Byvandring på Sjælland og øerne

Mindelunden in Copenhagen is the place where Danish resistance fighters were executed.

This is also the place where most of them were reburied and it functions as a memorial for those who died resisting Nazi rule.

I'll ensure that the dead will be honoured and remembered in quotes and narratives about their destiny.

This area was originally a military complex, though today it's a fantastic natural park with unique features and wildlife.

In the 1980's, WW2 execution grounds were discovered. We'll explore both of the locations and I'll tell you about the military heritage of the place.

When Harald Bluetooth came to Roskilde, he built the first church where the cathedral stands today – the burial church of the Danish kings and queens. The city was the capital of Denmark for several centuries, which still characterizes it today.The city walk starts with a one-hour tour of the cathedral, which is a journey through 1000 years of Danish history. Kneel in front of the beautiful golden altar, right where Ulf Earl, ruler of Denmark was put to death by the sword 1000 years ago. See the magnificent funerary monuments for Queen Margrethe I, whose reign stretched from Finland to Greenland, and for Christian III and Frederik II, kings of Denmark and Norway. Finally visit the albeit covered monument for  the present Queen Margrethe II.The guided tour continues to the early 12th century St. Ib's Church, and on past the open-air model of medieval Roskilde to the large Viking ship rowed by 60 Vikings. Finally we climb up to Sankt Jørgensbjerg, after which we end at the cathedral or the harbour.

Do you want to know what a plant hunter is, do you want to use your senses and do you want to hear about "Dead Man's Finger"? Then join me on a guided tour of Haveselskabets Garden in Frederiksberg.

On the tour, I talk about the garden, its history and connection to Frederiksberg Castle. We meet at Frederiksberg Runddel, at the entrance to the garden, where I briefly tell about the garden's beginnings.

Then I take you around the garden, past its buildings and various garden spaces, while I talk about the ideas behind and highlight different plantings. We pass by the garden's parade house and get an insight into the cultural history of various plants.

If you want to expand the experience further, I can also guide you in Frederiksberg Garden.

If not previously, then there is now a deer-guarantee at the plainlands next to the oldest golfclub not just in Denmark but of all of Scandinavia. If the weather is clear, we will be able to see all the way to Sweden.

We walk from Klampenborg Station to Ulvedalene, the "Valley of the Wolfs", which every 3rd year provides the settings for an outdoor theatre. From there we will walk back through the forest to Klampenborg Station. We can walk a short detour in order to pass by the amusement park Bakken.

Did you know that there was a healing spring in Dyrehaven, which gave power and strength! And at one time there have been more than 200 pubs.

Dyrehaven is a popular place for excursions, and there are always many outdoor activities going on. It is possible to hire a chariot, if you wish to experience the forest from a horse-powered wagon, however that must be booked and paid for in advance. We can assist with all that of course.

The tracks we walk are partly laid with gravel and partly forest tracks, which can be uneven.

Join an interesting city walk. Frederiksberg surrounded by the municipality of Copenhagen is something special and it has always been like that ever since it was a small village named Solbjerg, Sun Hill.

Bishop Absalon handed Solbjerg over to the Bishop of Roskilde; this is written on fountains at the square in front of Frederiksberg Gardens. Here you will be told about the area and we pay a visit to Frederiksberg Church and learn why it was built in the middle of the public attractions' area.

We continue the city walk through the Dutch Village, Hollænderbyen around the Town Hall and into the Gardens where we are going to visit the castle and the cisternes.

Now we are going to visit Bakkehuset, a home and meeting place for the intellectuals in the 19th century.

Back to Frederiksberg Alle and through the theatre district back to the main entrance of Frederiksberg Gardens. On our way I give you all the histories of what you see.

Join a city walk in Copenhagen and follow the footsteps of our famous fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, the world-known philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen and the theologist Grundtvig. Get to know the history of the city while doing so.

The Golden Age of Danish Art is a specifically fascinating period. Never have so many great artists and thinkers been gathered on such little space as in Copenhagen in the first half of the 1800s. Painters, writers, sculptors and scientists – they were all there. They all influenced Denmark, our way of thinking or the way our society is today. 

We pass the University of Copenhagen, we pass some of the buildings where Hans Christian Andersen lived and I'll introduce you to his Copenhagen. We visit the Cathedral of Copenhagen, Vor Frue Kirke, with the famous statue of Christ by Thorvaldsen and I show you the statues of Kierkegaard and Andersen. 

On our city walk you will also see Tivoli from the outside and heare about the founder of this famous amusement garden, Georg Carstensen who created Tivoli on parts of the ramparts of Copenhagen. Famous painters from the period are Købke and Eckersberg who are connected to Charlottenborg, where the art academy used to be. 

The tour includes a 1 hour guided visit to either the Museum of Thorvaldsen or to the Glyptotek, with an introduction to their collection of paintings from this period.

With my background as a professional principal dramatic baritone (opera singer) and theatre historian I will guide you through the introduction of the Italian opera repertoire at the Royal Danish Theatre.

We will in general also look at certain important Italian operas, which seldom have been performed at The Royal Theatre and in Denmark at all. 

On certain dates it is also possible to get tickets for a guided tour at the Old Stage at Kongens Nytorv and at the New Opera House at Holmen. Each tour costs around 20 Euro and lasts 75 minutes, where you get the opportunity to go behind the stage curtain – and by guides from The Royal Theatre/Opera hear about the opera and the theatre's history.

In addition I will take you through Italian opera – especially the Verismo repertoire going through the operas Tosca and Andrea Chénier from a music historical perspective in relation to the political and social development in Italy from 1889 and upwards. So, if you love the Italian opera repertoire – this is the absolute right tour for you. 

Copenhageners have always been something special. The king's influence on the city has truly made Copenhagen a metropolis in its own right. Yet, one cannot say that the city is particularly "Danish." It resembles a Greek polis or even ancient Rome more than anything else. And that is not at all surprising.

On this city walk, we will explore various kings' attempts to create a city filled with buildings and monuments, making it a Rome of the North.

We will look at everything from Eigtved's brilliant constructions to equestrian statues and frescoes on this guided tour through the Danish Rome of the 18th century.

Nørrebro is a wonderful multicultural area of Copenhagen.

Here you will find the famous cemetery for many famous Danish persons, such as Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard. This city walk will also show you the differencies within the many people living in Nørrebro.

Nørrebro is an old "hyggeligt" working class area, twisted with people from other countries such as the Middel East, Latin America and Africa.

The tour will show you nice places on the way to the cemetery, but the places also have dramatic stories with youth rebellion in 1970's and 1980's and recistance during WW2.

Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød

I'll explain the exiting story about Frederiksborg Castle, where you also find the National Historical Museum of Denmark.

Let me show you around in the castle, where you will hear about 500 years of national history, told through the magnificent interiors and portraits of illustrious Danes.

Our tour ends in the beautiful baroque park which surrounds the castle. 

Join me on an exciting guided tour of Copenhagen. We'll investigate two of the most deadly battles in Denmark's history: the First Battle of Copenhagen, in Danish: Slaget på Reden and the Second Battle of Copenhagen.

We'll start the guided tour at Holmens Kirkegård, the Holmen Cemetery, where we'll see the monument dedicated to the fallen of the Danish Defense Line in the Battle of Copenhagen and afterwards we'll continue to Classens Have, a lovely garden where one of the most important attacks against the enemy took place. Afterwards we'll head towards what is left of the fortifications of Copenhagen, where the final but hopeless stand against the British took place during the Second Battle of Copenhagen before we walk the short distance to Østerport Station.

From Østerport we'll go by S-train to the city centre, where the bombs and rockets fell. We'll end the tour at the Church of Our Lady, the cathedral of Copenhagen. During the bombardment of Copenhagen its burning spire collapsed and fell through the roof. A fitting symbol of the futile Danish attempt to stay neutral while the great powers fought for supremacy in Europe.

Join me in my beautiful hometown, the fishing village of Gilleleje, and discover the lively summer town, the beautiful coastline and freshly caught fish in the charming harbour.

Gilleleje attracts guests from everywhere and is world renowned for its WWII history. In 1943 when World War II was raging, the town's fishermen smuggled Danish Jews to Sweden in the shelter of the night. We seek out the history of the little Church and Gilleleje Museum, eat a delicious dish at the harbour and walk through the town and the vicinity.

An obvious excursion from Copenhagen, only 60 km north of the capital. Meet me in the historical village

Guided tour in Elsinore which has a lively history and a very intact inner city centre which creates links to the past, with its cosy cobbled streets, where old half-timbered houses still stand from the 15th hundreds.

Elsinore holds lots of small inns and pubs with many original details, historical buildings such as Kronborg Castle, the Karmeliter monestary and Saint Olai Cathedral as well as exiting monuments and memorials.

We will of course also experience the story of Kronborg Castle which is the basis for the existence of the historical period, when foreign sailors spoke of Elsinore as the Marseilles of the North.

One of the things that people associate the most with Denmark is the ferocious Viking warriors familiar from films and fiction. However truth is often stranger than fiction and this tour will show you who the people known as the Vikings really were and what the truth is that lies behind these stories.

On this tour you will join a guide with huge interest in the Vikings who will take you on a journey through the mythology and lifestyle of these fearsome people.

Start at the National Museum in Copenhagen where some of the most important treasures from the Viking Age are preserved. We then head to the reconstructed Viking village in the west of Copenhagen where you will meet re-enactors and learn how the Vikings lived. From the village we will go to explore the monuments at Lejre, the old royal centre for the Danish Vikings, and the location of the hall of Heorot from the poem Beowulf.

We finish the tour by the shores of Roskilde fjord at the Viking Ship Museum before heading back to Copenhagen.

Copenhagen is rightly famous for its most renowned inhabitant the Little Mermaid but there is so much more to the city than her. On this tour I will take you around the classic Copenhagen sights and show you the heart of this fascinating city.

The tour will start at The Little Mermaid. We then pass the biggest sculpture in the city, the Gefion fountain. On to the residence of the royal family, Amalienborg. Now it is time for photos at Nyhavn, the most photographed place in Denmark. The Baltic Sea is all around  us, and we sense the maritime past.

We continue by passing the beautiful Royal Theatre, then the famous walking street Strøget with all the shops, after which we stroll by Parliament, the royal horse stables and National Museum and finish by passing the oldest street in Copenhagen and the oldest square on our way to City Hall and Tivoli.

You will get a fun and fast-paced introduction to Danish history and culture during the tour.

On either side of the Oresund near to Copenhagen there sits a magnificent cathedral. Roskilde cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site and the burial place of the Danish monarchy. Lund cathedral is one of the glories of medieval architecture and contains one of the oldest astronomical clocks in the world.

Roskilde and Lund are themselves very charming cities that are among the oldest settlements in Scandinavia.

The tour starts in Copenhagen from where we drive to Roskilde and head to the cathedral; we also explore the old centre of this appealing small city.

We then cross over the Oresund Bridge, one of the architectural marvels of the modern age, to Sweden and then head to Lund cathedral. We also explore the centre of this delightful University City before heading back to Copenhagen again.

Discover the beautiful mansions in Frederikstaden in Copenhagen on a nice stroll through Copenhagen. Today Frederiksstaden, named after King Frederik is part of central Copenhagen, but once it lay outside the centre.

From the parking house at Dronningens Tværgade we have an excellent view of the area.

When we come down we see the first mansion, Moltke's Palæ. From here we walk to Frederik's Hospital, today the Design Museum, Odd Fellow-, Dehn's- and Bernstorff's Mansions.

We continue to Frederik's Church and go inside so I can reveal its stormy history. After viewing the axis towards the equestrian statue we go to the square in front of the four mansions which today form the royal palace Amalienborg.

We continue our stroll around the area and end the tour in front of an atypical mansion built of limestone.

In Copenhagen's classicist buildings we see some architectural principles, which have been respected since antiquity. Always characterized by simplicity and elegance, the rationale is utility, durability and beauty.

It began almost 3,000 years ago, when the Greeks emphasized the beauty of harmonious proportions and simplicity in a way that has never been forgotten. With the work of the Roman Marc Vitruvius (75-25 BC), "De Architectura", the principles were established in writing, and in 16th-century Europe, the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) ensured with Villa Capra (la Rotunda,) i.a., that no one would forget classicism, its Golden Ratio and elegant columns.

In Denmark, it is primarily Christian F. Hansen's (1756-1845) architecture from the beginning of the 19th century that represents the ultimate classicism. However, his teacher, Caspar F. Harsdorff, was the one who introduced it in the second half of the previous century.

Come with me and see the "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" of these buildings. See how nothing is accidental, nothing is inharmonious, everything is as Palladio might have done it. In short, see why Classicism will never leave us.