Drunk Driver Antiquing in Copenhagen Careens Off Embankment

Okay, I fully realize that I’m going straight to hell for saying that. And, that’s because it’s not true. Well, not that I know of.

And, apparently, nobody in Copenhagen drinks, uses poor judgment, or has a medical crisis– while driving, that is.

You see, we did go antiquing in Copenhagen on our last day of our delightful interior design retreat late last month.

And, we did come frightening close to the edge of the embankment just outside the beautiful Green Square Antiques store.

Here, let me show you.

Green Square Antiques, embankment - water - dangerous - antiquing in copenhagenThis is obviously not my pic. But here you can see the beautiful Greensquare Antique Store to the right. In the middle is the road. :] This a road where cars with real live people sitting in them, then drive on it in both directions.  Never mind, that there’s no center dividing line either. My palms are getting sweaty just looking at this!

If this was New York. We would all be dead. There’s an alarming number of fatal accidents around here on a daily basis, as it is! And we are fenced in, up the wazoo in these parts.

Why, I can’t even make a right-hand turn in my town where the opposing traffic is a parking lot that’s closed half of the time.

no railing between road and water - antiquing in copenhagen

Here, we are looking in the opposite direction. :]  See where those cars are at the end. That’s where the taxi came barreling toward the water and then quickly swerved around.

Honestly, everyone in the cab gasped!

And you know, I googled it to see if there are ever such tragedies and the only thing I found was an article that says that the Copenhageners have a different “attitude” about the water than  people who live elsewhere.

Apparently.

 

But, now, I’m backwards because this was the last day and we haven’t done day four.  But, I promise that we’ll be back!

 

Day four started out with the most delightful trip to a flower shop called Poppykalas, where we were treated to the incredibly charming owner, Thilde who talked to us for quite some time and all of it fascinating. She shared how she started her business and ended up in this spot and picked the name, too.

Poppykalas owner Thilde - wallpaper - CopenhagenHere, Thilde is showing us some wallpaper they are planning on using on a feature wall. The shop is in a beautiful part of town and it is shared with some other small vendors.

After a thorough explanation of how we are to create our bouquets, we are lead back to the flower room and told that we could select about 12 flowers for our bouquets.

my flower arrangement - poppykalas
Here’s mine. I think I need to practice this; it’s looking a little to 1800flowers, lol,  But I do like the colors.

the gang at Poppykalas - #designtrailcph - Copenhagen

group shot inside Poppykalas in Copenhagen

 

Next up was a trip just outside the city to the beautiful Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

 

This is a MUST-SEE while in Copenhagen. However, when we arrived, I was starting to feel not-so-great which means that I needed to sit down and eat. So, I went off by myself and found the cafe.

Since I didn’t know what I wanted to eat, I ended up with the buffet. I highly recommend that too. Everything was very fresh and delicious.

Plus, it was another picture-perfect delightful day, so I sat outside.

outside Louisiana Museum - Copenhagen-perfect day

I know. They special-ordered this day, just for us!

The land out in the distance is Sweden!

After lunch which I washed down with another ginger beer, I was feeling myself again and went for a walk. Yes, I know that I was at a museum, but it was so beautiful outside, I hated to go inside.

beautiful grounds - Louisiana museum - Copenhagen
Now, here, they have a fence. haha!

Of course, after a bit, I did go back inside to see the exhibits. It is not a large museum. If you only have an hour, it would be easy to breeze through and see everything. Of course, you can take all day, if you like.

 

As is the theme in Copenhagen, there is a combination of old and new at the Louisiana Museum.

 

The most exciting exhibit is about the moon. And it IS sensational. Very, very beautiful. As next summer will be 50 years (yes, I know!!!) since we first landed on the moon, this is most appropriate.

There are some 150 works of art, from old to new. I took some pics of some of my favorite pieces. They are framed, but I prefer to view them unframed.

The theme, of course, is the moon.  Clever, huh?

Carl-Julius-Leypold-Cemetery-Entrance-1832

Carl Julius – Leypold Cemetery Entrance – 1832

 

J.C. Dahl - The Bay At Naples oil on canvas - 1821 - Louisiana Museum

J.C. Dahl – The Bay At Naples oil on canvas – 1821

 

Moonlight Painting - 1821 - Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg -1783-1853

Moonlight Painting – 1821 – Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

 

James Arthur O'Connor - The Poachers - oil on canvas c. 1834

James Arthur O’Connor – The Poachers – oil on canvas c. 1834

 

Virgil’s Tomb, by Moonlight - 1782 -Joseph Wright of Derby

Virgil’s Tomb, by Moonlight – 1782 -Joseph Wright of Derby

 

There are also many modern pieces in the moon exhibit and some room which showed films. It’s a wonderful exhibit.

 

And of course, there’s much in the way of modern art. Here are some pieces that I took images of.

 

Modern Art Louisiana Museum - CopenhagenI forgot to get the names of these pieces. Believe me when I tell you that there were always people in the shot. This one is closely cropped, so it worked out. I actually do like people sometimes. ;] But, this one is the straightest image I took of this vignette.

 

Yves Klein - Mono Blue 1960 - Louisiana Museum - Copenhagen

Yves Klein – Mono Blue 1960

I couldn’t resist sharing this one. It is reminding me of the statues on day one at the Carlsberg Glyptotech Museum we saw on Day one.

 

gerhard richter lakfarve color chart 1969
Gerhard Richter – Lakfarve color chart 1969

I don’t think it’s called color chart, but it was written in Danish with those weird letters and it’s getting too late for me to deal with that, so Color Chart, it is. It’s making me think about how they choose the color of the year — sometimes.

Per Kirkeby (1938–2018) - The Hut-Louisiana Museum

Per Kirkeby (1938–2018) – The Hut-Louisiana Museum

I love how fresh this looks. And even though the building is modern, there are mouldings and soft white paint. It looks like White Dove.

 

 Louisiana Museum - #DesigntrailCPH
And here we all are outside the Louisiana Museum.

We found a handsome, young Danish-dude to snap it for us. ;]

Ahh… sweet. He must’ve been a little nervous because it’s slightly out-of-focus. Better for me. lol

Then, it was back to the hotel where most of us hung out in the lobby because we hadn’t spent enough time together. We had dinner at the hotel as well. They have this outrageous cauliflower veggie burger which sounds disgusting, but it is absolutely scrumptious and tastes very much like beef.

 

NOW, we’re ready for Day five and when we did go antiquing in Copenhagen.

 

So, let’s go inside Green Square Antiques.

Oh man, I love this place. Here are a few of my favorite shots that I took.

 

Greensquare Antiques - antiquing in Copenhagen - Gustavian antiquesGreensquare Antiques – antiquing in Copenhagen – Love those Swedish Gustavian antiques!

 

Greensquare Antiques - Gustavian bench - antiquing in Copenhagen
Here’s the opposite view of some of the Gustavian Antique pieces.

 

Greensquare Antiques - antiquing in Copenhagen-English antiquesGreensquare Antiques also has a lot of English and French, etc. antiques and lots and lots of Chinoiserie and Asian pieces like that cool black table on the left.

 

Greensquare Antiques - antiquing in Copenhagen-ship sailing pastInside the shop, I did get this one image of the fence-less road and a cruise ship sailing in to harbor.

 

Greensquare Antiques - antiquing in Copenhagen - beautiful Chinoiserie vignetteBeautiful mix of Louis XV or Venetian, perhaps and an amazing Chinoiserie cabinet.

The colors are glorious!

 

Greensquare Antiques - antiquing in Copenhagen - Gustavian
And one last Swedish Gustavian vignette. So pretty!

After the high-end antiques, we went to a flea market, but quite frankly, I wasn’t in the mood. I know that some of you love flea markets, but it was still very nice hanging out there for a bit.

 

Then, we broke up in small groups and  ended up going to a store that sells Royal Copenhagen in an area of town called Fredericksberg.

 

Denmark - Antiquing in Copenhagen - Royal Copenhagen - Royal Copenhagen chinaI’ll say! How pretty is that!

Some of us went back to the main shopping area where you can see a bird’s eye view here.

 

Of course, I snapped some more pics. And bummer, some of my images are gone. In my quest to keep my macbook below the allotted limit, I’ve been deleting a lot of images. I guess I got over-zealous but I didn’t mean to.

So, I had to swipe this one off of my own instagram page.

 

Glamorous couple town center Copenhagen - Designtrailcph

I was not trying to snap this stylish couple. I did have her full length before I cropped it for insta. Oh well. I just love how they’re holding hands but otherwise, seem totally disconnected.

 

We were told that we needed to go to the Royal Cafe Smushi.

 

Yes, yes, yes! What a charming, fun place! My pics don’t do it justice. It is long and narrow with soaring ceilings and pale pink walls. Most of the seating is in the back.

 

Royal Smushi Cafe - Copenhagen Denmark - #designtrailcphI’m wondering if that’s the “crazy king” we learned about in the first post?

Royal Cafe Smushi - must visit while antiquing in CopenhagenI see…

Royal Smushi Cafe - glorious desserts - Copenhagen

Although they do also have real food, I felt like something sweet, so this is what I had.  Yummy!

 

Afterward, we went across the courtyard to Georg Jensen.

 

I know that some of you wanted to know. That is one stunning store. And I enjoyed helping Maureen Coates spend her money on a lovely new ring. haha.

Well, I had a photo of a beautiful sunset taken that evening at dinner as we were high up.  I’m sure that my friends have posted it, but it’s late and there’s already a lot to digest here.

I hope that you enjoyed my trip to Copenhagen. It has been fun for me to relive it too.

 

And finally, thank you to those who made purchases this past weekend (Friday-Sunday)

 

where 30% of my affiliate and product earnings went to help the victims of Hurricane Michael. I earned just over $2,000.00 and then rounded up the donation to $1,000.00 which I paid last night to the American Red Cross specifically set up for the Hurricane Relief. I’m very happy to be in a position to help out with things like that.

xo,

 

18 Responses

  1. I am looking for a vase like the ones in the lower right hand corner of the third photo from the bottom. I’ve been searching all over the internet…any ideas who makes them or where they can be purchased? They look like 2D drawings of vases.

    Your trip sounds like a dream! Antiques, art and cakes!! How was it organized? Through an organization?

    1. Hi Suzanne,

      I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about those vases, although I made an attempt to find them too. They are quite cool. The trip was organized through Veronika Eagleson, owner of Modenus and Designhounds.

  2. Oh those antiques which IMHO are pieces of art work themselves! As have been following all your posts, thank you so much Laurel for a wonderful trip to Copenhagen. Enjoyed it immensely.
    -Brenda-

  3. Hi Laurel,
    Your pictures of food are killing me as I sit here hungry. Yikes!
    You’ve really got me interested in art. The pictures of the moon are stunnng!
    I need to start getting some pieces that speak to me like that.

  4. Laurel, those Swedish Gustavian pieces are everything. Every piece in your photographs is gorgeous. That’s my favorite furniture.

  5. I have really enjoyed your Copenhagen posts! Marvelous reads as well as eye candy. Loved this headline, too. If I had traveled there when my boys were little, it would have been a very short trip. Without railings, I would have been a nervous wreck.

    1. Hi Delaina,

      For us, money aside, the plane trip alone, would’ve been the deal-breaker. I don’t recall seeing many children unless they were babies in strollers. Of course, most of our trip was during the week and they would’ve been in school. Plus, we were in the heart of the city. I hope to be able to visit again and soon!

  6. What a wonderful trip! I LOVE the pics of that antique shop…such beautiful pieces! and the Royal Copenhagen china display…and the desserts…it’s all just so pretty and picturesque. I hope you bought yourself something wonderful (besides the cake, I mean!). Thanks for the vicarious tour!!
    XO

    1. Hi Janet,

      I wish I had bought myself something but I didn’t. What surprised me the most was how at home I felt there. I know I mentioned this, but it was easy to forget that I was in a foreign country. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time in New York City. Ironically, to this day, I have sometimes felt like I’m in a foreign country in New York! Everyone in the U.S. should visit NYC at least once. There’s no other place anything like it.

  7. Dear Laurel – great you are enjoying Copenhagen (and those cakes, oh my…)! Sitting here drooling.

    From real food to food for thought: I have been thinking about starting a blog for quite some time now. Your post/decision to donate some of the proceeds pushed me over the edge to purchase your Bloggers Guide this weekend. Now I’ve read it and start realizing how much work it is – and how hard you work on doing a good job. Just thinking about doing the same is so scary it almost makes me puke! (Oh well, at least that makes me stay away from the cakes.) Why did I ever think life would be ‘comfortable’ after a certain age??

    Thanks for making me realize that it is a lot of work – but doable. And thanks for donating.

    1. Hi Michele,

      First of all, thank you so much for buying my guide. The one thing I’ve learned and I didn’t make this one up is this: When everyone else is turning right, turn left. I only read that recently, but I think I did it instinctively. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but for me, unless something goes wrong, it is actually relaxing. I love writing and editing photos. In fact, I love editing photos, a little too much!

      Once your website/blog is set up, you take it one step at a time. Trite, but true. It does not have to be perfect. Then, keep going over new things each week from the guide. Eventually, all will become second nature. Please remember, that this is Laurel, the former Luddite. Not only did I not know any of this ten years ago or so; I didn’t want to. The most important thing is to make that commitment to keep on your schedule of posts and rock those important keywords (search terms that people are googling for info about) that you want to rank for.

      It is crucial that you create a body of posts that you can link back to. And, also get the attention of Google so that he knows that you are an up-and-coming blogger that he needs to visit frequently. xoxo

  8. Laurel, you have a big, loving, kind and generous heart. I’m referring to your donation to hurricane victims. God bless you.

    Your trip is the closest I will ever get to Copenhagen, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word and photo. The photos of the art in the museum in this post brought to mind a question I’ve had for awhile.

    I could use some help with frames vs no frames, the difference between gallery wrap and museum wrap, and can either of those be framed at a later date? What do you think of giclee? I particularly love bucolic, pastoral scenes in antique(d) gold frames. Can these be combined with other kinds of art and frames? Do I need to stick to a period? I’ve taken everything off my walls and now I’m paralyzed to go any further. Are big 48×48″ and larger canvases appropriate in smallish rooms? I’ve read that art does not have to match the decor in a room, but in many, many pictures of decor, it nearly always does. I’m sick to death of the antique plates and botanicals I’ve had up for years. i need a fresh look with old art. My budget dictates reproductions, however.

    Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, but even without feedback, it helped to put this into words. I will continue scouring your past posts for photos that may answer these questions.

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Hi, I’m Laurel, and Laurel Home is the website and blog for Laurel Bern Interiors.
I’ve been creating new-traditional interiors since 1988. The blog is where I share all.

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