Juggler

It's not only music, facers and pickpockets you can experience on Strøget in Copenhagen, also performances like this juggler is on the menu. And he did pretty well by the way.

Telling stories

When coming to a new city it's always nice to be shown around by someone, who knows the history and can tell some tall tales about it. The Copenhagen City Museum have tours, as have several private companies. Not all are dressed up like this one though, so I suspect he was from the museum.

Red means go?

Cycling in pedestrian areas is not the only bad habit Danish bicyclists have. Many also seems to be color blind or believing that red means go. It's more the rule than the exception to see bicycles run the red lights, even though they run the risk of loosing the battle against the incoming truck. In May the police ran out of forms one morning, when they had a campaign against this bad habit, there were that many offenders!

A Pedestrian Street?

Strøget can be a busy area bustling with pedestrians. Even then some bicyclists really think it's a good idea to cycle through at speed, while casting annoyed glances or comments at anyone not quick enough to jump out of the way at the ringing of their bell. And it's not only young guys like this, but people of any age and gender, even retired 70+ ladies with blue hair do this.

Juicy

Freshly pressed juice is just the right thing in the summer heat. And I love this orange shaped stall.

How about a hot corn cob?

On Strøget you can get many different things to eat, but this one is probably the weirdest I've seen here, hot corn cobs. And he is even dressed like one:-)

Facers 5

The Greenpeace facers holding a impromptu meeting on Strøget. Notice that these ones are not uniformed, so they are more difficult to spot and avoid.

Facers 4

You can recognise facers a long way off in Copenhagen by their t-shirts with logos, id-tags and folders. These two seemed to be planning their next line of attack before entering Strøget.

Facers 3

You'll meet the facers in the strangest places in Copenhagen. This one tried out people in the park Kongens Have. He didn't seem to have any luck though, as these people had come to the park to get some peace and quiet, and not to be approached by someone selling letters of indulgence. At least he was highly visible so you could avoid eye-contact, put on ipods and try to ignore him.

Facers 2

Another facer on Strøget trying to convince this mother that she absolutely has to sign up for UNICEF, if she wants to have a clear conscience. The facers here do know how to pounce on peoples weaknesses.

Facers

Walking on Strøget in Copenhagen can be akin to running a gauntlet. Not only do you have to dodge pickpockets, living statues and musicians, you often also have to try to tell one of these guys that you're positively not interested in his or hers cause, only to have to repeat the same thing 10 times more until your response seems more like a threat than a polite "No thanks". This girl with the bike was followed for 50m by the guy from UNICEF, even though she seemed utterly disinterested in his waterfall talking. In the coming days I'll show and tell you some more of these very persistent bleeding hearts.

Danish Rickshaws

An easy and fun way to get around in the inner city of Copenhagen is to grab one of these; a rickshaw. And as is appropriate for the bicycle capital of the world they are of course powered by a bicycle...or rather by the individual on its saddle.

Sunglasses anyone?

Stalls with the usual fake sunglasses, scarfs and jewellery has sprung up at one of the squares on Strøget in Copenhagen. The things they sell usually are cheap in every sense of the word.

Balloon Animals

On Strøget in Copenhagen every trick is used to get some money out of people. Here a guy tries to earn a living by making balloon animals, but the kid in front isn't buying.

Signs with feet

Yesterday's sign holder had a very boring job, but these two at least have the opportunity to talk with each other, even though it didn't seem like that was on the menu for today. I think these sign holders are here on Strøget in Copenhagen as a way to circumvent the ban on signs placed out on the street. Last week the municipality removed a lot of signs that were in the way of traffic here. These signs have feet so they can move if a delivery truck has to pass, or run in case "someone" wants to confiscate it.

The World's most boring job?

On Strøget in Copenhagen we've got these guys in the last couple of years. Their job description is pretty easy; stand for 6-8 hours each day in this spot holding a sign advertising a restaurant or shop in one of the side streets. I must confess that I might take a job like this if I was really desperate but it would only be to keep utter starvation from the door.

Every man and his dog

One of the colourful musicians on Strøget in Copenhagen is this one, completely traditional with a guitar, hat and dog.

Violin

Yesterday it was a harp, today it's a violin but the same apply; when they play well, they are more than welcome here.

A Harp

Usually the musicians on Strøget in Copenhagen are the guitar, accordion or trumpet kind, but from time to time there's something different. This day it was this harp player. She was actually rather good, so she's welcome back:-)

Colour in the Street

Some of the artists on the streets of inner Copenhagen might not be in league with the French, Italian or Flemish masters, but they are not bad either. This one was just setting up shop when I passed by, and he was already creating a crowd. They are pretty harmless and they do add some colour to the street.

Recycling

This photo needs a bit of explanation, so bear with me. In Denmark we pay a deposit every time we buy a bottle or a can of beer or soft drinks. When we give them back to the store, or any other store, we get the deposit back. This was introduced to get people to recycle the cans and bottles, thereby saving a bit of nature's resources and minimizing the mess in parks and forests. However Danes being lazy and a bit too well-off, many just leave the cans or bottles when and where they are done. This opens up for guys like this who makes a living collecting the bottles and getting the deposit. Many of those doing this are homeless, social outcasts or Eastern Europeans here on an unofficial working holiday. But you'll even notice quite a lot of ordinary pensioners doing it too. It's not something that'll make you rich, but as it keeps the cities and the nature clean(er), how can anyone object to this, even though some of these guys can hardly wait until you finish your drink before they ask for the can:-)

Music on the street

In the streets of Copenhagen, music comes in many forms. Yesterday's post showed someone who shouldn't be allowed to sing outside of a soundproof room. Today's post show a little group that were actually rather good. More of the latter and less of the former, please!

A Joke?

When you wander the pedestrian streets of Copenhagen you'll often hear all kinds of music and singing, and some of it is really good. But once in a while you hear something and think that this has got to be joke. This fellow is very much a case in point. I could hear him torture Danish hits from along way off. If it wasn't some kind of joke or candid camera, then I suggest he quits his day-job in a hurry. Maybe the idea was to get people to pay him to stop?

White Man

The White Man is one of the human statues that seems to go around more than humanly possibly, but I guess good ideas travel fast. This one is a bit rudimentary though, compared to the others I've seen around Europe.

Gone with the wind

This human statue called Gone With The Wind (the fellow to the left) I've seen in other European cities as well. A rather funny character I think. Let me point out that I don't have anything against these people, as long as I can get by them and the crowd they generate without having to stop, but I don't feel in any way obligated to give them money.

The Invisible Man

A new version of the human statue in Copenhagen is this one; the invisible man. He (or she) did get some attention in the summer heat.

A Viking's Tale

A sight more and more seen on Copenhagen's pedestrian street of Strøget; dressed-up people who'll let you pose with them for a few coins. These ones might be a bit annoying, but are harmless in and of themselves. Beware of pickpockets though if there's a crowd, as some of them have "friends" with quick fingers.

A fool and his money will part in a hurry

Not only beggars frequent the inner Copenhagen at summer. A walk down the pedestrian street of Strøget might take your way past one of these; a trickster who will try to convince you that you have a chance of winning the three-cups-one-ball-game. Don't stop as he will surely take your money, and even if you're only taking a look at the other fools, you might part with your valuables anyway, as his mates, posing as innocent bystanders, will try to empty your pockets the sneaky way. Down the street you might notice a guy or two seemingly waiting while looking intensely further down the street. This will be the lookout, who'll warn the gaming group and the pickpockets if the long arm of the law happens to come by. A very organized game with not one trickster, but a whole flock of them. And btw if you want to take some photos of them, do it on the sly, as these folks are more than a bit camera shy and might get aggressive.

Beggars

Summer in Copenhagen brings out a host of beggars, domestic and foreign alike, with the Romanians being the biggest group at the moment. This one is in Copenhagen all year round, but don't be fooled by his crutches; when the police arrives he gets a warning by his lookouts and the paper cup and the crutches disappear. These beggars are highly organized with minders and bosses just around the corner, and they apparently earn quite a bit by counting on the bleeding hearts of people passing by.

Characters

In the summer all kind of characters appear, like this one in Frederiksberg Garden. He is obviously very friendly with the grey herons, and they stayed with him even though there was a crowd of people milling around just a few meters away.

Midsummer

Last week it was St. John's Eve (Sankt Hans Aften) in Denmark. This is when the Danes celebrate midsummer with the burning of a witch, or rather a life-size representation of a witch, and a lot of singing. All very cozy even though good weather might bring out thousands of people at the bigger events like the one in Frederiksberg Garden at the top photo and at Tivoli at the second one.