Design outing in Malmö

It was a holiday last Friday in Denmark.  To make most of everything being closed in Copenhagen, we decided to jump on the train, cross the Øresund Bridge and go check out Malmö for the day.  Only a thirty minute train ride outside of Copenhagen, I was secretly hoping that Malmö would be our new, closer version of Dresden which we used to frequent while living in Prague.

Before we left, I tried to do a bit of research to figure out what to see, do and eat on the other side of the bridge. I found it surprisingly difficult to find information and I am an expert when it comes to this- I live for lists and hunting and came up with a measly four or five names. Pitiful by my standards.  Why was Malmö not blog worthy?  With a few addresses marked down on a sticky note, I decided to find out for myself.

We arrived and headed to laid back vegetarian restaurant, Chez Madame for a sandwich and walked back towards the center of the city.  The sandwich was on fresh bread and had an almond pesto with lettuce, sprouts and tomatoes.

After our bite, we zig zagged  towards the center of town, walked in and out of a few interesting galleries such as GKM. It was here I was introduced to the work of Yrjo Edelmann, a Finnish artist who specializes in painting life-like parcels.  Out of curiosity I asked how much a small parcel painting would cost- Nope! Way out of my price range. One can still admire and appreciate.

Tucked down an alley, we found Form/Design Centre- one of the best design stores I’ve been to in a while. It predominantly showcases the work of Swedish artists with a mix of other Scandinavian artists.  Form/Design is three floors in a renovated old building with furniture, accessories, books, kids items, fashion and a cafe.  I could have stayed and looked around for at least an hour but we had more of the city to cover and kept moving on.  There were a handful of adorable design/furniture stores around Form/Design, right in the heart of the city.

We also enjoyed stopping by Svenssons, a higher end version of Habitat in London.  I am currently looking to replace my dining room chairs and was prepared to carry one back on the train if I found something suitable.

Coffee was enjoyed at  Djäkne Kaffebar where they serve filter coffee on their beautiful all white coffee bar. They serve a rotating line up of coffee from Scandinavian roasters such as Coffee Collective, Per Nordby, Kersh and Hedstrom, Koppi, and Tim Wendelboe.  Quite the line-up if you are into niche coffee roasters and a filter experience.

Finally, we were surprised to find such a beautiful looking synagogue as we walked from Chez Madame into the centre of the city.  I wasn’t sure at first if it was a synagogue, knowing nothing about Malmo’s Jewish community, but caught sight of the Star of David on the windows and decided to walk over and take a closer look at its elegant looking design. Unfortunately when I came back home to look up the history of this synagogue, all I found were articles on anti-semitism and hate crimes from 2012 in Malmo.

Don’t get me started on racism (in general) around Europe. It is a topic that drives me crazy how in 2013, people can’t seem to accept people, regardless of race, religion, creed, socio-demographic background as a person.

We all came out the same way.

We headed back to Copenhagen around 5pm and did not make a visit to the twisted torso building, a famous piece of architecture in the city.  I think I prefer Dresden to Malmö in terms of things to do, different areas to visit and food to eat – there is not much going on which may explain why I had trouble finding cool things to do in the city but nevertheless, it was a fun getaway and a nice day outside of Copenhagen. I am sure I will visit Malmo again and will continue to hunt for neat spots along the way, so stay tuned.

Kristallwelten: The Swarovski Museum

On my weekend mountain retreat to the Austrian Alps, I decided I would do one fun thing for myself which was to visit Kristallwelten, the Swarovski Crystal World museum (and original site of the business).  Swarovski was founded in 1895 in the Austrian village of Wattens by Daniel Swarovski.  Wattens happened to be about 30 minutes away from where I was staying.

Exhibit by Arik Levy

Crystalline interpretations of famous buildings around the world. 

I was not sure what to expect on this visit but I knew it would involve a lot of shiny and pretty objects.   The Swarovski Crystal Worlds is comprised of 14 underground chambers of crystal exhibits and art installations.  You enter the museum through a Giant’s head and proceed to walk through the caves of bling.  The museum was designed by the multimedia artist, André Heller, and the space does a beautiful job highlighting crystal through a variety of famous artists’ art, design and jewelry.

It was a really cloudy day (and off season) so the lush green mountain backdrop I was hoping for was not quite there yet.

This is the Giant- When the weather is nice he turns into a fountain and water streams out of his mouth.

An extremely large and heavy chandelier made of crystal in the main entrance of the museum.

A floor to ceiling wall of shimmering crystals.

Me in a reflective, crystal room.

Outing: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

I’ve tried my best to cover as much of Copenhagen by foot as possible.  So far, I think I’ve done a decent job.  If you are scratching your head wondering why doesn’t she bike? Isn’t Copenhagen a biking city? Don’t 1/3 of all Copenhageners ride a bike to work?  The answer is yes but I prefer to take in the city on my two feet.  While biking is a faster, more efficient option of getting from point A to point B, you miss what’s going on.  The streetscape passes you by.  When you are biking, you are biking and have to pay attention to other bikers, cars and pedestrians.  This way, I take my time, pop in and out of places as it pleases me and really observe what is going on.

This weekend, I was craving an outing- something outside of the city but not too far.  I decided to pay the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art a visit to view their Pop Art exhibition which is on until June.

One (35 minute) train ride away and you find yourself in the small town of Humlebæk. The trip itself is quick and easy.  Once you step off the train, you feel like you are truly in the country- or in the forest (there are a lot of trees in the area).

We arrived just before lunch so eating was high on the priority list before we took in any Andy Warhol, Rauschenberg, or Roy Lichtenstein. The museum has a very nice cafe that serves sandwiches, coffee and tea, and pastries.  They also have a buffet but we were too early for that.

We settled on a vegetarian and salmon rugbrodsmadder (rye bread open face sandwich) for sustenance and grabbed a seat on the patio overlooking the museum’s sculpture garden, the Øresund strait and Sweden.   It was a bright and sunny day without a cloud in the sky.

Sandwich #1 Terrine of root vegetables, cabbage, cream of carrot- yes there are mini potato chips on top of my sandwich (for extra crunch?)

Sandwich #2 Smoked salmon from Daniel Letz, celery, pickles

The patio of the Louisiana cafe

The sculpture garden and view of the water while we ate.

Apparently the Louisiana Museum has undergone 7 extensions and renovations- here is a look at two of their buildings from the park in the centre of the building.

A bit of Pop Art- what a great exhibit.  I love seeing the works of Warhol, Lichtenstein, Hamilton, Eames, Panton and Sottsass.  Some of the pieces I recognized and have seen before at other modern art museums around Europe and others were new to me.

Particularly the work of Verner Panton- this was a cool piece. You entered an enclosed space that was outfitted with warm coloured lights and mirrors to give it the feel that the room was going on forever.

The museum itself is a stunning building (set of buildings).  The architects used a lot of wood, and glass so you feel like nature is around you at all times.  This is a picture of one of the long corridors that connect the buildings/exhibits.

The art is not only inside the building. There is a sculpture park on the grounds of the Louisiana and when it is nice outside, like it was this past weekend, the grass is filled with people sunning themselves.  There were quite a number of kids attempting to roll down this hill without success.  Each attempt resulting in a vertical position.  It was fun to watch.

Across the water, you are looking at Sweden- I was amazed by how clear and blue the water is.

Before we called it a day, we headed down to the museum shop for a peak.  You can find plenty of Danish and Scandinavian design pieces as well as posters and a substantial collection of coffee table art and design books.

As we walked back to catch our train back to Copenhagen, we stopped by Brødsnedkeren, a great bakery that serves homemade waffle cones and ice cream.  We each got a cone for the train ride back.

Starting the last week of April, my flat will be packed with visitors until the end of July.  I am sure I will be making a trip back to the Louisiana soon enough and look forward to my next visit.

What I need: Alife Design

From my experience, being based in Europe means the amount of travel you do increases tenfold.  It means you can cover quite a bit of territory when it comes to short visits and vacations and you are able to do so more often.  In one hour you can land in 50 different cities (an understatement and an exaggeration)- in reality, you would be in more than 50 cities.   The increase in travel certainly puts some extra strain on luggage- I am starting to see this first hand.  Zippers seem to be the first to go followed by warn luggage corners and then bent frames.  I guess what I am saying is that my Toronto luggage has seen better days.

I also look at a lot of luggage while waiting for my own.  I never understand why some people plastic wrap their entire suitcase, only to have it cut open after (what a waste).  Then there are those people who think by putting a ribbon on their suitcase, will help theirs stand out from all the other suitcases with ribbons.  I am not sure that this strategy works but maybe offers peace of mind to the owner.

I am not investing in new luggage yet- that is a whole other beast of a topic that I have no patience to sift through but I did find an adorable design company called Alife based in Seoul that makes great travel accessories.

What a great name right?- Alife Design- This is the only time where you can say something cheesy like, I need “Alife.”  I couldn’t resist.

Some of Alife’s items that I love:

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Any favourite luggage brands out there with a bit of style and design?  Feel free to send me your tips as I embark on the task of “how to find better luggage and cute accessories” this summer.

The Hotel That Got Away

When I travel, hotel selection is just as important as where I am going to eat and the city I am visiting.  I like hotel design and even though I barely spend time in a room, I want to know that I get to come back to an interesting space to sleep.

Last year on my honeymoon, I covered a lot of hotel on my 17 day driving trip. One of the hotels that I was looking forward to staying at was Mama Shelter in Marseille, France.

Unfortunately due to a change in plans we re-routed our driving trip and ended up skipping Marseille all together.  This hotel would be my only design-crazy hotel on the list.

I thought Mama Shelter Marseille would be fun to stay at and I was particularly looking forward to exploring its wacky, wonderful, and playful interior design by Phillipe Stark.  I chalked off Mama Shelter Marseille as the hotel that got away.

The rest of our hotels were tame in design in comparison to Mama Shelter in order to reflect the environment of our drive through Provence and the Languedoc region. I could not bring myself to book a hotel that looked like a night club in the countryside, opting for spots were more rustic and charming instead.

Photo Source: Mama Shelter Marseille

Today I received an email and learned that the Mama Shelter empire is expanding beyond Paris and Marseille.  It now includes two new cities: Istanbul (March 15th) and Lyon (March 20th).

Photo Source: Mama Shelter Istanbul

How exciting!  I am secretly planning a trip to Istanbul this year. I don’t know when, I don’t know why- no wait, I know why- and I don’t know how, but sometime before 2013, I think Istanbul and I should have a rendez-vous of food, design and travel. Maybe I will consider revisiting my hotel that got away!

Have you been to Istanbul? Any travel recommendations or stories to share?

DriDri Gelato

Yup… more ice cream!

Well, let’s be politically correct here, this is gelato and it is from DriDri Gelato in London created by HBS grad, Adriano di Petrillo.  He uses gelato equipment from the 60s and 70s to make his high quality, “no artificial anything”, Italian gelato.

Photo Source: Studio Ten and a Half

You can also watch a mini interview with Adriano here:

There are three locations in the city, if you happen to be heading that way.

The stunning identity/packaging + print is from Studio Ten and a Half.

I hope you have a great weekend. I have my second Copenhagen house guest visiting this weekend, so be sure to check back next week for two new “Date Night” restaurant posts.  We are heading to Mother for sourdough pizza and Gourmandiet By Night for steak.