A Good Day

Wednesday, July 13, 2016--Copenhagen

It was a long and busy day.  I left Grethe's apartment at 10:18 after reading the news, writing my blog, making my to-go lunch, and bathing and getting dressed.  I walked all the way to town--a distance that took an hour.  I went directly to Holmens Kirke, a church where I knew there would be a free organ concert at noon.  I sat at a picnic table outside and age my lunch--two pieces of buttered bread--one with liver paste and thin slices of salted meat and the other with slices of boiled new potatoes and slices of Danish meatballs.

The organist was an American woman, Gail Archer, who teaches at Vassar College and Columbia University.  She played music by Nicolaus Bruhns, J. S. Bach, Libby Larsen, Samuel Barber, and Jeanne Demessieux.  The Larsen piece was much more contemporary sounding than the others.  All were well played.  This concert is part of an international series of organ concerts the church is having all summer--one each Wednesday, I believe.

As soon as the concert was over, I met my friend Claus at his apartment on Nicolaj Plads, a square in the center of town (about 3 blocks from the church).  He served us Princesse Thyra Boller (dessert pastries that were cream puffs filled with a nice cream and topped by a thin layer of frosting made from rum and powdered sugar) which came from La Glace, one of the top cake shops in the city.  We also had coffee, water, and fresh cherries.

After our dessert and visit, Claus took me on a walking tour in the area.  We went through the gardens behind the old Royal Library which I have always enjoyed.  There, he pointed out the new Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind.  We went along the waterfront where we saw the construction of Blox, a new building that will house the Danish Architecture Center.  Then we walked through a couple of old courtyards within buildings from the 1600s within the area.

After wandering through some of the narrow back streets toward the center of the city, Claus and I separated.  On the way back to the Grethe's, I walked down streets I still had not visited yet.  I was very disappointed to see a new office complex called Axeltorv Square 2 under construction to replace an unsuccessful shopping center--disappointed because the design is quite ugly with gold-colored metal.  It reminds me of construction from East Germany.

By the time I made it back to Grethe's, I had been walking about 4 1/2 hours today and was feeling quite tired!  Her dinner, however, perked me up.  She served fried scrubber, a type of Danish flatfish which her brother had caught and given to her.  They were delicious--moist and flavorful and easy to eat without fighting with bones.  We had boiled new potatoes, gravy, and a salad consisting of watermelon, feta cheese, and roasted pumpkin seeds.