Spring Trip Around Djursland

Posted on 9 May 2012 by Morten

Last summer I wanted to go on a trip to a country side with a camera. It never happened for various reasons – not until last weekend where we spent Sunday driving around Djursland near Aarhus. We stopped by Kalø Slotsruin, Ebeltoft, and finally Grenå. A few snapshots from along the way:

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Much Needed Weekend In Paris

Posted on 1 May 2012 by Morten

I just came home from a much needed weekend in Paris. My girlfriend had a few things to take care of in the city, and I managed to convince her that this was the best weekend to go. Why? Because The Thermals were playing! As it turned out, they weren’t there to promote a new album, but as part of the Keep Portland Weird project taking place at the new La Gaîté Lyrique. I brought the small compact camera to capture a few shots:

The concert was of course good, but given that it was not “their own” it didn’t match the one they gave last year, nor the year before. The crowd was also very different, appearing to be there less because they already knew the band and more because of the whole Keep Portland Weird thing. Anyway, as always I had a blast and managed to peep a few tricks on how to play their tunes on the guitar. Two things keep striking me about these guys: 1) they genuinely seem like they are having fun together (on stage), and 2) they seem to be very down to earth and nice. This is definitely not something I’ve noticed in a lot of bands.

Naturally, we also spent some time wandering in the city. I got a few snapshots from around the city:

and a few from the never disappointing passe-temps, people watching from a cafe:

It was raining at the time, and hence it partially developed into a survey in on umbrellas, bow wow!

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Recommended Movies

Posted on 23 April 2012 by Morten

Let me recommended a few movies we’ve watched over the last few months. First a few highly recommended ones:

I really liked The Descendants, especially the story and acting. We watched it in the cinema and were very happy to have done so; it’s not a special-effect movie but worth getting drawn into.

Le Havre took us a bit by surprised, and really amazed by the photography and aesthetics — be sure to watch it on a proper screen.

The Intouchables is easy-going but with a great French sense of humour. We ended up watching it a second time a few days later.

There’s been a few worth-a-watch as well:

Carnage is an easy-going fun comedy as well. It reminded me of 12 Angry Men (highly recommended by the way) in that it all happens in the same room and has a few twists along the way.

We went to watch The Artist at Øst for Paradis, an old cinema around the corner from us. It was a fun reminder of black & white movies, and although I don’t think it’s as amazing as the Oscars say it is, it’s still worth a watch.

Last but not least, In Time is not a really amazing movie, but does play with a funny idea and is worth a watch for that.

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Restaurant Latin, Aarhus

Posted on 15 April 2012 by Morten

Last night we finally tried Restaurant Latin in Klostergade. I’ve been walking passed it a few times thinking it looked interesting but also fancy in the expensive posh kind of way. Searching for a place to take the family out for dinner last night — and again finding it impossible to get a table at Den Rustikke without booking days ahead — I finally stopped to have a proper look at the menu and was happily surprised to learn that the 3 course menu was only 199 DKK.

The menu was as follows

  • starter: choice between moules-frites, fish soup, saumon salé, or carpaccio de veau
  • main dish: choice between poisson du jour, poussin rôti, or culotte d’Agneau
  • dessert: choice between a collection of french cheeses, gateau de topinambour, or crêpe suzette

and given that we were six people dining we managed to try all of them between us. They were all very good, interesting and definitely good value for the money. I had the carpaccio, the poussin, and the gateau — and was particular happy about the duck roasted poussin :). The manager, an original frenchy, recommended an excellent french wine: côte du Ventoux.

Notes for the future: highly recommended; food very good, fair price, service not too slow, good selection of wine. Better than Den Rustikke (but also slightly more expensive) but not clear if they change the menu as often as Den Rustikke appears to do.

PS: I came across Sct. Oluf in the search for a restaurant and it is definitely a place we have to try.

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Le Petit Paris, Aarhus

Posted on 10 April 2012 by Morten

Tonight we went to Le Petit Paris on Banegårdspladsen to cash in the half-price coupon we bought before christmas. The five course menu was fixed (maybe only because we came with the coupon):

  • starter: Karl Johan (boletus edulis) creme soup with roasted lubster
  • second starter: Anderillette (pâté with julienne de légumes)
  • main dish: veal tenderloin with vegetable tarte and thyme creme sauce
  • cheese: platter of 12 french and danish cheeses (smelling grossly and passed on straight on to my girlfriend)
  • dessert: creme brulée with ice creme and fruits

which all in all was not too bad, nor too impressive.

The staff were nice, although slightly confused. We went with beer but the selection was frankly very poor: nothing on tap and only boring imported beer along the lines of Corona.

I’m not sure we’ll ever go back there, even if it seemed that some of the flaws were due to the restaurant just opening. We enjoyed the meal but better quality can be found elsewhere for a lower price, and in a nicer atmosphere. Last but not least, it took more than four hours to get through the menu.

Notes for the future: no pressing need to go back. It wasn’t bad at all, but it can be found better.

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