Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark

Saturday was our only full free day and we decided to visit Denmark's well-known Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. This museum is actually located in Humblaek, about 30 minutes by train outside of Copenhagen. We bought the special ticket from the train station which includes roundtrip fare and admission for 166DKK (30USD) each. Train fare in Denmark is not exactly the cheapest but you get really clean, fast and quiet trains.

The scenery passing by outside was green and lush with peeks of the sea. The land is also rather flat and it reminded me of Chicago/Wisconsin in the summer. From the small Humblaek station, it was a 10 minute walk to the museum with plenty of signs leading the way. Oh, notice the 7-11 sign outside the station? Did I mention that in Denmark you can find 7-11s everywhere? In the city, there is one on practically every block.

During our visit, there was a special Max Ernst exhibit. To be honest, my sad uncultured self didn't know anything about him. But that didn't stop me from appreciating his art. He was a German painter who lived through the first and second World Wars, and his work was categorized as part of they called the dadaism and surrealism cultural movements. I liked the different and creative techniques he used like the use of pencil rubbings against objects like pieces of wood. He also has some cute sculpture pieces that were displayed both indoors and outdoors.

One of the highlights of this museum is the setting itself. There are lots of big windows that let in natural light and the beautiful outdoors. At the end of the visit, we sat outside in the warm sun, enjoying the view and watching kids roll down a grassy hill. ;-)

We were also very impressed with the museum's children's program here. There was a whole section dedicated to art activities for children. In conjunction with the Max Ernst exhibit, there were different work stations where kids could paint, try his pencil rubbings, and work on Ernst style sculptures. I envied the kids. They looked like they were having lots of fun. What a great way for them to unleash their creativity and learn about different artists.

There was even this cute story-time room. I love the pint-sized chairs.

I thought the museum was worth the visit. It's not too large to completely wear you out and the beautiful surroundings is a big added bonus. And if you have children, they will love the hands-on activities.