Helios family visit

In the beginning of February we had a visit from the Helios family from Denmark. 
Mads has been a friend of ours since our Copenhagen days, for about 25 years, and he came with his wife Barbara and their three daughters, to experience the Middle East for the first time. 
Safe to say - they loved it!

They didn't do a lot of sightseeing, as they mostly just wanted to enjoy the sun. They spent a week with us (which is like living in a resort, with the beach and the pools, and the supermarket all within walking distance); and the last few days of their trip they had booked a villa on Maya Island. 
They did a desert tour, Ferrari World and spent a day on a yacht, and Mads went to see the mosque by himself. We also of course took them to Craft, which was a super evening.

 Thank you for coming Helios family, see you next time!

ID-travel

Finally time for me to return home to Abu Dhabi, I had to travel stand by as I couldn't get a firm seat. It didn't look that good on my first try, but I still went across to the airport as Lucas was coming in on the flight I was hoping to get home on. 
So at least we got to hang out for a bit, have a coffee and a chat.

I didn't get on that flight, but no matter, I returned to Pia's for the night and got to enjoy another day in the beautiful autumnal southern Sweden.

 Luckily the next day there were loads of seats, and I got home no problem. 

Touchdown Copenhagen

Nathan got two weeks of summer leave in July this year, so we took off to start our summer with a few days in Copenhagen. It was absolutely beautiful summer weather so we walked about a lot. We caught up with Lars and Nanna, Søren and Jonna, and even Pia who came over for a stegt flæsk dinner.

Lucas was working, so we went to see him down at Broens Gadekøkken and had early dinner from his food truck. 

He's the poke bowl king!

Thomas was away with the family on holiday in Japan, so we had the house to ourselves:

 

The 21st gift

So Nathan and I redeemed ourselves a bit this weekend, as Nathan went up to Copenhagen to hang out with Lucas and Thomas. He took him into town to get him his birthday present from us, and as it was his 21st - it was a big present..!

Lucas has wished for the big Millenium Falcon™ LEGO set forever, and he must have thought it was a completely unattainable wish - he got tears as he got to pick it out from the shop..!
First they just went to look in the shop..:

 

 Then he was told we would get it for him:

A very surprised - and very happy birthday boy! Sad I wasn't there to share this moment with them, but it is what it is.

As the 21st birthday is special for the Kiwis, Nathan himself got a very nice watch from his parents when he turned 21. A watch that he still uses for nice occasions, it's one of his most priced possessions by far. He did initially want to get Lucas a watch as well for his big day, but we finally reckoned he would be - at this time in his life - more happy for this LEGO set, ha ha!
There will come more special birthdays!

Glyptoteket

Saturday morning I had woken up early and decided I wanted to go explore, rather than just hang about the house all day waiting for everyone else to wake up. I have realised there are still so many places in Copenhagen I haven’t visited, and this day I wanted to visit Glyptoteket. I cannot believe I had never been there before!

The Glyptotek was founded by Carl Jacobsen and his wife Ottilia. Carl Jacobsen was the owner and director of the New Carlsberg brewery, an inventive brewer, successful businessman and art collector.

Carl Jacobsen enjoyed contemporary art, antiquity, design, architecture, history, archeology and botany. And believe me, his collection is impressive!

Sculpture was at the heart of Jacobsen's collection. His investment in contemporary French and Danish artists, and fascination with the art and culture of the ancient Mediterranean, helped create this world-class collection. I really wasn't aware how much there was to see here.

I found a familiar sculpture that we have previously showcased at LAD in a bronze version - the Laocoön.

It is no wonder that Glyptoteket is Scandinavia's leading antiquities museum. I spent hours wandering around in the rooms exploring treasures from Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt:

Met another old friend - Gudea!

I didn't just admire the collection, but also the museum space. The first part of the Glyptotek was inaugurated here in 1897, and in 1906 an extension was built as well as the Winter Garden. Since then, several extensions have been made, resulting in a labyrinth of galleries.
Just look at this outlook:

Or this one:

This building housing the collections of Roman, Greek and Egyptian art was designed to reference the architecture of the ancient world.

One of my favourite parts - the Winter Garden.

The latest extension to to the Glyptotek was added in 1996, and it houses temporary exhibitions. I was so lucky that the current temporary exhibition was about 'French Art 1870-1925'. Very suitable considering our own Post-Impressionism exhibition coming up next month at the LAD.

I could enjoy another encounter with Litte Dancer of Fourteen Years, that I had previously seen (another version of) in Athens 2020.

Paul Gauguin:

Claude Monet:

Beautiful details:

This building also houses a roof terrace, where you get amazing views of central Copenhagen, and Tivoli:

At one stage, I had to take a little break. Even though it was the most expensive cup of coffee and carrot cake I have had in a long time, I did get to enjoy this beautiful view from the museum café!

I could also enjoy the Winter Garden and its iconic dome from above, when visiting the second floor and the temporary exhibition about Kai Nielsen - Born of Everyday Life:

Kai Nielsen's works can be seen in a number of public spaces in Denmark. He was fascinated by the human body.

Another temporary exhibition dealt with 'French Art 1800-1870', always interesting.

One part of the museum was dedicated to an exhibition about the building itself, which, like our LAD, is a true work of art and an extraordinary setting. Here I could explore the evolution of the Glyptotek, via drawings, photos, models and samples of the structures of the building. Very cool!

What a beautiful place! What an amazing morning! I will be back for sure, again and again! Can't wait!