Whenever I go away on a day out, either local or aboard, I always aim to find a local cafe to chill out in the afternoon. One, it's nice to have a break instead of walking around all the time. Two, I like to see how locals spend their time relaxing. And third, which is kinda a ritual, I have a #todayscoffeestop series on my Facebook page where I started sharing a lot of Taiwanese cafes when I was living out there. It makes sense to extend that to cafes around the world. Today I'm going to share a couple from my recent trip to Denmark.
Snails in an Odense cafe
This was on one of the main street somewhere, I couldn't tell you where and I probably don't know how to go back again as I can't remember exactly where I was. It had good ratings on the internet when I was searching for places, and it look very nice from the outside. And the best thing was that it wasn't busy inside. Not sure if that's a bad or normal thing. We shall soon find out.
First impression, lots of pine decor and reminds me of the log cabins I see in the Nordics on TV. Yup, that's the non nordic me talking. Having said that, it was very sleek and minimalist. I liked this place immediately.
When one is in Denmark, you have to have Danish pastry, right? I find the ones even in the convenience stores like 7-11 are very nice, much much better than the ones from the supermarket in UK. These look so tempting. For all I know, Marcipan Snegl could have meant "eat me please" in Danish😅
The interior here is very relaxed and the layout of the seating area is very communal and sociable. There's a long double bench in the middle with small round tables on either sides, and then another bench on the other side of the small tables. I think it's great that you can sit and chat with your own friends, but still connect with other people without invading into their space, because there is no space to invade.
Apart from the wood, the rest of the decor is black. The balance is just right and customers don't feel it being too dark inside as the wide bank of front window let's a lot of light in.
My coffee and marcipan snegl did not disappoint at all. As I said, all the danish in Denmark tastes so nice. And since I'm not too particular about my coffee, I rarely come across one that I don't like. Definitely a thumbs up for me here.
By the way, I've since learnt Marcipan Snegl does not mean "please eat me" and that snegl actually means snail. Yuck! 😮
Princess in a Malmo cafe
It sounds kind of weird, but I came to Katrina Cafe because I like the font in its logo. Ok, I didn't come especially for it, I walked passed, saw the exterior and the logo and thought overall this place looks nice for my coffee stop of the day.
Once inside, the carpet was quite assuring. Any place that's been around since 1959 can't be that bad. However, I can't say the same for the counter position. From a customer's point of view, I think it wasn't very welcoming. The first thing customers see is the side of the counter on their right hand side. Then they have to keep on walking in and near right, to the front of the serving counter which faces the front of the side windows. That's when customers first get to see a member of staff and vice versa. Personally, I think the staff should always be welcoming the customer when they walk into a store.
The first thing that caught my eye on the cake counter is the Prinsessbakelse. My friend said this is a popular local cake called Princess Cake, often eaten at birthday parties, but she's never had it before! But then, she's only been living in Malmo for less than a year. If it's a local specialty, then I have to try it. We ordered two pieces and our coffee.
I love spiral staircases, always fancied living in one of those big New York loft conversions with a giant spiral staircase going up one level. They twist and turn so elegantly, you can almost feel them do a swirl and dance in the living room. A spiral staircase so elegant, it would be a pity not to climb and sit myself down upstairs. And looking back down, she was even more beautiful.
The Princess Cake is said to the be favorite cake of the Swedish princesses in the late 19th century. The princesses's father was Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, and the three princesses married into the royal families of Denmark, Norway and Belgium when they grew up. It was the first time I've seen or heard of the Princess Cake, and the portion looked a lot larger than normal slice cake. I thought I'd struggle to finish the whole piece, but turns out it wasn't a problem at all. The cake had two thin layers of sponge cake at the base, sandwiched together with jam. Then there was a little bit of custard on top followed by a massive wallop of cream, and finally it was covered in green marzipan. The sponge base was soft and light and the cream made the whole cake extra smooth and airy. I skipped most of the marzipan as it was too sweet. I'm no princess, but this is definitely worthy to be a princess's favourite cake. Another thumbs up from me.
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An excellent way to explore and get to know local customs.
Cafes can all look very different even within the same are and this one seems no exception, so really interesting.
I shall make that more of a habit to check them out.. 👍
I think I certainly learnt a lot from these two visits, at least I know two Danish words now 😀
😂
I guess the rounded pastry is supposed to be shape of the snail shell.
yup! as I subsequent found out
Woah! What a tour!!
This is so engrossing and fascinating to read...this places looks so exotic and their management level is awesome especially the first coffee store you visited...that was cappuccino right??.. with the snegl.. it's always feels adventurous when one explores an environment.
I agree with you that those staffs ought to know how to welcome customers and make them comfortable!
Exquisite post🤗
Thanks! It's always nice to go to different places and see new things in different countries
Definitely!
It would be so adventurous and some tales to tell ... have a great weekend!
😂😂😂
There is a similar bakery here, as in your second photo, and it is Danish too. I tried some of those "snails", though it wasn't with marzipan.
Oh, the Princess Cake looks awesome! 👌
Both the snail and the princess cake was very nice. I saw our local supermarket has a princess cake as well, but I have a feeling it's not going to be nice at all so I never bothered by to try it
So do I!
It's definitely the right mix. The Danish have a certain thing about them. No something I say to my friend.😆
That's very danish indeed! I can say that's true from what my French creole girlfriend tells me about her Danish husband. My girlfriend says it's orderly in the house, and each person speaks in their turn... 👏
I would say YES to the offer of any Danish pastry anytime!
I'm glad you found out the translation after eating it 🤣
This post makes me want to visit Denamrk for coffee and cake right away, especially for a slice of that Princess cake:)))
AWESOME!!!
Thanks! I think everything in Denmark looks so stylish, it's very comfortable sitting in their cafes to chill out.
That is a pretty massive wallop of cream! I thought it was cake at first, but then after reading I got looking at it closer and realized what it was. I can understand why this would end up being lighter than you might think! Thanks for sharing!
I love a good wallop of cream even if it's unhealthy, guilty pleasure 😊
I concur!
Denmark does pastries quite well. We have a few Danish bakers around us and they are generally very good.
Both the princess cake and the Snegl look very tasty 😋
I like the decor in both but that staircase in Katarina is really cool. I agree that it's quite elegant looking
I wish we had the same type of good bakery around here. Once you've had the good ones, there's no turning back really
Yeah that is definitely true. When I say that we have some "around us" I mean that there are 3 in different cities that are quite far away. We get stuff from one of them only on occasion and its only because my wife's grandpa lives in the city. We don't really get it very often. It would be nice if it was in our town
So delicious cake. I love to cook this one soon..Thanks for sharing
You're welcome
how can something be to sweet 🤔, sounds like i need to try that myself one day
Hope you'll enjoy it when you have a chance to try it
What I like about these Nordic countries is the minimalism of its premises, the always clean and very welcoming look
Very true!
Wow I like the first cafe. I need somewhere like that since it's not that full and well decorated.
I love it when I find a good comfy café when I go away
Cute places for sure @livinguktaiwan 😊 I wouldn’t mind one of those Princess cakes 🍰 🥰
I do agree with you about the counter in the second place. One should be greeted by the staff.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Have a lovely day 👋🏻
It's really kinda odd how they do the layout like that, I just can't understand it. Anyway, it was a nice café
It is, and not logical in any way.
Good to hear.
Enjoy your evening @livinguktaiwan 😊👋🏻
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A bread studio? Well that's something rather new, atleast for me xD
Without a doubt, no one should ever let me into such a place! Bread!! Donuts!! Cheesecake!!
I would surely get fat as the piggy in your previous post xD.. I really am a sucker for wheaty things! Oh and coffee!..
On a different note, it looks fantastic and I hope you had a splendid time!
I can easily scoff down quite a few cakes, they're my favourite. But I really need to watch my waist line now 😜
Well well.. Im sure you can watch it while taking a few bites 😂.. Remember you're not getting any younger! Enjoy what you can 😂😂... Especially the cheesecakes 😂..
That reminds me... When are we going to make another cheesecake @misshugo 🤔🤔 perhaps next weekend?
But we first need to make red velvet cupcakes 🥺🧁
Ooft - lovely cakes. Mmmm....makes me want some cakes now ! They look like great cafes - I love your idea of checking them out wherever you go !
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Yeah, been doing that all the time when I go away even when I go away locally, it's great to chill out during the day
the cake looks lovely! I'm glad you had a great time
Thanks @yoieuqudniram !
Though it means snails, it's fine I guess if it's not made of that. Haha.
Yeah, I found out afterwards it's snail, which kind of makes sense given the shape
Marcipan Snegl Danish looks like they are saying stop watching me and take it to your stomach as soon as possible. When I read the rest of the article, I thought it was more enjoyable to just watch. When you said snail, I thought I'd take a step back. The decor of the cafe is beautiful. They also designed the sitting style beautifully. This is definitely Denmark, I don't confuse it with the Netherlands, right :))
Wow.... The place is very beautiful, and I see the food available in this place, makes me so hungry, I want to taste it if there is food like this.
a fancy coffe shop!! and that cinnabon looks just delicious
The princess cake definitely something new and what a story! Makes me want to make one myself and feel like a princess 😄 Which one did you like better, Odense or Malmo cafe?
Mmm...good question... Both are different, one is more modern the other more classic. I guess Odense if I really had to chose, I'm a more modern girl 😊
Hmmm, I thought you were leaning more on the traditional side. I misread you 😚
Of the two I loved the first one. The atmosphere is incredible and the decoration transmits a lot of peace. I think that's why the Nordic style is very fashionable.
I think it is an excellent place to go for a coffee, either alone or with company.
I wish I could teleport there 🥺... I love cheesecake 🍰