Happy Easter!

One last quick post before my holiday begins: Spring is here, the Tivoli Gardens are open, the weather forecasts look very promising for Copenhagen this Easter. I hope you have a wonderful time.

The Botanical Garden

Peacock in Tivoli Gardens

The Tivoli Boys Guard

Japanese cherry trees along Langelinie, Kastellet, the Gefion fountain

Kastellet

How to kill two birds with one stone and feel good too

So you're in Copenhagen. You want to see the city, and you wouldn't mind getting a little exercise too (because we all know a trip abroad adds a few pounds). Here's an idea: Put on your running shoes and get your pulse up while a local guide shows you around!

Running Copenhagen offers local guides who are eager to show you around their city at a different pace than your normal tour guide services. And what I find really brilliant are the special tours where you get to see what Copenhagen has to offer right now.
How about a run during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival or Copenhagen Pride? Or a pre-marathon tour before the Copenhagen Marathon?

If you're here on business, a customised running tour can be fitted into your busy schedule and give you a chance to see more than just the airport and your hotel room.

Get to know the city better in half the time, and pat yourself on the back for staying active while away from home.

*Update June 2011: Copenhagen by night. Running Copenhagen offers running tours after dark - enjoy the thousands of lights in Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn, Folketinget (our parliament) and Amalienborg Palace!

Running Copenhagen
Tel: 2058 5877
Email: info@running-copenhagen.dk

Cherry blossoms

Today I took a walk around Kastellet, the Gefion fountain and down along Langelinie to see if the Japanese cherry trees were in bloom. It's certainly close. A few more sunny days, which is what we are expecting, and they will all look like little pink clouds.

The Gefion fountain

Oh, look who has returned from the World EXPO in Shanghai - I hope they weren't too underwhelmed with her .

All good things to those who wait

What a busy month!

I had a lovely visit from Sweden (photos from Madklubben will be added soon), had a very interesting guided tour of Christiansborg (home to the Danish parliament), had a birthday party (yay!), attended other people's birthday parties (yay!) and a PhD-party for which I was asked to make chocolates (double yay!), baked a coffee cake that nearly earned me a canonisation, and enjoyed a very entertaining opera and an even more entertaining ballet. To mention a few things. And now I think it's time to bring this blog up to date.

Let me just start by saying that the ballet 'Et Folkesagn' (A Folk Tale) is absolutely brilliant. I am not really a ballet girl, but I had so much fun! There are no more show dates for 2011, but if you happen to be visiting Copenhagen between 19 January and 28 February of 2012 make sure to get tickets for the reproduction!!! (Tip: get ground floor seats and not too far back.)
The set design is stunning with lace-like detailed paper cuts, the costumes are genius (especially the inhabitants of the underworld; trolls, elven girls and every kind of strange creature you can imagine), and I was particularly impressed with the troll-mistaken-for-human girl who threw temper tantrums, bit her servants and danced like she was on fire. Fan-bloody-tastic.

Secondly, should you find your way to Malmö (just across the bridge in Sweden), do visit the Turning Torso skyscraper. Stunning. Of course I forgot my camera at home, so I only have some crummy cell phone shots.

Lastly, if you want to earn some easy points with coffee lovers, here's the recipe for an excellent coffee cake. I used muscovado sugar and espresso, and I substituted 50 g of flour for 50 g of cocoa. It turned out very well indeed.

And it's finally, undeniably SPRING. 17 degrees this past Sunday, there's no going back now. The Tivoli Gardens open tomorrow. Brace yourself for pictures of everything green and growing that I pass on my way! And a much needed blog update.

Chocolate festival 2011

Sunday I was at the 2011 Chocolate festival. What an absolutely brilliant day.

As agreed with "Chokoladeselskabet" (The Chocolate Society) who arrange the festival every year, I was let in an hour early to photograph the stands and preparations. I had so much fun! And the only thing better than having a great time is having someone to share it with - happily my dad turned up soon after the doors were officially opened, yay! I know where I get my childlike enthusiasm from. You see, I was raised on important principles such as "it's never the wrong time of year for ice cream" and "you're never too old to enjoy animated movies". We were smiling wider than kids on a Christmas sweets sugar rush.

I spent 7 hours at the festival photographing the (50!) stands, visitors (by the thousands), award ceremonies, cooking demonstrations and not least lots and lots of chocolate. By the end of it my back was killing me and my legs were aching, but it was worth it. I am still smiling.

See you at next year's festival!

Meyers offered baked goods and chocolate mousse

A XOCO's beautiful easter eggs.

Yes, that sign on the left reads "bacon/tomato". A XOCO's Fusion selection is very bold indeed - how about a foie gras/raspberry piece?

The Danish 'flødebolle' has seen a revival in recent years with new and interesting versions. More on that in a separate post to come.

Chocolate 'cupcakes' from Gryberg. Rikke Gryberg won 2 awards this year for her chocolates although she started out as a baker/pastry chef. Well done indeed!

Summerbird had brought their whole range of elegant and delicate products

Lemon almonds.

Raspberry almonds.

Coffee Lovers hazelnuts.

Mint Matcha almonds.

 

Tapas eggs - I had to get me some of those. I really love how Summerbird mixes the rich taste of chocolate with citrus, passion fruit and raspberries to give it a tang.



 

Nikolaos Strangas won the 'Newcomer' award - not that he's new in the business at all (he's worked as dessert chef in Era Ora's kitchen among other things), but he just opened his own 'Conditori & Cakeaway' and apparently the Chocolate Society are as thrilled about it as the rest of us.

And yes, all these little artworks taste just as good as they look.

Valrhona eggs.

Bojesen brought their easter eggs.

Packed in egg boxes of course.

Simply Chocolate is a new brand, but the company has been producing chocolate for the larger department stores for years. You can find Simply Chocolate's own shop on the bottom floor of Illum department store.

Now that's a bold statement.

The Swedes were represented as well

That's my kind of handbag - thank you Neuhaus.

This turned out the be one of the most popular stands at the festival - see below why.

The chocolate massage was popular too.

Chocolate Society volunteers.

Demo kitchen - the use of chocolate in savoury dishes. Here it's guacamole with dark chocolate.

Langoustine soup with milk chocolate! And the chef went on to say that if you are cooking a nice white fish and makinga sauce from white wine and cream as most people would do, you could add a tablespoon of white chocolate to give it a nice smooth finish. Who knew?

The awards.

Nikolaos Strangas with his daughter making fondant in the demo kitchen - now there's another little girl who will be raised on important principles such as "chocolate is good for you".