Nice house

 

Many of the houses of Gilleleje are nice ones, like this with its roof of straw, white chalked walls and red gables. In Denmark a lot of money go into maintaining these old houses and if it's a protected house, the owner can get tax reductions for the expense of maintaining it. With the prices for work done by carpenters, plumbers and bricklayers the tax reduction is necessary for many if they're to afford to have a house like this.

Beach

 

One thing people from Copenhagen and elsewhere visit Gilleleje for is the beaches. Nice and sandy with only relatively few stones and boulders it's one of the nicer ones on he north coast of Zealand.

A delicacy

 

One of the delicacies from the island of Bornholm is smoked herrings, but you don't have to visit the sunny island to enjoy them. In Gilleleje is a smokehouse where you can get them almost like the ones on Bornholm, and it's even named after the island.

A gorge to fish from

Near Copenhagen there's quite a lot of small cozy towns and one of them is the town of Gilleleje on the north coast of Zealand. Even though the fishing has changed from a lot of small harbours and small boats to a few large fishing harbours with big boats, Gilleleje still has a small fishing industry. Even the name refers to the fishing as is an old Danish word for a gorge and leje is a place you put your boat in the water.

The Mountain

 

One of my favourite buildings in Ørestaden is this one, the VM Bjerget (Danish for mountain) finished in 2008 by BIG (Bjarke Ingells Group). The building is built like a mountain side with 1/3 of the space given to the apartments and 2/3 to parking space underneath. It won the category of World's Best Residence in 2008 at the World Architecture Fair in Barcelona.

Not always empty

 

The Copenhagen metro is not always as empty as this. There's usually a fair amount of people onboard hence the shift to less seatings and more standing room. These driverless trains are often the fastest way of crossing Copenhagen if one of the only two lines run near you and your destination. As told before the third line, which is under construction, will be a very needed addition to the system when it's ready in 2018.

8tallet

 

8tallet, the figure 8 in Danish, is a residence in the area of Ørestaden in Copenhagen. The building by architect BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) won the award for world's best residence at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona 2011. With a fantastic view over Amager Fælled combined with really nice architecture I guess this wouldn't be the worst place to live in Copenhagen, if you can afford the price.

 

Gift wrapped

 

On the central square of Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen one of the buildings seem almost gift wrapped. It's the French embassy and it's under renovation. Instead of the usual banners with ads or info, the French PR firm Athem has made this very nice banner. Hopefully the renovated facade will be even nicer.

Rosenborg Castle in Kongens Have is a renaissance castle built by King Christian IV, or rather planned, ordered and paid by him, in 1606 as a country summer cottage. Inside is the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia along with the Royal Collection.

A poet

 

In Søndermarken Park in Copenhagen a statue of Danish writer and poet Adam Oehlenschläger look at the Copenhagen Zoo and Frederiksberg Palace, home to the Army Officer School. Adam Oehlenschläger (1779-1850) was the writer that introduced romanticism in Danish litterature and is best known for the poem Guldhornene and the national anthem Der er et yndigt land.

Nyhavn 17

 

If you're invited for a beer at Nyhavn 17 don't expect that you'll be sitting at a nice bar or restaurant. No, this will be a quayside beer, usually bought for cheap in a kiosk in a side street next to Nyhavn 17 and enjoyed while sitting with your feet dangling over the water of the harbour as you watch people stroll by. Pure bliss on a hot summer day.

The Pig

 

Traveling around northern Zealand you might be riding on the Pig as these local trains are called affectionally. The nickname is an old one from the time when the trains were operating on steam; the steam whistle sounded like a squealing pig as it drove through the landscape.

 

A sad sculpture

 
One of my favourite sculptures in Copenhagen is this one, called Death and the Mother by Niels Hansen Jacobsen, 1892. It's placed right outside the oldest building in the inner city, the St Petri Church from the 15th century. The church has been the German church of Copenhagen since being given to the German Lutherans in 1585 by King Frederik 2. Its most prominent internent is Count Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772), German doctor, royal physician to King Christian 7, de facto regent and lover to the queen. His downfall ended with him being beheaded, drawn and quartered.
 

Don't loose your head

 
As told yesterday the Royal Cast Collection's got a lot of casts and very limited space to show them all, hence the shelves with busts. Here you can find Nero and Ceasar, Socrates and Aristotle and many, many more.

Casts are not only for broken limbs

 

The Royal Cast Collection which is a department of the National Museum of Art is a nice little museum if you like classical sculptures. Here is not the originals but a lot of plaster casts and a few replicas in bronze and wood of some of the best known classical works of art. A total of 2.500 casts are on display which doesn't give much room for the visitors. Situated in an old warehouse in Toldbodgade with a fantastic view of the harbour and right next to Amalienborg Palace, it should be crammed with visitors but as it's only open on Sundays (2pm - 5pm) and on Tuesday (10am - 4pm) many tourists with limited time end up elsewhere. The photo was shot out of the windows and show the piece-de-resistance, a bronze copy of Michelangelo's David on the quay and in the background the Norwegian naval training ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl.