black coffee and a black diamond

as finals week began, and my concentration at the apartment wavered, i rode my bike to the royal danish library, more commonly referred to as the black diamond, in an effort to be a little more productive.

view over the harbor from the atrium and the
library's travelator

i entered one of the study rooms, and was greeted by 8 filled rows of intensely studying students. i found one desk area empty and got to work. a couple of hours, powerpoint slides, and pages of notes later, i had my fill of material and went to reenergize with a good cup of coffee. 

melissa and i had been told that copenhagen's the coffee collective is the best coffee to be had and i have to agree (for $7), it was. the coffee shop also functions as a micro roastery and coffee consulting company founded by world barista champion, klaus thomsen. the tricked-out espresso machine, called 'the spirit', is manufactured by kees van de western and is the first in use in the world. each cup of coffee is made with the greatest care, employing a combination of state of the art technology, beakers and vials from a chemistry set, and the well-trained human hand.

and while i'm on the note of coffee, i should also pay tribute to one of my favorite go-to coffee shops. sankt peders bageri, just around the corner from my apartment, was a (relatively cheap!) bakery and patisserie that gave me the perfect coffee and chocolate croissant on those days i needed an extra little something sweet.