Danish Modern: 48 hours in Copenhagen with Airbnb Co-Founder
48 hours in Copenhagen is plenty of time to explore, seek out design inspiration, and eat delicious food. (Photo: Thinkstock)
by Burt Helm
Home-sharing website Airbnb.com has made it big, but when co-founder Joe Gebbia leaves San Francisco to travel for business, he still bunks down with Airbnb hosts.
Gebbia first visited Copenhagen in 2012 to open the company’s office there. Back then, he got to know the city’s Vesterbro district and fell in love with its mix of midcentury modern architecture and 17th century castles.
“I was there in February. It was chilly, snowy and very quaint,” Gebbia says. “But it was beautifully designed and very approachable.”
Joe Gebbia of Airbnb speaks during the Digital Life Design (DLD) Conference at the HVB Forum in Munich, Germany. (Photo: Jan Haas/DPA/Landov)
Here is how he spends two day’s time in the Danish capital:
After the flight: I like to go straight to my Airbnb listing to settle in before venturing out. Rather than rent an entire apartment, I book a private room in a host’s home. When I stay with a host I go from being an outsider to an insider overnight. I love that feeling, to be on the same vibration as the city.
Post-redeye breakfast: Granola (Værnedamsvej 5) is a wonderful, comfortable spot. It’s a quintessential breakfast nook with all the staples, except done in a Danish way.
Browse the exhibits at the Danish Museum of Art & Design and you’re sure to want to give your home a makeover. (Photo: The Danish Museum of Art & Design)
Team inspiration: Danish Museum of Art & Design (Bredgade 68) and the Danish Architecture Center (Strandgade 27B). Then bike along the water out to Oliver’s Garage (Kystvejen 24, Charlottenlund), an old gas station designed by Arne Jacobsen, a famous Danish architect.
From there, head to Jaegersborg Deer Park, where there are hundreds of acres of land, forests and fields along with deer crashing antlers against each other. End up at Eremitage Palace, a gorgeous estate where the Danish king used to hunt.
Roasted chicken hearts with endive and lingonberries at Bror. (Photo: Bror/Twitter)
An adventurous business dinner: Bror (Sankt Peders Stræde 24A) is a “nose-to-tail” restaurant, meaning they use every part of the animal. The menu is like nothing I’d ever seen before. I ate chicken heart.
Suit up at Tiger of Sweden. (Photo: Tiger of Sweden)
One-of-a-kind suiting: Most of my dress shirts are from a place called Samsoe (Studiestræde 13). Most of my suits are from Tiger of Sweden (Christian IX’s Gade 1). They have an aesthetic I really appreciate, and they are rather hard to find in the United States.
Free afternoon: Rent a bike and start in the Meatpacking District, this old port area on one of the canals filled with narrow little alleys, and head to the Bicycle Snake, an elevated bike lane that overlooks the city.
Ride that to the Library Garden (Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1). It’s this old castle with these gorgeous gardens, beautifully landscaped yards and fountains everywhere. On a beautiful sunny day you can hang out by the fountains for a while, have a little snack, people watch, and soak up some sun.
Fans of good design will nerd out over all the typography-related swag — like these great mugs — at the Playtype store. (Photo: Playtype/Facebook)
Hip souvenir: Playtype (Værnedamsvej 6) is a type shop — they produce fonts — which, as a graphic designer, is right up my alley. They’ve opened this storefront to showcase their work, and they sell interesting graphic design items from books and T-shirts (all with their custom typefaces) to high-design maps of Copenhagen.
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