ONE TO THE NEXT

Sometimes I amaze myself at how long I'm able to drag things out. We went to Denmark in May and for all the time I took to finish uploading everything, a good friend had a baby (who's now 6 months old), several friends in the office have left, we got a new sofa and the year is coming to an end.

Oh and next week we'll be off again, a short blue-sky holiday, to the Maldives :)

In Japanese there's a saying which my friends like to use on me 「マイペースな人だね」. Describing a person as "my pace", a person who cannot be rushed, who does things at their own pace (and may I say gets awfully annoyed when life tries to push them along), my mom used to get so worried that I'll get left behind.

I have a dream of moving to a beautiful little island somewhere instead where seasons turn and watch leaves grow (HC says he's fine as long as there's wifi *lol*).

Hope you have had a good year, and a better one ahead. Also many thanks to everyone who reads my very "my pace" blog. I sometimes see recurring countries in my readers' stats... ...Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Denmark, Singapore I know are probably some of my friends, but France, Germany, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Belgium, Russia, Poland, US, South Korean readers etc... ...I do think about you sometimes and wonder fondly who you are :)

From top:

The second oldest amusement park in the world since 1843. I loved how everything is more wooden than plastic here, and how elderly Danes talk fondly of their childhood memories there.

The Carlsberg HQ, lots of burgers, lots of beer (slurp).

Copenhagen's idea of the evening rush hour.

Amalienborg palace, in our typical haphazard fashion, we missed the changing of the guards.

The old meatpacking district, now full of interesting restaurant and cafes.

WANDERING AROUND WHAT I THINK IS NORREBRO

It's terrible, but this is what happens when you have no sense of direction.

I wanted to check out Nørrebro and I think we were indeed somewhere in the vicinity, but we wandered so far and wide that in the end I had no idea where we were at all.

But I guess it was no matter, because we had a great time.

A gem of a shop we stumbled upon.

Lots of beautiful mid-nineteenth century pieces. The friendly owner restores them all himself and was happy to explain about the where-and-when of each piece in the shop.

It was so nice to chat with him about furniture, the collecting and designing and making of them.

And all the while I was thinking, my dad (who's a carpenter) would have had lots to talk to him about.

We were drawn to this beautiful patch of green, only to find that it was the Assistens Cemetery, where the famous Hans Christian Andersen was buried. I conclude there are some perks to not knowing where you're going.

Vintage shops, interior shops, zakka shops. I love the little streets of Copenhagen.

COPENHAGEN BREAKFAST FIX

Another great thing about Henrik's apartment was that this was just a couple of blocks away.

It was nice to be able to just pile on some clothes and head down for breakfast without having to worry too much about our pre-coffee faces :) Kinfolk did a great piece about them here too (ah and the to-die-for light and shadows in those photos... ...)

HENRIK'S PLACE

In Copenhagen, we stayed at Henrik's place, an apartment we found through Airbnb. It was just a small studio for sure but the evening light in his place was incredibly beautiful. It was just early summer when we were there but there was light all the way until 10 at night. We would wander downstairs to Irma's for salad, bread and cheese, come back, lit the candles, put on some jazz and chat long into the evening while we ate.

It was to us, as the Danes say, all very hygge.

All that was lacking was maybe a cat or two ;)

COPENHAGEN!

From top:

Denmark's design shrine - HAY. If it wasn't for the 25% VAT I would have been in great danger. That said, I did seriously consider lagging back a coffee table.

Copenhagen's longest and most famous shopping street, the Strøget. You can find all kinds of high street and luxury brands here, but I would suggest you just take a stroll one time and go somewhere lots more fun like Nørrebro instead.

Lunch was at an unexpected place with an irresistible sign saying 'Probably the oldest restaurant in town'. We walked in and happily found out that on top of the authentic food and good service, they brewed their own beer too. The charming handwritten receipt said 'since 1787'.

Dropping by the Designmuseum Danmark to see Hans Wegner's chairs. I love exhibitions that lets you sit, touch, stick your face up-close and short of destroying the exhibit, do whatever you like. Afterall, as the designer said, "A chair isn't finished until someone sits in it."

A photo of the designer on the right discussing ideas with friends. That's Borge Mogensen on the far left. What struck me was how unassuming these designer greats look, you probably won't give them a second glance on the street, which makes me wonder why young creatives nowadays sometimes try so hard to 'look the part' with their funky hair and clothes. It's what's inside and what comes out of you that counts.