Today we were greeted by rain to go alongside the cold weather. In order to stay dry, we spent the morning at the Danish Museum to learn a little about Denmark’s history. In particular, I liked all of the Viking-related artifacts and information.
We then headed to a restaurant called Noma for lunch. “Lunch” is actually an understatement, as it could be better described as a full artistic dining experience in which we were taken on a three hour culinary journey. Here are some pictures from the outside.
And here's one of Emilie, her sister and her mom.
There was limited flexibility with the menu and you basically just relied on the chef for the various courses. And with each course came a thorough explanation from the waiters as to what you were eating, where specifically the local ingredients were from and any other pertinent information.
Rather than waste your time with my descriptions of the various courses, I’ll let the pictures below do the talking for me. That said, my favorite courses were the (1) ox cheek and endive and (2) pike perch. One of the deserts (there were many) was also a highlight – the caramel that was served as if it were bone marrow.
Quail eggs / radishes in edible "dirt"...
Can't remember / beets
Dried scallops and watercress / steamed oyster
Pike perch / pickled vegetables and bone marrow
Ox cheek and endive / celery and celeriac
Herbs and frozen milk / chocolate covered chips
Caramel
And here’s a link to the restaurant’s website for those who are interested.
http://www.noma.dk/main.php?lang=en
By the time that we finished up with our marathon lunch, the rain had finally stopped for a bit. After a quick stop by the Danish Design Center and Tivoli gardens, we walked to Christianshavn in order to visit the autonomous neighborhood of Christiana, which is a former military barracks that transformed into a counter-culture, bohemian commune in the 1970s. In many ways it operates as an autonomous economic system and even has its own currency (the Lon).
When we first walked into Christiana, I took a couple of pictures before seeing the many signs prohibiting photography. Although they apparently date back to a time when there was much more open drug use and sales (on the aptly named “Pusher Street” no less), things have become much more discreet over recent years – particularly following the eviction of the hash stands – so the signs are probably much less relevant today. Nevertheless, I saw no reason to risk ruffling any feathers.
We then walked over to the Kastellet (literally “citadel”), which is a well preserved fortification dating back to the 1600s. Today it serves as a park, but is still the site of some military activities. As can be seen from the pictures, the rain had returned at this point but fortunately wasn’t too heavy. Aside from the natural beauty, there were some interesting sites including an old church that also included a prison, the Gefion Fountain and a windmill from the 1800s.
The famous “Little Mermaid” statue (related to the Hans Christian Andersen story) is near the Kastellet as well. However, she is currently in Shanghai for the 2010 Expo – this is apparently the first time that she has been moved during her roughly 100 year existence – so we were out of luck. In her place, the Danish government erected a temporary replacement that I found pretty amusing (see picture below). I guess they didn’t want to simply use a true replica.
It turns out that the statue has actually been through a lot – multiple decapitations, a sawed-off arm, being blown off her foundation, having a sex toy attached to her hand and multiple paint jobs. Perhaps the government thought the replica would be defaced as well.
We then walked back towards the hotel and saw the Amalienborg Palace, which is the main residence of the Danish royal family, and Frederick’s Church (also known as the Marble Church -- it's the domed building in the background of the third picture).
We also tried to get a canal boat tour to take advantage of the remaining daylight, but the boat was fully booked so we went back to the hotel to relax before returning to Nyhavn for a light dinner.
And here's one of Emilie, her sister and her mom.
There was limited flexibility with the menu and you basically just relied on the chef for the various courses. And with each course came a thorough explanation from the waiters as to what you were eating, where specifically the local ingredients were from and any other pertinent information.Rather than waste your time with my descriptions of the various courses, I’ll let the pictures below do the talking for me. That said, my favorite courses were the (1) ox cheek and endive and (2) pike perch. One of the deserts (there were many) was also a highlight – the caramel that was served as if it were bone marrow.
Quail eggs / radishes in edible "dirt"...
Can't remember / beets
Dried scallops and watercress / steamed oyster
Pike perch / pickled vegetables and bone marrow
Ox cheek and endive / celery and celeriac
Herbs and frozen milk / chocolate covered chips
Caramel
And here’s a link to the restaurant’s website for those who are interested.http://www.noma.dk/main.php?lang=en
By the time that we finished up with our marathon lunch, the rain had finally stopped for a bit. After a quick stop by the Danish Design Center and Tivoli gardens, we walked to Christianshavn in order to visit the autonomous neighborhood of Christiana, which is a former military barracks that transformed into a counter-culture, bohemian commune in the 1970s. In many ways it operates as an autonomous economic system and even has its own currency (the Lon).
When we first walked into Christiana, I took a couple of pictures before seeing the many signs prohibiting photography. Although they apparently date back to a time when there was much more open drug use and sales (on the aptly named “Pusher Street” no less), things have become much more discreet over recent years – particularly following the eviction of the hash stands – so the signs are probably much less relevant today. Nevertheless, I saw no reason to risk ruffling any feathers.
We then walked over to the Kastellet (literally “citadel”), which is a well preserved fortification dating back to the 1600s. Today it serves as a park, but is still the site of some military activities. As can be seen from the pictures, the rain had returned at this point but fortunately wasn’t too heavy. Aside from the natural beauty, there were some interesting sites including an old church that also included a prison, the Gefion Fountain and a windmill from the 1800s.
The famous “Little Mermaid” statue (related to the Hans Christian Andersen story) is near the Kastellet as well. However, she is currently in Shanghai for the 2010 Expo – this is apparently the first time that she has been moved during her roughly 100 year existence – so we were out of luck. In her place, the Danish government erected a temporary replacement that I found pretty amusing (see picture below). I guess they didn’t want to simply use a true replica.
It turns out that the statue has actually been through a lot – multiple decapitations, a sawed-off arm, being blown off her foundation, having a sex toy attached to her hand and multiple paint jobs. Perhaps the government thought the replica would be defaced as well.We then walked back towards the hotel and saw the Amalienborg Palace, which is the main residence of the Danish royal family, and Frederick’s Church (also known as the Marble Church -- it's the domed building in the background of the third picture).
We also tried to get a canal boat tour to take advantage of the remaining daylight, but the boat was fully booked so we went back to the hotel to relax before returning to Nyhavn for a light dinner.
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