The first garden show of the year

May 9, 2013 by 2 Comments

havesToday is the first day of the Malvern Spring Gardening Show – the first garden show of the year and the start of a new season. All the garden designers in Worcestershire have been busy creating the most beautiful gardens hoping that they may get a gold medal.

The exhibition area is located near the beautiful Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, so there is plenty to see during and after the show.

The big tent is the centre of it all, and it is packed with flowers and arrangements in beautiful colours. More than 100 nurseries are represented, and only the most perfect flowers are on show.

Some of the highlights will be demonstrations, talks, botanical and flower art, great food and lots of possibilities to do some shopping for the garden at home.

Fotos: © Mia Folkmann

Filed Under: Culture, England, Flowers, Gardens, Worcestershire Tagged With: , ,

Flowers and views of the world

April 9, 2013 by 2 Comments

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A new exhibition has recently started at the National Gallery of Copenhagen and it will last until October.

The exhibition “Flowers and world views” displays 300 works of art focusing on nature’s beautiful creations, while it at the same time gives an impression of the importance of flowers, fruits and plants in art history.

Some works are well known while others never or rarely have been exhibited before. Most come from the royal collections, including the collected works of flower paintings – the Gottorp Codex – that has just been through an extensive restoration.

It was the talented flower painter Hans Simon Holtzbecker who produced a pictorial record of all the flowers and plants that grew in Gottorp castle garden. Some of them were painted on the spot; others were sent to the artist’s studio in Hamburg, where they were captured with watercolours (gouache) on parchment. His flower paintings were incredibly detailed, and they were done with very vivid colours.

These four handmade books from the 1600s with their collection of the most beautiful flower paintings lay hidden and forgotten in the library of Gottorp Castle for many years and only came to light when they were handed over to the Danish National Gallery of Art.

Photo: ©  SMK

Filed Under: Art, Copenhagen, Culture, Museums Tagged With: , , ,

A trip to Worcester

January 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

We braced the cold weather and went to Worcester. The longest river of Great Britain, the Severn, passes through the city, and adjacent to it lays Worcester Cathedral, architecturally considered to be one of England’s most exciting cathedrals. And it IS impressing with beautifully decorated ceilings high, high above the arches.

Every Sunday between 9.30 and 10.30 the cathedral bells are ringing, and it is done by voluntary “bell ringers”. There are 15 giant bells with a total of 16 tons, so it’s probably not easy to get the tones right.

Worcester is a city with many old half-timbered houses, especially in Friar Street – just behind the main street with all the shops. Greyfriars’ House is one of the most beautiful, and it was built in 1480 by a wealthy brewer. The house was decorated as it was appropriate for a man of position, and exhibitions in the house shows the changes over the years. Behind the house is a lovely garden where you can drink afternoon tea in the summer.

But today we preferred a visit to the beautiful bookstore and an indoor coffee at Costa cafe…

Filed Under: Culture, England, Houses, Travels Tagged With: , , ,

Christmas in the fifties

December 26, 2012 by 4 Comments

590candlesAs a small child most of my family gathered to celebrate Christmas at my grandparents place. They lived in a flat at the third floor; my aunt, uncle and cousin lived right below them in another flat, and around the corner in the same block lived yet another aunt and uncle.

All this family get-together was so very cozy for a child. I lived with my parents some distance away, and as we didn’t have a car, we had to use our legs. In the summer we cycled, and in the winter we walked. Christmas Eve we put all the Christmas presents in several bags and wrapped ourselves in warm clothes, and then we trudged off in the high snow (at that time it was always snowing at Christmas of course …;-)).

I was filled with anticipation for the upcoming evening. I was looking forward to the gifts, and I loved all the family fun I grew up with. When we approached my grandparents building, I could see the lighted candles in the windows, and they shone so warmly and welcoming in the dark.

My grandparents had only two rooms, but where there is a will, there is a way, even if we always were 12-14 people at Christmas. Everyone was seated around the dining table, which was extended to a degree where it almost filled the whole room, and then we had the traditional dinner of roast pork and rice pudding with a small gift for the lucky one, who found the hidden almond.

The only two children – me and my cousin – were seated in the couch after dinner and given a little goodie bag, before the gifts were handed out. That was probably a wise way of distraction, and we loved our goody bags. We were not used to sweets at the time, so it was something special.

Everyone had several gifts, and afterwards we played picture lottery or bingo. And eventually all the adults were offered a good night drink … but at that time I had usually fallen asleep on the couch…

Photo: ©  Mia Folkmann

Filed Under: Copenhagen, Culture, Denmark, Nostalgia Tagged With: , ,

Bernstorff Palace Gardens

April 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There are many parks in and outside Copenhagen, and one of them is Bernstorff Palace Gardens. It is a large park, and while some of it is rather wild, other parts are almost like an English landscape garden. There is a rose garden, an orchard and a pretty tea house, and the white castle is prominently positioned at the top of a hill.

Bernstorff Palace Gardens is named after King Frederik V’s foreign minister Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff, who built the castle in the middle of some of the most beautiful countryside. At that time you could see all the way to Copenhagen and all the way to the sea.

Since the 1850s the castle has been used as a summer residence for the royal family, but today it belongs to the Danish State. The Palace Gardens have been open to the public since 1945 – and since I live next to the park for the moment, I will tell you a little more about it later…

Photo: © Mia Folkmann

Filed Under: Castles, Copenhagen, Culture, Denmark, Gardens, Nature Tagged With: , , , , ,

Diamonds are forever

April 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This exquisite snuff box was made for King Frederick the Great of Prussia in 1770s, and it is just one of the many beautiful things you can see this summer at Buckingham Palace. The special exhibition is called “Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration”, and it will run from Saturday, 30 June 2012 to Sunday, 7 October 2012.

Photo: The Royal Collection © 2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Filed Under: Culture, England, Jubilee, London, Museums Tagged With: , , , , ,

Two countries combined

April 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

You can go to – and from – the isle of Bornholm by plane or by ship, but you can also drive trough Sweden. First you must take a fast ferry from Bornholm to the southern tip of Sweden and then drive about an hour through Sweden, before you come to this bridge, which combines Sweden with Denmark.

The bridge is all in all about 16 kilometres long, and since it was opened in the year 2000 millions of people and cars have travelled all the way across the sea to either countries.

And I will also go back to Denmark and Copenhagen this way, because my visit to Bornholm has ended for now.

Photo: © Sven Lindner

Filed Under: Bornholm, Culture, Denmark Tagged With: , , ,

A magical place

April 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Yesterday I spend a sunny afternoon at Hammershus – the second greatest ruin in northern Europe. For 500 years it was used as a fortress, an administrative centre, storerooms and a prison for a king’s daughter; today it is a peaceful place surrounded by blue sea and vast woodlands.

When the castle was build, it was placed on a 72 meter high rock, which made it quite impregnable. But nevertheless it was sieged and conquered by the Swedes and the Germans a few times.

Of course there are many tales from this place. Some of them are true and some are most likely not, but it is true, that Leonora Christina, the daughter of the king Christian IV, was prisoner here for 17 months.

Since 1822 Hammershus has been scheduled as a monument, and many visitors come to see it. Just like I did – but I always prefer to come late in the day, when most visitors are gone. Then I can truly enjoy the magic of the place…

Photo: © Mia Folkmann

 

Filed Under: Bornholm, Castles, Culture, Denmark Tagged With:

It pays to venture out…

April 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Just as London isn’t England, Copenhagen isn’t Denmark. We often visit the major cities, but there are so many wonderful things to see, if we travel just a bit outside the capital.

Try to take the tube to the last station – Amersham – on the Metropolitan line, and you will find yourself among little crooked houses, small cafes and country lanes.

Or likewise take the train from Copenhagen to the last station on the Hillerod line, and you will see not only a very nice town in beautiful surroundings, but also one of the most fantastic castles ever build in Denmark – Frederiksborg castle.

I will bring articles about both in my magazines, so look out for the By Mia Folkmann issues later this year…

Photo: © Agency for Palaces & Cultural Properties

Filed Under: Castles, Culture, Denmark Tagged With:

Fashion in the 1700s

April 5, 2012 by 4 Comments

Fashion is something that – more or less – interest most of us, and it has been like that for centuries. But fashion changes all the time and it can be very interesting to see what was previously “in”.

Den Gamle By – one of the most exciting Danish museums – has just opened the doors for a new exhibition called Shoes and Accessories, and on show are all the things a person of the upper class needed in the 1700s.

One of these things was a hand held fan – not only used to protect the fair skin against the sun, but also to partly hide behind whilst throwing flirty glances to the gentlemen. Fans where very popular, and the fan makers were busy producing all kinds of designs including this one with printed money notes.

The exhibition holds 80 luxury items and takes place in the Mint master’s House – a very beautiful house from the same period and once one of the finest homes in Copenhagen.

Photo: © Den Gamle By

Filed Under: Culture, Denmark, Museums Tagged With:
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