Special Moments

In Yorkshire we once stayed far out on the moors in an ancient house. There was absolutely no one and nothing nearby. The house was surrounded by vast moorland, and in the distance you could see the Cumbrian Mountains. It was pretty tough out there, and there was snow, even though it was in May. In the evening we sat at the dining table with an open window to hear the bird’s evensong, but otherwise there was absolutely silent.

One day after dinner I went for a walk on the moors. The dusk was falling, and the area was covered in a very evocative, light gray tint. I knew that I should stick to the narrow, unpaved roads, partly because I wasn’t familiar with the area, and partly because there were many abandoned and more or less collapsed mine shafts, I could fall into. So the evening stroll consisted of a long walk out and an equally long walk back.

I had occasionally seen horses out there. Beautiful black horses with long flowing manes, and they moved so gracefully, almost floating, that they were a pleasure to watch. The horses were not fenced and could move around as they wanted, but they were very cautious and stayed at a safe distance.

At one point I stood and enjoyed the sight of the sun going down behind the mountains. It was, as usual, completely quiet, but suddenly I heard a faint snort right behind me. My heart skipped a beat or two, and very, very slowly I turned around. I hadn’t even heard that a herd of horses had showed up. There were 5-6 adult horses, and with the herd were a few foals.

We stood for a long time and just looked at each other. Then one foal slowly approached me and came so close, that it could sniff my neck with his velvet muzzle. Meanwhile I stood completely motionless, hoping inwardly that the adults were not troubled.

When the curious foal had finished his investigation and found that I was probably not a horse, but on the other hand nothing dangerous, it went back to the herd. And the horses just vanished as silently as they had appeared...

Asters

In the autumn months everything blooms in shades of purple in Picton Garden near Great Malven, where the Picton family has grown asters since 1906. Today, the site forms The National Collection of autumn-flowering asters, and it has gradually become quite an extensive collection.

From August to mid-October, you can see over four hundred different asters growing among other late perennials, grasses and shrubs. It is a fantastic sight, as asters come in a range of colours from white and pale pink through light purple to very dark purple.

The autumn flowering asters can be from just 10 cm in height to almost 200 cm. There are great variations, and it depends - among other things - on the soil they grow in. If the soil is well-drained and sandy, they will not grow that tall, while in nutrient-rich soil they can grow above average height.

Asters are wonderful plants to have in the garden because they are hardy and bloom so willingly. Fortunately, more people are realizing that asters are not just beautiful to look at; they are also extremely good to plant for the sake of wildlife.

Asters attract butterflies and bees in large numbers, and they are a fine source of food for the insects at a time when there is not much else in the garden. When the plants later go to seed, the birds come to eat the seeds, so asters will bring life to the garden in a lot of different ways.

An Old Town in Denmark

If you sit on a stone step in the sun and close your eyes, inhale the wonderful smell from the bakery and listen to the sounds of horses and hens, in your thoughts you will be transported back to another time. A faraway time it seems – but still a time many of us remember, at least partly.

And when you open your eyes again and see the sun shine on the cobblestone-covered streets and the beautiful, old timber frame houses – well, it isn’t a dream after all. Den Gamle By – “The Old Town” -  in Jutland is fortunately very real. You can easily spend a whole day here, because the houses are filled with interiors, workshops and exhibitions of all kinds.

The museum was established in 1909 as the world's first open-air museum of urban history and culture. In the beginning the buildings were the demolition-threatened houses from the area, but later different kinds of buildings from other parts of Denmark were added.

The very first building in the museum was the Mayor’s House, where domestic culture from 1600 to 1850 is on show. Adjacent to the house is a fine Renaissance garden from 1647. Gardens of this type were purely for show, and the fine pattern formed by low, close-cropped boxwood could best be seen from the first floor. In contrast to this decorative garden lies a romantic garden with roses and ivy, and gardens of this type became fashionable in the eighteenth century.

The Merchant's House and shop from 1864 is typical from the time. In the shop you could buy a mix of foodstuff and utensils, and the merchant was usually an enterprising man, who also imported and sold goods abroad. In the room beside the shop tired travellers could relax with a snifter or two.

The Pharmacy in The Old Town is the oldest and best preserved in Denmark, and it appears as a well-stocked pharmacy would have looked like in the first half of the 1700s. In the back garden you can see the many healing herbs, which were cultivated by the pharmacist for the manufacture of his own drugs, but at the same time the many voyages of discovery gave him the opportunity to offer more exotic new medicaments from faraway places.

The Mint master’s Mansion lies on the town square like the Mayor’s House. In 1683 it was built as a residence for the royal mint master, and at that time it was one of the finest houses in Copenhagen. But soon after timber framed buildings went out of fashion, and although it was modernized in the 1700s it became so worn down, that it was demolished in the 1900s. Sensibly enough all the parts were stowed away, and in 1995 they were brought to The Old Town. Ten years later the house was rebuild as the stately home it once was.

The well-preserved staircase from the beginning of the 1700s leads up to a beautiful rococo apartment with handmade wallpaper and a hand-painted ceiling with birds. The ceiling goes back to the 1600s, and although it was heavily degraded by fungi and insects, when it was found at a storeroom in Copenhagen, it was recreated in minute detail.

The toy museum is situated in a beautiful, old warehouse, where you can see 5000 different toys from the 1600’s onwards to the 1950’s. The exhibition will undoubtedly awake the joy of recognition among those of us remembering things like Märklin trains, mechanical toys, dolls and teddy bears.

Today there are 75 very different houses in the museum, including a beautiful theatre, a post office and a telephone exchange. Most buildings are from the 1700’s and the 1800’s, but more recent times are emerging. The 20th century has its own quarter, where you can see the houses and shops from the “happy seventies”, and even our own time (2014) is now represented.

The Old Town is a wonderful place to explore history in an informative and entertaining way. It's so good to know one’s roots - and in a time when development occurs with rocket speed, you really need to go a few steps back and feel the atmosphere of those days where everything was done in a very different pace.

My favorite painter

I will tell you much more about the painter Paul Fischer later, so this is just a brief introduction to him and to Copenhagen, as it was about one hundred years ago.

Even if I was not born at that time, his paintings remind me of my childhood. Many areas in Copenhagen have not changed that much - most buildings still stand, and the stork fountain is still to be seen.

Paul Fischer really captures the spirit of beautiful Copenhagen, and his pictures are extremely popular. When you look at them you can imagine being there, and I can easily understand why so many people wish to hang a piece of old-fashioned atmosphere and beauty on their wall...

The joy of writing

In the beginning of the 90's I wrote three books – one about Dolls Houses; one about other kinds of miniature projects and one about stencilling – but for a long period of my life, I did anything but write. I worked as a secretary, a clerk, a copywriter and a translator – just to mention a few of the many jobs I have had.

Writing is my passion though, and from 2008, I wrote and published magazines about Great Britain – which was another passion of mine. In all 32 magazines with articles of historic houses, history, gardens, animals and all things nice and British… 

Lately I have come full circle. I stopped writing magazines and resumed writing books – and I feel like I have come home. I have so many projects; so many things I wish to write about. I have written a book about the beautiful things in life, one about the English Christmas and one about London. All in Danish...

I have also written a book about Scotland. I have visited Scotland many times, and for two months I drove from East to West and all the way round in a motorhome. I miss those days and would love to go back… but for now, I must make do with my Scottish pictures.