Helsingor/Elsinor

On the seventh day we took a train to 

Helingor/Elsinor where Hamlet supposedly 

procrastinated and where we experienced

the only unpleasantness of the visit. 

It's a fine harbor city with lots of ferry

 activity and old houses.

The castle had a very effective historical exhibit

in the form of staged photographs depicting the history

of the Danish monarchy.

The castle

Combination bath and coronation

Gay tiger hunt?

Period Dress

Royal "Portraits"

Typical royal bloodshed

Superb Tapestries - amazing what weaving skills those Kings had.

Photos of actors involved in Hamlet productions at the castle.

Pencil decor at food hall

Good salmon meal at Korn Restaurant. This followed our walkout
from another restaurant where rude waiter refused to explain menu,
served red wine instead of white and said "F**k. you idiot" when
we left. 

Typical old houses

Sky silhouettes

END

Odense - Day Six

First things first. In discussing a 

Sunday trip to Odense with a desk clerk

I learned that it is pronounced O Den Seh,

not O Dense. That made it easier for me to

buy train tickets at the main station.

The train took about 1hour 15 minutes

to reach Denmark's third largest city.

Shops were closed but a local marathon

was running.

We headed for the riverfront for a 4-kilometer walk

past impressive riverfront houses on the opposite bank,

imaginative children's playgrounds, through the city zoo

(though not actually within the zoo)

and into real forest. We reached a restaurant at which we

were the only ones who did not arrive by car.

A good lunch was enhanced by an excellent beer.

We also passed a type of bicycle arrangement

we have seen often in Denmark, although not

always as full.

I nearly forgot to mention the artistic highlight

of Odense, stone sculptures of a lingam and yoni

on one of the main streets.

The train back to Copenhagen was crowded.

We sat separately and I sat next to a woman

who was returning an exotic and well-behaved

dog of Egyptian breeding to her friend who had

been hospitalized after tripping over the dog and

falling down the stone stairs of her Renaissance

house in Copenhagen. The dog slipped out of his

harness and hid under my chair. I helped her put

the harness on properly.

That evening, as we were going to bed,

loud explosions led us to open the drapes.

We were treated to a long and spectacular

fireworks display from the direction of 

the Tivoli amusement park. We later learned that

it was the end of season fireworks for Tivoli

so we were very lucky to see it.

END

Smørrebrød Special

I have come to respect Smørrebrød after 

eating it a number of times in Copenhagen. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smørrebrød 

It is much more complex than I had thought.

So far I have had one based on potatoes; 

one based on roast beef and one based on lox.

All were resting on a thick slice of good bread

and incorporated many supplementary ingredients.

One of them, with beer, was enough for a meal.

Here are some from a display at Hallernes 

in the Torvehallerne food market.

https://hallernes.dk/en/hallernes-smorrebrod/

And here's another nearby place named HOV

where we also ate  a lunch. They offer fish and 

combination plates of seafood salads of all types.

https://torvehallernekbh.dk/stade/hav/

END

Design, Food and Culture - Day Five

We started with the nearby Round Tower,

noted for the wide circular ramp, up which 

the King of Denmark  used to ride a horse

to the fine view on top. We had to walk.

Then we visited ILLUMS Bolghus,

a design centered branch of the ILLUMS

department store. We were pleased to learn that

the Abstracta bookcase design by Paul Cadovius,

which we bought fifty years ago in Copenhagen,

was still being sold, albeit, no longer in chrome.

We also learned that, due to international restrictions 

on the sale of rosewood, the sideboard we bought 

in Copenhagen is no longer made.

Lunch at Kadeau was a fine experience in the new style 

of cuisine which Scandanavia has introduced in recent years.

Local ingredients, prepared with methods which 

intensify the flavor, such as dehydration, fermentation

and pickling, presented in very small portions designed

with consummate artistic skill. Even though the meal

had 15 courses we were not stuffed. Here's the menu:

Cured ham, rowan and bronze fennel

Dry plum and dry scallop

Herring, fresh cheese and blueberry

Carpet clam and Kombu

Grilled sasify and Hen of the woods

Mahogany clam, strawberry and cherry blossom

Apple and tomato salad

Shrimps, Osietra caviar and walnut leaf

Oyster and garden and beach herbs

Cold & hot smoked salmon & semi-ripe figs

Palthest, Havgus and salted plum

Scallops, horseradish and carrot

Celeraic, rhubarb root oil, spring & summer pollen

Beef, tomato and grilled lovage

Late summer fruits

Honey cake, creme fraiche & Beluga caviar

Berries, cultured kefir cream, spring honey

Pine tart

Semi-frozen buttermilk pie

Here are pictures of two of the "courses."

The herring had the witty quality of imitating

the herringbone pattern of the restaurant floor.

The "late summer fruits" were candied.

The beef course was the only one that did not 

fit the refined level of the menu.

After lunch, a fifteen-minute walk brought us

to the the concert hall of the Black Diamond,

the national library, where we heard a beautiful

concert, mostly Vivaldi, played by Adrian 

Chandler and Concerto Copenhagen.

Another marvelous day.

END

Glyptoteket to Torvenhallern - Day Four

Among other things, Carl Jacobson, the founder

of Carlsberg beer, gave Copenhagen

a beautiful museum and an abundance
of art to fill it. The central rotunda 

with Kai Neilson's Water Mother 

and giant palms entranced us. 

And the rest of the museum maintained 

the glow. 

We were disappointed that their big Degas and Rodin 

collections were not being shown and the

French painting section was closed

(they have 40 Gaugins!) 

We were satisfied to see at least 

two Gaugins, a Monet, a Cezanne 

and a Bonnard we had never seen before. 

They were shown as influences on an artist

whose work made a big impression on us. 

Michael Armitage was born in 1984 in Nairobi, Kenya, 

and lives and works between London and Nairobi.

Water Mother, an amazing piece
by Kai Nielsen (1882 – 1924)

Gaugin #1

Gaugin #2

Bonnard

Monet

Cezanne

Manet

Below are painting by Michael Armitage.

Giant palms dominated the central rotunda.

A very nice feature was a small lounge with a coffee machine
where exhausted travelers could get a cup of good coffee for the 
obviously subsidized price of 5 DKK (US 79 cents)

A magical museum.

Restored by coffee and beautiful art

we walked through a lovely park,

(another donation of Jacobson)

back to Torvehallen to take a closer look 

at the fruits and vegetables and to

watch the elaborate preparation of Smørrebrød ,

while eating some.

And so to bed.

END