A RIDE THROUGH TIVOLI GARDENS

Nighttime in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world,entertaining folks of all ages since 1843, was an absolute delight.  Located smack dab in the middle of the city, there are always bicycles lining the busy boulevard, locked haphazardly or not at all.  The city's tourist center is diagonally across the street, and there are restaurants everywhere.  

Inside Tivoli Gardens, which you can go as a season or day or partial day passholder including or excluding the rides themselves, are rides, restaurants, serpentine pathways that make the most of this relatively small area, and all kinds of seating to just enjoy the lake, the happy people or the atmosphere that somehow makes the entire setting a little magic.

To us, Tivoli Gardens was more like a comfortable, old-time amusement park with bumper cars and games alongside a loopy roller-coaster and some pretty awesome and fast whips.

We were a few days too early in the season to catch the regular fireworks show, but we were treated to a super, colorful, music accompanied laser light show that was delightful and original.  

We left after the light show, but the place was still filled with people.  It must be the place to spend weekend evenings if you want a good time.

Make sure you click on the video to get full-screen.  Don't miss the charm of this iconic park.

FRIDAY'S FOTO

These are the three sisters of Glencoe Valley
Does it remind you, somewhat, of Brigadoon?

EATING AND DRINKING IN COPENHAGEN

Copenhagen is a cosmopolitan city.  Everyone speaks English.  Most visitors do too although they are not all from English-speaking countries.  Signage is in English more than it is in Danish.  On the one hand, any English speaker can feel comfortable, but on the other hand, if you are trying to get a feel for all things Danish, you might have a tough time--especially when it comes to food, once a sure way to get a taste of another culture.

For advice, we head to the hotel concierge.  We are lucky that our concierge is honest with us even though his honesty brings sadness.  Most heartbreaking to me is the fact that Hans Christian Anderson is not the beloved figure in his native land that he is in the United States.  We do take a photo with him right outside the Town Hall, there is a ride for him in Tivoli Gardens, and the Little Mermaid watches over the harbor, but, alas, that is all except for a skipped something or other in the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

Anyway,  the concierge tells us that trying to find traditional Danish food is tough.  He knows of only one restaurant, Axelborg Bodega.  This restaurant becomes our destination.  Danish food here we come, and Axelborg Bodega is just a short walk from our hotel, Raddison Blu.

It is still too chilly to sit outside, but the restaurant's interior is perfect.  Wood-paneled walls, heavy tables and chairs, and a wonderfully warm staff, who,despite the descriptive Danish/English menu, wants to help us make the right choices.

Axelborg Bodega is not very crowded, but judging that Danish is the language of choice and people are meeting each other in small groups, the other patrons did not appear to be tourists.  We are on the right track.

What is Danish cuisine?  It's heavy on pork, fish, and vegetables.  Rob, always more adventurous than I, orders two home-breaded filets of plaice served with a remoulade.  Little did he know until the platter arrived that there was a lot more--two kinds of shrimp, vegetables, and other pieces of fish.  It is essentially a fish sampler to which he gives two thumbs up.

I order roast pork with home pickled red cabbage (delish) and cucumber salad (delish) and rye bread.  When that arrives, there are scrumptious potatoes too.  There is enough pork to split three ways.  Incredibly ample serving.  Absolutely perfectly done, and the vegetables are exceptional.  The edges of the pork are crackling, but the interior is soft enough to forego using a knife.

And Danish beer, of course.

We leave Axelborg Bodega with renewed hopes for more exploration of Danish cuisine. 

The next day we are up and early to explore Copenhagen.  Breakfast in the hotel is delicious with a buffet offering all kinds of cheeses and fish, fruits, different yogurt combinations, eggs, etc.  There are quite a few Asian guests, and there are many offerings to satisfy that palate.  That is an unexpected treat.

We have a walking map and feel sure that when lunchtime comes, we will be able to find a second restaurant specializing in Danish cuisine.

We are so wrong!  The plazas are full of people picnicking on take-out acquired from one of the many shops along the plaza or sitting at outdoor tables eating hamburgers.  Hero sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and other fast foods familiar at home. As far as restaurants--if you are interested in Italian, Chinese, or Indian, your wish would be granted.  We pass an English pub, a Scottish pub, and several French restaurants.  Among the restaurants listed in our guide book, none in our area seems to specialize in native Danish cuisine.  We find it quite sad, and while we sit in one of the large plazas enjoying the spring weather with the other people, literally surrounded by eateries of all kinds, there isn't one that satisfies our quest.

Know what we do?

We walk back to Axelborg Bodega, stopping along the way to investigate other restaurants but coming up empty.  We enter Axelborg Bodega for a second, but different, delicious Danish food experience.  And it is just as good as the first.

This time I order smoked salmon served with home-baked bread, asparagus and a creamy, scrumptious herb sauce. It is a platter big enough for three, and every delicious bite is a reward for our return.

Rob, knowing it is now or never, tries a sampler--traditional open face sandwiches (smorrebord), chef's choice, each one presented beautifully and touching every tastebud in his mouth.

In no way do we feel we've missed anything by not going to another restaurant.  Each visit is unique and special on its merit.  My advice is that if you're looking for Danish cuisine in central Copenhagen, visit asap.

SKAL

FRIDAY'S FOTO--KILAUEA CALDERA

With Kilauea on a rampage these days, I keep going back to look at our photos of a more peaceful time in this part of the world.  We helicoptered over the area, and this is the amazing, steaming caldera.  
Kilauea is between 300,000 to 600,000 years old.
In my blog's search box, type in Hawaii to see other photos of this extraordinary place.

LIVING HISTORY IN NORTH CAROLINA --PART II

The Tavern Museum was the original Tavern in Salem.
So much to learn inside!

Visiting Old Salem is stepping back in time, but as we walk the main thoroughfare, many of the houses are not open to visitors.  These are private residences, and the people who live there maintain their homes according to the rules of an historic district.  That’s not always easy, but it is necessary.  Most of the homes, however, have plaques giving the name of the original owner as well as the date.  Later in the afternoon, a docent told us that probably no more than two of these houses are owned by Moravians.  Rather, they are owned by people who want to live in the city of Winston-Salem but without the hustle and bustle of city life.

We walked up the main street to the Tavern area. The Tavern seems to be a dividing line between the earliest homes and the later development of the community.  Originally it was set on the outskirts of the town, a location that would prevent mingling with “Strangers” from outside the community.  No town residents other than the carefully vetted tavern keeper were allowed inside.  As Salem grew, the Tavern found its way toward the middle of town when buildings on the other side were erected.

 Today the complex includes a huge wooden barn, dating back to 1835 and  relocated in 1961 from Bethania, North Carolina where another Moravian community existed.

Pretty big barn

 

Inside we get a view of the construction as well as the hay in the loft.

Next door is the Tavern Museum where much is original including the floorboards on which we walk.  This building, actually, was the original Tavern.  The sign below includes a diary excerpt that is disturbing but authentic and a saddening lesson in history.

Difficult as this is to internalize, I applaud that there is no attempt to hide or to erase history.
Rather, there is an attempt to reveal and to learn from it.

George Washington, in 1791, spoke to the residents from the front porch.  While possible, it was not believed that he actually slept here, not because he was a Stranger but because the best bedroom was on the first floor.  Other bedrooms were upstairs, and his six bodyguards would have been forced to be upstairs, unable to do their jobs should that be necessary.  In 1791, there were still Loyalists around.  It is not known where the President slept that night.

Residents’ diary entries say Washington addressed the people from the front porch.  The people were in a field.  Today there are buildings dating from the 1800s across the street, further evidence that as the town grew, the Tavern became part of the center.

The Moravians are not teetotalers, and there was the public room within the tavern where drinks were served.  The “bar” as we know it today did not exist back then, but it’s interesting to learn that the word “bar” originated because the liquors and beer were kept in a room with bars to prevent theft.  The word became associated with drinking, and it was kept.

In the Tavern Museum, you can see how liquor was locked up behind the bar.
Is that costumed docent standing guard?

 The dining room of the Tavern was on the second floor.  Food was laid out buffet style and remained on the table for several hours.  The second floor location meant people could not just run in off the street, grab some food, and run out again.  The location was meant to prevent thievery.

The kitchen, however, was down some stairs and out the back.  It seems very well stocked.

Perhaps the most astonishing building we visit this day is the Single Brothers’ House.  Single Sisters had their own house.  Residents in the Single Brothers’ House ranged from about age 14 into the 70s.  Whites and African Americans lived together, and as the docent informed us, that did not change until segregation became the law.

Notice the two sections of the Single Brothers' House.
The first was built in 1769.
As the town grew, the addition was built in 1789.
The entire building was restored in 1969.

Among the Moravians, marriage was arranged by lot.  Should a man want to marry, he would present his case, and lots were picked.  There were three lots:  yes, no, and neutral.  Yes, he was allowed to marry but the prospective bride had the right to refuse. No, he was not allowed to marry.  If the neutral lot was chosen, it was interpreted as a “not sure” (so no) or “not at the right time” (so no).  Seems to me, the odds were not in the man’s favor.

Music was a great part of the Moravian life and religion, and the people were divided into choirs.  Choirs were the social divisions in the community, and people basically lived and died within their choirs. In the cemetery, God’s Acre, which we will visit when we return, the people were even buried according to their choirs.  http://home.earthlink.net/~dbuzzitch/Gold_Family/gold_family_014.htm

The docent in the Single Brothers’ House who also masterfully played the organ for us, explained the lot system and the choir system to us.

Don’t underestimate the importance of music in their ministry.  The Moravian Music Foundation has 10,000 early manuscripts, sacred and secular. http://www.oldsalem.org/learn/research/history-of-music-and-moravians/

The organs are spectacular.  The organ crafted in 1799-1800 by David Tannenberg for the Home Moravian Church has been fully restored and has been lent to Old Salem.  It resides in the Visitor Center and there are free recitals, last year in December.  PBS even did a documentary of the restoration. 

I'd love to come back for an organ recital in this hall.
What a magnificent , and huge, organ!

The organ in the Single Brothers’ House has also been restored, in 2007, but it dates back to 1798.  For more incredible information, take this link: http://davidtannenberg.com/Tannenberg_1798_Old_Salem.htm

This beautiful organ, played by the informative docent in the Single Brothers' House, dates back to 1798.
It was totally restored.
Originally, someone had to pump the bellows to allow it to work.  Not easy work.

I’ll talk about our lunch at the Tavern in a separate post, but before I get to the last stop of the day, I want to post an example of what the organization is trying to do.  In several places on the street and in buildings were signs similar to this one but about various subjects.  It will be interesting, now that we are members, to come back and learn more about the Hidden town within the town.

This aspect of Salem is something that should interest everyone.
It's good that in recreating another era and bringing it to light that the bad is recognized as well as the good.
In the years to come, I think there will be even more to learn here.

 Our last stop of the day was, as you would have guessed, C, Winkler Bakery built in 1800 with an addition in 1818.  Moravian sugar cookies are sold here, and they are available all over North Carolina.  Wafer thin and delicious.  There are artisan breads, pastries, etc., and there are demonstrations of the old ways of baking, the way Mr. C. Winkler did it.  I would love to end with a picture of what we bought, but….uh oh, it somehow disappeared shortly after we left the shop.  So I will leave you with a photo of the handle of the front door to the Single Brothers’ House. 

Nothing was plain and simple in the artistry of Salem.  

There’s so much more in Old Salem, but time just didn’t allow.  As I said, we became members, and we will be back, I guarantee that you will hear more about this remarkable place.  If you get an opportunity, please visit.