Getting Nostalgic, Getting Close To You

Up till yesterday, I didn't realise October had arrived silently.

Have I lost myself to time and space?
Never mind about that. 

It is fall already. And it is one of my favourite season of the year.

I love the harmonious combination of hues sprawled across the backyard, gardens and parks. It effortlessly drowns me in my own little world of happiness, delighted by the colourful landscape around me.

Taken in Frederiksberg Garden, Copenhagen, last autumn.

On a different occasion, this was taken in Botanical Garden in Copenhagen last autumn.

The air can get rather chilly but it is quickly forgotten and forgiven. Many will take the opportunity to have a family picnic, should the weather shows mercy on the hopeful ones. 

Dogs and children running freely in the parks, while the parents watching from afar - contented with the gift that Mother Nature has generously offered.

I could sit in the park for hours, listening to the gusts of wind passing me by, watching the leaves dancing rhythmically with the wind or like the contented parents, enjoying the heartful laughter of the playful children.

A loud honk from the street wakes me up from my beautiful autumn dream.

Yikes.

Well, perhaps another daydream for another day.
Right now, I am just glad that it is Thursday!

Time to unwind myself....
As I am getting close to weekend...

Denmark : Lazy weekend in Køge

It was too good to be true that people still punched their klipkørt (clip card) when boarding the S-train on the first Sunday of every month. I missed the generosity offered by the S-train management. Alas, it only happened in the year 2010. No more freebies up till the day I left, in April 2013.

Anyway, I was blessed with free S-train rides on every first Sunday of the month for a year. I shouldn't asked for more. And, yes. I did make the best out of the kindly gesture by S-train. My friend and I would take the longest train ride on that day (from one end to the other end), exploring the towns that were usually expensive to spend a ticket on.

We picked Køge. A friend mentioned it was a rather pleasant place to spend the weekend. She was right. Except, we couldn't find the lake that she was talking about.

Never mind about that. We did have a good time nonetheless. Perhaps, it was the company that made all the difference ;)

As soon as we got off from the Køge S-train station, we started walking towards the middle of the town. We were greeted by a huge church on our way.

Next, we found an art museum not too far away from the church. It looked quite interesting at a glance. Hence, we decided to satiate our curiosity.

The opening hours:

Tuesday - Sunday : 10 - 17 hours

Closed on Mondays

Entrance fee:

Adult : 50DKK

Senior citizen (over 65 years old): 40DKK (not a huge discount, though!)

Young Adults(18 - 24 years old) : 20DKK

Children (under 18 years old) : Free of charge

 They look so real!!

 There is also Little Mermaid in here!

These colourful paintings took us by awe.

Among the paintings, stood an elegant, shiny piano in the room. It didn't take long before we started to camwhore with it :p

Vain ladies, I know!

 The pantry or cafe is just so cozy. And there are baby chairs too for those with little ones. How thoughtful and children-friendly!

 No, this stone will not turn into gold if you stare at it :p

 Cute yellow houses...The street was quiet as it was a Sunday morning.

 We stumbled upon a small gallery house. The owner was very friendly and warm. He invited us into his gallery of pride.

 Fell in love with the chair painting. Unfortunately, I didn't buy it. Firstly, I didn't have a permanent home (it was a rented one and landlords usually do not like tenants drilling holes on the wall) and secondly, the price :p

Enough of being artsy-fartsy in art galleries, we decided to get some fresh air outside. We arrived at a park. I love the parks in Denmark. Full of greens. And usually accompanied with a lake and benches. They are children-friendly too, in most cases.

The yellow houses were built in 1636!!!

A Sunday morning is not perfect without a hearty brunch. I totally love the brunch served in the cafes in Denmark. The brunch platter usually consists of varying well-balanced diet. Most of the cafes I had been to also take vegetarians into consideration. So, it is a huge plus for vegetarians out there.

The cafe we had our brunch served it in buffet style. I was pretty happy with the varieties offered and the food was good, or maybe I was just hungry.

I had noticed Tina's ring since the morning we met at the bus stop. Finally, I had the chance to take a photo of it. A turtle-shaped ring, with red haunting eyes. The legs, tail and head could actually move if you touched them or if you swayed your finger. 

Me, happily digging in. I miss the fresh-produced Danish cheeses already -.-

As soon as we stepped out of the cafe, we saw smartly dressed guards and soldiers marching into the street and falling into lines. We weren't sure what was the event but we didn't stay long to find out what it was.

We had more important thing to do - head home and catch an afternoon nap, with a full and heavy tummy. A perfect way to spend the rest of the Sunday. 

Only if Monday will come later.

Denmark : Frederikshavn August 2011

It was my intention to write about Frederikshavn after from my previous post on Skagen but I actually forgotten about it! So, pardon me for not having it in order. I must have been too excited to write about the Italy trip. Suppose it is a sign of me ageing? Bleh....

Anyway....

Let's get started.

Like Skagen, Frederikshavn is a charming and a quaint town located at the tip of Northern Denmark, surrounded by the Baltic sea. Hubby and I actually find Frederikshavn more appealing than Skagen.

As soon as we arrived at Frederikshavn early in the morning (you could tell by the quiet streets and the fact that we hardly met anyone on the street until we reached the hotel), we checked-in at Herman Bang Bed and Breakfast. We found the hotel from booking.com at a very reasonable price - DKK500 (€67) for two person per night, with breakfast and 25% VAT included.

 This was a very comfortable couch!! We were racing to rest on it :p

 Twin beds formed a double bed. It is quite common in Denmark. A double bed is usually merging to single beds (or sometimes 2 mattresses) into one.

 There wasn't any room for basin in the washroom. Hence, it was placed outside.

The tiny-winy washroom. There was barely room to dress up but we managed...

In all fairness, it was a very decent place to stay for the price charged. Not to forget, the breakfast was rather generous too.

Address: Skolegade 2 Frederikshavn 9900, Denmark

Phone: +4598422166

Service: Good. The hotel staff was friendly and helpful.

After that, we took a walk around the town. It was a beautiful day. Clear blue sky and gentle breeze welcoming itself as we strolled along the calm streets of Frederikshavn. The first stop - a church.

The quiet streets. Seeing absolutely no one!

 

 I had no idea (and still haven't) what this building was but I happily took a picture of it anyway because.......it looked cool??!

Next stop, Bangsbo. I have no idea what had struck me but I like the sound of the name!

We took a bus from Frederikshavn and some amount of walking (be prepared to either walk or cycle around) to get there. The moment we boarded the bus, the driver charged us a reduced fare because he thought we were students. Since we spoke very, very Danish and he spoke very, very little English, we decided to just enjoy the advantage of being a student all over again! I ought to maintain this "student look" for as long as possible :p You know, while the spell works or lasts ;)

View of the town from above the hill.

Looking at this always gives me a dreamy feel :p

While waiting for our train back to Copenhagen, we decided to wander around as we noticed there was an area which we had not covered in the map.

Well, we found nothing spectacular. It was just a mixture of residential and manufacturing area. It surprised us there was a canyon in the empty lot of land. However, there wasn't any guides that explained it.

Nevertheless, it was refreshing to step into nothingness but fresh air, cool breeze, and tranquility.

As I passed the landed houses, I secretly wished I too, have one of my own, designed with a Danish taste. They just looked so cozy and homely.

Like Bornholm, it is a place worth visiting during summer and leave what is bothering you behind. A perfect getaway if you would like some peace, whether it is for a week or just two days (like we did).