Happy birthday Nathan

Birthday boy got celebrated with balloons and gifts in bed, as per tradition.

Not many gifts, just the token fun ones, such as a Beer Trivia Game, some giblets for his Crocs, and a rather special Christmas decoration that Mormor had got custom made:

Isn't he gorgeous! He will take pride place eventually as we get closer to Christmas:

Birthday breakfast was cooked breakfast this time, as I completely forgot about making pancakes.

 
The rest of the day was spent doing chores that were urgent, like sorting out Linnea's Visa, and picking up Nathan's Swedish passport from the embassy. We had lunch at a Libanese restaurant in town (which was a bit of a let down), and then cooked ribs for dinner, and invited Will over.

Art Here 2024

The fourth edition of Art Here has been inaugurated at the museum, and once again we have artworks outside under the dome. This years theme is Awakenings and has five shortlisted artworks participating in the competition.

Debutante Ball, by Emirati artist Lamya Gargash:

Brides of the Sky, by Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr:

Shared Motion, by Emirati artist Sarah Almehairi:

Tiling the Soil, by Franco-Tunisian artist Ferielle Doulaina-Zouari:
 

Landscapes, by Tunisian artist Nicene Kossentini:

Edible Art

I made it back just in time to be able to admire something I had seen on Instagram, that was happening at the museum throughout the summer, an Edible Art Exhibition!

The Arte Dubai café had taken over the lower forum, and were serving cakes inspired by, modeled on and shaped as artworks from the Louvre Abu Dhabi galleries.

They looked absolutely fantastic!

There was also a small exhibition with pieces in natural size, copies of the real thing.

The absolute 'pièce de résistance' of the whole thing was of course this model of the museum, made entirely out of chocolate!
It was more true to the real thing, than the model we have in the entrance!

Amazing details!

Back to work

Straight back into it! It's always nice to start back with an event, like the SwedishLadies breakfast, but I also didn't wait getting back to work!

Pockets full of portion-sized 'Plopp' candy (that I handed out to every person I met on my first day, colleagues, security personnel, cleaning staff, buggy drivers, and so on) and with a big smile - I took on my first day!
I didn't have any tour unfortunately, but I didn't mind as I have so much studying to do for the upcoming rotations and new exhibition. So I just got stuck head deep in the books!
Good to be back, it'll be a great season!

Swedish breakfast

Coming back a bit into the term was a weird experience, I felt like we had missed something, like we were falling behind. I guess it will take a while changing our "rhythm" of the year - but I do believe I will continue to see August/September as the beginning more than than New Year, whether or not I have school kids.

I didn't miss the first SwedishLadies breakfast of the season though, as it was arranged just as I got back!

 

An amazing spread, as each lady had brought goodies to share, and there was 22 of us! One of the biggest events in a long time. Great beginning to the new season.

 

Goodbye to the summer, and thank you

Lucas and Nathan returned to Copenhagen, and Linnea and I returned to the cabin after our party weekend. We had to close it up, pick up the last of the fall fruit and clean everything after our time there.
Instead of cooking on our last night, Linnea suggested we go to Pinchos to end our West Coast-adventure. So be it!

Pinchos is always a hit, this time especially. Linnea ordered a cocktail and was ecstatic she got to show her ID for the very first time!

We then returned to Skara for a few days, but didn't take any photos those last days. The end of the summer.
Finally it was time to train down to Malmö:

The very last stop of this summer, a couple of days in Bunkeflo:

It was a strange feeling to stay for this long. I don't think I have been in Scandinavia in September for maybe 20 years, so I enjoyed the fall feelings creeping on. But we were also ready to go home by now. So even though we only got Economy seats on our return flight, we decided to go as planned. It was time.
Thank you summer of 2024!

A Bunkeflo 50th

The day after the party we returned across to Sweden, because it was another big birthday happening! Martin turned 50 - and we came to celebrate!

It wasn't a big celebration though, as both Pia and Martin were working the following day. We had burgers and drinks before Nathan and Lucas returned to Copenhagen. Linnea and I stayed overnight as we were driving back up to clean out the cabin.
Nice to be there for his big day nevertheless, although no more photos were taken..!

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!