A Journey Through 3 Unforgettable Stops
Everyone has a travel muse—the person who seems to know how to savor a place perfectly. Mine is Dua Lipa. Her recent post about “funmaxxing” (translation: maximizing enjoyment) might as well be her travel manifesto. Not because she’s chasing hidden gems, but because she makes the everyday feel worth celebrating: a great pastry, a waterfront coffee, a new city just waiting to be explored. So, in true Dua fashion, my husband Cam and I planned a Copenhagen to Berlin trip dedicated to doing exactly that.
In this diary:
I. The Danish Coast: Rox Resort
II. Copenhagen: Bikes and Bites
III. Berlin: Wilmina
A Riviera Mood on the Baltic
Before ever setting foot in Copenhagen, I was already captivated by its reputation for effortless cool: the impeccable interiors, the incredible food, the enviable style. But before diving into the city itself, we started our journey along the Danish coast, ready to check into one of Europe’s coolest new pool clubs. The quiet seaside town of Køge, just 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen, may not be the most obvious location for a beach resort, but the moment the doors swing open, Rox Resort makes a compelling case for swapping the Mediterranean for the Baltic.
Think French Riviera beach club meets Danish design, with three year-round pools, sun-soaked decks, daybeds and a sauna. Inside, the lobby feels like a living room, social club and maximalist moodboard rolled into one. A cocktail bar doubles as a reception desk, velvet armchairs, patterned chaises longues, crackling fireplaces and a smoky signature scent in the air. Forget everything you know about Scandinavian minimalism: Rox is here to have a little fun.
The Great Danish Wind-Down
We quickly adopt Rox’s unofficial dress code: an impossibly plush robe and squishy slippers. With the afternoon sun scattering diamonds across the sea, there’s little reason to change. Eventually, we trade the robe for dinner at Smith, where floral sparkling tea flows beneath pineapple lamps, palm tree trinkets and chinoiserie wallpaper that feels straight out of The White Lotus. The real star, though, is the Arctic char with trout roe, chives, asparagus and champagne beurre blanc, served alongside Denmark’s ultimate summer staple: new potatoes.
A Birthday on the Rox
I’m so well-rested the next morning I nearly forget it’s my birthday—until Cam arrives at breakfast with a plate of little pink sprinkle donuts. Luckily, the rest of the Scandinavian spread is a little more balanced. Our table view convinces us to stretch the morning a little longer, so we head toward a lookout point in the distance. We wander through Køge Marina and Cam gathers wildflowers from a nearby field as a gift for me. On the way back, we stop at the swimming dock, watching a few brave souls take on the Baltic on a crisp morning.
In Hot Water
Then comes the crown jewel of Rox: the pool club. Beneath a domed glass ceiling, the indoor pool glows under natural light and the sultry sounds of Khruangbin, with plush two-person loungers and tasselled umbrellas making the art of doing nothing feel like the birthday treat. The warm water, easy chatter and slow pace create that perfect swim-sleep-stay-awhile rhythm.
Lunch arrives poolside at Dumpling Bar, an open kitchen where the drunken wontons steal the show—creamy shrimp and chicken tucked into a miso broth with chojang, coriander, rice pearls and chives. Outside, the 97°F heated pool buzzes as dads celebrate Danish Father’s Day with beers in hand, while saunagus sessions are in full swing within the glass-walled sauna, where a “gus master” fills the room with fragrant steam.
Up on the rooftop, another heated pool overlooks the Baltic, surrounded by a terrace lined with pink daybeds that feel made for a Pinterest board. For those who can’t sit still, there are padel courts; for everyone else, the Fireroom offers a cozy hideaway for post-swim drinks by the fire. I can only imagine how magical it feels here in winter.
An Evening Well Played
That’s our cue to head to The Birdcage, a double-height glass box perched on the corner of the hotel. With a soaring fireplace, a horseshoe-shaped brass bar equipped with a lovely Swedish bartender and every indoor plant you could imagine, it feels like the kind of place designed specifically for golden hour.
We end the night in The Playground, Rox’s indoor games hub, battling it out on the dart boards over fries as pool tables, ping-pong and shuffleboard fill the room with friendly competition. It’s exactly the kind of easy, unpretentious energy you hope a birthday ends with.
Copenhagen in Motion
The next day, we bid farewell to Rox Resort and head into Copenhagen, recently named the world’s happiest city. Naturally, we decided to do a little boots-on-the-ground journalism to find out why. The first clue? Bikes. Everywhere. An estimated 745,000 of them (outnumbering cars more than five to one and even the city’s population). So we do as the Danes do and hop on two wheels. I’ll admit, I’m nervous at first. Copenhageners take cycling seriously, and the last thing I want is to disrupt the beautifully choreographed rush-hour flow. But with every ride, my confidence grows.
Soon, we’re zigzagging across the city: to Kødbyen, the Meatpacking District, for Nordic seafood at Kødbyens Fiskebar; to Reffen, Northern Europe’s largest street food market, for a classic Danish hot dog piled with pickled cucumber; and to Broens Street Food, where we take in the postcard-perfect Nyhavn waterfront before grabbing the fifth best burger in the world from Gasoline Grill.
A City Built on Bread and Butter
One of my favourite rides takes us to Nordhavn, a striking neighborhood where colorful contemporary architecture meets classic Danish design. There, we tick off a breakfast I’d been dreaming about at Atelier September: thick slices of sourdough, 24-month-aged Comté, seasonal jam, a perfectly soft-boiled egg and, stealing the spotlight, a mound of whipped butter. It’s about as Scandinavian as a morning can get.
Danish may be notoriously difficult to learn, but we become fluent in one word quickly: bageri. After a few days in Copenhagen, it’s easy to understand why Marcus from The Bear came here to perfect his craft. We throw ourselves into the pastry scene, starting with Andersen & Maillard’s gooey brunsviger and Orsa’s legendary banana bread with espresso cream. At La Cabra, our favorite coffee stop of the trip, a barista sends us to Sinne Gas Bakery, a tiny self-service spot with no social media—just trays of warm pastries, including a syrup-soaked, cardamom-laced bake that becomes an instant highlight. The only close contender? Lille Bakery’s blomster bun: oh-so-buttery, delicately floral and unlike anything I’d tasted before.
The hits keep coming. At Juno the Bakery, impossibly soft, buttery cardamom buns justify the long line. And no pastry pilgrimage is complete without a stop at Hart Bageri, the bakery featured in The Bear. We make our way to the Holmen location, order a Spandauer layered with flaky pastry, vanilla custard and marzipan, then enjoy it overlooking the harbor with Amalienborg Palace in the distance.
According to Locals
One afternoon, we meet up with Cam’s cousins, Copenhagen locals who give us a crash course in Danish living. Over brunch at studio x kitchen, Jack sums it up perfectly: “work hard, play hard.” It tracks with everything we’ve experienced so far.
Anna’s recommendations lead us to Rosenborg Castle, the Botanical Garden’s glasshouses and Designmuseum Denmark, where we get a lesson in the country’s legendary design. Naturally, we squeeze in some window shopping too—stopping at Louise Roe, Tekla, Studio Arhoj, Ferm Living and Pico, where I leave with a few new hair accessories and a renewed commitment to dressing like a Copenhagen local.
In Dua We Trust
Before leaving Copenhagen, I have one final mission: following in Dua Lipa’s footsteps. We start at Poulette for the chicken sandwich she’s called “the best I’ve ever had,” pop right next door to her natural wine bar favorite Pompette, wander the gardens at Noma Projects and finish at La Banchina, the waterside café where she was recently hanging out. We love it so much we return twice—first for Danish cola on the docks, then again the next morning, swimsuits finally packed. Lattes in hand, Cam eventually takes the plunge into the Baltic, ending our trip with the most Copenhagen moment imaginable.
The Past, Preserved
A quick 50-minute flight across the Baltic brings us to Berlin. We head to Charlottenburg, a quieter corner of the city, where an unassuming gate on Kantstraße opens into a courtyard wrapped in climbing greenery and packed with wildflowers. Above the entrance is one word: Wilmina.
As we cross the courtyard toward a towering steel door, I finally reveal the secret I’ve been keeping from Cam: “This used to be a women’s prison.” Originally a courthouse and a prison where female resistance fighters were held during the Second World War, the site became the Charlottenburg Women’s Prison in 1946, later serving as a juvenile detention centre before closing in the mid-1980s. Rather than erase that history, architects and owners Armand Grüntuch and Almut Grüntuch-Ernst preserved traces of the past while transforming a building once designed for separation into one that now invites people to gather.
Original cell doors still frame the corridors, exposed brick peeks through plaster walls and barred windows now flood spaces once designed for confinement with natural light. Our 775-square-foot Garden Suite captures that transformation perfectly. With a kitchenette, airy living area and the prettiest dried flowers, it feels warm rather than austere. Then I spot a teal bathroom door labeled Kirchenraum—German for “church room.” A quick Google translation leaves me wondering if we’re standing where the prison chapel once was. Somehow, that only makes the space feel more special.
Kreuzberg Can Wait
After lattes from Lotta, Wilmina’s café, we spend the afternoon exploring Charlottenburg, including Schloss Charlottenburg, one of the largest palaces in the world. Dinner at Comedor proves the neighborhood does exceptional Mexican food, too, before our plans for a DJ set in Kreuzberg are replaced by something slower: gorgeous non-alcoholic cocktails at Lovis Bar, tucked beneath Wilmina’s glowing courtyard lights.
Berlin, at an Easier Pace
The next day, we ease into the morning with breakfast: a spread of high-quality, unapologetically German offerings. But the real standout is Wilmina Brot, the hotel’s own bakery, supplying natural sourdough, croissants and buttery knots from its on-site storefront, making a hotel with its own bakery my personal version of heaven.
We quickly learn that Berlin on a Sunday moves at its own pace. The city is quiet as we wander through leafy Tiergarten, before making our way to Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site set along the River Spree and home to five world-renowned museums. Along the way, we stop at Acid Mitte for what we’ve now learned to call a BMO—a Bolle mit Ost, a Danish staple of warm sourdough bun, thick whipped butter and cheese (this one is exceptional). From there, we join a bike tour and let Berlin reveal itself one historic landmark at a time.
After a riverside drink and a quick currywurst stop, we make our way back to Wilmina. Tea in hand, we head up to the rooftop via the sculptural staircase illuminated by a Bocci light installation. At the top, a 10-metre pool stretches across the rooftop, looking out over Charlottenburg’s red roofs. The stillness up here is striking, offering a moment to take in the building’s layered history. For those inclined, a softly lit sauna sits nearby—another quiet invitation to slow down even further.
Finding the Beauty in Plain Sight
Somewhere between all the pastries, the bike rides, the rooftop pools and the history lessons, I realized Dua Lipa had it exactly right. Funmaxxing isn’t about cramming more into a trip—it’s about noticing more once you’re there. Copenhagen and Berlin reminded us that joy rarely hides in secret places. More often, it’s waiting in the obvious ones, if you give yourself enough time to savor them.
