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Folklor!
The biggest difference between Warsaw and Copenhagen? Prices, variety of food and no-bike culture. The last one is not entirely true, because I happen to know where they were selling bikes just on Sunday. However, prices- much lower, food, coffee, books… Amount of corner shops with absolutely everything is so big that it strikes me, and you can find there absolutely everything: from bread, cheese, ham to fresh carrot juice for about 9dkk!
What is funny though, is that people here are completely different. They should be happy, they do not seem so. Some 20 year-olds yesterday decided to cover their faces with sunglasses even though there was NO SUN. As my friend would say: chilled. Another difference- everything here is about Easter, people do not work on Monday, they start preparing for cooking, talk about going to church…
hidden in center of warsaw
Summer in Copenhagen
I am waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Not even for the warmth, but sun- these blissful streams of light that actually make you wake up in the morning and be more enthusiastic about going wherever is that you have to go.
This is a photo from Copenhagen Street Style blog – I was curious when it gets warmer here. Well, photo comes from July ( yes! July!) 2009. I must admit that it is precisely the kind of weather I personally like in the summer- not too hot, not too cold.
Still, I am dreaming about wearing just a tshirt and shorts without thinking about boots, coats, scarfs ( only as an accessory) and hats.When we will go outside, have a bike ride and a picnic and maybe a nice breakfast on the roof of our house.
In the meantime, while we still stay most of the time in the interior of the buildings, you can have a look at the pages RECENT and STILL TO SEE. We keep updating ourselves with things we still have to see and the ones that we hear about.
Not only “Larousse Gastronomique”
Food brings people together- so it was in this case. Daniel Penn, food science student, decided to bring to people recipes that he particularly likes. The whole thing is called a “Good Grub” and it says pretty much everything.
As food lovers we could not miss this out: cookbook release with samples of food from the recipes in the book made by the author himself, sounded more than inviting. So we did try:
*mini kanelsnegls
*chocolate chip cookies
*pop corn in a cinnamon & caramel variations.
The crowd gathered in a small bar around Nyhavn, Monobar, hidden in a picturesque yard. The atmosphere was as it should be on Sunday- relaxed and very family-like. The host was particularly sociable, making sure that everyone is fine and that everything is at its place. Even unfortunate event of burning a basket did not stop anyone from enjoying the atmosphere.
When it comes to book itself few things have to be mentioned: thumbs up for the effort and idea (book included a CD with songs that should accompany the cooking, unfortunately the CDs themselves had not arrived yet). However, the whole thing seems to be more of a project than a serious deal- the book is actually a brochure bringing the notes of the author with the pictures mastered by an Art student- Samantha Taylor. As we flicked it through, we missed more recipes for something that is not sweet.
We are waiting for more. As we could guess from the author’s energy we will not wait long for another project. It makes me jealous- I will start writing my cookbook tonight!
Wilder/Bejart/Lundgard&Tranberg
In case you have no idea what I am talking about you will figure out in a second. Few days ago our friend spontaneously decided to take us to a ballet show. I was not prepared for it at all, not to mention I did not even know the title. The plan was to eat something out and go to the play. We had thought of Cafe Wilder because it was not too far away from the theatre and we had heard good things about it. We had indeed a feast:
*lamb with mashed potatoes and beans
*Danish specialite: mashed potatoes+fried bacon+caramelised onion
*fish in a saffron sauce ( delicious)
* and steak tartare
After a heavy meal we biked our way to the theatre for the ballet and we found ourselves in front of a magnificent design: by the water, facing the Opera on the other side of the canal and apparently the same architect as the Tietgen Kollegium that everybody is in love with ( including my small person). This is what the architects Lundgaard& Tranberg worked on so far:
http://www.ltarkitekter.dk/da/projects
This is the theatre. And the show? Well, contemporary, very. Quite astonishing actually but made me think that everybody really interprets art differently and sometimes it is hard to figure out what is actually going on. I was advised to look up this person, who died just 3 years ago and had a huge impact upon the ballet that can be called modern: Maurice Bejart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_B%C3%A9jart ).
We hope to have more of spontaneous evenings of this kind!
Song that was played during the ballet performance- everybody had indeed smiles on their faces!
Pussy Galore- Flying Circus
Believe it or not- this is for real. As in- this is not an entirely made up title. Well, because of Internet inconveniences due to our unreachable landlord we have to manage somehow and end up in the near by cafes offering free WIFI. The amount is huge: we had been to Laundromat, Plantagen by the square near Elmegade, some other cafes that the names I currently do not remember and finally PUSSY GALORE. Somehow, I thought, the name derives from French. As it turns out- not really.
Interior of Pussy Galore ( http://www.pussy-galore.dk/start.htm) at first seems casual- a bar, waiters wearing Sobieski Vodka shirts, tables etc etc. But from wall to wall you can see a kind of collage representing old porn photos and in general- quite erotic scenes from the 60s/70s. “Galore” means “in great quantity” and comes from Gaelic.
Somehow, I could not believe that somebody made it up as a name for a bar. It must have been indicative of something and… guess what! It is !
Pussy Galore is a James Bond girl that actually has a group called flying circus. She was a character of Goldfinger that we all know so well because of it’s leading song. And this is a dialogue from a meeting of James Bond and Pussy Galore ( priceless!)
James Bond: Who are you?
Pussy Galore: My name is Pussy Galore.
James Bond: I must be dreaming.
So, if you want to see Pussy Galore in its glory, just stop by. In general the food looked good ( kind of tapas plates with cheese and ham), however, we personally haven’t tried it. Coffee was dreadful- ordered Cappucino turn out to be a baby milk with a drop of coffee. Smoothies or juices seemed a better idea.
Fun times= I am too tropical
( song of the weekend)
Living in a new pace requires celebration- this is what we did. Finally we gathered all our friends together and had some nice chats, drinks and just good time. We met our fantastic neighbours who make true what we call “neighborly friendship” and gave a new meaning to the word “TROPICAL”… Thank you all for coming and making our weekend so memorable!
Skateistan Cph10!
This night was remarkable for many reasons: firstly, we got to drive our bikes for the first time in the night time what gave us a thrill ( not having lights when it is dark and the police car stops just by you… unforgettable). Secondly, we attended a skate competition and then a party- all for a special cause brought up by the volunteer NGO “Skateistan”. We saw an extraordinary exhibition of painted/modeled/ modified skate boards what didn’t stop us from asking: why this piece of art is worth 8000 dkk? When it comes to art these questions are always posed and never answered.
The skate park located by the train station ” Enghave” had a special atmosphere and one could say, energy. The music was great, people were a mixture of skate fans and those who just like to watch how the professionals do it ( clearly, skills do not come with age- winner was probably 15/16/17…). Around midnight the crowd decided to be more active and everybody started swinging into the music (dubstep+electro- good mix to go crazy!).
All in all, great fun. However, as a born skeptic I have to put the initiative of Skateistan into question… Are skate parks really the most important thing that the kids in Afghanistan could possibly need? Topic for a whole new debate.
RETRO STEFSON & FM BELFAST !!!
FM Belfast
Since I have been in Copenhagen I had not yet experienced something similar. This time the target was to get to know the Icelandic music scene- I heard already loads about it, but never actually heard anything apart from Bjork and Sigur Ros. Knowing that the Slice of Ice (group absolutely charmed by the Icelandic music, whose target is to introduce it to Copenhagen) are organizing a concert of FM Belfast and Retro Stefson, seemed like a prefect idea to understand what is so special about it.
We arrived into a great building at Christinhavn ( old port warehouse), approached 5th floor and found ourselves in a charming space with a view over a canal and the great Copenhagen Opera.
The concert started with the performance of Retro Stefson- 7 teenagers who brought us into the summer times with their cheerful music. Their target was to interact with the audience and we had to get acquainted with special moves appropriate for each song. After some time, suddenly the band disappeared and FM Belfast came on stage. This, on the other hand, was a mixture of electro/dance that made us go absolutely crazy and we actually felt like we are on a party (except that the band was performing in front of us).
I can say with a hand on my heart: one of the best concerts in my life. And my aching body the next day can be a great proof that bands achieved what they were going for- moving the crowds.
For more go on:
beef bourguignon
As it was stated at the very beginning the aim of this blog is to bring to you not only fascinating places or events but most importantly- food. Exploration of our neighbourhood did not stop only on the Indian Restaurant. Already known to us Gefarlich had offered us only good drinks and fun. The time had come to try their cuisine.
What is funny already at the very beginning is that place has a German name, kind of French cuisine and all of this is in Denmark. The menu offers a lot of fish dishes as well as a bit of the meat ones.
the choices weren’t very varied this night: most of our group took fish and they were very pleased with is. Then we had also coq au vin and I had not heard the reactions because the people were just too far away to hear their comments. However, I went there to try the ultimate French dish: beef bourguingon that had become famous grace a Julia Child. Quite heavy dish but just sooo tasty. However, the sauce was excellent, the meat was just too hard. Next time it’s gonna be better!
coq au vin
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