While in Copenhagen for part of the summer, after a day biking around in temperate July and August,
Sonia and Anders’ apartment was a very warm place to come home to. It is a newly renovated, spacious place a few flights up with thoughtful touches and details throughout that make it feel like a real home, not a cold rental place.
Sunlight, artificial light, and the windows play an ensemble in creating a cozy, beautiful space. There are large windows everywhere. The kitchen and dining room face a long wall with windows from end to end, where indirect sunlight floods in and affords a pleasing view of neighboring buildings and trees. The windows in the living room give the most engaging view, with a direct and unobstructed view of the street perpendicular, all the way down to the intersection, where you will spot bikes passing through left-to-right, seemingly throughout the entire day, as it’s Copenhagen. And you can take this all in from a very comfortable couch. At night, the diffused light in the kitchen and living room and the large, dimmable globe in the bedroom make the evenings indoors as inviting as Copenhagen outdoors.
The walls are a bit thin, so occasionally you can hear, only very faintly, neighboring footsteps. However, the sounds that define the place are wonderful. With windows ajar, you can take in the wafting wind, the soft sounds of city life (it’s not loud; it’s not Manhattan), the chirping of birds in the morning, and the cheer and play of kids in the afternoon (I think there’s a school nearby). I kept the windows open as often as possible.
Sonia was very welcoming and kind, helpful with questions, and always quick to respond. One evening, around 4am, a high pitched sound routinely sounded every half minute. Besides waking me, the more pressing concern was if it was an emergency of some sort (smoke, gas, etc.). Being in a foreign country, I had no idea what to do, especially at 4am. I messaged and called Sonia and Anders. Minutes later, Anders returns my call to try to figure out what was going on. (It was the smoke detector announcing the need for battery replacement.) There is no reasonable expectation for your host’s time at 4am, but because Anders called it turned a stressful situation into a night of sound sleep.
This was a great home for part of the summer, and I’m sure it would any other time.