Copenhagen Day 3

So it was a late start this morning - I had some university work to do for an assignment due in 10 days and the boys spent their time reading, watching movies and -

After lunch we headed back into the city area to visit the main National Museum. First stop was the Town Hall and the square outside it, the tile and pattern carving/painting inside was really great :

Fountain in the square with Town Hall behind it. Jacob 'had' to stand on the fountain and "try to reach the water Mummy"

Town Hall

Inside the main hall area

Other wall in the hall (sorry too much Dr Seuss)

A mosaic inside an arch leading from the hall, this was mirrored on the other side of the arch and the flying birds covered the entire arch.

Every door way had either a painting or a carving above it.

A wall brick near the entrance, other designs included celtic knots and foliage

A window looking into the Hall from the passageway that surrounds it. Each one was decorated slightly differently.

Detail on the window next to the one above - as you can see it is slightly different (different flower and pattern)

A large snake hugging a column as you walk into the Town Hall from the lobby area.

We moved on to the Museum, which had things from the Stone Age right through to Denmark in the year 2000 as well as a largish section on other countries (I didn't take any pictures of that) and a special exhibition of wallpaper! (Quote "Who cares about wallpaper Mummy we can run through this section!"). Here are some selected shots from the Danish parts:

An Aurochs - anyone who has read the Jean Auel Clan of the Cave Bear books will know what these are!

Amber carvings - this area is quite rich in amber deposits

Amber beads from the Stone Age

Bronze Age weapons

'The Chariot of the Sun' - the ancient religion had horses that drove the sun through the sky.

Religious carvings on rock - some were found in graves

A viking rune stone - this one was erected by Alvkil and his sons in memory of Manne (a kinsman) who was a land steward of Ketil the Norwegian.

The Gundestrup Cauldron - found as many of these things were in a peat bog, they think placed in the bog as a sacrifice to the powers above.

Detail on the inside rim of the cauldron. The images are not native to this area, suggesting it was either war booty or a gift from afar.

A reassembled viking boat - or bits of it!

The Golden Horns - c 400 with Nordic and Roman symbols. The originals were melted down - one set is from 1861 are too large, the other from 1970 are the right size, but are twisted.

A large section was about the introduction, growth and changes to Christianity in Denmark. Many of the pieces were in the same style for those we had previously seen quite a lot of in Italy, many of those constructed by "The Masters". These were not so well made….

In 1536 the Catholic bishops et al were imprisoned by Christian III and the Danish church underwent its reformation following the teachings of Martin Luther. The Lutheran principles had been present in the Church from as early as 1520 and despite the changes the use of the Virgin and Saints continued for many decades after the Reformation.

MIddle Ages - armour and tapestries

A room/furniture in the style of a merchant/town councillor in the 1640s. It is typical of what could also have been found in prosperous farms of the time. 

A ship in silver. It was about 15-20cm tall.

This chook is for my Dad - he loves them! It was part of the 'unique decorations c 1650' section.

The Clausholm Bed c1650. A symbolic bridal bed at weddings for the nobility - it is decorated all over with biblical scenes.

This is a recreation of the Great Hall from the Christiansborg Castle - there were quite a few rooms of furniture that are held by the museum.

A medieval clock held the boys attention for a little while - as it was ticking/ working.

These are portraits/busts of the Monarchs 1660-1848. Frederick III,  IV, V and VI; Christian V, VI, VII, VIII. the spot lights meant I couldn't get a perfectly clear image from any angle - sorry!

Copenhagen had a very large fire in 1728. This display was of 3 rooms from an apartment built in the time immediately after the fire, in the rococo style - this was 'The Cabinet', more furnished than a 'Saloon' it was an everyday room.

Meanwhile, around the corner this is how a poor person in Copenhage lived at the same time - in one room that would have been not much bigger than my Australian ensuite & walk in closet combined.

Dolls houses are popular toys in this part of the world and this is a photo of one room from one of the many on display.

Some of the dolls houses - the room was really dark - you could hardly see any details on them.

So I took a photo of these ones with the flash!

After a couple of hours at the museum the bleating about empty stomachs began and we made our way up the street towards the large pedestrian only (mall) streets that are in the centre of Copenhagen city in search of afternoon tea - mind you it was 5pm so we had a discussion about afternoon tea vs early dinner vs what the boys called afternoon dinner - sounds too much like what a hobbit might have…..

Interesting building

Canal and houses that are very typical of inner Copenhagen

We stopped to watch this canal cruise boat as it negotiated the turn after coming out from under the bridge - he didn't have a lot of room to spare! The boys were more concerned about eh ducks that managed to get themselves between the wall where we were standing and the boat!

side street

Cafes, squares, fountains, pergolas can all be found in the pedestrian area.

'The Stroget' The main street - it was packed - I now know where all the crowds hang out as up until now we really haven't had to deal with lots of people being around, except for at Nyhavn and when we were all watching the Changing of the Guard.

After ice-cream cones for the boys and a Belgian waffle with ice-cream for me (it wasn't very good - a bit over cooked) and a wander through some of the streets in the pedestrian area we ended up at Orsteds Park where the boys were delighted to find "not one, but TWO playgrounds, Mummy, can we go to both?!" So I let them run for an hour while I bought a cappuccino (i resisted the wine etc that was available and being consumed by every one else) and sat around trying not to be bitten by bugs - although they didnt seem to be bothering the hundreds of other people we saw sitting around in the park drinking wine, stretched out, playing games, having dinner etc. It is the only place I've seen them in Copenhagen so far….

It has been a LONG time since J was on a trampoline - he was SO SO excited about finding this one!

Anyway, once again we happened upon an event that we didn't know about - a demonstration rally in support of Palestine - it was quite substantial - easily several thousand people were marching…. and later in the square where we had dinner there was a guy that covered almost every free space with slogans and writing in chalk; didn't quite understand why it was today (a Thursday) until I got home and Barry pointed out the news of the day……