Design

More Fun at Tivoli in Copenhagen

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Before the summer is over, we want to share some more fun from Tivoli Gardens, the century-old amusement park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. We’ve already talked about the rides and interesting architecture.  Something else that was different from any American park we’e been to was the work on sustainability.

Sustainability

Tivoli is located in the heart of Copenhagen, across the street from the main train station (Hovedbangard) and with a plethora of bus stops and bike racks surrounding it. Copenhagen is after all one of the most bike friendly cities in the world, and local Tivoli visitors take advantage of it. We had a smooth quiet commuter train ride from southern Sweden, over the bridge, passed the Copenhagen airport before arriving in central Copenhagen. It’s a totally different experience than riding the diesel train from the suburbs to Chicago.  (At the airport, the train stops right under the check-in area!)

Tivoli reusable coffee/soda/beer mug with a 5 DKR deposit.
Tivoli reusable coffee/soda/beer mug with a 5 DKR deposit.

When ordering a coffee, I was first a bit shocked to have to pay five Danish crowns (almost one US dollar) for the cup. However, it turned out that I got the money back when I returned the mug to a refund machine. They used the same cups for hot and cold drinks, including beer, saving on litter and waste. The refund system also turned out to be a great source of income for the kids while they were waiting for the concert to begin. After a couple of beers, many on the concert lawn gladly let the kids collect the mugs.
Ben and Jerry's Ice cream at Tivoli :)
Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream at Tivoli 🙂

Good Food

Our teen and her friend waiting for fish and chips. It turned out to be well worth the wait.
Our teen and her friend waiting for fish and chips. It turned out to be well worth the wait.

While enjoying some wild rides at American amusement parks this year, even my kids wanted to go back to Tivoli Gardens for food and snacks (and for rides of course). Tivoli has both decent fast food and restaurants on their premises. For the meal included in our “Puls Pakke” tickets, we picked Fish & Chips. That might not sound so special, but the Chips (French fries) were organic and freshly made and the fish was simply delicious! Soda came of course in the recyclable mugs…

We had to try some Danish “aebleskiver”, apple slices. The fact that they are round like doughnut holes and don’t have a hint of apple in them doesn’t seem to bother the Danes whatsoever ;). But they were very yummy!
At the waffle bakery, we bought some Danish aebleskiver (apple slices). They had not a hints of apple and not very slice like either, but they were delicious!
At the waffle bakery, we bought some Danish aebleskiver (apple slices). They had not a hints of apple and not very slice like either, but they were delicious!

Music

There is more music than the Champagne Gallop at Tivoli. Friday night rock concerts are included in the ticket price and we enjoyed the 30 Seconds to Mars concert that June night. The ten minute drizzle while waiting for the music to begin, was soon forgotten.

30 Seconds to Mars with lead singer Jared Leto at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.
30 Seconds to Mars with lead singer Jared Leto at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.
Thirty Seconds to Mars at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.
Thirty Seconds to Mars at Tivoli Copenhagen in June 2013.

Wow, what a day! The 15 minute wait for the train home at 1AM felt like an eternity for tired kids and mom, but we’ll be back some day!

Thumbs up and big smiles! We had an amazing day at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.
Thumbs up and big smiles! We had an amazing day at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.

The funflector team, roller coaster test division 😉

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New Rides in the Old World

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Did you know that Walt Disney modeled the Magic Kingdom after the century old Tivoli in Copenhagen? In the space of a couple of city blocks, old fashion carousels are layered with modern and stomach turning roller coasters and rides. They are interleaved with parks, a concert hall, an aquarium, an amazing variety of quality food places and ice cream parlors. As  we spent last summer in southern Sweden, my kids insisted our replacing our annual trip to Six Flags Great America with a trip to Tivoli. With “Puls Pakke” tickets (entrance, rides and one meal) for 329 DKR ($60) bought online, we set out to enjoy ourselves for the day (and night). As an extra bonus, Friday rock concerts are included in the ticket price and 30 Seconds to Mars did a great concert that June night.

Rides

The rides are layered and interleaved. It saves on endless walking and makes it easier to manage kids who want to go on different rides. But it does make it hard to find a place to shoot interesting photos. Here are some of the fun rides we tried.

Tivoli Odin Express is not as innocent as it might look. It's fast paste and surprising turns are beyond the expected.
Tivoli Odin Express is not as innocent as it might look. It’s fast paste and surprising turns are beyond the expected. The back seat is the best (worst).

Star Flier at Tivoli, 80 meter (260ft) tall gives you a great view of Copenhagen at 70 km/h (45 mph). Decoration on top is a nod to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer in the 16th century.
Star Flier at Tivoli, 80 meter (260ft) tall gives you a great view of Copenhagen at 70 km/h (45 mph). Decoration on top is a nod to Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer in the 16th century.

Bumper cars are always fun and when the cars are this richly decorated it is even fun to watch the kids go a second round.
Bumper cars are always fun and when the cars are this richly decorated it is even fun to watch the kids go a second round.

Architecture

Buildings are carefully designed to fit in and although the space is tight, they have managed to create an airy feel. Both old and modern ones have interesting details, reminiscent of their time. The stylized green and yellow leaves decorating the wall of the Tivoli Concert Hall give away that it was build in the 1950’s. The railing carries the tune of the popular Champagne Gallop by Hans Christian Lumbye, the first music director and widely popular in-house composer for Tivoli.

The Tivoli Concert Hall is decorated with Lumbye's Champagne Gallop.
The Tivoli Concert Hall is decorated with Lumbye’s Champagne Gallop.

Detail of Tivoli Glass Hall
Detail of Tivoli Glass Hall

The Woodhouse built in 1997 for the Valhalla Castle ride, today used for a restaurant. Designed by architect Søren Robert Lund.
The Woodhouse built in 1997 for the Valhalla Castle ride, today used for a restaurant. Designed by architect Søren Robert Lund.

Copenhagen sky is still bright past 10 pm on midsummer eve.
Copenhagen sky is still bright past 10 pm on midsummer eve.

OMG, the blog post quickly got very long, so let’s save some yummy food, music and everything else we wanted to show you for another time.
So long & hav en dejlig dag!
Elisabeth

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The King of the Forest

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Before buying homeowner’s insurance, have you ever checked if it covers damages from a moose stepping into your living room? This was the topic of the consumer section on the first day we got our newspaper after moving to Stockholm. My American hubby had been there for two days and almost turned around. He’d thought we moved to the suburbs of a capital, not to the back woods.

Swedish moose warning sign
Swedish moose warning sign


Well, during the next 11 years, he learned that moose are a big part of Scandinavian culture and everyday life. Moose accidents were a huge topic when he had to retake his driver’s license. You can’t drive anywhere in forested areas without seeing moose warning signs – unless they have been stolen by over-excited tourists. We occasionally met moose on the neighborhood streets and we even had one visiting our back yard. Luckily, it did not get drunk after nibbling on our apple tree!

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The King of the Forest Read More »

Barefoot

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It’s not winter any more, but not spring either. The in-between-seasons nondescript weather only inspires one to dream about being elsewhere. I find myself longing for walking barefoot. Green summer grass or a warm floor on a crystal clear winter day…

Kids walking barefoot
Kids walking barefoot

In France, old stone barns are sometimes converted into charming living quarters. For a couple of years, I had the fortune to live in one. During winter, the floors were terribly cold no matter how many rugs and slippers we used. However, on hot summer days, the cool floors were a blessing. Ever since, for me it’s real summer if I enjoy walking barefoot on cool tile floors!

From France, I moved to Sweden and built a house on a cement slab with radiant (water) floor heating on the entire ground floor. The colder it was outside, the warmer the floors were inside! mmm…! What a shock moving into an American house with forced air heating and poor insulation after that. I’m still dreaming of converting to radiant heat…

Walking barefoot is informal, casual, relaxed and signals that the stress from the office and running errands has been left behind.  That’s most likely why the book title “The Barefoot Home” sounds so intriguing. The book provided abundant inspiration for my last remodeling job. And yes, the new addition has a Mediterranean style tile floor!

Going barefoot, at least some of the time is good for your feet and your posture. When my kids were little, doctors told me toddlers should walk barefoot (where safe of course) to develop their balance and muscles properly. It might be cute to put shoes on babies even before they need them, but those tiny soft bones are better off not being confined.

Elisabeth

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan are best barefoot!
Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan are best barefoot!

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About Original Content…

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Scroll down for an 2021 update.

At funflector.com, we pride ourselves with original content for what we do. Within the funflector team, we write our own texts, create our own designs and make our own photos and graphics. It takes a network of genuine professionals, plenty of creativity and effort, but we believe that is the right thing to do. Of course, there are a few things that others have done so brilliantly, that there is no way we could come up with our own.

night sky starry background
We LOVE our twinkling background!
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About Original Content… Read More »

Good Design Here and There

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The modern movement has little to do with fashion. Last week, the Chicago chapter of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce (SACC-Chicago) gathered at HAUTE LIVING, a furniture showroom in downtown Chicago. Åke Jansson, president of Lammhults Möbel AB, Sweden and Jeffery Smith, founder and owner of HAUTE LIVING talked about modern furniture and Scandinavian design.



The spacious, contemporary showroom displayed carefully selected European classic pieces along with new design from both Europe and the US. The abundance of thoughtful design, solid wood and absence of ornamentation, made many of us native Swedes feel right at home.

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Good Design Here and There Read More »

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