Copenhagen's Flea Market at Halmtorvet

To brighten up a cloudy day in July we decided to visit Copenhagen's Flea Market at Halmtorvet.  Halmtorvet (engl. straw-market) was a place to buy and sell hay and straw in 1800s.  At that time Halmtorvet was located just outside the city walls, by the western gate of Copenhagen.

Halmtorvet & Øksnehallen (Picture:eco-net.dk)

Today,  Halmtorvet is located very close to the Town Hall Square and the Central Station in downtown. About 10 years ago, the city of Copenhagen restored many of the buildings in Copenhagen West, Øksnehallen among others. Øksnehallen (engl. taurus hall) was built in 1901 to house the cattle market. After being restored, Øksnehallen  has functioned as a place for cultural activities and diverse exhibitions.

One of the buildings by Øksnehallen

The Arts and Music School of Copenhagen is located in one of the brick buildings next to Øksnehallen.  Behind these old, green doors you'll find modern painting / drawing / music studios, where many children, teens and young adults are taking lessons in music, drawing, painting, photography etc.

Our youngest was very keen on to start playing drums summer 2011, so we signed him up to drum lessons at the Music School. He was on the waiting list for 8 months, before he was able to get in. 

8 months is a long time to wait, when you're 10 years old! But that's also a long time to save up . . . so by the time he was able to start attending the drum lessons, he had saved quite a bit up - and since he really likes to keep on playing the drums, we helped him with the rest, so he could get a beginners drum set to practice at home. 

On Saturdays in the summertime you'll find Copenhagen's Flea Market at Halmtorvet. The whole square is filled with different stands, all of them selling various types of old items and retro-type collectibles.  I was greatly taken by the cool signs, that were spread around one of the stands - the selection was abundant, there were signs from Denmark and abroad! For some years ago "the new black" was to spice up rooms and apartments with different signs. I've actually visited an apartment, where the first thing I saw in the hallway was a huge motorway junction sign!

The bright red Swedish Dalahäst-horses reminded me of Tommi's and Annika's play room in the Pippi Longstocking- movie!

This  tray with it's nostalgic motive and colors caught my eye.

The colorful coffee tins, the yellow coffee pot and the orange bread cutting board

took us directly to a 70's kitchen!

The atmosphere of the "70's kitchen"kept hanging around me, and I fell for this ABBA-style retro shirt.  I found the blue jacket also from the Flea Market!

Our "expedition" ended in one of the cafes by Halmtorvet,  where we had a delicious lunch. We were served a plate consisting of 4 different courses, that you usually eat together with dark rye bread:

• Fried flounder within the remoulade sauce (remoulade is made ​​mayonnaise, cucumbers, pickles, carrots and capers
• Smoked salmon with creamy avocado-dressing
• Chicken and asparagus salad
• A thin grilled steak

The lunch plate kept us well-fed the whole day

- We got yoghurt and cold, fresh watermelon for dinner ;-)

P. S. Getting back to work after the summer holidays has gone smoothly - there's been good time to the writing tasks, and it's been a pleasure to meet the colleagues! During the lunch break, we've often eaten outside, in the small garden - so - the sommer is not over yet!