Queer in the church

Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre is one of my favourite contemporary art museums in the city. Located in the old church Saint Nikolaj right in the middle of the city, just behind the main walking street Strøget, it has such a clam and secluded space which gives the art experience a certain clam and ease I haven’t found anywhere else. On a hot summer day it is a cool place to slip in to and they almost always have really interesting exhibitions.

These days the city is filled with homo sports fans as we are hosting the World Outgames 2009. For this occasion Nikolaj has put on a really interesting exhibition about memory and history in relation to gender and sexuality. The exhibition is called 'Lost and Found Queerying the Archive' and it combines many different works from international artists.

One of them is the artist called Cecillia Barriga who in her work Two Queens has taken two of Hollywood silent cinema's biggest stars Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich in each of their signature roles and put them together in a 'fake' on screen lesbian love affair.

I made Nikolaj place of the month because it's such a special place both for it's art and the actual historical feeling the building has. It is one of the oldest churches in Copenhagen- originally from the 1200s I think and it has survived wars, fires and its tower can be seen in the city skyline everywhere, even though the actual chuch is really small.

Looking forward to Copenhagen fashion week

Copenhagen fashion week has grown over the last few years and is attracting more Nordic designers. This year there are more Scandinavian designers than ever before and I really look forward to getting to know them. I am especially looking forward to Bátlak & Selvig from Norway with headquarters in Oslo. Last year this designer duo won the ‘Designer of the year’ award at Oslo fashion week last year.

I especially like the colourful dresses and sharp structure in all their garments.

Ice cream sandwiches

Summer calls for a tasty snack and what is more delicious than cool, sweet and soft ice cream? Well, it just might be chocolate cookies. So why not combine the two into a double treat? Well that's what some of my friends did and invited me to an afternoon on the terrace eating and relaxing. The ice cream is made with tofu and coconut cream and even though I never thought tofu ice cream could be just as good as normal ice cream, I must admit I was convinced by this. The sandwiches were very heavy and after two you felt pretty much like you just had dinner.

Happiness in a bottle

The art of creating perfume is something that has always fascinated me. That you can actually make so many different types of smells that all in different ways capture of feeling of beauty or happiness is incredible.

But of all the different scents that each fashion desinger, cosmetics brand or celebrity launch perhaps equally as enchanting is the packages they come in - the flacons.The perfume become so much more than just a scent when it comes in a beautiful flacon - it can completely light up your bathroom or dressing table and make you think that 'woaw I really can smell yourself pretty'. Like jewellery for all the senses.

Obviously the French have from the beginnging been really good at creating artistic and alluring bottle design.

However sometimes the actual scent inside isn't always as nice as the artwork outside. Even though I realise that preferences of perfumes is completely individual, which is what makes it so amazing, I personally for some reason always end up getting the scent that comes in the ultra simple and plain bottle. In some way it's really too bad. I look at my bathroom shelf I think, 'I need more glamour and excitement. But then I always get this idea that if the bottle is heavy on the art, there must be a strong and spicy smell to carry it off, which in the long run never really sticks with me. But here are some examples of classic flacons with a modern twist.

My favourite summer oasis

Summer has hit Copenhagen like a smack in the face. After a month of rain and traditional, depressing Danish weather it is suddenly hot as hell, with sunshine from a clear sky. The thing with such a surprise attack of summer is that it tends to go away again just as fast as it came. So get out while you can! But where to go?

Well, if you are stuck at work in the city and can’t get across to the Copenhagen Harbour Baths – which by the way, are also clear candidates for Place of the Month- you need an oasis in the city.

Thus such a calm green spot of tranquillity right in the middle of the city is Place of the Month in June.

One of my favourite oasis is the Royal Library's garden. Hidden well behind the parliament building Christiansborg is the old Royal Library which I wrote a little bit about last time. This way leads to the original entrance to the old library building, which is now closed off for the public. So here, between the library and Christiansborg, you’ll find a small peaceful garden, completely secluded from the busy life of the city just outside.

Almost no one comes here, and if they do it's usually just to pass by on the way somewhere else.

Here you can sit amongst such clever Danish thinkers as Søren Kirkegaard - in the shape of a bronze statue - and listen to the calming sound of a small fountain. Such a relaxing break from reality can foster many philosophical thoughts and new perspectivs on life.

So even if it starts raining again tomorrow a few hours in this place and you’re refreshed like never before.

You know you're a Nerd Girl when....

... you start getting your fashion inspiration from the library website.


The Royal Danish Library has been known as a closed up, dark and very nerdy place . But in the last ten years things have started to change. In 1999 the architecture was updated with The Black Diamante, a huge glasslike black building with an amazing view over the Copenhagen habour, new and more modern reading rooms.
The original library building dates back to the really early days of The University of Copenhagen - that's in the 1400s and it really shows . The old reading rooms look like something out of Harry Potter.
Now the latest new development in the modernisation of The Royal Library is an online gimmick featuring all the catalogues of the legendary Danish department store Daelles Varehus. And it is so much fun to look through and very inspirational.
The department store does not exist anymore, but was from its beginning in the early 20th century a popular place for Copenhagen ladies to shop. The website has all of the catalogues online, from the very first in 1914 to the early 1990 when Dealles Varehus closed. I actually remember looking through some of the x-mas catalogues as a child in the 1980s, but I do think that the older ones are more fun to look at now.

The Ultimate Summer Dresses

Looking out the window here it seems like summer is not coming to Copenhagen any time soon. It has been raining nonstop for the last two days. So instead of looking out I’m turning my head back to the computer and convincing myself that sunshine and warmer days are just around the corner.

Fashion-wise I love summer. Summer means dreamy dresses, sunglasses and cool sandals. Basically it is a chance to finally get rid of all the heavy winter layers, we wear here in the north, and dress elegantly and feminine. I’ve been watching Bottega Veneta for some time and I really like the way this spring style is sharp in texture and fabric and still looks really comfortable.

Bottega Veneta’s style always reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The sway of the loose dresses and a general attitude of relaxed sophistication is what I think is a brilliant style for this summer. So as I hear the heavy rain on the window, I just keep dreamning...