Welcome to the March newsletter, and a (mostly, I am sorry about the honey) light-hearted pootle through the colourways of a recent, tiny Scandinavian road trip.
Malmö - hygge and… honey?
We begin at The Disgusting Food Museum. This is as glorious as it is vile, and the most fun you will ever have while clutching at a sick bag*. The first exhibit is just a block of gelantious honey-esque gloop. You read the caption, Mellified Man. And then you read what mellified man is. And so it goes on (if you clicked the Mellified Man link, I hope you’re doing OK), ending with a tasting session. I got past the crickets and the rotting cheese, but my stomach wouldn’t let me progress past the fermented shark. On a nicer note, our beautiful AirBnb could not have been any more Swedish.
*possibly
Future’s End - iced terracotta
Apologies. I have to* pop this in because marketing is a curse. My new book - Future’s End - is set predominantly in and around an abandoned Danish castle (The Slot). The actual castle I had in my mind when writing the book was Egeskov Slot, which is not dissimilar in style to Malmö Castle, below. I love the intricate red brickery, and how it glows rose in the winter sun. It’s just… gorgeous.
*brazenly
Copenhagen - lemons and blues
The expensive Experimentarium is on the northern outskirts of expensive Copenhagen. It is good, interactive rooftop good, but an expensive 910DKK parking fine dimmed the day and cost more than the expensive entry to the expensive Experimentarium. I have appealed*. The river here had iced over, holding the yachts fast, and a soft mist snagged on the angular waterfront buildings. Beautiful juxtapositions. Copenhagen is expensive.
*hopefully
The Lego House - prime primary
The Lego House is all the fun you’d expect it to be. Capable of cracking a smile out of even the most boring of humans is the Mini Chef restaurant - here, you build your meal from Lego pieces and collect it from a Lego robot, I mean… what’s not to love...? It is the best place on planet Earth*. I am now addicted to scrolling eBay for iconic Lego sets of the second-hand persuasion.
(If anyone is selling item no #10335: Shackleton’s Endurance, I’m here.)
*improbably
Popping the block colours of the Lego House (and the honey) to one side, the palette of Scandinavia washes into you, over you. It is hot chocolate and cinnamon buns, ice cold days under a still blue sky. It is grey fluffy blankets and a glass of aquavit.
It is beautiful.
I’ll be back*.
.
.
*definitely
Oh, and…
Links and thank you, as always. ✌️
Pre-order Future’s End (Publication date 15:05:25)
two things: 1.even on your phone you sail the horizons; 2. i love your t-shirt