I’m waiting for my friend, local gastronome, Frederik Lundberg at Villa Copenhagen, a newish hotel in Denmark’s stylish capital, Copenhagen. We’ve planned a post quarantine reunion and walk around the waterside and canal brimming city, sometimes called the Venice of the North. As I take stock of the contemporary decor, furniture set in conversational nooks and eye-catching art, I feel enormously contented. I recognize that sentiment as the defining Danish characteristic of hygge, a palpable aura of welcoming “je ne sais quoi” that sets this culture apart. The hotel’s sleek interiors harmoniously set off the gravitas of the historic building that holds it, a repurposed, Neo-Baroque structure, kitted out with modern swank, including a rooftop pool. That’s hygge in the flesh—as it were. The resulting comfortable grandeur syncs with creative Copenhagen, a buzzy place, steeped in tradition, but driven by a fearless propensity to innovate and cherish the new. Read the whole story in @paradise , link in bio. See suggestions by @frederik_lundberg @gastromanddk #gravyburger #denmark #copenhagen #noma #tivoligardens #foodie #bestburgers #hotdogs #nimb