But first, you must get to Copenhagen

Young Women, Emil Nolde, 1947

If you want to go to Greenland the easiest route is through Denmark, the Mother Country. I arrived here Saturday afternoon, but the welcoming committee (pictured at right) didn't organize until today, when I visited SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, just across the street from my Copenhagen holiday flat.

It takes five minutes at my incredible slow pace to walk from my front door to the museum. A normal walker would do it in three. Even closer is the Hirschsprungske museum which I plan to visit before flying to Greenland Saturday evening to begin a 17-day cruise to Halifax via Labrador, Newfoundland, France and Nova Scotia.

Yes, France. More about that when I get there. But it will only be a day trip.

My Home Away (like Air B 'n B) flat is in the heart of the museum, district. Other museums just a short walk away include Rosenborg Castle, the natural history museum, the David Collection (private Islamic and European collection open to public), the Cinematique, the Botanical Garden, and the King's Garden. Of these, the David Collection is on my short list.

My afternoon at the SMK started when I walked over and saw the new (1998) addition in the rear, a wide expanse of glass covering two stories, with a grand staircase for seating and enjoying the view of the park and its serpentine pond from the comfort of the museum. (It may still be summer, but the temperature barely reached 60ºF this afternoon.

Here are some more photos from the museum visit:

Emil Nolde, Child and Large Bird, 1912

Emil Nolde, North Sea Dunes, 1936

Nolde was hardly the only artist new to me (then again, 99.9% of the artists in most museums would be new to me). Works by Jens Søndergaard showed clear inspiration from Munch:

Jens Søndergaard, Funeral, 1926

Edvard Munch, Workers On Their Way Home, 1914

Museum interior. My flat is just beyond trees, across the steet.

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