The Reason Copenhagen Design Can Be Nasty and Gross

Oh, I struggled with the title this week. I mean. Who’s going to open up a post entitled “My Copenhagen Design Vacation Part II”

 

yawn… Right? Okay, yes some will, but many won’t.

But, I imagine that “nasty and gross” got your attention.

More about that very soon, I promise

 

#designtrailcph.

 

If you follow that hashtag, you can see our pics on instagram and facebook.

And, thanks guys for your kind words about my photography.

I’m pretty anal about it; I must admit. But some of the images today were a little tough to get perfect and the reason is that I took them while running; stopping just long enough to get the camera still. 1,2,3 and off!

Today’s images came from a guided walking tour which includes some things from the first bonus day, but different views.

 

Many of you know that one of my passions in life is the art of classical ballet.

 

(Today, was World Ballet Day and I can’t wait to dive in!) In honor of WBD and my Copenhagen Design Retreat, I’m going to share with you one of my favorite classic ballets, La Sylphide, choreographed by the celebrated Danish choreographer August Bournonville.

August Bournonville in the mid 19th century.

His style of ballet is full of light airy jumps and believe me, it takes a tremendous amount of power to make one look like they weigh nothing and that gravity is an inconsequential force.

Please enjoy a few minutes of this beautiful piece danced brilliantly by one of my favorite ballerinas — ever, the astonishing Evgenia Obraztsova and her partner (who’s married to another favorite ballerina, Oleysia Novikova.)

 

I was incredibly lucky to see Evgenia dance the lead in Romeo and Juliet at the Met 3 years ago. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

 

If you’re a balletomane, you get it. If you’re not and one of those who says in a whiny voice, “I don’t understand ballet.” Well, there’s nothing to understand. It’s like saying. “I don’t understand banana cream pie.” Beauty is beauty.

If you don’t have time now, please come back when you do. I promise that it’ll be worth it.

Don’t worry, we won’t move on until you come back. ;]

Okay, is everyone back?

Great!

 

While you’re reading today, I have another treat for you.

 

similar to this one.

One of my favorite pieces of music written by Christoph Willibald Gluck – Dance of the Blessed Spirits from the Opera Orfeo et Eurydice

 

Okay, Gluck was a German composer. Fine. Sue me. ;] However, he did spend some time in Copenhagen composing an opera for the young “crazy” king Christian VII. Unfortunately, forces stronger than music had a deleterious effect on Christian. We’ll get to him in a sec.

 

We left our hotel in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen, a great location, and headed left towards the heart of the city. Immediately we passed a bakery but no time to stop.

However, soon we passed what I later found out is the oldest bakery in Copenhagen.

Now, I did not snap the NAME of the bakery and I could not remember exactly how close it was to the hotel. So, it took the better part of an hour to find it. But I did!

 

Conditori La Glace – Oldest bakery – Copenhagen

 

No, we did not stop. But it’s okay. Make no mistake, I did not go hungry for one second. And I got a delectable pastry the next day.

We passed many charming side streets like this one.

And then, I heard my trip mates (I was always in the rear because of my photo taking) laughing uproariously. I looked up and soon joined them in a chorus of loud cackling as we galloped through the streets of Copenhagen.

 

“Nasty and Gross.”

 

Oh, you thought I was going to show you a pile of rotting garbage or something? haha. No Way! Copenhagen is one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever seen. By the way, N & G is a hair salon.  The Danish do have a keen sense of humor!

Hopefully, N & G refers to how their customer’s hair is before they work on it. :]

Aside from that, I can assure you that I saw nothing even remotely nasty and gross during our fabulous Copenhagen Design Retreat.

As we’ve already had a taste, I want to focus on the Copenhagen Design aspect that I love most. The city has some of the most exquisite architecture I’ve ever seen.

 

Here are two beautiful doors, I noticed.

 

Beautiful neo-classical exterior door with a  Greek Key Pattern

 

There will be more Greek Key Design coming up! Can’t wait to show you where.

 

And I love this elegant door too!

 

We walked around Copenhagen University – Appropriately Ivy-clad.

That’s lovely Jennifer Bertrand– third season HGTV Star!

 

Soon, we found ourselves back on the premises of Christian VII’s birthplace, Christiansborg Palace. He was the monarch in the latter half of the 18th century.

 

In fact, the original palace was built only three years before he was born.

 

Christiansborg palace 1746

Alas, the main building burned down at some point.

Christiansborg Palace gates

 

However, it appears that the outside wall and bridge are original.

Today, the main building constructed about 90 years ago, looks like this.

 

We saw the tower and view a few days ago.

 

Christiansborg Palace detail. Please check out those caryatids!

 

Jens Juel (1745-1802) — Portrait of Christian VII of Denmark, 1789 – Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen. Denmark

He looks okay there but they say that he was “crazy.” That is Christian, not Jens. Today, however, scholars believe that he may have suffered from schizophrenia and/or was the victim of extreme abuse.

Zahrtmann_Christian_VIIs_hof

 

After a few years, it was deemed that Christian was unfit to rule and his half-brother became the regent. I believe this depiction is showing Christian in his own world while the “rulers” were busy with chess. Something like that. Well, this was in the “let them eat cake era.”

The weather was cloudy and it was quite cool. Unfortunately, Laurel left her hat in her room, but I made do with my scarf. We had a quick-lunch al fresco with heat lamps!

 

Then, the afternoon was spent visiting numerous shops, featuring some of the best in contemporary Danish design that Copenhagen has to offer.

 

The first stop was a lovely shop, Stilleben 22. I have to confess that this one image is not mine as I forgot to take one. I’m not obliged to but it’s a pretty shop.

 

Next up is a store named Gubi

 

Jens Juel Selfie 1768 – lovely colors!

hmmm… Another shot at Gubi, below.

 

The colors are why I posted the art. But, I do love Juel’s work!

 

I guess it’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun.

That is reminding me that this post about transom windows features another favorite Danish artist Vilhelm Hammershøi

Our next stop was at the fabulous Ferm Living. I think that this was everyone’s favorite store. And the owner, Martin Neve, could not have been more delightful.

 

It is in a wonderful old building and set up like a beautiful Danish home.

This is obviously a home office.

How fabulous is that art wall!

 

Ferm Home sells all manner of home furnishings, but are known for their wonderful hand-made Wallpaper – But check out that interesting paint job! I found out that they change their decor entirely, every six months! The paint is by a Danish company. The colors look a lot like Farrow and Ball.

I have to confess that I was so taken with the architecture, that I found myself snapping more what was outside, than inside the buildings; particularly when we were high up.

We’ll be visiting the Royal Smushi cafe next time, I believe. It is gorgeous! Inside and out. This was taken out of the window at Ferm Living.

Our next stop was Hay House which is located in the fabulously gorgeous building here.

Hay House is an eclectic mix of Contemporary Copenhagen Design juxtaposed with traditional architecture and this Rococo inspired iron railing. It’s all quite smashing!  As you can see, I’m not the only one snapping pics out the windows!

 

And for a very good reason!

 

Hay House has a wonderful vantage point for shots like this. Ferm Living, I believe is in the dark gray building on the left.

 

Yes, it says “Hermes.” :]

 

I love this detail shot

At some point we passed this handsome guy on a pedestal. These statues are plentiful in Copenhagen.

I couldn’t resist taking a pic of this old building. I quipped to my friends. “Imagine having to install draperies on those windows; each one is different.” What a nightmare for a designer!

 

Our next stop was Retro Villa which has home furnishings, gifts and features hundreds of rolls of vintage wallpaper

 

Our final stop was at Tortus CPH – which is a shop filled with hand-crafted earthenware created by the very talented Eric Landon– who’s from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, originally!

 

We were treated to a demo of how he makes his sleek, sophisticated ceramics. In the background is his kiln. He creates from 500-1,000 of these pieces every year. Most of them are not terribly large and all have simple glazes.

And no two pieces are the same, he says.

 

A shot in Eric’s courtyard. I forgot about this. Someone asked me if I had a chance to see any Copenhagen courtyards.

Phew! We were pooped, but happy. Those with smart watches said that we had walked seven miles and umpteen flights of stairs!

 

After a short rest at the hotel, we took a cab to this beautiful restaurant– Ravage where we enjoyed a delicious meal.

 

Then, back to the hotel.

Below, another gorgeous painting by Jens Juel. This one depicting the northern lights in winter. Remember how we saw them in theses gorgeous images from Christian Uhlig?

 

Landschaft_mit_Nordlicht- Jens Juel -1795

 

We still have three more days, but fewer stops, so I think I can consolidate them into one more post. I hope you enjoyed this immersion into Copenhagen design, both past and present.

xo,