a modern classic by rising star Danish choreographer Tobias Pretorious, a short somewhat gothic duo and then the absolute highlight – a new piece about childhood by the insanely talented Paul Lightfoot (ex Creative Director of the Nederlands Dans Theater). Spectacularly danced, sensitively choreographed and deeply moving, it took my breath away. Afterwards I had the chance to briefly meet Lightfoot himself and, for once in my life, was actually star struck. The Kammerballetten returns every summer so do yourself a favour and put an x in the calender.

Robin’s notes

After a really busy week with all the shows, events, networking and with another project on the side, I knew I would need a few days off, a small getaway to recharge and relax. And where else I should go then to Palma? You might have noticed already my soft spot for Mallorca, and Palma especially. I jumped on a plane on a Saturday afternoon and a few hours later, I am checking-in at a hotel and sipping a “French 75” in a bar close by. The next day, after a really slow morning, and a few hours of me getting lost in the side streets of Palma with a cold-brewed coffee in my hand, I made it on time for lunch at Fera, a restaurant which has been on my list for a while. Located in a beautiful palatial building, with a garden full of tropical plants and palms, it’s a place where you want to sit and dine. From starters and main courses, to desserts, the whole chef’s lunch menu was so well balanced – Mediterranean-Asian fusion cuisine at its best. I had such a great time and can’t wait to dine there again… That’s what was needed. And next two days of my stay were at a similar pace. 

Graham’s notes

As Copenhagen Fashion Week gets off to a cold, rainy and VERY windy start, courtesy of storm Antoni making an unwelcome appearance, maybe an alternative (and dry) way of experiencing the allure of the fashion world is a visit to Outpost Gallery on Bredgade to see David Risley’s new exhibition. Entitled Madame X – a reference to John Singer Sargent’s iconic and, at the time, scandalous portrait of socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau – the show features life-size watercolour paintings of Danish influencers such as Sophia Roe, Pernille Rosenkilde and Marie Jedig. Bringing together witty details (Pernille is wearing Crocs!) and pieces of modern Danish product design (Roe’s mother’s Balloon vase is seen on a table behind Sophia), the paintings mix traditional society portraiture with artfully constructed social media selfies. The exhibition runs until August 19 (more info here).

Graham’s notes

Summer seems to have hit a bump in the road in Denmark so I was very happy that I could get away from grey skies and rain and spend a week in the south of France. I’d been to Provence before but never to the western part so was excited to hang out in the beautiful countryside of Languedoc-Roussillon. The towns and villages – Montpellier, Aigues-Mortes, Pézenas etc etc – are ridiculously pretty and atmospheric and the vibe is much less fancy and more relaxed than Nice or Cannes. And of course there was wine, beautiful French food, long walks in the vineyards and even a bit of kayaking (anyone who knows me will recognise how out of character that is!) I genuinely can’t wait to return. Now back to (still cloudy) Copenhagen to prepare for next week’s Fashion Week. At least I have a tan!

Robin’s notes

What could be a better way to end kiddo’s summer trip than do a last stop somewhere else? And since Vienna was on our way, it was an obvious choice. He has never been there, plus he was always wondering how a real Weiner Schnitzel tastes and the same goes for Sachertorte. For me, it was a great excuse to revisit this city and, in particular, one of my favourite restaurants there, Plachutta. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – my son is such a great travel buddy. We were all good the first day with snacks, soda on the side, access to Youtube and just staying in (that’s what’s a boy’s trip is all about anyway). Then the morning after was the right time to go to explore. Of course, the first stop needed to be a cafe which serves an original Sachertorte. I am talking about a cafe which feels like being in grandma’s living room, where nothing has changed for decades and where even I feel like a youngster. With a chatter of older ladies who came to share their gossip over a cup of coffee, we sliced into our cakes. The coffee tastes slightly burned in such places, but hey –  that’s how the older generation used to drink theirs (so easy, you modern coffee hipsters!). There was all of a sudden also strudel on our table too. Yum… After a couple of hours of sightseeing and two scoops of ice cream, we went back to an apartment to get ready for dinner.

Plachutta is well known for their famous Tafelspitz (boiled beef with an interesting preparation and serving), but we choose Wiener Schnitzel of course with a potato salad on the side. I went for a starter, which ended up with me having a hard time actually finishing the main course. The food was good, the same goes for the wine, plus such a company makes the experience even better. And I hope that’s both ways. We talked about our old trips, memories and my connection to Vienna. The dinner date at its best!

Graham’s notes

Like most of us, I tend to get into the habit of sticking mostly to the same half dozen restaurants that I know and like but this past Saturday I tried one that was, at least for me, new. Opened by the exotically named Beau Clugston, an Australian who previously worked for Gordon Ramsey and noma, Iluka is a seafood restaurant on a quiet side street just a block away from the harbour. It’s a simple but beautiful space with red curtains giving a theatrical slant to natural wood tables and chairs. You can eat á la carte but we opted for the seven course tasting menu which included oysters with chilli oil, a truly fabulous cold tomato broth, seafood tartar with nori and some lovely baked langoustines. Well cooked and simply presented, the fish and seafood is pretty much centre stage in every dish. My only slight bug bear would be that the wine pairing veered a little too much on the nature wine side for my liking (despite the hype, I’m not a big fan…) so next time I will stick to buying a good bottle instead.

Graham’s notes

On the hottest weekend of the year so far, I decided to take a break from the sun (and the huge number of tourists in the city) to call in at Nikolaj Kunsthal for a quiet and cool dip into art. The main exhibition at the moment is the site-specific piece, Truth is Like Poetry, by Mikkel Carl where he has suspended a huge circular ‘mirror’ in the ecclesiastical surroundings of the main hall. The shiny disc revolves slowly reflecting back the pink-tinted interior (the windows have rosy filters over them). But another, less Instagram-centric, exhibition there got my attention: moody and melancholic photographs and videos of Los Angeles and more specifically an extra actor called Russ by the Swedish artist Tova Mozard. A touch of David Lynch with a bit of Philip Lorca and maybe even some William Eggleston, but beautiful and rather moving too.

Robin’s notes

What does my ideal weekend morning look like? No matter how the day turns out at the end, it always starts with a cup of coffee (though not usually paired with breakfast as I am still fasting by that early time). While the coffee beans are grinding on the side, I am putting a paper filter into my Chemex carafe. With heated water in a special kettle for brewing (which looks so cute btw), the process is starting. It takes time and by pouring in circular movements, coffee is being brewed. Those are the slow mornings I like, full of the smell of coffee and music. It sets the tone for the whole day for me, no matter what the weather looks like or what my plans will be. Usually one or two hours later, sometimes combined with my weekend’s beauty routine in between, a plan forms and the day starts. That could be a gym session, or a late breakfast in the city, cultural activities (such as revisiting my favourite small contemporary galleries), a glass of wine in the late afternoon, or just one of those lazy days, where the plan is no plan. And that’s fine too…

Graham’s notes

When we have visitors from out of town, they often want to do the “quintessential Copenhagen experience”. As the city is such a foodie destination it’s tempting to try and snag a table at Noma (clearly that never happens) or one of the more famous restaurants but to be honest, I don’t think there is anything that sums the place up more than having a glass or three of wine at Riga bar on a sunny late afternoon. An unprepossessing hut outside an unconsecrated church in a scruffy square in Vesterbro might not seem the most appealing of locations but it is simultaneously so cute, so friendly and… yes… so “hyggelig” that it’s our go-to from May until September (it’s also open throughout the year but an outdoor bar loses its appeal in winter to me). Grade A people watching, good wine (both natural and classic) and great toasted cheese sandwiches if you need something to soak up the alcohol.

Works for me.

Robin’s notes

Every June gets busy for us in men’s fashion. With summer approaching, men’s fashion shows kick off in Italy, starting in Florence, followed by more in Milan. And then, when you are about to catch your breath, things move to Paris. (I am not even mentioning London).

The truth is, when looking back to when I used to go, makes me miss it a bit. Running from one place to another in the streets of Paris and Milan, randomly meeting people I haven’t seen for ages, that unnecessary amount of espressos and cocktails or all those rough mornings when trying to get some work done. On the other hand, there is something relaxing and maybe even more productive about being able to watch it from a distance – from a cafe, from a sofa … and be done with a review of each show and collection within a few minutes (right!?).

It also makes me think of how things changed during these years with social media. What once was not of big interest but then changed rapidly was street style which all of a sudden became THE THING. But while it is still an important part of shows with designers trying to showcase their pieces outside before their presentations, the whole street-style coverage has pulled back a bit and is now more balanced with a focus on the shows themselves. And that’s a good thing.

Trends will be here, but we don’t need to get served them all the time.

Will we be there next year? Who knows but Paris and Milan are always lovely in June…

Graham’s notes

It’s probably the Englishman in me but I love a cup of tea and the whole ritual of tea and cake in the afternoon can be a very nice experience which, even if it sets off a touch of homesickness at times, I can’t do often enough. A recent favourite to spend that quiet hour mid-shopping in Copenhagen is Café Duse tucked into the corner by the entrance to 25 Hours hotel in the city centre. It has a bit of an Agatha Christie in Harrogate vibe (always a winner for me) and the cakes are delicious (and huge). Perch on a little velvet seat, order a slice of chocolate gateau and let the world pass by for a while – it’s a real treat.  

Sidebar: the Neni restaurant in the same hotel is pretty good for dinner too.

Robin’s notes

My whole last week felt like a weekend. Me and my kiddo went to one of my favourite destinations, Mallorca. Although we spent most of the time on the beach and late afternoons in our hotel room – him gaming and me learning all about Fortnite, we managed to do several trips to the city as well. Apart from some sightseeing and long walks in the streets of Palma, we sat down a couple of times in my favourite cafe Mistral, and while he went through a couple of pages in his book, I slowly sipped a cup of cold-brew coffee and watched streets buzzing with locals and tourists getting lost while running to yet another spot to see. Oh boy, I love not being in a rush and enjoying these moments. 


I also checked some other places I wanted to visit, one of them being Aromata, a local favourite with an interior that just oozes that feeling of being in the Med. And the food was delicious. What a great way to slowly introduce the little one to fine dining.   

Graham’s notes

I try to live in complete denial of course but this weekend I had to face the undeniable fact that I AM getting older as it was my birthday (and a significant one at that). Naturally I celebrated with wine, champagne, beautiful food and a lot of fun but that does have a way of showing on my face these days so first thing on Monday, I treated myself to a facial at Copenhagen’s Exuviance Clinic.

Of course, nothing is going to turn back the clock but an hour spent getting properly cleansed, fruit-acid peeled, massaged and moisturiser-masked made me feel a lot younger and fresher at least. Best thing: the procedure not only made my skin feel super peachy and soft, but the effects keep on working for the next few weeks.

If only there were a similar easy process that could restore my pre-birthday waistline but I think only the gym and a touch of abstinence will solve that.

Graham’s notes

I know I’m in the minority here but I’m not crazy about seeing live bands or singers. Somehow I don’t have the patience to sit (or stand) through a concert and nearly always find myself a bit bored, however good the performer is. On Thursday however I bucked my own trend and went to see Patti Smith simply because… hell… she’s a legend.

And she was amazing. I don’t have much of her music at home though of course I spent my teen years listening to Horses and Easter but I’m a huge fan of her books so just wanted to spend a couple of hours in the same room. But even though I didn’t know so many of the songs, she has SUCH a great voice still and is so charismatic and – surprisingly – funny, I wasn’t bored for a second. There were no Beyone-style theatrics or screens, just Patti belting it out.

She forgot the words once (forgiven – she IS 76!) and there was perhaps one guitar solo too many for me but a star is a star. loved it.

Robin’s notes

Believe it or not but it’s not all about events, hangouts and sipping a glass of wine or cocktails with me. I am rather an active person, aiming to go to the gym at least 3 to 4 times per week. So being able to hit my gym one day over the weekend and having another activity the next day sounds really good to me.

While on Saturday I had my normal “arm day” (solo training), I had a chance to join a trail run on Sunday with the New Balance team. We met at one of my favourite cafes, Prolog in Kødbyen, and after a chat and one filter coffee, we jumped into a car and drove up to Tisvilde. The weather was great and it felt nice to be out in nature and discover the surroundings of Tisvilde Hegn – a beautiful forest north of Copenhagen. Accompanied by trail runner Per Egon Rasmussen, we then ended up at the beach to enjoy our lunch.

A great way to meet new people and spend your Sunday.

Graham’s notes

The glorious weather continues in Copenhagen at the moment and that can make it hard to make yourself go indoors at all but on Sunday I had the chance to go to the theatre. I had tickets to see the amazing Batsheva Ensemble – an Israeli company performing in Copenhagen as part of Kobenhavn Danser, an ongoing international dance festival. The performance was called Decadence which might have lead you to expect lap dancing rather than contemporary but in fact was a play on the words “Deca’ (ten) and dance as it comprised ten short excerpts from longer pieces. Stunning technical skills, fantastic musicality, humour and even a bit of audience participation (my worst nightmare) all combined to make a truly wonderful hour and a half break from drinking wine on the balcony. Sometimes we do need to nourish our cultural as well as our social side.

Graham’s notes

This past weekend saw me take a quick trip to Venice. It was the first time I’d been there so it was a blur of canals, gondolas, prosecco and crowds. It was of course spectacularly beautiful and sometimes eerily surreal (shades of Don’t Look Know on the first cloudy day) but the absolute highlight had to be visiting the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Housed in a comparatively understated 18th century palazzo on the Grand Canal that was once Peggy’s home, her personal collection is spectacular in its vision (she bought these paintings mostly directly from the artists for often just a few hundred dollars) and includes Picasso, Ernst, Leger, Pollock and Twombly. The place is intimate and gentle and offers a peek into the life of an eccentric and formidable figure in the 20th century art world. The view from the terrace is worth the price of admission itself. Read more about her in the fascinating ‘Art Lover: A Biography of Peggy Guggenheim’ by Anton Gill.

Robin’s notes

Not all my weekends are fun, wine and with lots of things happening. This weekend I had to prioritise a project for one of my clients and somehow squeeze 70 working hours into a couple of days. Don’t ask me how, but I managed. Surprisingly I even found time to turn off my MacBook and finally watch the movie Air, which I missed seeing in a cinema. Ben Affleck did a great job here. And Matt Damon is Matt Damon – he played the role of basketball talent scout Sonny Vaccaro pretty well. So even if you are not a sneakerhead, give it a try. It’s worth it… 

While the weekend was hectic, I decided to take it slow on Monday, and with content delivered to the client, and with all necessary tasks done, I stopped by (as I’m a Vesterbro local these days)  at Granola cafe during their oyster happy hour. Yep, you read it correctly. Wine and oysters in this lovely neighbourhood?! Yes, please.  

Graham’s notes

For all of my life in England, I couldn’t have lived further away from the sea: both York and Nottingham are very central and so a trip to the coast was a special treat that involved a car or train. So, even after sixteen years in Copenhagen, I still get a thrill from being so close to water. As summer really kicked in this weekend, with a clear sky and hot sun, it’s such a joy to be a short walk from my apartment to the harbour or a twenty minute bike ride from the beach. The harbour this weekend was crazy – its a very unique thing to have so much swimming and ‘beach life’ as part of the city centre and locals make full use of it. It’s still a bit chilly for me to go in the water (I’m most definitely not one for winter swimming so usually wait until mid summer before I take the plunge) but just hanging out and having a glass or two of wine was a treat in itself. Let’s hope the weather stays.

Robin’s notes

Time flies fast. I can see it now, especially with my “little” one. He turned eleven this weekend – how did this even happen?!

My memory is not so good (I personally blame my wild teenage years), and it’s not easy from time to time to remember all those moments and things we did together. But I bet the age we live in plays a big role too. Our camera roll is full of pictures and once they’re taken, they disappear from our minds and are overtaken in a couple of days by a collection of cocktails, places and clothes we plan to post on our “well-curated” Instagram profile.

Back then in my old apartment, I made a habit of printing “memorable moments” in a Polaroid format and placing them next to each other on my wall in the kitchen. I loved to pass by it every day. And when my kiddo got a bit older, I decided to do what our parents back then used to do – make an album. We had so many nice moments and I thought it would be a nice thing for both of us to collect them in one place. It has been around five years since I made it and I still love to pick it up from time to time in the morning and browse through it. It might probably be my most favourite coffee book. And while I am writing this, I am about to send our next issue to a printer. It’s so easy: you should do it too!

Graham’s notes

The food scene in Copenhagen is ever changing and there are so many new kids on the block it’s hard to keep up. So sometimes it’s really good to ignore recent recommendations and the latest reviews and just go to an older, much-loved haunt. On Friday we went with friends to one of our absolute favorites – Osteria 16 Pesce. It’s just round the corner, super laid back and the food is sensational. They serve a fixed menu of half a dozen antipasti, a pasta dish and end with some fish. Every single plate is gorgeous and it’s also nice to be recognised by the staff and treated like regulars (which, to be honest, we are).

Robin’s notes

I’ve been in this industry for years. That means I’ve travelled a lot… to meet clients, work-related trips, to events or fashion weeks. But even after all this time, these days when I am travelling, I get surprised by how easy, fast and accessible it is and how spoiled we got.

One morning I wake up, do my morning routine (I am talking coffee and emails – don’t let your thoughts distract you here, okay), and hit the gym, then next thing I am doing is going through a security check and all of a sudden, it’s early afternoon and I am sipping a glass of wine in Berlin with new people I just met before we get ourselves to an event. Things go fun and blurry (sometimes… Danes can relate) and with seemingly the next breath, breakfast is being served. Then a last couple of hours at a hotel cafe, and after another security check and one playlist, I am back in Copenhagen, ready for an afternoon coffee, pretending there is no hangover.

What happened within 24 hours seems like a long weekend. Sometimes I just wish it feels like a full movie again and not just like a four second story – the max amount of time we can stay focused these days… But all is fast and we (have learned to) love it.

Graham’s notes

Sometimes when you live in a city, it’s easy to miss out on the cultural spaces that visitors go to as there’s the habit of thinking ‘we can do that next week’. So having a couple of friends from Portugal to stay for the weekend was a good excuse to do the tourist stuff. One of them was very keen to go to the recently renovated Danish Design Museum and that forced our hand as we’ve been intending to go for ages but never got round to it. The museum was always interesting but now is so beautifully put together. Sometimes the urge to be ‘instagrammable’ can ruin a place (hang your head in shame Moco in Amsterdam) but here it has, for the most part, not overwhelmed the objects on display. And at the moment there is plenty to look at – from the rather abstract but interesting ‘The Future is Present’ to the fantastic ‘The Magic of Form’ that explores Danish Design using the museum’s permanent collection. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded what is on your doorstep.

Robin’s notes

Sweet or savoury breakfast? When it comes to this “very important” existential question, I am on the sweet side.  And, for years, it has been the same breakfast almost every day: oatmeal porridge topped with fresh or frozen berries (preferably raspberries and blueberries), honey, and a cup of filter coffee on the side. Sometimes I even spoil myself with a teaspoon of peanut butter. Oops, hello calories… but – yum! Over the weekend mornings I prefer to eat out and while I am always trying to plan a visit to a new place, somehow I usually end up at my favourite spot anyway.  I love Original Coffee, either by the lakes, which is lovely especially when sunny and you can enjoy the view, or at Store Kongensgade – such a nice spot. And when there overnight oats (obviously) are my go-to option… Ahh, when I like something I stick to it and it ain’t easy to change it…

– with love, The Editors