Copenhagen Archives | Page 2 of 3

Illustrations for F.C Copenhagen

January 7, 2015/in Illustration

Sibusiso Zuma, the South African international footballer while playing for F.C. Copenhagen

I had the great privilege of working for F.C Copenhagen as an illustrator a few years back. The Copenhagen based Danish Superliga football team known as F.C. København, or just F.C.K in Danish, play at and own Parken the Danish National stadium.

I had a few caricatures in their match programme, and an assortment of other merchandising work. It was a ridiculously childish thrill to go into Parken for meetings. The prospect of bumping into a footballer in the lift, or even the then manager, Roy Hodgson. Sadly Roy appears to have drifted out of football altogether now, and manages England.

You can take the man out of Scotland…

Nørrebro architecture

October 4, 2014/in Copenhagen

The Copenhagen district of Nørrebro has an enormous variety of fantastic architecture. Residential and business. The cosmopolitan mix of the district plus the relatively young average age makes a wonderfully diverse, vibrant place to be.

Hellerup

September 30, 2014/in Copenhagen

Hellerup is a lovely place to visit from Copenhagen. A cycle trip out on a beautiful day is a great way to spend an afternoon. Cycling from the centre of Copenhagen wouldn’t take more than a half hour.

North of Copenhagen, and adjoining the city, this is a beautiful coastal town, and one of the most expensive areas of Denmark to live. It is also known for being part of the ‘Whisky Belt’, which defines the area where the elite/wealthy live in Denmark. There is fantastic modern and classic architecture in this coastal beach resort. If you are in Copenhagen, hire yourself a bike, it’s the best way to experience the city, and build up an appetite and thirst!

Utterslev Mose Brønshøj

September 30, 2014/in Copenhagen

Utterslev Mose in Brønshøj on the outskirts of Copenhagen is where I go every day to blow away the cob webs, get away from my computer, and get a bit of exercise. It’s a lovely natural area, a minute from my flat. Joining me are joggers, parents with kids and probably more than one designer looking for creative inspiration on a design issue. It’s remarkable how often I’ve solved a creative problem with the time, space and beauty of mother nature at her finest to inspire me.

Emil Nolde at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

August 26, 2014/in Copenhagen

This photo is copyright of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

The summer exhibition at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is a retrospective of Emil Nolde’s best work. He is one of my own favourite painters and Louisiana is one of my favourite art galleries. I found it an exhilarating and inspiring experience and can highly recommend it. It is on until the 19th of October.

Here is more on the Emil Nolde exhibition from Louisiana’s own website, and here is an article I wrote on Louisiana Museum of Modern Art which includes information on getting there.

There’s an extensive and fascinating resource on Emil Nolde on Artsy.net at www.artsy.net/artist/emil-nolde

This photo is from the Artsy.net website.

Beautiful back streets of Copenhagen

August 12, 2014/in Copenhagen

Copenhagen has lots of fantastic classic and modern architecture. However the beautiful back streets of Copenhagen have a charm of their own. The combination of mixed architectural styles, tight spaces and different colours and the Scandinavian light makes for a wonderful aesthetic experience, best described as ‘hyggeligt’.

Nørrebro Park – Copenhagen’s colourful urban park

August 12, 2014/in Creative inspiration, Copenhagen

The Arne Jacobsen hotel Copenhagen design experience

August 12, 2014/in Copenhagen, Creative inspiration

If you are visiting Copenhagen a great experience for design enthusiasts is a cup of coffee and bit of cake in the cafe of The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel. The hotel, designed by the great Arne Jacobsen, is a wonderful piece of architecture adjacent to Tivoli Gardens and the main train station (Hovedbanegården) in the centre of Copenhagen.

As well as being the architect, Arne Jacobsen designed the interiors and used his famous Swan and Egg chairs.

The cafe entrance is off of Vesterbrogade, and feels like you are in a 1960’s Instagram filter. I always half expect to see a young Sean Connery in the corner, chain smoking and flirting with a beautiful, peroxide Russian spy, called, well something with a terrible double entendre. The service in the cafe is old fashioned classic style, it is criminally quiet in the afternoons, and getting a window seat is not generally a problem.

The view from the other side of the street is Hard Rock Cafe Copenhagen, which for some unknown reason is always packed with tourists.

A quick trip through the lobby of the hotel ‘to visit the rest rooms/toilets’ lets you get a look at the Jacobsen Egg chairs and other Jacobsen designed details. There is also a bar in the hotel’s foyer area should you need a martini cocktail…

The most famous example of Jacobsen’s chairs – for anyone British at least – is from the photo with Christine Keeler who is best known from ‘The Scandal’ or ‘The Profumo Affair’. You can read a great article on it here at the V&A’s website. This is their picture.

View from the cafe. The young Sean Connery and Svetlannalickalov, just out of picture, having a fag…

If you are looking to stay in the hotel, one bedroom remains in the original condition from 1960, and that is room 606 which you can book.

You can read a bit more here from Wikipedia on the hotel. And here on the great Arne Jacobsen.

Life as a Brønshøj web designer

February 8, 2014/in Copenhagen, Web design

Working and living in Brønshøj as a web designer has it’s advantages. Close enough to the City Centre by bike for meeting my city based web design clients, plus with the beautiful natural area of Utterslev Mose close by, not to mention the rather magnificent Brønshøj BK (Danish first division football team) on my doorstep.

Brønshøj BK have the most fantastic stadium. Where I grew up in Scotland I followed Highland League football, and it reminds me of one of their stadiums. Which is not an insult. It’s the combination of relaxed atmosphere, and passionate locals in a one stand stadium. Plus the small bars dotted around the pitch, the very definition of hyggeligt! A beer will cost 18DKK for a bottle, and the draft is 30DKK. Entrance is 70DKK.

The stadium recently had new floodlights added which have added even more to the great atmosphere. Getting to Brønshøj stadium is relatively easy using public transport from the city centre, bus 2A from the main station or main square will take you very close. Just ask the driver or another passenger where to get off.

If you fancy a beer after the match before heading back into the Copenhagen city, there’s Staalvand, a modern, bohemian cafe bar at Brønshøj Torv, and Gert’s Vinstue, a proper Danish pub.

Here is a link to an excellent article by a Swansea supporter on his visit to the stadium, entitled Lost in Brønshøj.

Torvehallerne KBH, Nørreport market

August 14, 2013/in Copenhagen

Torvehallerne KBH, the Nørreport market, situated a few hundred metres from Nørreport Station in central Copenhagen is a vibrant, modern international market well worth a visit should you be visiting Copenhagen. It’s only a couple of years old, built in two modern halls, and features delis and restaurants with high quality food and drink from around the world.

The coffee is great and there is something to eat for every taste.

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