The last day in Copenhagen and the trip home: 4-6 October

With only a couple of hours to spare before we needed to make our way to the airport for our return trip home, this morning we decided to visit the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which was near by, and have a look at the art collection from the Danish Golden Age. To access that area of the gallery we crossed through the Winter Garden which was an attractive courtyard enclosed in a glass dome.

Passing Tivoli (and Nimb)

The Glytotek Winter Garden

We spent an hour or so enjoying works by famous Danish artists, in particular HE Freund.

'Thor' by HE Freund

'Mother Denmark' by E Jerichau-Bauman

'Recumbent Lion' by Peter Funder

'CF Hansen' by HE Freund

'The Beach at Posillipo' by JC Dahl

From there, we caught the train to Copenhagen Airport and, after lunch, we took the 3.35pm Emirates flight to Dubai.

On arrival in Dubai at around midnight we were collected by a representative from the Dubai International Hotel who took us to a lovely spacious room where we spent the night.

We had a wake-up call at 6am and, after showers, we found our way back to the airport departure lounge to board the flight to Singapore, feeling quite refreshed to continue on our way.

The final leg of the trip was Singapore to Melbourne arriving around 7.30am on Saturday 6 October.

So ends another of our overseas adventures! Once again Ian's planning was impeccable and between us we chose some great places to visit – some for the first time and others we enjoyed returning to. Thank you for reading this blog and sharing the trip with us!

Copenhagen - National Museum and City Hall: Wednesday 3 October

On our last day in Copenhagen (for this trip!) We visited the National Museum twice and enjoyed a tour of the Copenhagen Radhus (City Hall).

Statue of St Absalon, outside the Radhus

Statue in the Radhus square

We spent the morning in the museum and then, since there was still plenty to see, we returned after the city hall tour. It describes itself as 'the largest museum of cultural history in Denmark' and it certainly covers a wide range of eras and cultures.

Some of the highlights were:

Stuffed lynx

Mary and the Saints c.1425AD, North German altarpiece

St George c1500, Danish

Drinking horn c1500

Griffins, found in southern Italy, 600-550 BC

After lunch in the museum cafe, we adjourned to the Radhus where we joined a group for a very interesting tour.

The Radhus was built in 1905 and our tour started in the Main Hall before progressing upstairs through the Reading Room with Denmark's oldest toilet (male only!), the kitchen and the council chambers. The building is decorated with ceramic friezes, statues, portraits and mosaics, and was well worth a visit.

In the Main Hall of the Radhus

After our return visit to the National Museum we had a much needed rest in our hotel before enjoying dinner at the Brasserie Royal.

Nimb Brasserie: 2 October evening

We have just come back from a very special meal at Nimb Brasserie, which is one of the Tivoli  restaurants.

Where we were seated we had a lovely view of the Tivoli lights but were cosy inside.

I had the most delicious whole fried lobster with salad and Ian had pepper steak with caramelised onion and ginger, and pate. Quantities were small but the food was magnificent.

For dessert, Ian had vanilla creme brulee with fresh raspberries and I had a dessert with three different kinds of chocolate and blueberries.

This evening was certainly one of the highlights of our whole trip!

Skagen to Copenhagen: Tuesday 2 October

We were off to an early start this morning, leaving our apartment at 7.15am for a 7.47am train to Aalborg. We arrived there just in time to board the 9.59am train to Copenhagen, which we reached at 3.08pm.

Some scenery from the train today:

For the next two nights, we are staying at the Scandic Palace Hotel which overlooks the city square in the middle of Copenhagen.

We went for a short walk after we arrived and renewed our acquaintance with some of the statues and other landmarks close by the square.

Hans Christian Andersen

We are looking forward to dinner tonight at Nimb Brasserie, where I am hoping to have a whole roasted lobster!

Vikings at Lindholm Hoje and a wander through the town of Aarlborg: Monday 1 October

We took an early (7.47am!) train to the town of Lindholm this morning and walked 2kms to the Viking Burial Grounds at Lindholm Hoje. Although the museum is closed on Mondays, we were able to explore the outdoor burial site and there were very comprehensive information boards at each viewing point.

In the Viking Age, Lindholm Fjord was a departure point for raids to England and other parts of Europe. This site was probably settled in the ninth century AD and deserted by 1100AD due to storms which caused sand drifts to cover the fields. It was rediscovered in the 1890s and excavated in the 1950s. Several warriors’ graves were found – circular mounds of earth with a circle of large stones and the surface covered in flint blocks. Warriors were usually buried with their swords and often their dogs as well.

There were great views across the hills and the whole site was very evocative! There were several other visitors there as well as us and everyone was very respectful of the site.

We walked back to the station and caught a train to Aarlborg where we spent the rest of the day. Aarlborg is the fourth largest city in Denmark and is on the Limfjord which cuts through Jutland. We enjoyed a walk around the town and down to the waterfront.

We don't know why these bras were hanging here!

Latinergyden church (anno 1506)

Pulpit

We had a delicious lunch at Penny Lane café before catching the train back to Skagen.

Skagen - bears and artists: Sunday 30 September

We started the day at the Skagen Bamsemuseum, a teddy bear museum.

The teddy bears on display belong to the owner, Jonna Thygesen and there are all sorts of teddies, displayed in an amazing number of ways. Here are some we particularly enjoyed.

Recreation of Michael Anchers' painting, The lifeboat is taken to the dunes

Anchers Hus, the former home of artists Anna and Michael Anchers, was our next stop. In the late 19th century the seaside town of Skagen was very popular with artists, due to the quality of the light, and several moved here 'to paint the light'. They became known as the Skagen School and the house has been restored to create the atmosphere of the artists’ home. It contains much of their original furniture and many of their paintings.

We had delicious lunch at Jorgen's Spisehus on the waterfront before setting off for our final destination, the Skagens Museum.

Interesting view from the restaurant

'Danish Fisherman' on the waterfront

The major focus of the Skagens Museum is the works of the Skagen artists and many of them are on display.

'Summer evening on Skaged Sanderstrand' by Peder Severin Kroyer

'The North Sea in Stormy Weather after Sunset' by Laurits Tuxen

'The Drowned Fisherman' by Michael Anchor

Another highlight is the former dining room of Brondums Hotel, where many of the Skagen artists used to meet, which has been moved in its entirety to the museum.