Dragør

A "city" that dates back to the 12th century, Dragør is a damn cute little fishing village where København's rich have weekend homes. The old town is full of yellow painted, red roofed houses that are pretty much back to back. One of the really ... interesting ... features is the use of street mirrors - little mirrors that are in front of windows that can show the inhabitant what's going on in the street with out being seen - maybe they're called gossip mirrors. Either way, when we asked out Danish friends about them, the giggled - especially when I suggested they were for letting more sun into the rooms - I mean when the streets are up to 1.5m wide, you need some sun!



Another weird (and slightly tacky) thing is the the huge number of Staffordshire dogs - every window seems to have a pair sitting on the ledge looking out onto the street. Originally made for Victorian English working classes with a desire to collect and spend their new disposable income, it seems somewhat odd that a wee Danish fishing village is their new home.


Anyway, it's a beautiful wee place. Accross the road from the main picturesque part is the fishing huts - this one was a total favourite - good to see there is night life there, though it might get a little hard if more than 5 people showed up for a dance!

Grundtvigskirken

Now that I have a bike, David and I have been making the most of the weekends and our ability to go anywhere (within reason). Our first trip was to Grundtvigskirken - a seriously beautiful church, and a fantastic example of 20th century church architecture. It's a merge of styles - typical Danish village churches, and Gothic architecture.


I love the symmetry of the place, it's all very well planed, surrounded by buildings that mirror each other - making it a delight to go to.

The inside is totally overwhelming and really forces you to respect it - hushed voices, private moments of contemplation and all that other ecclesiastical jazz.

Sankt Hans aften (Midsummer)

Sankt Hans aften (St. John's Eve) was an official holiday until 1770. Typical of Danish traditions, the holiday is celebrated on the evening before the actual day. It takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.

It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.) In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth (probably made by the elder women of the family) on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings from 1540 to 1693. This burning sends the "witch" away to Bloksbjerg, the mountain 'Brocken' in the Harz region of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held on this day.

Holger Drachmann and P. E. Lange-Müller wrote a midsommervise (Midsummer hymn) in 1885 called "Vi elsker vort land..." ("We Love Our Country") that is sung at every bonfire on this evening. From what I saw, Danes mumble their way through this (even though they had song sheets), and the language has changed since the song was written - so some words are hard to translate.

Either way, it's a fun tradition. It's the longest day (like really long - they sun set after 11.30).

Though I did feel sorry for the mock witch. The one at Frederiksberg had screaming fireworks in that didn't go pop-bang-oh-ah, but just screamed. Poor withchey!






P.S. I flogged most the text rom wikipedia!

More

Danes have a great way of seeing past their drinking problem


I love our montvask - it's pretty


Norrbro parken

Latest batch

So it's been a while. I've been busy - whattaya do!

Here is a pic of Michelle at the "beach" in Christiana - yes, there's a beach there, not just weed!

Another Christiana shot


Patterns
Opening night of the Copenhagen Jazz Festive

Ha ha!

I so love this

Egeskov Slot

Egeskov Slot is a few hours from København, but worth the trip. It's a mix between a grand old castle, a private home, a fun park and a museum. There are some rather odd parts - such as the Dracula Crypt, but the absolute highlight is Titania's Palace, perhaps the most amazing dolls house ever build!

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek has a great collection of all sorts of art, and wonderful buildings. I love the Rodin works, especially The Age of Bronze. There is something almost erotic about it. Maybe that's just me?

Days & Nights in København

København's main railway station (Københavns Hovedbanegård).


Wonder why the Danes are the happiest people on the planet? Could it be because the street lights in some parts of town give you a happy face at night?


Enghave Plads

Helsingor & Louisiana

We went with some friends who were staying to Louisiana and Helsingor. Kronberg Slot is the mythical home of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Louisiana is Denmarks "leading contemporary art museum." Kronberg is kinda fun - it relies on the Hamlet myth to get visitors there, then becomes a tale of the historic land battles between the Danes and Sweeds.



Louisiana has a developing collection of contemproary art (read 20th cent.), and is in wonderful gardens. The building itself is also something of a trip - like 2 arms hugging a sea view. There was a Max Ernst exhibition on when we went - didn't love it really. Looking forward to seeing their upcoming exhibitions though.