Van Morrison wrote this song* about his Danish girlfriend Ulla Munch. She lived on the fourth floor of an apartment in the Vanlose district of Copenhagen. They lived together here from 1980 to 1983. The song itself was released in January 1982.
Vanlose is on of the 10 districts of Copenhagen and also was home to the The French artist Paul Gauguin between 1884 and1885. and the Danish artist Henry Heerup who lived there for many years. The Heerup Museum was opened in the district in 2000.
The Heerup is just one of many museums that Copenhagen has to offer. There are several other art based museums in the city and the surrounding areaO including the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is considered by many to be the top attraction in Denmark. Incidently the Louisiana has no connection with the USA, it was the name given to the first property on the site by Alexander Brun (1814-93), who named the villa after his three wives, all called Louise.
At the other end of the time scale why not visit the Glyptoteket which houses excellent collections of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman art, as well as works by Gauguin and Degas.
On a less high brow note, adjacent to the Glytoketet, are the Tivoli Gardens. The gardens house the world’s third oldest operating theme park. It has been operating since 1843 and is the 5th most popular amusement park in Europe. One of the highlights of a visit is a ride on the “Rutschebanen” (Roller Coaster), this is a wooden roller coaster where a brakeman controls the speed of the descent. The ride is designated as a classic roller coaster by the ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts). The oldest amusement park in the world is also in Copenhagen, approximately 6 miles (10km) north of the city centre. An amusement park has been operating at Bakken since 1583.
The most internationally recognised symbol of Copenhagen is the Den lille Havfrue (The Little Mermaid). It depicts a mermaid becoming human and is based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name. It has been on display since 1913, the head is based on the ballerina Ellen Price, whilst its body is that of the sculpture’s wife. When you seen the sculpture, be prepared to be underwhelmed as its only around 4 ft (1.25cm) tall. Sadly over the years the mermaid has had her head cut off twice (the first time it was never recovered), her right arm was sawn off, been covered in green paint, red paint and then blue and white paint, and an attempt was made to blow her up. It is not surprising therefore that the current sculpture on display is a copy of the original. From time to time she has been dressed. Notably in Norwegian or Swedish football jerseys.
Hans Christian Andersen lived in Copenhagen in Nyhavn (New Haven). In years gone by this was the seedier part of town. Along side a 17th century canal stand some beautifully painted houses from the same era. Andersen lived at various times at numbers 18, 20 and 67. Today the ground floors of the properies are home to bars, restaurants and cafes most with outdoor seating wherre you can view the wooden boats.
Keep following us here on travellogs.co.uk as we will be returning to Copenhagen at a future date. In the meantime contact Maggie today to book your city break to Copenhagen. She can advise you on the best places to stay and pre-book your tickets where necessary.
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