Museums in Greater Copenhagen (including Bornholm) - Part 2

OK, so maybe Bornholm is not part of greater Copenhagen. But I did go there and I did see an amazing .museum, so I'm gonna play it a little bit loose with Danish geography.

Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Gudhjem (http://www.bornholms-kunstmuseum.dk)

Only 41,000 people live on the small and exceedingly charming island of Bornholm, which sits in the Baltic off the Swedish coast but is officially part of Denmark. Now that I am denizen of the booming metropolis of Copenhagen, I had to admit my expectations were pretty low going into a small musuem on this tiny island. Dashed expectations are the best.

The beautifully designed and situated Bornholm Art Museum

Designed by Danish architects Johan Fogh and Per Folner, the museum unfolds along a bright central corridor and follows the downward path of the hillside. On the top floor, older paintings by Bornholm artists are hung in small rooms with colorful walls and small pocket windows framing the views out to the coastline and the long-horned yaks in the field. The lower galleries featured a European Art Glass exhibition the day we were there. From the looks of their previous catalogues, decorative arts seems to be a pretty constant feature here. Bornholm has a strong craft tradition, so this makes a lot of sense.

Contemporary glass by a Danish artist - my apologies for not writing down his/her name.

The lowermost floor ( with windows, so basement is the wrong word) led outside to a viewing platform, and featured a softly lit works-on-paper gallery with a rippled ceiling and an additional gallery for the permanent collection of decorative arts.

Rare opportunity to use the Danish word "gangbro" for this ramp to the viewing platform.

The battery light on my camera was screaming at me, but luckily held out for one last view of the amazing glass exhibition at Bornholms Kunstmuseum.

Contemporary glass installation by a Swedish artist- ditto my apologies for not getting the artist's name.

 Arken Museum of Modern Art, Ishoj (http://www.arken.dk/)
 Arken is another stunning modern building on a dramatic seaside spot, on the Koge Bay in the dunes of Ishoj, a southern suburb of Copenhagen. Arken opened in 1996 and the design, by Soren Robert Lund, is meant to, and does, suggest a long, lean ship foundered in the dunes.

Arken,  on a day with beautiful clouds and a beautiful Danish visitor (my sister-in-law).

I remember visiting Arken soon after it had opened and feeling like the collection didn't live up to the promise of the building, but that is no longer the case. The first major gallery has an amazingly strong collection of Damien Hirst pieces, one of which was commissioned for Arken.

Damien Hirst room at Arken

The following gallery had a small but extremely select group of sculpture, paintings and installation pieces by British, American and Scandinavian artists. Someone has clearly done a good job of meeting important Danish collectors; the development director on me noticed some repeat credit lines from room to room.

The big show this fall at Arken is "India: Art Now"  and is a remarkable selection of contemporary work from India, alongside a gorgeously arranged exhibition of Indian fashion. From what I have heard and read, the show is somewhat political as there is a great deal of tension now between Denmark and India over a very complicated court case involving an un-rendered defendant on Danish soil. Hard to say what the show, and the complementary program of Indian-made independent films at the Danish Film Institute, will do to soften the situation. But I came away with a greater appreciation for the contemporary art and fashion scene in India. So I can only assume that others did, too.

India: Fashion Now exhibition at Arken

The Indian show ends in January 2013, and I'm not sure what's coming up next, but I'm definitely coming back to eat in this beautiful dining room.

Sun-filled dining room at Arken overlooking Koge Bay

Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen (http://www.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk/)
And now for something completely different, old art in an old building.

Thorvaldsens Museum in central Copenhagen

Bertel Thorvaldsen ( 1770-1844) was a Danish sculptor in the Neoclassical tradition who spent most of his professional life in Rome, where he enjoyed commissions for portrait and architectural sculpture throughout Europe. After his death, the contents of his studio came back to Copenhagen, including plaster casts for all his important commissions, myriad marble statues and friezes, his personal collection of ancient Roman coins and seals, and his furnishings, which included paintings by Danish and European artists of the day. A special museum was purpose-built to house all of these items and opened in 1848. The sides of the building are decorated with scenes of his collection being unloaded from ships and unearthed from crates.

Decorations on the outside walls of the Thorvaldsens Museum

The Thorvaldsens Museum occupies a prime piece of real estate in central Copenhagen, right next to Christiansborg Palace (the Parliament), and looks out on a broad public square (Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads, not coincidentally) across form Gammel Strand. It is frankly remarkable to me that this fixed collection museum dedicated to the work of an artist that few people outside of Denmark have ever heard of, still occupies this central location. But it is a wonderful place and I'm glad that the Danes aren't like the Americans, who tear stuff down the minute it becomes unfashionable.

The Thorvaldsens Museum has also kept itself relevant by integrating modern pieces into its display, and by hosting outdoor performances and light shows on its interesting facade. In 2012, the museum has held a series of exhibitions which place modern furniture and Danish design in among the galleries.

Galleries at Thorvaldsens with contemporary furniture

I wouldn't say that Thorvaldsen's art is my all-time favorite. Too many sober portraits, putti, robed and unrobed goddesses for most of us, although he does get a little crazy with the satyrs and other hybrids. But the collection gives a great overview of classical mythology, as it was presented to early 19th-century viewers.

And, in what is fast becoming the theme of this blogpost, the museum building itself is worth the trip. Each room in the Thorvaldsens has delicately plastered and painted ceilings ( same designer as the Carlsberg Glyptotek), marble mosaic floors and richly painted walls in dark green, maroon, gold, cream and deep blue.

And.....Kanal Cafeen is right around the corner.

Richly decorated ceiling at the Thorvaldsens Museum

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Museums in Greater Copenhagen - Part 1

I'm a huge fan of museums of all stripes, and Copenhagen has a wealth of great collections for someone like myself, who is pretty much a full-time tourist at the moment. Having worked in art museums, I'm always interested in the practicalities - like label placement, lighting, text length and how they acknowledge and ask for donations. For this account, however, I want to focus on the take-away, or mini-epiphanies in my museum visits. If I learn one interesting thing, or have a brain tremor in front of an amazing work of art, then the visit was worth the time and admission price.

So rather than passing along a more thorough review of all my greater Copenhagen museum visits - when most of these institutions have great websites with professional photos - I thought I'd just pass along basic info and my take-away impressions - such as they are. Also, since I visit museums pretty much on a weekly basis, this installment is Part 1, and just mentions four museums - in no particular order.

Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebaek (http://www.louisiana.dk)
Even if you didn't go inside and just walked around the grounds of the Louisiana, it'd be worth the train ride from Copenhagen. The former private home is on a bluff overlooking the Oresund, and the lawns are dotted with monumental sculptures by Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet and others. I love the shade garden with whimsical carved stone faces and funny little people by Danish artist Henry Heerup.

Calder "stabile" on the grounds of the Louisiana, Sweden in the background

The permanent collection is amazing, but the highlight for me this fall was a major exhibition about contemporary Nordic architecture. I learned more about projects I have already seen in Denmark, and lengthened my list of buildings to see before I leave.

Major takeaway: In a wonderful short film about architecture and urban life, the narrator convincingly argues that a successful city makes great use of the spaces in between the buildings to create a vibrant street life. The projects he cited included the pedestrian-ization of Broadway in Manhattan and a score of small projects which make great use of alleyways in the city of Melbourne, Australia (World's Most Livable City, 2012).

Kobenhavns Bymuseum/ Copenhagen City Museum, ( http://www.copenhagen.dk )
Besides having what must be the most-coveted web address in town, the Bymuseum has an interesting mix of changing and permanent installations. The museum sits on Vesterbrogade, behind a small scale replica of the city from the 12th century and in among some of the city' most creative new restaurants and boutiques. They also run historical walking tours around town, some in English. Admission is free on Fridays.

A long-term exhibition about immigration and the city begins with a poignant display of what a handful of individuals brought with them in their suitcase when they first moved to Copenhagen, and ends with a thoughtful short film about the Muslim minority in the Norrebro section of town.

What I learned: The king invited Dutch farmers to settle on the flat marshy island of Amager, just south of the city, in order to improve the supply of fresh fruits and vegetables to Copenhagen Apparently, the Dutch were well-known for growing high quality vegetables. In the 1970s, a community of Romany also settled on Amager and was ultimately forced out of the vicinity by police.

Danish Design Center (http://www.ddc.dk/)
When this first opened in 2000, I thought it was a bit unnecessary, given the encyclopedic collection of Danish arts and crafts on view at the Dansk Kunstindustrimuseet on Bredgade (sure to turn up in a later post). But I was mistaken about the purpose of the Design Center. There is a concise overview of 20th Danish design in the basement, with a lot of the same type of items (Lego, Arne Jacobsen chairs, Bang & Olufsen stereos) that you might find at the Kunstindustrimusset. It is in the changing exhibitions upstairs, however, that the Design Center keeps the dialogue about good design in Denmark and elsewhere going.

This summer, for example, there was an amazing exhibition about new materials - used in buildings, clothing, commerce, etc.- that address sustainability in some way. There are wall coverings made from recycled materials, or organic materials like fish scales that are otherwise dumped in processing. There were jeans made from fabric that actually cleans the air when the wearer walks around in them, and biodegradable funeral caskets made from densely packed recycled paper. The current show highlights winners of the annual Danish Design Awards - including the wonderful Tower Playground I mentioned in an earlier blog.

The Design Center is right across the street from Tivoli and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum in a beautiful building designed by architect Henning Larsen (same firm that designed the Copenhagen Opera House), and has a gift shop with many cool design products and FREE postcards.

Free postcards from International Design prizes at the
Danish Design Center

Takeaway: The reason to buy clothing made from organic cotton and organic dyes is not just so you can feel good about the manufacturing process. When it stops being part of your wardrobe, it will degrade harmlessly - without leaving fibers and dyes in the soil that don't belong there.

Orlogsmuseet,  (http://www.orlogsmuseet.dk/)
Orlogsmuseet translates to the National Defense Historical Museum, which makes it sound like the most boring place in the world - but it totally is not! I would never have come here if I hadn't just read Carsten Jensen's wonderful novel, "We, the Drowned," which describes the maritime culture of the Danish town of Marstal on the island of Aero over a 100 year period. So I was primed to learn more about the maritime history of Denmark.

The Orlogmuseet in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen

The Orlogsmuseet focuses on the history of the Danish Navy, (there is a merchant maritime history museum being built in Helsingor right now), and tells the tale through one of the world's largest collections of ship models. Some of the models date back to the 17th century; King Christian IV collected them and commissioned the building of many ships during his reign. Probably everyone knew but me, but ship models are built for patrons of ships, as a guide for those who ultimately build the ships, and enjoy an after-life in naval academies, where cadets practice proper rigging on models. Also on view is the royal barge - a huge and beautifully appointed 18th rowboat for ten oars which the king used to visit ships in the harbor. Admission is free on Wednesdays.

What I learned: Figureheads - the carved figures on the bow of a ship, like the one in the photo above - helped illiterate sailors identify a ship, and hid a little seat that hung out over the waves for sailors at sea to empty their bowels.

How Cool is Copenhagen: Playgrounds for all ages

Even on our first stay in Copenhagen (fifteen years ago), I noticed that Danish playgrounds were a different breed from their American counterparts. At our son's school in Hellerup, for example, the playground was built by the students from old lumber and giant tree branches. There was lots of rope walks and plenty of climbing opportunities. Definitely not as safe as your standard American school playground, but lots more engaging and very attached to the community it served.

On our current stay in this fair city, I have noticed that playgrounds have become even more important to urban life. Playgrounds- for children and adults - have evolved into the essential furniture of Copenhagen's many "outdoor rooms." I'll illustrate this assertion with a picture of a fairly standard children's playground around the corner from us on Sankt Annae Plads.

Playground on Sankt Annae Plads, near FDR monument



Horse sculptures at Sankt Annae Plads playground

The playground is nicely integrated into a larger park - increasing the usefulness of both. An older resident using the benches along the perennial border might enjoy hearing and watching the children in the playground. This one is geared to younger kids ( not much climbing stuff), and in fact, there is a kindergarten behind the church across the street. But what's most interesting to me is that there are original, artist-made sculptures of horses for kids to climb on. And that is no anomaly. Most of the playgrounds I've seen this year include some original sculpture or design element.

Taarnlegepladsen/ Tower Playground in Faelled Parken

Older kids section of Tower Playground in Faelled Parken

Taarnlegepladsen, or Tower Playground, in Copenhagen's enormous Faelled Park is not your standard playground. The equipment is designed to look like the city's historic towers and steeples. Kids can pretend they are giants and jump from rooftop to rooftop, or look at a map of the stars inside the replica of Rundetaarn, the old observatory tower.

Some playgrounds are even more site-specific.

Playground with whimsical towers in Brumbleby

The playground in the contained neighborhood of Brumbleby looks like parts of the complex have broken free and started dancing.

Kongens Have (The King's Garden) Playground next to Rosenborg Castle

In the King's Garden, a giant carved dragon guards his egg, surrounded by sandbox moats and guard towers, just meters away from the Renaissance Rosenborg Castle with its actual moats and royal guards.

Another great new feature of playgrounds, and public spaces, around Copenhagen is the inclusion of fitness-related equipment for adults. The aforementioned Faelled Parken has at least three "motion centers" are well as running trails, soccer fields and basketball courts. The new Amager Beach Park has everything from kayak canals to running/rollerblade trails to umbrella-covered fitness centers with body weight-driven equipment.

Adult fitness equipment on Pakhuskaj, near Langelinie

One particularly innovative project is Superkilen (2011, by 8-House architects BIG), which links the spaces between and behind buildings in the Norrebro district of Copenhagen, through a series of outdoor "rooms" with bike and walking trails, playgrounds, fitness equipment and unique seating areas. The Red Room marks the entrance to Superkilen from the main avenue, Norrebrogade, and includes skating ramps, team sports and fitness equipment. This leads to the Green Room with an artificial hill, playground and picnic areas, and ends in the Black Wedge, with chess tables, benches and room for outdoor markets. Because Norrebro is a multicultural area of the city, design features include palm trees, a Moroccan-style fountain, a Japanese octopus and an Indian elephant slide.

Red Room of Superkilen, Norrebro

Entrance to Green Room of Superkilen, Norrebro

Japanese Octopus slide in the Green Room of Superkilen

And even though these are (for the most part) mid-morning, weekday photos - the parks are being used by adults, with or without their children. People are: a) moving their bodies, and b) sitting outside instead of in front of the TV inside. When I see someone on a park bench here, I don't necessarily assume they are creepy or a drunk. There are those, too, but there are also folks like me, enjoying my seat in a beautifully appointed outdoor room.

With these playgrounds in mind, I was excited to read an article in last week's NYTimes about how Oklahoma City is taking advantage of the Prevention and Public Health Fund of the new Affordable Care Act to build bike lanes, walking paths and an Olympic rowing complex, and to put in place nutritional counselling. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/health/door-to-door-in-oklahoma-city-preaching-healthy-living.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&moc.semityn.www The article states "Republicans in Congress derided the prevention program as 'a slush fund to build sidewalks, jungle gyms and swing sets.' " But the (Republican) Mayor Mick Cornett is using funds to turn this famously fat city into a "laboratory for healthy living" - which is just how I would characterize Copenhagen.

Go, swing sets, go!

Organic food: a rant from my desk in Copenhagen

One of the lead stories in the NYTimes last week reported on a Stanford University study of organic fruits, vegetables and meats. The decades-long study concluded that organic foods are not substantially more nutritious than conventionally grown products, and may still contain some trace of pesticides (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/science/earth/study-questions-advantages-of-organic-meat-and-produce.html). I read the article and the subsequent op-ed piece by Roger Cohen (Sept.7) with jaw dropped, because both the Stanford study and the opinion piece had so completely missed the mark about organic foods.

How incredibly limited to view the production of food solely in terms of the costs and benefits to the individual consumer! What about the impact on the planet and on climate control, for chrissakes! As Mark Hertsgaard points out in a story related to the Farm Bill -- and not in reaction to the organic foods study -- conventional farming is a leading contributor to greenhouse gasses. (see http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/opinion/the-farm-bill-should-help-the-planet-not-just-crops.html)  Conventional monoculture farming practices also leach the soil of moisture, which further contributes to extreme drought. In other words, so what if we're creating catastrophic weather conditions for ourselves and future generations - as long as my peas cost a little less and carry an acceptably low level of pesticides.

And what about the workers who must apply the pesticides and handle the products covered with pesticides day in and day out? Maybe a significant trace of pesticides don't leach through a banana's peel into the fruit itself, but how many hands are on those bananas before we peel it? Years ago, I heard Eric Schlosser speak at Princeton about his landmark book, Fast Food Nation. While he was gratified that many readers had eschewed fast food in favor of sustainably grown products as a result of his book, he was shocked that there wasn't more outrage about the working conditions fostered by conventional agriculture and slaughterhouses. For him, this was the biggest take-away from all his research on the subject.

In Copenhagen right now, there is a very personable poster around town explaining that public kitchens, which prepare the food for Copenhagen's nursery schools, senior centers and meals for shut-ins is now 75% organic, with a goal of achieving 90% by 2015. Copenhagen will then have the most sustainable municipal food service in the world.

Billboard in Kongens Nytorv about Copenhagen Community Kitchens

If one then goes to the website for the Copenhagen public kitchens,  http://www.kbhmadhus.dk/ , it becomes clear that the 90% benchmark is part of a larger sustainable energy plan for the city - a plan which includes more and better public transportation and bike paths, and increased reliance on incinerated trash and windmills for energy. One will also find menu plans and seasonal charts of local fish and produce for use by parents - because local foods use fewer fossil fuels to travel to your table.

Some of the 1,750 food service workers employed by Copenhagen public kitchens

The emphasis on organic, locally sourced food in Denmark is not just occurring at the public level. It is part and parcel of what makes the restaurant scene here so vibrant. The "new Nordic" restaurants such as Noma and its progeny are buoyed by a compelling world view about food, where it should come from and how it should be grown. As a result, the food is remarkably fresh and delicious. You can taste the outdoors in the salads and the seafoods we've had the pleasure of eating here. Even humble root vegetables - locally grown potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, and black radishes - are taking a star turn in these restaurants because they taste of the earth, and not because of some extraordinarily complicated preparation.

Whether public or private the overriding message in Denmark is clear - it's about the planet, stupid. Keep an eye on the big picture, including the food you eat,  and everyone is better off.

A tour of new architecture in Orestad Syd

We having been dragging friends and family to see the 8 House and other notable building projects in the new city of Orestad for a few years now. But on Sunday, we went on a tour professionally-led by the Danish Architecture Center of the city's southern section, and now have some more info to match our amazement (http://www.dac.dk/da/service-sider/kalender/).

Tour group under Metro in Orestad with Ramboll building in background

The city has roots going back to the 1930s, when talk first began creating a rail-link between Copenhagen and southern Sweden, and the implications that would have for development in the Kastrup/ Amager Faelled area south of the city. By the time the Oresund Bro linking Denmark and Sweden opened in 2000 (http://uk.oresundsbron.com/page/976), metro lines and city plans for Orestad were already in place on a former military site. A Finnish-Danish design group was selected and established a plan which included mixed educational, commercial, housing and cultural sites in a series of bands moving out from the metro line and incorporating three new urban centers. Green building practices were an important standard and all buildings were to be 600 meters or less from a metro entrance.

After a much longer and better explanation of the larger plan than the one I just gave, out tour group moved on to the front of the corporate headquarters of Ramboll - a firm that was very much involved with building the Oresundbro and other large engineering projects in Scandinavia.

Mirrored sky on the facade of the Ramboll building, Orestad

As it was a Sunday morning, the building was closed and we had to peek into the soaring lobby through glass doors. The tour guide informed us that on weekdays all the buildings in the area were open to the public and generally receptive to visitors.

Next up was Copenhagen Towers, which is just across the street. So far just Phase I of the four phases this project, designed by Norman Foster and Danish partners, has been built. This phase constitutes the Crowne Plaza Hotel Copenhagen Towers, which has been distinguished as the greenest hotel in the world. Among other features, the south and western sides are lined with solar panels, they utilize ground water versus geothermal systems for air-heating and cooling, the shampoo containers are biodegradable within three months, and guests can give back to the grid when they spin on one of the bikes in the fitness center. Apparently this is one of the buildings that is particularly receptive to visitors, as they have a Walk of Sustainability throughout the building with QR codes directing you to info about their sustainability practices.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Copenhagen Towers lined with solar panels

The next stop for the group was in the middle of a field, buzzing with late summer yellow-jackets, where Denmark's largest multi-use stadium complex would be standing by 2015.

Future site of Hannemann's Quarter and Arena, with Orestad city in the backgorund

Our guide distributed maps which outlined all the development planned for this area over the next several years, including housing, schools, businesses, sports fields and a gigantic arena complex linked to the Metro lines and trains to Sweden. Thus far, only the Phase I of Copenhagen Towers, on the upper right of the map (left of the metro line) had been built.

Plan for development of Orestad Syd

We continued southward on a path through the field till we hit the "Plug n Play" - a temporary playground of sorts designed to attract foot traffic and buzz to this as-yet fully-developed area of Orestad. The Plug 'n Play has an outdoor skating oval and skateboard park, parcours park, all manner of climbing equipment, a kayak bay with water polo, as well as more traditional basketball and soccer areas. Families were unloading kids and equipment while the guide explained all this, so apparently the idea is working.

Entrance to Plug n Play Zone in Orestad Syd

Surrounding this amazing play zone were a number of small garden plots. Anyone can reserve one for a nominal fee, as long as they commit to working it and to abide to organic gardening standards.

Organic garden plots in Orestad Syd

Soon enough we had reached the southernmost point of the development, where seniors' and student housing is going up alongside multilevel parking lots. In keeping with the green standards throughout, the parking spaces planned for this area are at half the normal proportion of slots to other areas of the city. The hope is that most residents will find it more convenient to take the Metro or bike than deal with carrying bags out of a multilevel garage. But I did notice there was 30-minute parking alongside most of the established housing and a surface lot behind the 8 House.

Interior courtyard of the 8 House looking south across the marshes

Which brings us to the 8 House and one of our favorite spots in all of Copenhagen. We came across it the first time in a bike ride around Amager Faelled when it was just going it up. It looked like a ski slope or that horrid Xanadu complex in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. Later on, we found the vimeo featuring architect Bjarke Ingels ( BIG Group) describing the project and how it was conceived: http://vimeo.com/3499612.  And if we ever win the lottery, we will have to buy a unit there.

I won't bore you with my praises here. Just watch the vimeo, look at the few photos I have included and take a chance to visit when you are next in Copenhagen.

View of Viking Ship playground and marshes from atop of the 8 House

Green roofs at southern end of 8 House

Looking into the north courtyard of the 8 House.

The lovely island of Hven

When I showed an American friend this poster for the ferry to Hven, she remarked "Ah, Heaven!" That may be overselling it a tad, but it is a very lovely spot and an excellent day-trip out of Copenhagen. Hven lies in the narrow Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden, and has at times been Danish, but now is Swedish (see visithven.dk).

Boarding at Havnegade; some folks brought bikes and picnic lunches

We took a 9:15 ferry from Havnegade for the 90 minute trip with about 150 others - mostly Scandinavians. We bought rundstykker and coffee once on board, all the better to enjoy our little table looking out at the sights of Copenhagen harbor, the Oresund bridge, and the coastline north of the city while we motored along.

Oresundbro to Malmo and windfarms seen from the ferry

Once landed, we followed the crowd up a small road to an enormous bike rental stand with every possible combination of regular and tandem bikes, bikes with kid seats and cargo bikes. There was a bus offering a tour at the harbor, but I don't think anyone took it. This was a hearty lot of Danes and Swedish tourists and the exercise was definitely part of the outing, as it was for us. We had decided beforehand to spend the day walking the 11.7 km along the edge of the island, and ended up backtracking down to the Bagvicken harbor to catch the walking trail.

Bike rental stand on Hven

We started walking east, or counter-clockwise, around the island along the coast facing the Swedish mainland. This part of Hven really reminded me of Maine, specifically of Peak's Island in Casco Bay - home to our friend Jenny Higgins and one of the stops on our honeymoon 25 years ago. Needless to say, the coast was a bit rugged and had lots of long wooden piers for bathing. There were cottages alongside the path overlooking the shoreline, with well-kept gardens and cozy picnic tables.

Cottage with hydrangeas on Swedish side of Hven

About midway along this shoreline, we hit Ven's Stugby & Camping - a collection of hytte ( sleeping huts) and camping spots with a common bath area and kitchen. Some families had obviously come over on the ferry with bedding and food all piled up on a trailer and hitched it to a rental bike. Car-free family vacation!

Ven's Stugby and mini-golf ( not a real astronaut)

At the northern end of the island, where the cliffs were steepest and the shoreline rockiest, the path jigged left up a steep gravelly incline. This is where the walking decision paid off as many visitors were struggling both up and down the scrabbly path with their bikes. When we emerged at the top, we were in a gorgeous yellow wheat field - rippling in the wind - with low-lying barns on the horizon. The Swedish-ness of the terrain flipped into a classic Danish landscape and for the second half of the day, and from there on in, the dial pretty much stayed on the Danish side of the terrain and architecture.

Danish husband on Danish side of Hven

At the center of the island are the archaeological remains of astronomer Tycho Brahe's Uranienborg castle and observatory, as well as a Renaissance garden. There is a museum which explains his life and work housed in a beautiful old church, which is the highest point on the island. For a few decades in the middle of the 16th century, Hven was Brahe's fiefdom and he ran a full-scale observatory and entertained intellegentsia from across Europe on this little island. King Christian VI (who did so much to advance Denmark in other ways) undid this arrangement early in his reign, and Brahe removed to Prague and eventually met Kepler...so maybe it was OK in the long run.

Tycho Brahe Museum and garden

At any rate, an interesting historic angle on an island that was well worth visiting even without it.

What's so great about restaurants in Copenhagen

There has been an incredible amount written in the past few years about the new Nordic cuisine, and the restaurant scene in Copenhagen - famously led by NOMA, voted the world's best restaurant for the past three years. We have not yet eaten at NOMA, but have now had a substantial number of outstanding dining experiences in Copenhagen, and I can tell there's more going on than just foraged food. Like the characteristically great Danish design in furniture, household objects and architecture, the greatness in the "new" food comes from a certain elegant minimalism, attention to detail and a respect for the importance of tradition.

A classic Georg Jensen silver water pitcher, for example, grows out of the basic function of the vehicle and  elegantly marries the swell of the water vessel and the angle of the spout with a comfortable handle for the pourer. There is no mistaking what this object is designed to do, but great attention is also paid to the small details. The handle is mahogany, so you are holding a warm organic material and not cold metal. If I had found a better photo of the pitcher, you'd see that the surface is softened by hand-hammering, so you know it is a handmade object. And the beauty of the object respects the fact that serving food and water is an important party of family, and thus community, life -- so it is always worth doing very well. ( Sorry if this analogy ran on a bit long. Hard to put away the art historian in me sometimes).

Danish silver pitcher designed by Johan Rohde for Georg Jensen, Ltd.

The great new restaurants in Copenhagen observe a certain elegant minimalism that is quintessentially Danish. A green salad, or a piece of fish, or a poached egg is prepared and presented in such a way as to bring out the essential flavor of lettuce, or fish or eggs. That isn't to say, that other interesting ingredients aren't a part of this "unveiling" of taste, but they help to pump the flavor and don't get in the way.

Just a few days ago, I told my sceptical daughter that mushrooms take on the flavor of whatever they are cooked in - butter, or wine, or herbs and cream - so she couldn't declare a dislike for them. But the mushroom soup at Geist, http://restaurantgeist.dk/, made me a liar. A clear consomme served in a black bowl without a spoon (" so you put your face right into the smell") was the absolute soul of mushroom flavor in liquid form - earthy and dark.

Also at Geist, we tasted the unusual dish of sauteed almonds with caviar- a stunning plate of pale ovals set off with a teaspoon of shiny black caviar. Each ingredient held its own simple taste and "mouth feel," but you noticed it more through the combination.

At the beautiful Orangeriet, http://www.restaurant-orangeriet.dk/, which is housed in an old greenhouse within the walls of Kongens Have, we ordered a cold tomato and crab soup as a first course. I was expecting something in the gazpacho line, but instead was presented with a  bowl containing three dollops of crabmeat garnished with slices of green tomatoes, elderberries and a few sprigs of herb alongside a small vial of clear golden liquid - the tomato broth. The broth was fresh and understated as ripe tomato flesh, without the oily heaviness of  a typically Italian red tomato sauce. The crab just tasted more of the sea-shore for the light tomato essence.

The devil is in the details. And it is not just the food which is remarkable in the interesting new restaurants here. At Relae,http://restaurant-relae.dk, the tables have a narrow drawer full of utensils and napkins so diners can shift their own cutlery. At Geist, you can choose to sit at a bar overlooking the finishing kitchen so your meal is handed to you almost directly off the stove. You can watch the rhythm of the prep cooks, identify which dish is yours, and it doesn;t need to walk through a set of doors and around tables in a restaurant before you get to eat it. Both shifts in service make sense from the management side, and lend to the informality of the experience.

Relae, and its sibling restaurant Manfreds & Vin, are both on Jaegersborggade, an artsy one-way street in Norrebro that leads right into the incredible Assistens Cemetery (a whole 'nother topic). And both restaurants feature translucent porcelain table votives ("thinware") by neighborhood ceramicist Inge Vincents ( http://vincents@dk). May seem like a small thing, but using locally sourced artwork on your table is right up there with locally sourced produce in my book. (Organic and local is a given in most of these restaurants, BTW, not even worth mentioning out loud) And Vincents' ceramics perfectly capture the character of the food - minimal, elegant, innovative and extremely honest.

As for tradition, many of the dishes that are being served in Copenhagen are interesting twists on centuries-old Scandinavian dishes. No French fillips, or startling Thai spices - but respect for the foods and the food combinations that have always been important in this corner of the world. At Orangeriet, we had bread-fried mackerel that was a perfect nod to the oldest and most basic fare imaginable in Nordic regions - mackerel on bread. Except that Orangeriet smeared the fresh mackerel with rye bread dough on one side and then pan-fried it - so the fish and the bread were cooked into each other.

At Kodbyens Fiskebar, http://fiskebaren.dk/, the most classic combo imaginable - fishroe, onion and potato - were given an amazingly delicious and almost painterly re-make with teeny tiny chopped red onion and chive, dollops of creme fraiche, a bouquet of mixed greens and shoots and a see-through thin oblong of crispy potato (an artisanal potato chip). Other dishes were similar remixes - gorgeous thin-sliced laks, sauteed scallops, cod - all the things you'd expect on a Scandinavian table, but creatively dressed and presented with beautiful sprigs of greenery that you might find in a Danish field, and that carry the same freshness.

For all the buzz in the States and elsewhere about the new Nordic cuisine, I think it is going to be hard for it to travel well as it is so engrained in the character, workmanship and traditions of Scandinavian culture. But should be fun to watch others try.

Creeping Danishness 2.1 - How to cut food properly

So again, I am using a decimal system, because this subject may seem small, but actually it touches on two essentially Danish characteristics - precision in all things and a high value placed on thrift - so it will probably come up again.

I learned about the seriousness accorded (by Danes) to cutting food properly about 15 years ago, as part of the preparations for a family party. A group of the women were prepping in the kitchen of the town Forsamlingshuset ( most towns in DK have a communal gathering house with a full kitchen, tables, chairs, etc. for big parties), and a well-meaning cousin asked me to cut the tomatoes as pynt for the smorrebrod (decoration and things to set on top of open sandwiches). I started working away and she quickly stopped me - aghast that I was cutting the tomatoes into slices instead of wedges, or boats! She then very patiently (and I thought a bit smugly) demonstrated the proper way to cut, and display, the boats on a platter.

Tomato boats

Now I can appreciate a traditional presentation, but as an American, I am used to a certain relaxed standard when it comes to cutting vegetables. In addition to slices and boats, I have even diced the occasional tomato for a salad or for pynt. And I kinda thought that a slice of tomato would sit nice and flat on an open sandwich. But over here, it just doesn't work that way. And there is a certain method to this seemingly ridiculous orthodoxy.

Smorrebrod med pynt

Danish tomatoes are smaller than American tomatoes - especially New Jersey beefsteak tomatoes - and are rarely larger than a  baseball. This size doesn't get you a lot of slices, and then the top and bottom are wasted, too. But with boats, you just need to trim off the little green bud at the top and the rest cuts up perfectly. Precision, and thrift. The Swedes have a word that sounds like largum (but I don;t know how to spell it) and it accords to this very concept - just right. Not too much, not too little, nice to look at, works perfectly.

Now that we are here full-time, the tomato boat issue is cropping up everywhere - with cheese, and certain standard types of bread and rolls.

The delicious, kinda smelly, semi-soft cheese we love to eat here can only by cut with the wire-type of cheese slicer. But first you have to cut away a small amount of the wax around the sides, but not too much, because you need the wax to keep your fingers off the stinky cheese. Then the slice has to be thin and flat - no gulleys in the middle! -  across or you will be accused of "holing" the cheese, or udhuler. This is actually the word for not cutting the cheese properly.

Smelly cheese with the beginnings of udhule  on the left

And rygbrod, the dense rye and grain bread that is a staple for both breakfast and open sandwiches, must also be absolutely thin and flat - no artsy slants! - or your Danish husband may ridicule you. I always thought the bread slicing machine on my  mother-in-law's counter took up an absurd amount of space for its limited function. But clearly, she couldn't take the pressure of bread-slicing perfection.

Rygbrod  with one good slice and one corrective slice

Lastly, I will mention how to properly slice rundstykker, the roundish rolls that many Danes eat for breakfast or with morning coffee. You need to use a good long serrated knife, and saw it evenly, or a little ball of doughy bread will appear in the middle of your roll. The practice is in fact, nor dissimilar to the way I have seen older Jewish people in the US cut their bagels. They hold it in their hand and saw through it carefully, and you are sure they will cut themselves, but it always comes out perfect.

How to slice rundstykker demo

Ready-to-eat rundstykker with cheese and jam