Copenhagen's Nyhavn

Nyhavn is a 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbor front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a heritage harbor, the canal has many historical wooden ships. (Source)

For those in search of the well-loved children's story writer, Hans Christian Andersen, Nyhavn is the place. Nyhavn was constructed by King Christian V from 1670-73, dug by Swedish war prisoners from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city at Kongens Nytorv (King's Square), where ships handled cargo and fishermen's catch. It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn 18 for some years. (Source)

Nyahvn was busy the day we visited.

The weather was beautiful that day and perfect for walking around the harbor.

Busy harbor.

As ocean-going ships grew larger, Nyhavn was taken over by internal Danish small vessel freight traffic. After World War II land transport took over this role and small vessel traffic disappeared from the Port of Copenhagen, leaving Nyhavn largely deserted of ships.

In the mid-1960s, the Nyhavn Society was founded with the aim of revitalising Nyhavn. In 1977, Nyhavn was inaugurated as a veteran ship and museum harbour by Overborgmester i København (Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor) Egon Weidekamp. (Source)

In my experience, Nyhavn is the perfect place to eat ice cream on any warm, sunny afternoon or the place to have lunch or dinner with friends. While we were there, I enjoyed sitting at the harbor, watching the ships go by, munching on sausages we bought from a street vendor and nodding my head to music played by a band from a nearby cafe.

A perfect afternoon spent at Nyhavn, Copenhagen.

Let's Shop

Brought to you by your friends at teacollection.com.

I was just out today shopping as I know spring will be here in no time. I got two pairs of pants and a blouse fit for spring weather. How about you? Are you and your family ready for the spring weather? If not, I suggest checking out teacollection.com. I was just browsing their website and I fell-in-love with their Bali Safari girls clothing collection. Their dresses and designs give me that warm, tropical feel. I fell-in-love with the woodrose Ginger Flower Dress, and how I was my nieces were still at that age where they can wear this dress; they're now rambunctious teenagers. Just by look at these dresses, I honestly felt like I was in Bali.

This website is well-organized and it's so easy to shop and find what you're looking for. They offer clothes for boys, girls, baby girls, baby boys and women. It's a great place to pick up gifts for your family and friends. And I'm so thankful they offer clothing for women because that's where I'm heading right now. The Batik Floral Top is calling my name.

Goodbye To Kronborg

I felt a sense of satisfaction as we left Kronborg Castle. I came to Copenhagen and visited all the places on my list. The feeling of relief comes as our trip to Denmark is coming to a close.

A portrait of Shakespeare.

Cannons facing the Sound Oresund.

A tunnel that I have no idea where it goes.

 Our visit at the Kronborg Castle ended with a meal of Denmark's open-faced sandwiches. Before boarding the train back to Copenhagen, Kepi and I ate at a random sandwich shop near the castle. With chilled bottles of Coke, we enjoyed the open-faced sandwiches with liver pate, ham and fried fish.

Whenever I visit a city or a country, I research and try to found out what are their famous eats or what their country is known for. Before I flew to Denmark, I read about the Danish open-faced sandwiches called Smørrebrød (originally smør og brød; Danish for "butter and bread"). According to Wikipedia, these sandwiches are usually consist of a piece of buttered rye bread, a dense, dark brown bread. Pålæg (literally "on-lay"), the topping, then among others can refer to commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of meat or fish, cheese or spreads. This daily practice is the base on which the art of the famous Danish open sandwich, smørrebrød is created: A slice or two of pålæg is placed on the buttered bread, and then pyntet (decorated) with the right accompaniments, to create a tasty and visually appealing food item. (Source)

Just a little history on these open-faced sandwiches: In the Middle Ages, thick slabs of coarse bread called "tranches" (late 15th century French) or, in its English derivative, "trenchers", were used as plates. At the end of the meal, the food-soaked trencher was eaten by the diner (from which we get the expression "trencherman"), or perhaps fed to a dog or saved for beggars. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches as they were of disposable dishware. As such, open-face sandwiches have a unique origin and history, differing from that of the true (multi-slice) sandwich. (Source)

Translation Services

Brought to you by your friends at rosettatranslation.com.

At work, there are times we need the help of a document translation agency, since we deal with documents that come from all over the world. We have documents coming from several countries including Japan and China. In order for my bosses to understand more these documents, we do ask the help of translation agencies. Having the services of a trusted document translation company can do wonders to your company's services. It helps make document processing more accurate and makes understanding business contracts or documents clearer and more precise. If you have a company or business in need of document translation services, perhaps it's time to check out rosettatranslation.com. This company covers a wide variety of specialization in Business Translation, Legal Translation, Financial Translation, Contract Translation, Engineering Translation, IT Translation, Pharmaceutical Translation and Medical Translation.

Their website looks professional and very easy to navigate. They offer translation expertise, interpreting services, languages, transcription and more. I love that you can get a free quote by filling up their online form. This way, you'll have an idea what to expect. To get to know more about this company and their services, you can subscribe to their Rosetta Gazette or visit their Rosetta Blog.

Crypt Of The Capuchins

When we visited Rome in 2010, I was determined to visit the Crypt of the Capuchins, since I never did took the time to visit this place while I was living in Rome in 2007. The crypt is quite easy to find. It is walking distance from the Stazione Barberini (Metro Station Barberini), which is the same stop for the Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Barberini and Via Veneto, which is quite known for shopping and cozy cafes. When we found the Crypt, we paid about 2 Euros, which is more of a donation than an entrance fee. The nun who was manning the desk that day was very strict about observing silence at all times and pointed to my camera saying, "No photographs allowed."

My experience at the Crypt was both eerie and curious. Eeriness because I was walking in the presence of the departed and curiousness of how someone thought of turning bones into art. The place has a very peaceful feel and it was strangely cool inside. It's amazing how many bones they have in there and more interesting is how they are displayed. Since photography isn't allowed, I scanned the postcard I got during our visit.

Bones at the Capuchin Crypt

I thought this is an interesting quote.

From the postcard:

In 1630, the Capuchin friars - so-called because of the "capuche" or hood attached to their religious habit - left the friary of St. Bonaventure near the Trevi Fountain and came to live in the present one, of which only the church cemetery remain.  The remains of the deceased friars were transported from the old friary and laid to rest in this cemetery, underneath the present church. The bones were arranged along the walls, and the friars began to bury their own dead here, as well as the bodies of poor Romans... Here the Capuchins would come to pray and reflect each evening before retiring for the night. Over the years, until 1870, further alterations transformed this burial place into the work of art we see today. It's message is clear: death closes the gates of time, and opens those of eternity.

Apparently, "when the monks arrived at the church in 1631, they brought 300 cartloads of deceased friars. Fr. Michael of Bergamo oversaw the arrangement of the bones in the burial crypt. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem, by order of Pope Urban VIII. As monks died during the lifetime of the crypt, the longest-buried monk was exhumed to make room for the newly-deceased who was buried without a coffin, and the newly-reclaimed bones were added to the decorative motifs. Bodies typically spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before being exhumed." (Source)

I thought this was a great way to save sacred space.

Victorian Mailboxes

Brought to you by your friends at simplyvictorianmailboxes.com.

Everyday, I look forward to checking my mailbox. I still love getting letters, cards and postcards from family and friends. I can't imagine a world without snail mail, and I can't imagine my life without a mailbox. I am hoping that people will continue to write letters, send cards and postcards to those people they love at all times. And speaking of mailbox, if you love getting mail and looking into updating your mailbox like me, I think it's time we look into victorian mailboxes.

At simplyvictorianmailboxes.com, they have a large collection of all sorts of mailboxes. I think you'll be delighted to see their collection of victorian wall mailboxes, victorian pedestal mailboxes, victorian post mailboxes, victorian column mailboxes and much more. What I love about their website is that it's very organized and it's easy to navigate. Their items come with a photo and an in-depth product description which certainly makes shopping easier. So if you're ready to update your mailbox at home, perhaps it's time to check out their website.

Searching For Shakespeare's Elsinore

It is but fitting to start with a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet:

It faded on the crowing of the cock.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1.1

While researching about the must see places in Denmark, the castle of Kronborg stood out for me especially when I read that it was the castle Elsinore used by Shakespeare in his play Hamlet. It was like walking to a Shakespearean play that came to life.

The town of Helsingor is about 30 minutes from Copenhagen and it is easily reachable by train. From the station, it is about 15 to 20 minutes walk to reach the castle. For those who love Shakespeare, this place is a must see.

Traversing the narrow streets of Helsingor.

From the train station to the castle, we passed through this garden with dancing maidens.

Our first sight of the castle.

The castle has for centuries been one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list on November 30, 2000.

One of the more ornate ceilings.

A really interesting window.

Window overlooking the Sound Oresund.

Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, at the seaward approach to The Sound Øresund, is one of northern Europe's most important Renaissance castles. Known all over the world from Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is also the most famous castle in Denmark with about 200.000 visitors each year. (Source)

Kronborg is known by many also as "Elsinore," the setting of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet was performed in the castle for the first time to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, with a cast consisting of soldiers from the castle garrison. The stage was in the telegraph tower in the southwest corner of the castle. The play has since been performed several times in the courtyard and at various locations on the fortifications. Later performers to play Hamlet at the castle included Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Christopher Plummer, Derek Jacobi, and in 2009 Jude Law. (Source)