tivoli gardens.

an evening spent in a magical wonderland of pretty lights, i wandered, won a Hello Kitty charm for my phone and Gene did the ride of death - adrenaline junkie.

back in London now, thinking about getting serious about life but also thinking i might like to do another little trip, it's getting pretty cold in old London town already!

postcards from copenhagen

1. Fredriksborg Castle

2. the Little Mermaid

3. Danish pastries - yum!

4. Copenhagen skyline

5. Fredrik & Mary's house

6. the tallest man ever

7. Nyhavn once more

nyhavn.

this place deserves a post of it's own.

we're staying 5 minutes walk from Nyhavn and it was one of the first places i caught a glimpse of when we first arrived. i'd always seen pictures but it was far more beautiful in person.

Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V and the oldest house dates from 1661. it was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution - it's the old red light district for Copenhagen. 

Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn 18 for many years and we were told the reason for the brightly painted buildings was so that when the sailors came home drunk, they knew which house was theirs.

the elephants

these guys are hanging out all over Copenhagen.

they're part of the Elephant Parade Copenhagen and each one has been done by a different artist. the exhibition ended today and each elephant will be auctioned off and proceeds will go to the preservation of the Asian elephant. 

not that Copenhagen is lacking in things to look at, but these guys are pretty cool and seem to turn up all over the place.

coast & castles with Lisbeth

day one in Denmark was a great day.

my old family friend Lisbeth picked us up and took us on a drive up north of Zealand. 

we drove up the coast past many gorgeous little coastal summer houses, past the castle where Hamlet was set in Helsingør and stopped for lunch (the most amazing fish i've ever had!) in a small beachside town called Hornbæk.

after lunch we checked out the Queen of Denmark's favourite castle in Fredensborg and then we headed to our main attraction of the day, a 16th century castle in Hillerød by the name of Fredriksborg. It was spectacular to say the least.

Following this we had danishes and fresh apples off the tree in Lisbeths' sweet little garden and a family dinner with everyone which was really really nice.

btw - there are SO many castles in Denmark, in the countryside, in neighbourhoods, in the city - everywhere!

a very handsome fellow

postcards from sweden II

1. Tjolöholms slott

2. love heart shutters and flower boxes

3. stumbling across a horse race festival

4. so much green

5. blue and yellow accents everywhere

6. early morning view from one of many lakes

7. Räkmacka (prawn sandwich)

8. the perfect view for a morning or afternoon tea

9. more green and more flowers

all things Swedish: kubb

while in Sweden we tried a lot of Swedish things - i love this!

kubb is a Swedish game where the objective is to knock down the oppositing teams knights with wooden sticks but not knock down the king.

shooting some hoops was also on the cards...however, not so Swedish

postcards from sweden

1. view from Varberg Fortress

2. traditional Swedish meatballs with lingonberry

3. view from the Varberg waterfront

4. Swedish buildings

5. off to get a glass (ice cream) at Tjolöholms slott

6. Tjolöholms slott

raindrops keep falling on my head: Sweden

on arrival into Sweden, the weather was less than desirable. 

the closest i've ever been to Sweden is IKEA and that itself is amazing.

we're staying with some old friends of Gene's in the countryside about 30 minutes north of Gothenburg.

so far, i love it.