It's been a couple of days since my wife and daughter stayed at Maria's lovely home (for a week over the New Year) and we still find ourselves recounting the many fond memories we had. In fact, just this morning my wife Michelle was telling me about some of the great touches Maria has put into her apartment that she'd like to replicate.
As you can see in the photos, the apartment is stylish and cozy — the very definition of the Danish word hygge, which doesn't have a direct translation in English but relates to the emotion of feeling warmth and coziness. It can refer to a wonderful and warm home or the glow of candlelight on a cloudy day. Maria's home has all of that. Even though the weather was mostly cloudy or rainy (though not very cold -- in the 40s!) during our days in Copenhagen, my family had the absolute best time in the city.
We took a couple of Maria's recommendations, such as going to Atelier September for lunch and Pluto Restaurant for dinner (both were exquisite). She is a magnificent host. Check in was so easy and she responded to all of our messages instantly and graciously. The shower in the bathroom is a little tight, but it's not something that bothered my wife and me at all. And it, like everything else in the apartment, is modern and stylish. It's such a cozy place to return to at the end of a long day seeing all there is to see in Copenhagen.
And nothing can beat the location. Maria's home is on a small, wonderful street in the center of the city. It's just above a lovely Italian wine store, Mother, whose proprietor, Piero, helped us secure hard-to-get reservations for a fabulous New Year's Eve dinner. There are many great restaurants within a 5-minute walk and several grocery stores. It's about a 10-minute walk to Torvehallerne and about 20 minutes to Tivoli Gardens. We walked everywhere and had the best time doing so. We will definitely look to stay at Maria's during our next trip to CPH. And there will be another trip — so much to see!