a royal affair

study tours! last wednesday, my danish language and culture class viewed the danish film nominated for an oscar in the category of best foreign language film - a royal affair. based on true facts, it is a historical drama set at the court of the mentally ill king christian VII of denmark and the infamous love affair between the queen and the king's royal physician, johann struensee. it's a juicy story with exquisite costuming emanating 18th century europe (anyone who knows me would know i am sold on any movie having to do with this time period for the costumes alone) and the fact that none of the actors spoke in the typical phony british accent, standard for all other historical and period dramas, was much appreciated.

after the screening, we rushed over to christiansborg palace, home of the danish parliament (the folketing), and the location for much of the film's events. the palace that stands now, however, is not quite the same seeing as the palace in which christian VII resided burned down in 1884.

we got a quick tour of the parliament wing inside and saw the former upper chamber and the current folketing chamber. from galleries on three sides of the chamber, visitors can attend debates and additional galleries are reserved for the press, the royal family and former members of parliament. 

the portraits of former prime minsters were quite interesting to see. at the end of his term, each prime minister chooses the artist to paint his portrait. there was a variety of styles and moods, many of them abstract and each one unique. 

the frescoes that line the walls along the parliament wing in the palace cover hundreds of feet. the man who painted them, however, left more than just his brush's mark. tongue-in-cheek images of animals pop up every few feet along the wall - perhaps indicative of the thoughts the painter had as the politicians worked, walked, and talked around him. spiders and slugs hang from some of the flora, and above the old cigar holder, which sits just outside of the room for the house of lords, a cow turns his back to the viewer, his tail lifted (...ready to soon relieve himself?) while a cow chews his useless cud.