At Copenhagen Fashion Week a couple of weeks ago, the city’s street-style set was out in force – this season in track jackets, long shorts and east-west bags, to take three of the more wearable themes identified at perhaps the most exuberant of all the weeks on the circuit. The style habits of the Scandi fashion set are referenced almost as frequently as those of French girls these days, with their more minimalist inclinations – clean lines, neutral shades – informing wardrobes well beyond the region that also brought us smørrebrød sandwiches and the Stool 60. Still, while I’m personally more than a little bit partial to, say, a Toteme sandal, my own recent trip to Copenhagen revolved less around retail therapy (though a browse of the boutiques along Vognmagergade was still on the itinerary – not least to snag a Juno Bakery-supplied bolle med ost at the Roe Bar), and more around therapy of a different kind.
My destination for the weekend, the Nimb, is something of a Copenhagen landmark – its Moorish facade greeting visitors the second they step out of Central Station – and the hotel has now overhauled its spa offering, introducing a menu of Scandinavian wellbeing-themed detox packages rooted in cleansing and rejuvenation. All of which, in the dog days of the UK’s existential dread-inducing heatwave summer, sounded pretty enticing to me.
The Scandis are big on contrast therapy (the “viking wellness” trend has seen tourists travelling long distances in order to dash from al fresco saunas directly into icy waters off frigid coastlines), so it was only fitting that my visit should kick off in the steam room inside the hammam. After that, my therapist deployed 90 minutes of intense massage that incorporated a warm body wrap (more of that heat exposure to relax the muscles and boost blood flow), and a facial massage (my favourite bit) to finish. Beyond the spa, the hotel makes it easy to embrace some key pillars of Scandinavian wellbeing: it’s actually inside the city’s lush Tivoli Gardens, allowing you to immerse yourself in nature in spite of the central location; the restaurant offers wholesome menus comprised specifically of seasonal ingredients, and curling up in the candlelit lounge is about as hygge as it gets.
Of course, the Nimb is far from alone in pivoting to cater to the desires of that increasingly important customer, the wellness tourist, but it’s also in a city that lends itself especially well to a nourishing mini break. I took the opportunity to double down on contrast therapy while I was there, devoting an entire afternoon to flitting between the (very cold) water and the sauna at buzzy harbourside swimming spot La Banchina. Between the socialising (Danes are chatty!), the people watching (and well-dressed!), and the actual dips, I found the whole enterprise was an invitation to enjoy the outdoors, move your body, feel more present, and – crucially – get off your phone.
I returned home a contrast therapy convert, determined to find the same feelgood factor I’d discovered in Copenhagen in south east London. Turns out, this city is brimming with lo-fi community saunas equipped with ice plunges, and while Ruskin Park isn’t quite La Banchina (no local oysters, no natural wine), it is al fresco – and undeniably charming. And the principle is the same. Even in short bursts, contrast therapy “can be really helpful for both inflammation and mood”, Rosemary Ferguson, a functional medicine practitioner, longevity expert and longtime advocate of the practice tells me of the benefits. “It gives you a lift of dopamine that is sustained, and I find it really helpful for my joints and inflammation too.”
Ferguson points out that you don’t actually need a sauna or an ice bath to reap the rewards, either, you can just introduce a blast of cold water during your morning shower. “I do it most days, even if it’s just for 10 seconds,” she says. If there’s an opportunity to wild swim, though, Ferguson is taking it. “I’ve been doing cold therapy for years. I actually just found a photograph of me and my daughter getting into the Scottish sea in April 2017,” she adds. “Being outdoors in general is great.”