And So I'm Back...

So, Copenhagen was truly a wonderful place. The weather was mostly rubbish though although it didn't rain too much. But the sun didn't shine much either.

Journey over was fine even though via Easyjet. The apartments were good too. Quite central and clean and comfortable and with free wifi. And frankly what more do you want?

Highlights of the holiday included:

The Botanic Gardens (natch). These were really well curated and looked after and the palm house was stunning.  Opening hours here were odd though (as indeed they are throughout the rest of Copenhagen). 

Our little local "cruising" park.  Denise had discovered that this was a well known hang out for men looking for a little distraction but it was just a really lovely park too.  It had some glorious views and the planting was good and there were "classic" statues of Greek (or Roman - I'm never completely sure which are which) Gods everywhere.  Including everyone's favourite, Hermes.  Just looked up the Interweb and Hermes is Greek (like he could be anything else!). This really was our local park as it was literally over the road from our apartments.  The laydeez were most insistent that I go for a stroll after dark - they even threatened to take me there, tie me to a tree and leave me!  Readers, I was shocked. But I didn't explore the possibilities.  Those days are long gone.

The Royal Palaces. Now I'm not normally a fan of all things royal (nor do I particularly object to them) but the Danish Royals seem OK.  Queen Margrethe II even had her portrait done wearing full royal regalia whilst keeping her glasses on.  Sweet. Anyway, the Royal Palace is much as one would expect - all rococo chairs and fancy wallpaper - until one gets to the tapestry room.  A series of tapestries were commissioned for the queen's 50th birthday and they tell the entire history of Denmark from the Dark Ages onwards.  And they are absolutely stunning. I was completely blown away by them and had to rush around the rest of the rooms to ensure I got back to the shop before it closed (those bloody opening hours again) to buy a book on them. You can see a bit about them here  http://kongehuset.dk/english/Historical-Collections/Bjorn-Norgaards-tapestries/bjorn-norgaards-tapestries

The Glyptotek. Now this is a museum built by Mr Carlsberg (of the beer family) to house his collection of Greek, Roman and Egyptian statues (which no doubt have been added to over the years) and it is rather charming.  It has a lovely indoor "winter garden" with a recommended cafe.  Unfortunately I'd chosen to go on a Sunday when it's free entry so the place, including the cafe, was rammed.

The Louisiana art gallery.  This is a train trip out of town but is so worth the journey.  Stunning modern art gallery on the coast in beautiful grounds.  Unfortunately it was raining that day and so we weren't able to take advantage of the grounds and outdoor sculpture park.  But inside was well worth it anyway - apart from the Yoko Ono special exhibition. I'm sure that woman has talent (she was a recognised artist before her marriage) but I'm afraid I struggle with her stuff. The Mirror Room is an absolute wonder as is some of the Giacometti statuary (although to be fair he can be a bit samey - but it just shows how important it is to stage art properly. The proper staging can make all the difference). But the building itself is also a star. It's a maze of levels and corridors and staircases and unexpected windows framing lovey views. Just fantastic.

The company, of course, the laydeez.  DD, Lesley and Jackie are fab travelling companions and we had a good laugh as well as some heated debates.

Nimb.  My favourite Copenhagen bar.  Ruinously expensive but fabulous.

Shopping. They have an Hermes and a Louis Vuitton as well as a design department store (Illums). I bought 2 jumpers but not from these shops.  I also bought a green amber bracelet. Lovely.

Open sandwiches.  We dined "a la Danish" once and it was very nice.  Helped by a brief spell of sunny weather that allowed outdoor dining and a Nordic God for a waiter.  No-one had pickled herring though.

Less lovely though was the food generally.  The Danes seem to have an aversion to hot food.  Everything we were served (apart from our last night in an Italian) was served tepid.  Not good.

Also less good was the litter. We were genuinely surprised by how dirty the city streets were. There is also graffiti everywhere. 

The Danish Design Centre was also a disappointment for me.  I had expected a sort of museum or showcase for Danish Design (one of the main reasons for my trip) but it was more like offices for designers with no design as such on show.  They do apparently have special exhibitions from time to time but nothing was on show when I visited.  The woman in the cafe was also rude.  The problem I think was not so much the centre as my guide book which had led me to expect something else.  There is a design museum but by the time I found out my error it was too late to fit that into my itinerary. I maybe need to go back to see this and to see the Glass Museum which I also didn't manage to fit in.

The opening hours are also rubbish.  Lots of stuff closes on Sunday and only opens for half a day on Saturday. And you can forget late night opening.  This often includes cafes and bars.  Bizarre.

And finally I need to mention a shameful episode.  The laydeez would not forgive me if I did not.  Readers, they made me take a blindfolded (anyone else sensing an S&M undertone in their attitudes to me given the earlier "let's tie him to a tree episode?) vodka taste test in which they pitched Ciroc vodka (bought in Duty Free on the way out) against Karloff vodka bought at the local Netto. Yes, really. And I failed to identify the more expensive vodka. Quelle horreur. In my defence I would argue that neither of those vodkas are drunk regularly by me - the first taste of Ciroc I had was at my party and I've never even been in a Netto before.  I would like to think that if I pitched Belvedere or Chase against, say, Smirnoff the result would be different.  Am I brave enough to chance it though? Watch this space.

Now back in the UK and it was straight to a Macmillan meeting yesterday. It was very good and positive though.  Quiet day today (may watch the tennis) with Helpline duties tonight.  

Sorry for the delay in updating this but as you can see from above I've had quite a busy time. :-) I'm sure there's loads of stuff I've forgotten but my laydeez can fill in the gaps in comments if they can remember their passwords...!  That's all. J x