Our second day in Copenhagen found us on our way
to the National Museum of Denmark
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| A tight fit! |
and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket. If we hadn’t
run out of time and energy, we’d have visited the Royal Stables. These have
been turned into little museums and there is always a chance of seeing the
royal horses. Since we missed these, as well as a plethora of other sites,
we’ll have to go back! We only visited two museums this day, but they were good
ones.
The National
Museum of Denmark is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history. It is
housed in the Prince’s Mansion, a Rococo edifice that dates back to 1684. There
are
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Left: Trundholm Sun Chariot
Right: Horned helmets |
exhibits from the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The
museum also sponsors SILA – The Greenland Research Centre to further
archaeological and anthropological research in Greenland. One of the many
things I didn’t know before this trip was that Greenland is/was part of
Denmark. There’s a lot to see in this museum since it covers 14,000 years of
Danish history, including the reindeer-hunters of the Ice Age, Vikings, and
works of religious art from the Middle Ages. There is also a collection of Danish
coins from Viking times to the present, along with Roman and Greek coins. We
only took a moment to glance at the collection of objects from the ancient
cultures of Greece and Italy, the Near East and Egypt. But we did spend some
time with the collection of objects from Danish excavation of Tell Shemshara in
Iraq. My focus was the Trundholm Sun Chariot, an important late Nordic Bronze
Age artifact. As with the Egyptians, important persons were buried with a
variety of goods for their use in the afterlife. In Denmark and in Greenland,
the burial places weren’t pyramids, but peat bogs. It was amazing how many
artifacts were preserved in this material, including clothing and jewelry. I
knew that there was a lot of amber used in ornamentation in Russia, but there is
an equal amount, if not more in these ancient Danish artifacts. The one exhibit
that Dave liked the best was the horned helmets from Brøns Mose at Veksø on
Zealand, Denmark. These are from the Bronze Age and perpetuate our vision of
Viking headwear. It took us more than half a day to tour this museum and I know
we didn’t see it all – yet another reason to go back to Copenhagen.
As ‘dense’ with information as the National
Museum of Denmark is, the Glyptoteket is
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Top L to R: Ophelia, Mother Denmark, Degas Ballerina
Bottom: Ungent pots |
restful. The first thing we saw when
we entered was the winter garden with benches, soothing sculptures and open
spaces. Although it looks like someone’s castle, the building that houses the
collection was actually built for that purpose. The building is a mix of
Venetian renaissance, neo-classical, and modern minimalist which works with the
types of displays in each of these areas. The Glyptoteket is an art museum and
it was wonderful. The Ny Carlsberg
Glyptotek collection is built around the personal collection of the son of
the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries, Carl Jacobsen (1842–1914). The
sculptures that make up the largest part of the collection were privately held,
and like so many other folks, the owner wanted someone else to have to store
it, so it became part of the treasures of Denmark. The focal point of the
museum is antique sculpture from the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean
including Egypt, Rome and Greece, along with modern sculptures such as works of
Rodin. These are presented in grand rooms with dark blue walls that allow the
white marble to glow. I was in heaven! There is also an extensive collection of
French impressionists and Post-impressionists (Jacques-Louis David, Monet,
Pissarro, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard) plus
Danish Golden Age paintings by artists whose names I don’t know. The works by
Degas included his sculptures of women. These were ballerinas in various poses
as a study for his life-size ballerina sculpture. It’s always fascinating to
see how an artist known for one form transfers his/her vision into another
medium. There were also two special exhibits. The first was of Gaugin’s works
in Tahiti which were introduced by an area that portrayed his ‘collection’ of
materials that inspired his paintings. This amalgamation of materials included
parts of machines, baskets, toys, utensils, and other odds and ends that caught
his imagination. It was interesting to learn that he had once lived in
Copenhagen and left his family there while he traveled and lived in the
islands. The other special exhibit was about the Crustumerium which was a small
settlement just north of Rome. An amazing amount of pottery and other household
materials have been found that support the notion that while these people
traded with the Romans, they were completely separate from the city.
Copenhagen is an interesting place and we could
have spent a week here rather than just
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| A rather 'stiff' docent and Cynthia |
two days. There is much more to see and
to do; the citizens are friendly and helpful so even if you don’t speak Danish,
it’s no problem to travel around. However, even with the rate of exchange, it’s
not cheap. Expect to spend about $20/person/meal on the inexpensive side. Other
prices are equally high. For information about my rating system, see Reading the
Reviews.
What we did:
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| Four and one-half carrots |
Our best decision was getting the Copenhagen Card. It
comes with a booklet that tells you
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| Local Viking |
what is free or discounted and where things
are located. There is a map (no review, for the obvious reason that we were map
challenged in this city). Included is a pass on buses, water buses, trains,
and metros in the entire Capital Region. You can use this card 24 hours a day
for the number of days you’ve chosen.
It’s well worth the cost. If you buy online, it’s cheaper and you pick
it up at one of the Tourist Information offices.
Ny Carlsberg
Glyptoteket (Dantes Plads 7, 1556 Copenhagen, + 45 33 41 81 41, info@glyptoteket.dk) was my favorite
place in Copenhagen. It is a must if you visit this city.
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| Four carrots |
Canal Tours
Copenhagen (Gammel Strand 32, 1200 Copenhagen K, +45 3296 3000) is a nice
way to spend the first hour of the day. Be sure to get there by 9:00 AM so you
get on the first boat, otherwise it gets crowded, especially if it’s a nice
day. Also, if you’re using the Copenhagen Card, you must get on at the Ved
Stranden location.
Tivoli Gardens (Vesterbrogade
3, 1630 Copenhagen, +45 33151001, http://www.tivoligardens.com/en/praktisk)
is simply fun. There are some historical and cultural exhibits, but mostly
there are places to eat, rides, and gardens. If you have kids, you’ll want to
take them here.
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| Three carrots |
University of
Copenhagen Botanical Garden (Øster Farimagsgade 2 B - DK-1353 Copenhagen)
is the place to go if you are interested in plants and historical buildings.
Admission to the gardens and the buildings is free.
Rosenborg Castle
Gardens (Øster Voldgade 4A, 1350 Copenhagen, +45 33 95 42 00) is a good
place to go for a picnic. When the flowers are in bloom it is probably
spectacular.
Where we stayed:
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| Three and one-half carrots |
First Hotel 27 (Løngangstræde 27, 1468 Copenhagen, +45 70 27 56
27) is in a great
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| Coming and going at First Hotel 27 |
location. If you want a large room, air conditioning, and a
big bathroom, you’ll want an American chain hotel but it will cost about twice
the price. The room and the bathroom were clean and tidy. There were plenty of
toiletries, fluffy towels, and trash cans. The over-large window opened in two
positions. When swung out it let in a cooling breeze that was downright cold
once the sun went down; it also opened at the top to let in a lessor amount of
air. If you have your window open you can hear the nearby clock chiming each
quarter hour, but it stops at 11:00 PM, as do any street parties. Unlike many
hotels, the elevator was large enough for our bags and us to ascent together. The
staff all speak English and are polite, helpful, and good humored. The only two
things I would have liked were more plugs for all of our electronics, and a top
sheet rather than only a comforter (which we did need in the early hours of the
morning). It was a good value for the price we paid and we'd stay there, again.
What we ate:
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| Georg Carstensen looking at Tivoli |
While food is not cheap in Copenhagen, it is readily
available and ranges widely in price. I’m sure that once you’re out of the
tourist area the prices come down, although we didn’t experience this. Do not
be surprised at the proximity of the other folks in the restaurant; we always had
our own tables, but were nearly in the laps of the people next to us. Tap water
is not
free, but it is cold and you get about a liter per order. I didn’t see any non-specialty
restaurant that didn’t offer vegetarian and vegan items. Thankfully, there is
no smoking in the restaurants.
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| Four carrots |
Café Zalt (Kompagnistræde
2 kl.th., 1201 Copenhagen K, +45 33 36 53 53) is in a pedestrian only street.
There is outside as well as inside seating. We chose inside because
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Top L to R: Menu, Drinks, Dessert
Bottom L to R: Pasta and beef, smørrebrød |
it was
crowded outside and a bit chilly. It appears that the restaurant is in some
type of old storage or business building with low ceilings and lots of small
rooms; it’s also rather dark. I used the flashlight on my phone to read the
menu. We began with a Stella Artois for Dave, a cava Brut rosé for me, and
water for us both. I was surprised and pleased with the wine; it was a bit
sweet and refreshing. Had I realized that smørrebrød (Danish open-faced
sandwich) was not a smorgasbord (Swedish buffet), I would have ordered these
delicacies much sooner. I had two open face sandwiches, one beef and one salmon.
The best part of salmon was bread; it was full of seeds or nuts making it
crunchy. The beef was marinated in some sort of sauce and was outstanding; it
was on the same yummy bread. Dave had pasta with tenderized steak, tart green tomatoes,
mushrooms, sauce, and red tomatoes. He said it reminded him of a very good
hamburger helper; he’d order it again. We finished our meal with chocolate
coconut cake dressed with sour cream and a chocolate cinnamon sauce; it was
delightful! Our server was rushed off her feet, but still managed to perform
her duties efficiently and politely.
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| Three and one-half carrots |
First
Hotel 27 Breakfast (Løngangstræde 27, 1468 Copenhagen,
+45 70 27 56 27) is about $16 per person, but it has the advantage of being in
the hotel. Looking at what some folks were eating, the restaurant was losing
money. The food was set up as self-service with plenty of fresh fruit, breads,
coffee, juice, cheeses, cold cuts, and cereals. There were also hot foods:
boiled (soft or hard) and scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, and cereals. As with
many buffets, you could go back as many times as you’d like. The wait staff
seemed surprised, but pleased, when Dave and I cleaned our own table; perhaps
we were supposed to leave things. In any case, it was easier than hunting a
place to eat and the food was good.
Krogs Fiskerestaurant (Gammel Strand 38, 1202 Copenhagen, +45 33 15
89 15) requires
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Top: Menu
Middle L to R: Roe, bread, Langoustines
Bottom L to R: Dessert, Lemon sole |
reservations for dinner, and it’s a more upscale place so we
actually changed from jeans into something a bit nicer. The restaurant is in an
old house near the canal and is really pretty on the inside. Service is near
perfect; waiters knew what they were serving to a point but didn’t know about
preparation. I had a glass of a very nice Alsace wine; it was sweet and good.
Dave had a glass of Riesling that was merely okay. While we looked at the menu,
they brought us a very nice piece of warm bread with butter. He decided to have
the 3 Course Evening Meal. This began with roe, sour cream and onion garnished
with lemon, dill, and watercress; pancakes were served as the bread. Lemon sole
with smoked shrimp in fish sauce was flavorful, but the shrimp were tough. For
dessert he was served berries with sorrel sorbet, crumbled sorrel, crumble
coffee beans, and crème fresh; this was excellent. I had grilled langoustines
with sautéed peas and onions in a teriyaki sauce. The langoustine tails were
good, but it wasn’t worth the effort to try to get the meat out of the legs and
claws. The peas had a good flavor from the teriyaki sauce. Presentation of our meal was lovely, but the preparation
of the foods needs to be better to command the price that is asked.
Restaurant Karla (Dantes Plads 1, 1556 Copenhagen V, +45 33 12
70 25) has both outdoor and inside seating. It’s across the street from the
National Museum and the
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Left: Napkin
Right T to B: Fried cheese, Lemon pudding |
waitresses speak excellent English. We only had a snack
because we planned to have a rather large supper. If I go back to Copenhagen, I
plan to eat at this place, again; the menu looked very interesting. Dave ordered
fried camembert cheese with fresh, hot wheat bread, black currant jelly, fried
parsley, purple grapes, and oranges. He said it was very good. I had lemon
pudding with whipped cream and a strawberry. The taste got stronger as I ate. I
thought my pudding was very good, too.
Riz Raz (Store
Kannikestræde 19, 1169 Copenhagen, +45 33 32 33 45) is in an older
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Top: Building and sign
Middle: Burger and fries
Bottom: Shrimp |
building on
a pedestrian street. It has both outdoor and indoor seating; we chose indoor
because it was warmer. The waiters are you and energetic, if not particularly knowledgeable
about the food or the restaurant. I had an appetizer that was six grilled shrimp
in flavored oil with a piece of garlic bread; the taste was good, but the
shrimp were tough. Dave had a burger with fries; the fries were excellent and
the burger was good. We both drank tap water. Our bill was about $30 without
tip. We were entertained by the group of young professionals next to us who
were switching among Danish, English, German and some language we couldn’t
identify as they ate their meals. It’s a pleasant place, but rather pricy.
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| Three carrots |
The Café at
the National Gallery of Denmark (Sølvgade 48-50, 1307 Copenhagen, +45 33 74 84
94) has a wide range of foods available, but it is difficult to put in an order
since the
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| Beer and pie, the lunch of champions |
cook is also the counter person. We settled for two pieces of pie,
and one beer; this is the only place I found with free tap water. The pie was
okay but our bill was about $20.
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