Shopping/dining in Copenhagen

We found a series of delightful cafe/restaurants in the square by Oksnehallen in the Meat Packing district which is where we were staying.

Carlton became our favourite and we came here night after night - the food was adventurous, well presented and delicious

We loved sitting out in the evenings as the weather was warm and it did not get dark until after 11:00, so it was a delight sitting outside in this quiet square, people gazing while we ate delicious food and drank some wine.

This was our view

and it changed to this when it got dark.

 

We came upon this flower shop (that strongly reminded me of the ones in Amsterdam), in Humblebaek on our way to Louisiana. So stylish.

The hydrangeas were stunning.

The shop windows were imaginatively dressed: this is an opticians in Kobmagergade.

A very stylish clothes and accessories shop

every feature inside the shop was from a reclamation yard

look at those cupboard doors - not even painted

and isn't the use of these lockers, clever?

On Saturdays there is an antiques flea market in the square by Oksnehallen

with some very good antiques and vintage items rather than the usual tat you tend to find these days. We were lucky and picked up some nice things

Another flea market on Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads - not so good this one, and much more expensive.

Bitter and Rand, in Nyhavn

the shop being as stylish and elegant as their clothes

a temptation to shop but I resisted.

A shop selling vintage on Larsbjornstrade

Ken looks sooo bored.

Illums Bolighus on Stroget

Style and elegance - Danish design at its best

the shop looks good too

one could spend hours here

and we did - on a wet day when we'd had enough of the rain

they sell household goods, furniture, clothes and lots of kitchenalia of impeccable design.

Georg Jensen on Stroget

this staircase is the first thing you see as you enter the shop

very stylish

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

 

In a low-rise city like Copenhagen, this is a building that really stands out. At its completion in 1960, the hotel was the largest in Denmark, at 69.60 metres in height, the first skyscraper in Copenhagen and at the same time the tallest building in Denmark. It is located in the Vestebro district, close to Tivoli gardens and the central station. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen for the airline Scvandinavian Airlines System (SAS) but is now a hotel.

The building was inspired by Lever House in New York and its sense of lightness emanates from its Lever House-inspired form with a two-story base supporting its lofty 'punch card' tower. The reinforced concrete frame structure erected in the tower has a curtain wall of aluminium and transparent green and gray anodized glass.

The entire hotel, from the exterior facade through to the stainless-steel cutlery used in the restaurant, and the Swan and Egg chairs gracing the lobby was designed by Jacobsen.

Shades of green dominate the entire design. Jacobsen pursued a 'modern garden' theme, implementing this theme by using green textiles and furniture, combined with organic shapes and rigid geometric forms.

The building was not well-received at first: it was called a 'glass cigarbox', and the 'worst copy of Lever House'. To this Jacobsen responded: 'at least, it came in first when they held a competition for the ugliest building in Copenhagen'.

The lift doors.

Most of his work in the rooms has been replaced by corporate standard fabrics and furniture. Only a single room has been kept in the original design, Room 606, which is still available for booking.

The lobby however is still intact, exactly as he designed it

and it is magnificent.

I love the clock which is above the main entrance

Courtyards

I love courtyards and always seek them out: it's the way they are enclosed and mysterious, calm places in the bustle of a city.  During our recent trip to Copenhagen I discovered quite a few that I really liked.

This one is Danmarks Kunstbibliotek in Nyhavn

 

 

 

 

enhanced by all the green

a quiet, calm space.

This one is in Nyhavn too

detail

I really like the shutters.

The entrance to this one held a lot of promise

which was fulfilled

a hidden place, peaceful and calm

that mustardy yellow looks so good against the black of the timbers

it's my favourite.

Here's a much grander affair,

off  H.C. Andersens Boulevard.