Tag Archives: Denmark

Art, Design, and Autumn in Aarhus, Denmark

48 Hours In A Lovely Small City

After leaving Kolding and our wonderful visit to the Trapholt, Museum, we took a less than two-hour drive north to Aarhus to see yet another Danish museum that is primarily dedicated to modern art and design.

Before our arrival, we hadn’t known that Arne Jacobsen, one of our favourite Danish designers, was one of the architects for the City Hall and Clock Tower opened in the early 1940s in Aarhus during World War II.

We had intentionally chosen an apartment that was a short 7-minute walk to the museum, allowing us to park the car and not worry about driving in the city. Mark took a few early morning walks while I was still sleeping, so a sprinkling of his pictures are included below.

The AROS Museum’s contemporary interior is housed in the 2004-built fourth version of the museum. The original was founded in 1859. Due to copyright issues, you will notice that I have not included any images of the artwork within the galleries.

The ring of coloured glass on the top of the building is a walkway that allows you to have a full view of the city all around you.

The exterior of the AROS Museum in the heart of Aarhus, Denmark.

Coloured glass rooftop walkway at the AROS Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

Stepping through the doors of AROS, we were presented with an array of levels and lashings of bold phrases painted on the walls.

Interior of the AROS Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

Accessibility is never an issue within this museum since there are glass elevators as well as curved ramps of easy-to-use stairs.

Spiral ramps connect the interior levels of the AROS Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

AROS also has a multi-area cafe and shop on the ground floor.

Entry to the restaurant inside the AROS Museum in Aarhus, Denmark.

As we left the museum that evening, I turned around to see what the building would look like when it was lit up at night. It was equally as delightful as during the daytime.

Night view of the exterior of the AROS Museum with its landmark coloured glass walkway atop the building.

Below are some of the wonderful discoveries that Mark made on his morning walks. Enjoy!

Public art in Aarhus, Denmark. A metal sculpture of a man in a suit with his bicycle.

The near-empty canalside streets of Aarhus, Denmark in the early morning.

A wonderfully funny pedestrian crossing light with an illuminated Viking in a helmet carrying a battle axe and shield.

©Deborah Harmes. Painted signage — “it’s over” — on the wall of a passageway leading to an exit.

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes 2007-2019 and ©Mark Harmes 2007-2019
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2019
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Snippets of Kolding, Denmark

Between The Rainshowers Snaps

It’s autumn in Scandinavia, so the weather changes here rather quickly. As the light gets thinner and the evenings arrive earlier each day, it’s a challenge to find balanced light for taking images.

This short photo essay is filled with shots that Mark took in Kolding, Denmark as he dashed out one afternoon between the persistent bursts of rain. Enjoy!

Surface application of floral artwork on a house in Kolding, Denmark.

A sculpture of a young man in an open-air display area within the Old Town section of Kolding, Denmark.

A public art display in an urban park within Kolding, Denmark. Stone sculptures are placed on the stairs and flat platforms within this space.

Modern sculpture of a woman on a motorcycle. Public art discovered on a walk around Kolding, Denmark.

For the numerous cycling enthusiasts and commuters, the ever-present bike parking racks in Kolding, Denmark.

Get UPDATES from A Wanderful Life by CLICKING HERE!

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes 2007–2019 and ©Mark Harmes 2007–2019
©A Wanderful Life 2007–2019
Please respect the words and images on this page. All rights reserved.

Deborah Harmes is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer and may be found at http://www.deborahharmes.com — Linkedin — Twitter — Instagram — Alamy photographic portfolio

Mid-Century Art & Design in Kolding, Denmark

As we travel from country to country, we’ve factored in time to indulge our love of art and design. So my heart beat a little faster when I learned that we could see an original Arne Jacobsen prototype for modular housing design from 1971 — and a visit to the Trapholt Museum in Kolding was planned.

You’d think I would have headed straight to that exhibit first — but no — I was lightheaded from hunger. As we walked to the far end of the museum, we were astonished at the serene view over the fjord below from the large windows of the cafe.

The cafe in the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark overlooks a deep-blue fjord.

After we dined, a visit to the Kubeflex prototype made us realise how far ahead of his time Arne Jacobsen was when he designed it and then died shortly afterwards in 1971. Good architecture and design for the masses, not just for the wealthy, was something he aspired to. Each module of the Kubeflex was 11 metres square and could be assembled in a variety of combinations according to the requirements of the new owners.

Unfortunately, Jacobsen’s untimely death meant that the Kubeflex design never went into production. Instead, the prototype was used as a summer house for over 30 years by the Jacobsen family.

Arne Jacobsen’s prototype for the modular housing design called Kubeflex is on permanent display at the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark.

Iconic original Egg Chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen are displayed in his prototype Kubeflex House at the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark.

Custom furniture designed by Arne Jacobsen is displayed in the Kubeflex prototype house at the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark.

The next must-see exhibit was the gallery containing work by Nanna Ditzel. The items on display contained bold colours that were visually arresting!

Nanna Ditzel Mid-Century design displayed at the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark.

The media and the art world may call it ‘retro chic’ — but there was a nostalgic edge to everything we saw. The concepts that are now quite desirable again were so far ahead of their time.

Entry of the Trapholt Museum in Kolding, Denmark.

Next up — images from Mark’s rambles through Kolding.

Get UPDATES from A Wanderful Life by CLICKING HERE!

Deborah Harmes is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer and may be found at http://www.deborahharmes.com — Linkedin — Twitter — Instagram — Alamy photographic portfolio.

A-Wandering We Go!

We’ve lived in France for over five years — and that has given us so many benefits and blessings — things that we are quite appreciative of. I did the hard slog of paperwork required to get our plastic ID cards that prove we are EU residents in good standing — and I even obtained an EU driving license. Since we’ve been ‘in the system’ and eligible for health care and energy rebates and so forth — why change things now?

We’ve been living in a pretty part of Brittany and we’ve made some wonderful friends over the last few years. But picturesque settings and pleasant folks aside, we feel like our time in France may be coming to an end. To determine if our feelings are accurate, we’re currently on a long driving holiday in northern Europe.

Our mindset about life shifted rather dramatically this year when Mark’s father died a few months ago. Having such an anchor presence, one that you thought would always be there, disappear within weeks of your last visit to England impacted us both rather sharply. We grieved deeply — and then we realised that we needed to decide how we felt about France as our long-term home.

We first went to England for two weeks and spent some time with my mother-in-law whilst getting ourselves prepared to travel again. It’s been a year since we took our last long trip to Italy for two months.

Mark bought a new off-road bike and he did test runs around Canvey Island and other nearby spots before we set off.

Mark’s Boardman orange bike in front of a ruin on Canvey Island, Essex, England.

A variety of boats along a narrow waterway in Canvey Island, Essex, England.

Then Mark fine-tuned some things on the van, decided how many bikes he was taking along for the trip, and exactly one week ago, we arrived in Harwich just before sunset where we stopped for some photos before enjoying a lovely dinner.

A few hours later, we sailed away on a beautiful Stena Lines ship to the Hook of Holland. We had a wonderfully comfortable overnight trip and a good breakfast the next morning before we disembarked.

Cabin on the Stena Line sailing from Harwich to Hook of Holland.

Breakfast on our Stena Lines trip from Harwich to Hook of Holland.

After arrival, we went through the long lines at passport control (proudly showing our EU cards as proof that we live in Europe and are not overseas tourists with a limited-time status!) and away we drove towards Germany.

Our first stop for the night was in a tiny spot near Bremen called Ganderkesee. The country house hotel was gloriously old-world and the food at the evening meal and huge breakfast the next morning was excellent.

Exterior of the Hotel Backenkohler in Ganderkesee, Germany.

Most of our destinations will be all-new territory for us. We’ve been to the Netherlands and Germany several times, but we’ve never ventured further north into the Scandinavian countries. We have so many places to see, photos to take, and new experiences to have.

Next up — our two days in Kolding, Denmark!

Get UPDATES from A Wanderful Life by CLICKING HERE!