Blogs from Denmark, Europe - page 16

Here we are at the end of our wide ranging travels in Europe. Tomorrow we set off for NZ and winter. Goodbye to the amazing warm weather we have experienced since arriving in Florence two months ago, apart from a few days when we needed jackets. Our final day in Copenhagen was spent wandering the city, down Stroget, the walking street where most of the shops are, to the high end area with Georg Jensen and the Royal Copenhagen shop. Interesting to have a browse. We came back via the Round Tower, one of the first observatories, and the food market at Norreport. Saturday and Sunday were full on days. We didn’t intend to come to Copenhagen for the art but now we are here Ian found these two extensive modern art galleries, one north of ... read more

Sunday was train trip south of Copenhagen to Ishøj where a very new contemporary art gallery, Arken, has just been built. Its distinctive architecture stands out on the windswept coastal grasses and dunes. A whole room devoted to Damien Hirst, the British artist famous for his diamond encrusted skull and preserved shark and calf. Here the skull was a photo but the two halves of the calf were real. Both front halves, preserved in formaldehyde, in separate structures where you could walk between and have an intimate view of the insides of a calf. Two calves actually. A bit disturbing really. A room of 45 clowns confronted us next. Also quite extraordinary. Titled ‘vocabulary of solitude’ the clowns are seen before or after a show in a contemplative mood. All the faces are different. A video ... read more

An interesting day today, Kronborg Castle in Helsingor, aka Hamlet’s Castle at Elsinore. The guide said that Shakespeare was impressed with the 24 course banquets that the King of Denmark, in the mid 1500s, Frederick II, used to hold to show that he was the most powerful king in Scandinavia. It is very imposing, standing as it does on a slight promontory at the narrowest part of the entrance to the Baltic Sea with Sweden just 4 kms over the water. At that time the land across the water was part of Denmark. Frederick made his money charging taxes of shipping that went through the passage. If they didn’t pay he fired cannons and then made them pay for the cannon balls. The cannons you see in the photos still work and are used on ceremonial ... read more

After a slow start this morning, I decided to walk the 2kms to where the Hop On - Hop Off bus for the Carslberg Tour started from. I needed to be there by 12 but also needed to get a coffee and something to eat. Made it with 2 mins to spare! It was great to see another part of the city of Copenhagen. They really have done amazing things to reduce their carbon footprint - nearly everyone rides bikes everywhere. They have the lowest number of cars on the road than any other city. When you see how seriously people here and in Sweden care about waste and the environment, it really puts us in Australia to shame. I feel like we could be doing so, so much more. I got off the bus at ... read more

After a great breakfast at the Scandic Hotel I was ready to explore the town whilst at the same time tracking down some of the buildings and main features from the TV series 'The Bridge'. First on my agenda was to find the building that was the police station in the show. This mission took me on a 20 minute walk through the town but I was able to find it, after ducking for cover when the rain came pounding down! After this rain shower the skies cleared and it was a beautiful day. After taking a few photos I headed back to the old town to check out of the hotel. I left my luggage in storage and my next mission was to walk to the Strand Hotel where Saga (the main female character) stayed ... read more