Sing with me! - 'Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen........ '

So for years now I have been planning to go to Copenhagen - Danish design centre of all those iconic pieces we love, smorgasbord, Carlsberg, the bridge, and of course Scandi noir - The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen, I've watched them all, even the more obscure ones.

Me outside our home for our time in Copenhagen, a fabulous apartment in the Bjerkget building designed by Bjarke Ingals - more of him later. It's an AirBNB and we had really lovely hosts.Great breakfast too.

Nyhavn, probably the most photographed place in Copenhagen after The Little Mermaid. So pretty. Very old, used to be the red light district and now full of bars, restaurants and cafes. I now want to watch The Danish Girl again to see if they showed this area, I think they did. You will notice there are a lot of film references on this blog........

Everyone kept telling us to go to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, so we got on a train and went. It was a gorgeous day, sunny but cold (it was cold the whole time we were there) but it was definitely worth the visit. An old house which looks a bit like it could be in the American South, with lovely grounds, a sculpture park with some Henry Moores (see above) and an art gallery with a real variety of art. Definitely worth a visit

Alas poor Yorick! This is Kronborg Slot (no sniggering at the back) or castle, in Helsingor (Elsinore?) which was apparently the inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet. Its got a moat and everything, and it's right on the coastline edge and the nearest point to Sweden, which you can see. The castle looked a bit bleak from the outside (could have been the weather) but was sort of friendly inside. Also in Helsingor is the new Maritime Museum designed by Bjarke Ingels. So 2 great things to see in one place. The town was nice too, good coffee and sandwich bar.

Me again! Part of the way up the round tower. No steps, just this brick pathway right the way to the top. Great views from the top and a pretty good hot dog at the bottom

Great design everywhere. These fab lights were in a pop-up bar based in an old customs building where we had this scrummy smorgasbord and Mikkeller beer brewed in the town.

Smorgasbord! and beer! Had to be done.

Carlsberg! Even though it was freezing and a hot chocolate would have been better, but you know its brewed by Danes, so you have to don't you?

Can't go to Copenhagen and not go to the Design Museum Denmark. Gotta love a bit of Verner Panton. He was in good company, they were all there. Well worth a visit. In a lovely old building too. Liked the juxtaposition (get me!) of old and new

So the Church of Our Saviour with the curly spire was closed by the time we got there, so we carried on into the hippy enclave of Freetown Christiania. An interesting place with bars, eateries and various stalls and a LOT of graffiti. Oh and an all-pervading smell of dope. Apparently it's days are numbered as fancy apartments are going up, so get there while it's still there.

I found this place on Trip Advisor before we left, then we stumbled on it in the hip meat packing district - I thought that was in New York? It's in an old commercial premises and its GREAT! Good atmosphere, fantastic food and friendly staff - what more do you want? And yes I am still wearing that coat, scarf and hat, I think I may have died without them.

Brilliant food market at Israels Plads near Norreport station. They have got everything to buy, either fresh to cook yourself or there are lots of stalls selling food and drinks. Really buzzy and a must-see.

Can't go to Copenhagen and not see The Little Mermaid can you? There she was surrounded by tourists, but still serene. I think in the background is the waste plant also designed by Bjarke Ingels which is going to have a ski slope and cafe on the roof and puffs out steam rings! There is a great programme on Netflix called Abstrakt all about him. If you like design, it's worth watching.

'I had a farm in Africa......' who doesn't remember the film 'Out of Africa' with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep playing Karen Blixen? It was a defining film for my generation, well it was for me anyway, or for the film buffs amongst you, 'Babette's Feast' ? So with a free day and after a fight with my travelling mate who wanted to go to Malmo, we went to Karen Blixen's house north of Copenhagen at a place called Rungsted Kyst. It was a Sunday, and we were up country, so it was even quieter than in the Copenhagen. Such a beautiful spot, surrounded by a nature reserve and with views of the harbour at the front. A really interested museum, and perfectly preserved.