The Round Tower… February 27, 2009

I visited the Round Tower, and I have to say that even though it isn’t some big flashy production of a museum, it has to be one of my favorite sites here in Copenhagen so far.  It cost 25dkk to get in, which is less than $5 and well worth every penny. 

The tower was built on the initiative of King Christian IV as an observatory, and it was completed in 1642. Aside from the amazing view at the top, there are two lofts that branch off of the upward spiraling walkway.  The first is a room that was used as a library to the students of the University of Copenhagen from 1657-1861, but has now been remodeled into an art gallery.  The second is full of artifacts related to the history of the tower, and one can see what it might have looked like in it’s original form as the church bell ringer’s loft.

This is a model of The Round Tower, and the church that was built onto it (I would have taken a picture of the tower myself, but the streets around it are narrow making it very difficult to get the whole thing)

The spiral walkway to the top… one will go around the tower 7.5 times in order to reach the observatory level

Just part of the 360 degree view from the outdoor platform at the top of the tower… I could have spent hours up there, but it started raining. I will be definitely going back when the weather is nice!

The National Museum… February 25, 2009

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and it wasn’t too cold! I went to the National Museum which is housed in an 18th century palace complete with gardens and displays of what part of the palace actually looked like when it was inhabited. Below are some of the things that caught my eye…

This is the entrance to the museum

Horns used by people during the iron age. They were used to make sounds believed to possibly pay homage to the beloved sun gods.

Just some of the rune stones found from viking times made to commemorate different important events of the time.

The grand ballroom of the palace the way it would have looked in 1743

A display of an 18th century burgeois home from Aalborg, Denmark focusing on the amazing cabinetry and woodwork of the time.

The drinking horn decorated with gold and jewels. Some might say that it was the original pimp cup.

This is a painting that was made in such a way that the figures can only be made out by looking at it’s reflection on the cylinder in the center… very cool.

Art Fest 2009… February 23, 2009

On Saturday, Torben took me to an art festival here in Copenhagen in the beautiful area of Fredricksburg.  We got to the show just in time to witness the first heat of the “Art Battle”.  Basically, there were four rounds of four painters competing against each other to depict an audience requested topic in only 10 minutes.  The first topic was Johnny Cash.  There was only one painting where Torben and I could really see the how the topic inspired the artist…

After watching about 20 minutes of the battle, we entered the actual exhibition which was basically a maze of hundreds of artists individual booths. Here are some of the hilights…

No sunlight… February 20, 2009

It finally stopped snowing today! It has barely gotten above freezing this week, and it has snowed everyday. I am really starting to understand what people call the “winter blues”. People have a definite need to basque in sunlight as frequently as possible, but growing up in Texas, it is rare that I have been deprived of natural daylight. This condition leads to serious lethargy, slight depression and irritability, but the antidote; just a few hours of sun, or a visit to the sunbed every other day (I have not yet resorted to the latter).

The good news is that the weather experts are predicting a change in the weather after this weekend which will include less cold temperatures and possibly more sun! The other good news is that the days are getting longer, or more normal to what I am used to. When I arrived here in mid-December, the sun would rise around 10:00 am and set around 2:30 pm! Everyday is longer than the last right now by a couple of minutes, so now we are getting sunrise around 8:00 am and sunset around 5:00 pm.

Regardless of all of this weather talk, it is the weekend today, and that always means a good time for me and my counterpart!

Valentimes day… February 16, 2009

We spent the first half of the day wandering around the Stroget in the city window shopping, and enjoying the beautiful day.

After that, my amazing boyfriend took me to dinner at a place called Peder Oxe, and it was wonderful!  He made us reservations for 7, and we walked from the train station to the restaurant which was nestled in a beautiful square which will be filled with cafe tables in the summer.

The food was amazing and the service was even better. For dessert, we shared a plate of truffles which was cleverly decorated…

Afterwards, we went downstairs to the cocktail bar and had a couple of drinks. The place felt very European as the building was several hundred years old, and still held the same charm. The verdict? Best Valentine’s day ever! Beautiful day, great food, my favorite company… what more could a girl ask for?

Another snow day… February 11, 2009

It has been snowing a lot, but with temperatures staying above freezing, it wasn’t sticking… until last night. It snowed all night, and has still been snowing today! I was planning a museum outing today, but this weather is really making me want to stay inside where its warm and cozy.

Tonight we are staying in and watching a friendly soccer game. I think the Danish national team is playing Italy, but I am not 100% sure. I am hoping for better luck tomorrow with the weather, because I also need to work on my super secret present for Torben for Valentine’s day. More on that this weekend…

I heart vikings… February 4, 2009

On Monday, Chuck and I took an adventure out to a place called Roskilde in order to see the infamous viking ship museum! (http://www.visitroskilde.com/Default.asp?l=2) First we had to take a bus, and then a train, and then another bus, and then we walked. The funny thing is that once we took the second bus, we weren’t one hundred percent sure which way to go to get to the museum, so we ended up just wandering around the city until we found a clue.

The city is quaint and full of history making our search for the museum much more beautiful. We wandered down the local shopping street until we came to the visitor’s center which is in a massive medieval church that can be seen from almost any point in the city. It seemed that the city of Roskilde also has a sense of humor because as you go to enter the church to go to the visitor’s center, the giant front door opens automatically as if you are entering a haunted house. When you get inside, it’s very dark and there is no real indication of where to go until you see a sign stating, “yes, we are open” on a large wooden door. So we go into the information center, we get directions and head off down the path to the museum.

The museum is on the fjord which is incredibly beautiful, and the people there were hospitable and offered to give us a private viewing of the introductory video in English. After that, we went through the museum which was an amazing display of how the vikings made their ships, and the research that has gone into understanding that.

Below is a picture of a viking ship replica that researchers made to recreate a voyage from Roskilde to Dublin. Their journey was a success and they were able to gather data to help understand how such light weight shallow ships were able to make such long journeys.