Showing posts with label Copenhagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Copenhagen. Show all posts
Friday, July 20, 2012
Brunch and travel
Today we began the long trip home. Doorstep to doorstep we will be in transit for something like 40 hours. So to build our strength up we began the day with brunch.
Brunch is big in Denmark. Just about every cafe offers it. We went to a place where we had been to dinner before because I had spotted their brunch menu. S had a fairly standard eggs, bacon and sausage. I however had the full brunch. Eggs scrambled with asparagus and mushroom, bacon, sausage, toast with a shrimp topping, Parma ham, smoked salmon, 2 types of cheese, yoghurt with berries syrup and granola, fruit and cake! Oh and juice and tea to wash it down. Of course all the portions were small but it was still a mighty meal.
After eating we wandered around Christanhaven (the area we were staying in) for awhile. We walked past the best restaurant in the world - Noma. It is fairl ordinary looking but I would love to eat there (I just need to bring someone who eats fish, S would not enjoy the fish heavy menu).
Finally we headed to the airport. There have already been annoyances. But such is international travel I guess. It really has been a spectacular trip.
Blithe Moments will resume normal programming once jet lag has been dealt with.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mermaids, palaces, pastries
It is our last full day in Denmark so it was time to visit one of the most famous sites - the sculpture of the little mermaid. She sits by herself in the harbour but is hardly alone, we could spot her location easily by the milling crowd of tourists.
She is just a little smaller than human size and really is beautiful but I found the tourists jockeying for photo position hilarious.
From there we had time for one last palace so we headed to Rosenborg Slot - Rosenborg Palace. It was remarkably different from any of the palaces we have seen so far. It really seemed like a palace for a cold climate. The rooms were quite dark, heavily wood paneled with relatively small windows. Some of the rooms were completely inside, no windows at all. But they were beautiful. Amazing painted scenes on the paneling and artwork everywhere. Even the toilet was tiled to the ceiling with hand-painted blue and white scenes.
As well as the palace, Rosenborg is home to the treasury. Like the Tower of London contains the British crown jewels, Rosenborg contains Denmark's. However, unlike the Tower of London, here you can take as long as you want with each item. They were quite different as well. They are obviously older, the jewels have far less facets. But along with amazing gems there is the most intricate and beautiful enamel work.
As well as the crowns there are all sorts of weapons, carved amber and ivory, and jewellery. Oh the jewellery. There was one particular emerald and diamond necklace, bracelet, earring and tiara set that I told S would be just fine as a birthday present.
Our final mission was, as always, food. For our last full day one danish would not do - so we got 3! And they were of course totally delicious.
Our time in Denmark has been brilliant, in fact our whole trip to Europe has been amazing. Tomorrow we begin the ridiculously long trip home. But the memories of the last few weeks will live with us forever.
She is just a little smaller than human size and really is beautiful but I found the tourists jockeying for photo position hilarious.
From there we had time for one last palace so we headed to Rosenborg Slot - Rosenborg Palace. It was remarkably different from any of the palaces we have seen so far. It really seemed like a palace for a cold climate. The rooms were quite dark, heavily wood paneled with relatively small windows. Some of the rooms were completely inside, no windows at all. But they were beautiful. Amazing painted scenes on the paneling and artwork everywhere. Even the toilet was tiled to the ceiling with hand-painted blue and white scenes.
As well as the palace, Rosenborg is home to the treasury. Like the Tower of London contains the British crown jewels, Rosenborg contains Denmark's. However, unlike the Tower of London, here you can take as long as you want with each item. They were quite different as well. They are obviously older, the jewels have far less facets. But along with amazing gems there is the most intricate and beautiful enamel work.
As well as the crowns there are all sorts of weapons, carved amber and ivory, and jewellery. Oh the jewellery. There was one particular emerald and diamond necklace, bracelet, earring and tiara set that I told S would be just fine as a birthday present.
Our final mission was, as always, food. For our last full day one danish would not do - so we got 3! And they were of course totally delicious.
Our time in Denmark has been brilliant, in fact our whole trip to Europe has been amazing. Tomorrow we begin the ridiculously long trip home. But the memories of the last few weeks will live with us forever.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Lazy Day
There is a phenomenon I've noticed when travelling, somehow you seem to run out of a bit of oomph in the last couple of days. Lethargy hit us today and we let it. A glorious long sleep in, a lazy process to get up, an un-action packed day to say the least.
The weather is quite cool with a fairly icy breeze, I think it is just aclimatising us before we go back to Canberra. It feels quite strange to layer up with jumpers and coats when only a week or so ago we were sweltering. But it made for decent walking weather when we finally got ourselves out and about.
We started with a Danish hot dog which we had been told we must eat. As hot dogs go it was tasty, however it didn't live up to the that amazing kransky in Prague.
We then headed into the city for some more random wanderings. I've been needing a watch for ages and had been eying off Skagen watches. Being a Danish brand I had hoped it would be the best range and cheapest here. The range was huge but the prices are almost exactly the same as Australia. However given I can get a fairly hefty tax back at the airport, I now own a lovely new watch. Now that is a good souvenir!
Afternoon tea was another danish (sorry we keep eating them before thinking of taking a picture). This was a cinnamon and apple one. Again not the prettiest of danishes but yum - as they say, never judge a book by its cover.
S's family are headed off to continue their holiday tomorrow so we had one final dinner together and left them to their packing. Tomorrow hopefully we will gain a second wind and actually be tourists again.
The weather is quite cool with a fairly icy breeze, I think it is just aclimatising us before we go back to Canberra. It feels quite strange to layer up with jumpers and coats when only a week or so ago we were sweltering. But it made for decent walking weather when we finally got ourselves out and about.
We started with a Danish hot dog which we had been told we must eat. As hot dogs go it was tasty, however it didn't live up to the that amazing kransky in Prague.
We then headed into the city for some more random wanderings. I've been needing a watch for ages and had been eying off Skagen watches. Being a Danish brand I had hoped it would be the best range and cheapest here. The range was huge but the prices are almost exactly the same as Australia. However given I can get a fairly hefty tax back at the airport, I now own a lovely new watch. Now that is a good souvenir!
Afternoon tea was another danish (sorry we keep eating them before thinking of taking a picture). This was a cinnamon and apple one. Again not the prettiest of danishes but yum - as they say, never judge a book by its cover.
S's family are headed off to continue their holiday tomorrow so we had one final dinner together and left them to their packing. Tomorrow hopefully we will gain a second wind and actually be tourists again.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
A real Danish
The restorative effects of sleep were greatly appreciated today with a proper sleep in, but once up we headed out and on the tourist track again.
Today we were lucky enough to get tickets for a guided tour of the Danish Parliament. It is situated in the Christiansborg Palace. The tour was great, we learnt about the way the parliament works, the changes in the constitution over time and even the building. They have this amazing lift which is on a continuous cycle. Imagine 16 boxes half going up, half going down, when they get to the bottom or top they slide over. They don't stop so you can see people really timing their entry and exit.
After the tour we headed to the rest of the palace. It isn't occupied but the state rooms are still used by the royal family for state events. Again it was hard not to compare it to some of the other palaces we have seen. Interestingly however the building is less than a 100 years old. It had burned down - for the second time. The palace has been burned down, demolished and extended numerous times. The rooms were beautiful and very different including some very modern tapestries.
After the palace we decided to head back to the apartment for a rest - but we did stop for a Danish pastry on the way. It wasn't the prettiest danish I've ever seen but it was incredibly tasty. Beautiful flaky pastry, a delicious custard filling and topped with flaked almonds. It is no doubt the first of many to be consumed.
Tonight we headed out with all of S's family for dinner. It was a great meal and lovely to spend time with them all. But that said we are both looking forward to another good night's sleep.
Today we were lucky enough to get tickets for a guided tour of the Danish Parliament. It is situated in the Christiansborg Palace. The tour was great, we learnt about the way the parliament works, the changes in the constitution over time and even the building. They have this amazing lift which is on a continuous cycle. Imagine 16 boxes half going up, half going down, when they get to the bottom or top they slide over. They don't stop so you can see people really timing their entry and exit.
After the tour we headed to the rest of the palace. It isn't occupied but the state rooms are still used by the royal family for state events. Again it was hard not to compare it to some of the other palaces we have seen. Interestingly however the building is less than a 100 years old. It had burned down - for the second time. The palace has been burned down, demolished and extended numerous times. The rooms were beautiful and very different including some very modern tapestries.
After the palace we decided to head back to the apartment for a rest - but we did stop for a Danish pastry on the way. It wasn't the prettiest danish I've ever seen but it was incredibly tasty. Beautiful flaky pastry, a delicious custard filling and topped with flaked almonds. It is no doubt the first of many to be consumed.
Tonight we headed out with all of S's family for dinner. It was a great meal and lovely to spend time with them all. But that said we are both looking forward to another good night's sleep.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Vikings and a Cathedral
After what felt like a far too short amount of time, we were up and about again this morning.
Having hired a car to get us all to the wedding, we used it again today to head out west to Roskilde to the Viking Ship Museum. Guided by a GSP system that (mostly) kept us on the right side of the road, we made our way out of the city and up to Roskilde.
The museum wasn't what I expected. I think I thought it was going to be more about the Vikings in general. What it centred on was the remains of 5 boats ranging from a huge 60 person warship to cargo and fishing boats that were found in the area. It showed how the boats were built with all sorts of active displays and had both the actual wreaks and replicas on display. It may not have been what we expected but I found it very interesting.
After that we went up into the town to Roskilde Domkirke - the cathedral. It is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is the place where the kings and queens of Denmark are buried. It really is a gorgeous cathedral with amazing mausoleums and brilliant sculpture. We spent ages wandering around.
We were very weary by this stage so stopped for some coffee (and a pretty ordinary slice of cake) before heading back to Copenhagen.
Tonight we have had a bit of a rest then headed out for some food. I have to say we are all looking somewhat weary following yesterday's festivities but it has still been a great day.
Having hired a car to get us all to the wedding, we used it again today to head out west to Roskilde to the Viking Ship Museum. Guided by a GSP system that (mostly) kept us on the right side of the road, we made our way out of the city and up to Roskilde.
The museum wasn't what I expected. I think I thought it was going to be more about the Vikings in general. What it centred on was the remains of 5 boats ranging from a huge 60 person warship to cargo and fishing boats that were found in the area. It showed how the boats were built with all sorts of active displays and had both the actual wreaks and replicas on display. It may not have been what we expected but I found it very interesting.
After that we went up into the town to Roskilde Domkirke - the cathedral. It is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is the place where the kings and queens of Denmark are buried. It really is a gorgeous cathedral with amazing mausoleums and brilliant sculpture. We spent ages wandering around.
We were very weary by this stage so stopped for some coffee (and a pretty ordinary slice of cake) before heading back to Copenhagen.
Tonight we have had a bit of a rest then headed out for some food. I have to say we are all looking somewhat weary following yesterday's festivities but it has still been a great day.
A Danish Wedding
Yesterday was the reason for this trip - the wedding of S's brother.
The wedding was held in Frederiksborg Castle Church. The castle is a Danish royal castle and the church is still one used by the royal family, in fact the younger of the two Danish princes married his first wife there. As you can imagine, it isn't the easiest place to get married in, but the bride's family is from the local village and she was baptised there, so she could get married there. And to be honest, if you could get married in a stunning royal church, wouldn't you?
It is the first time I've attended a wedding in another country and it was really interesting to see the differences. The ceremony was quite similar and apart from the hymns was conducted in English for the benefit of the Australians. The main difference was where people sat/stood at various points and that the couple only said the word "yes", not "I do" or repeated any vows etc.
After the wedding we wandered the grounds of the castle but it was pretty cold so we headed for the reception in a restaurant attached to the church. It was there that we found out more of the Danish wedding traditions. When the guests bang their cutlery on the plate the bride and groom had to stand on their chairs and kiss. When everyone stomped their feet they had to kiss under the table. If the bride left the room then all the female guests could kiss the groom and vice versa. And finally at the end of the night, all the women tore bits off the bride's veil for good luck (all I could think was I hope it wasn't expensive - it wasn't, she made it herself) and the guys cut the toes off the grooms socks which apparently the bride is meant to sew on in a year's time.
The other outstanding thing about the wedding was the amount of food and dancing. Drinks were accompanied by nibblies of puff pastry type normal things and bacon. Yup, big bits of dry, crispy (cold) bacon. It was delicious.
Entree was cod with a mustard cream sauce. Main was venison en croute with red cabbage, spinach tart, potatoes and gravy. Once you finished your plate they came around with more venison etc for seconds! Dessert was a strawberry tart with mascapone icecream and then there was the wedding cake. It was a cornucopia of almond pastry filled with biscuits and chocolates. Delicious. But it didn't end there. At about 1am when the dancing had been going strong (more on that in a sec) a whole range of bread, cold cuts, terrines and cheese was brought out for people to make the traditional open faced sandwiches known as smorgesbrot. We were super full by the end of the night.
Speeches were made throughout dinner and they were all lovely. After dessert, we all got up from the tables and moved into the next room for the cutting of the cake. During that time, the whole reception room was cleared, turning it into a dace floor and the dancing started, hours and hours of it. Remember that I said the supper was at 1am, well it was after 2am when the bride and groom left! Now that is a party.
It really was a brilliant thing to be a part of.
The wedding was held in Frederiksborg Castle Church. The castle is a Danish royal castle and the church is still one used by the royal family, in fact the younger of the two Danish princes married his first wife there. As you can imagine, it isn't the easiest place to get married in, but the bride's family is from the local village and she was baptised there, so she could get married there. And to be honest, if you could get married in a stunning royal church, wouldn't you?
It is the first time I've attended a wedding in another country and it was really interesting to see the differences. The ceremony was quite similar and apart from the hymns was conducted in English for the benefit of the Australians. The main difference was where people sat/stood at various points and that the couple only said the word "yes", not "I do" or repeated any vows etc.
After the wedding we wandered the grounds of the castle but it was pretty cold so we headed for the reception in a restaurant attached to the church. It was there that we found out more of the Danish wedding traditions. When the guests bang their cutlery on the plate the bride and groom had to stand on their chairs and kiss. When everyone stomped their feet they had to kiss under the table. If the bride left the room then all the female guests could kiss the groom and vice versa. And finally at the end of the night, all the women tore bits off the bride's veil for good luck (all I could think was I hope it wasn't expensive - it wasn't, she made it herself) and the guys cut the toes off the grooms socks which apparently the bride is meant to sew on in a year's time.
The other outstanding thing about the wedding was the amount of food and dancing. Drinks were accompanied by nibblies of puff pastry type normal things and bacon. Yup, big bits of dry, crispy (cold) bacon. It was delicious.
Entree was cod with a mustard cream sauce. Main was venison en croute with red cabbage, spinach tart, potatoes and gravy. Once you finished your plate they came around with more venison etc for seconds! Dessert was a strawberry tart with mascapone icecream and then there was the wedding cake. It was a cornucopia of almond pastry filled with biscuits and chocolates. Delicious. But it didn't end there. At about 1am when the dancing had been going strong (more on that in a sec) a whole range of bread, cold cuts, terrines and cheese was brought out for people to make the traditional open faced sandwiches known as smorgesbrot. We were super full by the end of the night.
Speeches were made throughout dinner and they were all lovely. After dessert, we all got up from the tables and moved into the next room for the cutting of the cake. During that time, the whole reception room was cleared, turning it into a dace floor and the dancing started, hours and hours of it. Remember that I said the supper was at 1am, well it was after 2am when the bride and groom left! Now that is a party.
It really was a brilliant thing to be a part of.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Welcome to Copenhagen
Yesterday we finished our trip to Berlin with a final visit to Buchwald Konditorei und Cafe for some more torte. While our choices weren't quite as good as the day before they were still extremely tasty and worth getting rained on to get there.
From there we headed to the airport and after the usual annoying waiting time we arrived in Copenhagen. S's brother is getting married this weekend just outside Copenhagen, so first thing we caught up with the rest of the family. We have managed to find a cute little place to stay together. Spread over three floors, we each have a tiny apartment in a gorgeous part of town. S and I are on the top floor. It is compact to say the least and the slope of the ceiling means we need to be careful of our heads in places but it is very comfortable.
We headed out for dinner with the bride and groom to be and some of their friends then they took us on a tour of the "green-light district". It is basically an area that used to be a navy barracks that hippies took over in the 70's. These days it is still a sort of hippie commune of squatters and lots and lots of places to buy marijuana - hence the rule that no photos are allowed. It is still illegal, just tolerated. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting to find in the middle of Copenhagen.
After a refreshing night's sleep S and I set about seeing some of Copenhagen on foot today. We are here for quite awhile so didn't feel any need to rush and see things. Instead we wandered about the town centre, starting to give ourselves an idea of where things are. We did go up the Round Tower, a 16th century building that comprised a church, university library and observatory when first built. The observatory tower is round (hence the name) and you go most of the way up on a winding slope before climbing some stairs at the top. As Copenhagen is so flat you get a good view of the city from the top. The slope of the path also makes for a fun slope for kids to play on, so the whole tower was filled with the sounds of excited children thundering about. Between their shouts you could hear strains of the jazz festival that is going on in the city this week.
We finished our wanderings with some grocery shopping. It is always interesting to check out supermarkets in different cities (plus we needed breakfast stuff!).
Copenhagen really is a very pretty city, I particularly love all the brightly painted buildings. However it is also a very expensive city. Compared to the last few cities, things can be eyewateringly pricey. It should be an interesting week trying not to completely blow our budget!
From there we headed to the airport and after the usual annoying waiting time we arrived in Copenhagen. S's brother is getting married this weekend just outside Copenhagen, so first thing we caught up with the rest of the family. We have managed to find a cute little place to stay together. Spread over three floors, we each have a tiny apartment in a gorgeous part of town. S and I are on the top floor. It is compact to say the least and the slope of the ceiling means we need to be careful of our heads in places but it is very comfortable.
We headed out for dinner with the bride and groom to be and some of their friends then they took us on a tour of the "green-light district". It is basically an area that used to be a navy barracks that hippies took over in the 70's. These days it is still a sort of hippie commune of squatters and lots and lots of places to buy marijuana - hence the rule that no photos are allowed. It is still illegal, just tolerated. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting to find in the middle of Copenhagen.
After a refreshing night's sleep S and I set about seeing some of Copenhagen on foot today. We are here for quite awhile so didn't feel any need to rush and see things. Instead we wandered about the town centre, starting to give ourselves an idea of where things are. We did go up the Round Tower, a 16th century building that comprised a church, university library and observatory when first built. The observatory tower is round (hence the name) and you go most of the way up on a winding slope before climbing some stairs at the top. As Copenhagen is so flat you get a good view of the city from the top. The slope of the path also makes for a fun slope for kids to play on, so the whole tower was filled with the sounds of excited children thundering about. Between their shouts you could hear strains of the jazz festival that is going on in the city this week.
We finished our wanderings with some grocery shopping. It is always interesting to check out supermarkets in different cities (plus we needed breakfast stuff!).
Copenhagen really is a very pretty city, I particularly love all the brightly painted buildings. However it is also a very expensive city. Compared to the last few cities, things can be eyewateringly pricey. It should be an interesting week trying not to completely blow our budget!
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