Souvenirs

I am not a collecter of tchokies. When I travel, I generally always end up coming home with exactly what I left home with, except for a couple memory cards for my camera laden with images or something really unique and beautiful that I will treasure forever. Moving around a bit and not knowing where you might call home next are big players in this habit, and I also have no love for the act of dusting in which tchokies on the shelf love to attract.

Alas, I have a downfall: the odd skeins of local yarns that would be impossible to find anywhere else.

While France and most of Europe is filled with yarn of the mill-spun and commercial variety (functional but boring), every now and then I end up someplace that has something special. True, none of the yarns I picked up in Denmark were remarkably soft, but they have a lovely rustic appeal that I love. The brown skein of yarn is spun from sheep in Greenland. I didn't even know there were sheep in Greenland, but whatever they are, they make Icelandic Lopi seem soft as cashmere in comparison. The dark gray is probably Gotland, the grey a blend of local breeds from the Falklands. Wintery yarns made so that both man and beast are at ease surviving in a harsh climate.

I've been knitting quite a bit lately as being on the road a lot means I have plenty of time to stitch away. My goal for the summer months is to knock out a couple lace shawls and at least 3 sweaters, and perhaps a few gifts as well. I have also decided that I can't leave France with more yarn than I brought here, so I'll be whittling this down from the rubbermaid shipping container I brought from New York that I can barely notice a dent in so far.

Chilly Chill Sunday

I found that they are kind of Francophiles in Copenhagen: fashion, food and wine from France were featured pretty much everywhere.

We did get probably one of the most amazingly good pulled pork sandwiches I've ever had anywhere from a French restaurant at a street fair. Incongruous, I know, but the results were spectacular.

I would highly recommend seeing the David Collection over by Rosenborg Palace. It's a very well-curated private museum with a lot of mesmerizing examples of Islamic art.

We had a nice stroll around Fredriksburg Gardens, and lo, somehow ended up at the Carlsberg brewery.

They keep a stable full of giant Jutland horses for parades and public appearances. Not quite as fancy or flashy as the Clydesdales, but they were solid blocks of muscle on squat frames.

You can tour the brewery, or just hang out in the beer garden. The food was actually decent, but it was so windy you ended up wearing it if you weren't careful.

Falling in love with all things Danish

Hello! Here are some more pictures from Copenhagen (so. old. news.) before I launch into new adventures...

The impressive gourmet Torvehallerne Market. It wasn't cheap, but it had some beautiful and quality mostly food items.

There was a vendor there selling products exclusively from Bornholm, an island a bit further north up the coast. She had the most amazing Gotland lamb fleece. I am a convert: I spent the rest of my time there coveting all things Gotland. It was so soft and silky. The Gotland I've touched in the US feels like carpet wool in comparison, but I totally see what the big deal is now.

A first:

At Rosenborg castle, they made me PAY to have the option to take pictures inside. Seriously.

Kind of worth it? I guess? Indulge me.

A lot of the artwork was very french-inspired.

Mostly, I was in love with the gardens here.

Mermaidens

Two museums that I hit that I would recommend (both free!): The National Museum and the David Collection. No pictures allowed at the David, but it was a really amazing collection of Islamic art that was mesmerizing. It made the rest of the collection of Danish and European artist look amateurish.

The National Museum was huge. Denmark has a policy that all artifacts from the past can not leave the country, so they have a wealth of artifacts reaching back to the stone age. There were well-organized rooms full of creepy peat-bog sacrifices and Viking artifacts.

Awesome Rune stones, and lovely plundered treasures abounded.

Mostly though, I just loved walking around. It's a very pretty city. There is a ton of construction to get around as they are extending the metro, but there were plenty of places to see otherwise.

The lovely old stock exchange:

The vibrant, picturesque and touristific Nyhaven.

It was mobbed, with tourist spilling out of the cafes and people getting go-cups to sit on the pier with.

Amalie Garden, next to the marble church.

You wouldn't have guessed it from all the tourist shops slinging figurines and postcards, but yes, there is a mermaid chilling out in the harbor.

Even though there were signs saying not to climb the statue, plenty of people, ahem, men, were gamely climbing the rocks so they could have their picture taken giving the bronze a nice grope, proving that tourist can be dicks all over the world.

There's no pictures allowed in Christiania, and for good reason. It's an old military base taken over by squatters and made into a community of hippies (or hippie-minded) and tourist coming to buy pot, and quite a few prudes rubbernecking and looking around nervously at the whole thing. It was really unique- there is a "pusher street" filled with hash and pot stands, all covered up with military camouflage (a joke- the government wanted the dealers to be "less visible", so they now hang out under camo canopies).

There are rules posted: Absolutely no pictures, no weapons, no biker gangs, no body armor, no fireworks, no hard drugs, no running (it creates panic), no cars and no selling of stolen goods. Cannabis is not legal in Denmark, but somewhat tolerated in this one area, and they are trying hard to have their idealistic self-governing hippie utopia. It's really a unique place. I'm sure it has the ability to scare some people off, but there was some really unique homemade architecture and art works all over the place and it's totally worth a look even if you aren't buying.