If you feel like getting a bit of Danish culture when visiting Copenhagen some local stars shine brighter than others:

Places to see
Tivoli
The magnificent Tivoli Gardens – Vesterbrogade 3 – are a living confection of tulips, roses, and water features. When you visit, take time to enjoy the manicured beauty of the gardens, whose name is derived from an Italian town famous for its fountains. The peaceful lake is often dotted with ducks and swans, and live entertainment is offered most nights, ranging from theater performances to musical concerts. After dark, the light displays are incredibly beautiful. BUS: 1, 16, 29 goes there or you can use one of the many city bikes available for loan across the city.

The Danish National Museum
You can chart the origins of the Danish people at this museum, which is regarded as one of Europe’s best. Exhibits are divided into five distinct sections: Prehistory/Middle Ages to Renaissance, Palace/Museum, Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Egyptian and Classical Antiquities, and Ethnographic (essentially, relics of Eskimo culture). BUS: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, or 35 goes there.

Amalienborg Castle (home of our Queen and her husband the Prince)/ Marmorkirken (The Marble Church)
Known for its Rococo design, this palace was built as the winter home for the Danish royal family and is actually composed of four individual mansions. Each one faces a cobblestone courtyard, and although they’re identical on the outside, all the mansions boast interiors that have been distinctively decorated. The royal residence since 1784, the palace currently has 12 rooms open for public viewing. Museum exhibits cover the period between the late 19th and late 20th centuries. BUS: 1, 6, 9, or 10 goes there.

…and, on the other hand – when in Copenhagen, do as the Copenhageners:

First of all, get a hold of a bike. The city is far better experienced by bike than bus, Metro or car.

Christiania/Christianshavn
Visit the last bit of hippie-Denmark at Christiania which is situated in the district of Christianshavn – The Danish version of Amsterdam’s channels.

From the walk and Talk meeting of Anders and Wulff today

Vesterbro
A bit dodgier than the other parts of the city but fascinating. Take a walk down Istedgade, from the Central Station and experience…ahem…different kinds of people. Also a good place to visit bars in the weekend (Vega, The Meat Packing District (Kødbyen), Bang & Jensen and many more)

Søerne (the lakes)
Built as part of the fortress of Copenhagen but nowadays a perfect place for a run, stroll or just for looking at people (primarily in the weekend)

Kongens Have and Rosenborg Castle
Relax in one of the best parks in the city with one of the most beautiful castles in Denmark – Rosenborg Castle.

Islands Brygge
Fancy a swim in the harbor? Then go to Islands’ Brygge. Really, really crowded when the weather’s nice.

Places to eat
Copenhagen is filled with many good restaurants. I have assembled a small collection of links to the ones that will treat you with an experience that will make you want to come back next year.

Expensive but brilliant, book a table if you can get one:

Restaurant Geranium
Kronprinsessegade 13
DK-1306 København K
Tel. +33 11 13 04

Restaurant Paustian
Kalkbrænderiløbskaj 2
DK 2100 -København Ø
Tel.+ 39 18 55 01

Restaurant Noma
Ny Adelgade 7
DK-1104 København K
Tel. +32 96 32 97

Restaurant Formel B
Vesterbrogade 182
DK-1800 Frederiksberg C
Tel. +33 25 10 66

Restaurant Kiin Kiin
Guldbergsgade 21
DK-2200 København N
Tel.+ 39 18 55 01

Restaurant King Hans’ Cellar
Vingaardsstræde 6
DK-1070 København K
Tel. +33 11 68 68

All of course have Michelin stars

I sincerely hope you will enjoy your stay.

Hey peeps how’s ya’ll doing? Thougt I’d give you a little “word” from “San Fran” where we’re attending the uxweek 2008 (and yea, that’s how they communicate here).

Things are “hella cool” (nor cal term for “nice”), (and nor cal is short for Nothern California… I should stop now shouldn’t I?). Yup, enough of the lingo and on to the bees knees.

I attended the Live, Vast, and Deep workshop about data visualization today. Which was conducted by a couple of guys from Stamen. In short, they kick ass (as Jeffery Veen said when I met him on the escalator after the workshop).

Here’s a few of those very hip gonzo journalism like iPhone impressions.

Design starts with pen and paper.

The Stamen guys makes some really awesome stuff.

Afterwards there was a party at the Adaptive path headquarters.

Gathering inspiration where ever we can. Marcel saw a poster at the Adaptive Path HQ he liked.

On my way home I saw this sign, although I found it a bit harsh, I got the message. (Taber means looser in danish)

Awesome isn’t it?… guess you had to be there.

I’m trying to do a bit of twitting, or what ever they call it, from over here. Doing it from my iPhone, that’s probably why I think it’s fun. You can follow my “live” ramblings from here, if you want.

I have waited the last three months for the 4th of August to come. But what’s so special about this day? Your right – It was my first day at Traceworks… I was prepared, I was excited and I was ready to show the Traceworkers, who their daddy is!

Now, I have been here for a little over a week and I haven’t regretted my change of job one little bit… The guys in here are great (yep, sad to say, but 95% of the employees are guys…). Not that I’m afraid of boys, don’t get me wrong, but I thought that mixed-sex offices worked better. My prejudice was not true. The DNA of the company makes a great atmosphere and it creates great people. Furthermore I have never seen people so dedicated to their work before. It makes it very easy to come as a new guy, when the staff is already focused on making a difference. I knew beforehand that the challenges in my new job would be perfect for me. But I wasn’t sure about the people in here. Luckily they turn out to be great…

So what is there more to expect from a new job…? The job opportunities are great, the people are great… well, all the rest of course… The food, the chairs, the laptops, the office, etc…

Again, I must say – I’m speechless. Yesterday all the staff got brand new Iphones!!! IPHONES EVERYBODY… how about that for a perk…! And the food is really great and there are red and green soft drinks for free… What is there more to wish for in a new job…?

Eiby – The new guy in town

A way to use your marketing budget is by sponsoring a TV show, it´s actually for some reason seen more and more. A TV Show of one hour would in average (for a Danish TV channel) mention your name / brand 3 to 4 times, in the beginning, in the end and after each commercial break, for a American channel would it properly mention you name 10 times within one hour.

I often see TV Shows with Gordon Ramsay since I love gourmet food. For those of you who don’t know the guy can I add that he is ranked as number two in the world, in terms of Michelin stars with 14 just behind Allan Ducasse. Ramsay is a master to use his brand and he is a brilliant chef.

The show I saw is called Kitchen Nightmares. In each episode, Ramsay visits failing restaurants which very often only serve frozen food or to say in another way no fresh food based on fresh ingredients at all. I wonder why there are failing, but Ramsey turns up and acts as a troublemaker by introducing new menus, new restaurant interior, tips and tricks so the personnel including the owner can act as top professional giving customers a good gourmet experience. So the essence of the show is all about how to make great food in a simple way and earn money, make a business turnaround.
What actually surprised or let´s say shocked me was the brand which were sponsoring the show. Take a guess….

A Frozen pizza (brand) … Dr. Oetker

Let’s take it one more time; we have a show which is all about how to teach people to make Good, Tasty and Fresh food instead of crappy frozen food.
I would really like to understand how the marketing person or the media agency came to this crazy idea? Imagine you have just seen how easy it is to make good, fresh and tasty food and Mr. Ramsey has just brainwashed you for one hour with the fact that frozen food sucks, what is the odds that you buy a frozen pizza next time you go the supermarket, properly close to zero.

The agency / marketing manager misunderstood the placement, the target audience, and the whole idea of doing effective and thoughtful media placement, I really hope that they are good at negotiating and buying and if anybody mention the fact that it’s a food product sponsoring a TV show about food, then again forget it, the placement is wrong, I believe that they haven’t seen the show?
The positive thing is that the placement has been removed, hopefully because a clever agency called Dr. Oetker and said “Hey guys you need some help here, you are wasting your money, let me tell you why”

Dr. Oetker turn you head towards online, I really believe that you can gain, at least can you measure how people interact with you brand, people can give you feedback regarding your product etc. etc.

Good Luck