Nik and I had such a fun time in Copenhagen for St. Patrick’s Day in 2023 that we wanted to return this year to participate in Shamrock Love’s 3-Legged Charity Race and pub crawl. The timing also worked out perfectly for us to see my stepsister, Leyden, and our friends from Nice, who had also traveled to Copenhagen for a concert.
3-Legged Charity Race
Aside from seeing Leyden and our friends, a big highlight of the trip was taking part in the 3-Legged Charity Race and pub crawl for a second time. We landed the day before, got settled at our hotel, met up with our friends, and grabbed dinner. The next morning was race day — indeed on March 17th!
The race requires advanced registration along with a donation of 250.00 DKK (Danish Krone), about $40 USD. In just a few weeks before the race, Nik and I pulled together matching outfits similar to our 2023 look — ordering tutus from Amazon France, getting t-shirts printed in Nice, and finding St. Patrick’s Day-themed boxers and socks in Vienna.
Related: Our 2023 St. Patrick’s Day 3-legged race recap
This year’s race added an extra pub, bringing the total to seven stops, including the finishing bar. We also started at a different pub than we had in 2023. It was really nice that as Nik and I walked up to the first bar, event organizer Siobhán spotted us right away and came over for hugs.
Nik and I positioned ourselves in the middle of the pack at the starting line. To keep things moving but not too packed together, organizers sent groups of pairs off in waves to space things out. Much like last time, it took us a little bit to find our cadence. At each of the stops, the bars had a small pour of beer ready for each participant which you can drink while there or take with you as you walked to the next stop.
Our friends Jessicah and Brian met up with us at the second-to-last bar and walked with us to the finish. It was fun to see them for a bit along the way.
Thankfully, Nik and I completed the race without murdering each other or filing for divorce, finishing 57th out of 86 teams in an hour-nine minutes. (In 2023 we finished 78th out of 100 teams, and that year had one less stop.) We did determine we’re too old to do this again as our ankles, thighs, and shins hurt for the next few days.
That wraps up the St. Patrick’s Day portion of our trip to Copenhagen. We cannot rave enough about Siobhán, her team of organizers and volunteers, the bars and their staff, and everyone else who played a role in this event. The charity race raised 52,500 DKK, just over $8,000 USD, split among three charities.
It’s truly one of the best-organized events we’ve been a part of and also one of the most fun.
Related: My first trip to Copenhagen in 2022
Getting to and Staying in Copenhagen
For some reason, flights were a little more limited this year and so we booked our trip to be for four nights. This time though, we stayed in a much more lively part of Copenhagen and at a pretty hip hotel called 25hours Hotel Indre By. “Indre By” is Danish for “Inner City” so we were situated in central Copenhagen’s old town.
25hours Hotel Indre By
As soon as Nik and I walked in, we knew we were in a cool and quirky hotel. The bar anchors the hotel in the very center, which you pass on your way to the reception desk. You also pass by two rooms, one is dubbed the vinyl room for obvious reasons, and the other is more of a sitting room.
Our room itself was great, even if the sink was in the main room. I particularly liked the, eh-hem, peculiar curtain pattern and would absolutely love to have that tile in my own apartment to add some color.
Dining Out in Copenhagen
Since this was a return visit for Nik and me, we wanted to eat and drink at some places we hadn’t been before. As you’ll see, we ate pretty well and covered a variety of cuisines.
Reffen Street Food Market
An easy bus ride out of city center leads you right to Reffen, the largest street food market in Northern Europe. Most of the structures are old shipping containers that have been transformed into functioning street food kitchens.
The market offered every cuisine you could want. Coming from France, our highlights included a delicious grilled sausage and some Filipino skewers and a homemade bao bun. Several bars are spread throughout, along with numerous picnic tables overlooking the water.
There’s also a large indoor space with an equally large bar and pretty decent bathrooms. The market had just opened for the season within days of our visit, and since it was mid-March, it was still pretty empty. We’re just glad it was open and that we got to check it out.
Bar’vin
Nik had read about Bar’vin, so we decided to have dinner there with Leyden. We ordered the bone-in ribeye for the three of us, which came with crispy potatoes and a small green salad. It was delicious and worth the hefty price. Surprisingly, we don’t get a lot of good steak in Nice.
Gasoline Grill
Long on our list to try was Gasoline Grill for their burgers. There are several locations around Copenhagen and I’m glad Nik and I were able to finally check it off our list. Made to order on the grill right behind the counter. Big and juicy and we should’ve gone back the next day for another. It was that good.
Hija de Sanchez
Torvehallerne is one of Copenhagen’s lively markets, with specialty shops and food stalls. Nik and I stumbled in while walking nearby and ordered tacos from Hija de Sanchez Taqueria. We had also read about this spot ahead of time; it has several locations around the city. This one, inside the food market, was perfect timing for a light lunch.
Surt CPH
Much like some of other places we ate at, Surt had been on our list. Known for wood-fired pizza, we were worried about getting seated without a reservation. But we made it and it was worth it. Nik, Jessicah, Brian, and I shared three pizzas: the Hindsholm (mozzarella, leeks, sausage, and Parmigiano Reggiano), the Margherita (pictured top right), and the Marinara (pictured bottom right). All of them were outstanding.
Sankt Peder’s Bakery
No trip to a Nordic country is complete without a local pastry. For this trip, Sankt Peder’s Bakery hit the spot, twice. That cinnamon roll was as delicious as it was beautiful. The bakery is a very small space and often has a line out the door, so be prepared if you ever stop in.
We also visited our share of drinking spots. We enjoyed cocktails at Bar Deco. Café Halvvejen was a neat little spot with sidewalk seating and some stools inside, where we had a couple of beers. Peders was another cozy beer bar in the lower level of an old historic building. We checked out Brus Brewpub with Brian and Jessicah, and Leyden met us there as well. The beer was very good, and the space was huge and very modern.
Copenhagen’s Jewish History
We stumbled past some Stolperstein on this trip, but they’re the same ones we’ve seen before. It’s worth noting again that Denmark saved almost all of its Jews during the Holocaust, getting them to Sweden by boat.
Something new we spotted this time was the Memorial for the Rescue of Danish Jews, located in a square just across from the Torvehallerne market. Israel gave it as a symbol of gratitude for the Danish rescue of the Jews during World War II.
The monument has two inscriptions: “This stone from the Holy Land is a gift to the Danish people from Denmark’s friend, Israel, in 1975” and: “And it became night, and it became morning”.
Another great trip in the books, with still so much left to see and eat. See you again, Copenhagen!
