Masterpieces

 

In the cathedral of Copenhagen, Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady), Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen's famous statue of the resurrected Christ stands for all to see. Completed in 1821 it has since been copied by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints numerous times. In front of the alter is a baptismal fount in the form of an angel holding a large scallop shell made in Italian carrara marble.

 

An oasis in the city

 

In the middle of Frederiksberg is a little garden, that only the locals seems to know about. It's the garden of the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen, also called The Romantic Garden or by its old name in Danish, Landbohøjskolens Have. Here you'll find peace and quiet, even on a summer day when all the other parks are crowded. Here it'll only be the humming of the bees and the tweeting of the birds that'll disturb you. The decorative flower bed on the pic is in commemoration of the Titanic disaster a hundred years ago.

 

Peeking in

I do enjoy walking the same streets and alleys in the inner city of Copenhagen, getting a new glimpse behind a otherwise barred gate, noticing a new detail on a wall, discovering a new angle on a building or just enjoying the change of light and people with the hours of the day. That is, to me, what photography is all about, seeing familiar things in a new way.

 

 

Harbour bus

 

When visiting Copenhagen many people opt to take the sightseeing canal boats to see a bit of the city from the water. For people on a budget the harbour busses might be an option instead. For the normal bus fare you can be sailed from Nordre Toldbod in the north near the Little Mermaid to the newly developed area of Teglholmen in the south, and you can even take along your bicycle or babycarriage. You'll miss the commentary from the onboard guide of the sightseeing boats, though. Well, maybe you won't actually miss it... 

On track

 

The work in the Botanical Garden in Copenhagen seems to be on track, even though you can't really hurry with the growth of the plants. I can't wait seeing this when it's finished.

A cozy town

 

North of Copenhagen is Gilleleje, a little cozy town. Originally a fishing town it's now more a tourist hangout for the summer cottage people that flock here in the summer time. It still got a bit of a fishing industry so expect to met with the ordour of that trade when you visit the harbour.

Why?!?

I must admit that I get more and more annoyed with mindless tagging like this, and I don't understand why it seems to be fun for the youngsters (and not so youngsters) to deface public places like this. If it was genuine graffiti with a message or colours, then I could kind of accept it, but this is just plain ugly and stupid. I guess I'm getting old...

 

A new trend in the making?

 

This is something you don't see very much in Copenhagen, the bride and groom being photographed in a very public space, here at Amalienborg Palace. Usually as far as I know it's kept more private or in a quiet part of a park or somewhere similar. I've seen it done like this in many other countries of Europe, so it might be that these are just trendsetters here.

The Reformation

Just opposite Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady) in Copenhagen is this monument to commemorate the Danish Reformation in 1536. It was made by Danish sculptor Max Andersen (1892-1972) and raised by Copenhagen Commune in 1943.

Almost sundown

 

A favourite motive of mine is silhouettes like this with the sun on its way down and a striking silhouette of a tree, a building or another easily recognizable item in the foreground. This one is from Bogense Cemetery taken with my iPhone and edited in Camera+.

Revitalising the Botanical Garden

Like so many parts of Copenhagen the Botanical Garden is being dug up and revitalised. You can still visit it even though a large part looks like a construction site. And it will be even more of a construction site as the new Natural History Museum will be situated here in a part of the garden by 2017.

Barcelona with an iPhone

Having just spend a week in Barcelona, I've come to appreciate just how convenient the iPhone 4S is when on the move. For the next few days I'll have to use a large amount of time on processing the 5.000 photos taken with my Nikon D300, but the iPhone photos is already out there. With a few minutes of editing every day on the phone using the apps Snapseed and Camera+, photos where ready for publication on Instagram, FB, Picasa and tadaa. The only catch was to get some WiFi but that was not impossible. And why not use the free time on the way back in the plane to make a movie using iMovie on the iPhone as an editor and later upload it to YouTube? This is the result.

The flag is up - the crown prince is home

 

 

The flags over the Royal Palace of Amalienborg in Copenhagen tells whether the Queen or the crown prince is home. This flag shows that the crown prince is home today.

The changing of the guard

 

 

Every day at noon it's time to change the guards at Amalienborg Palace. The Royal Lifeguards march from their barracks in Gothersgade to the palace where they do the change In front of HRH Queen Margrethe II's residence whether she is home or not.

Goslings like Tivoli too

 

Yesterday I showed you a duckling close-up. Today it's a gosling from the Tivoli Gardens. With Tivoli being the most visited tourist attraction in Denmark, this little fella better be used to being in the public eye pretty quickly. He already seemed to enjoy the attention.

A haven in the city

 

 

The garden of the Royal Library is one of the nice little havens in the busy city of Copenhagen. In the little pond you might be lucky to get a nice close up of the ducklings or you can just have a seat on the benches and relax with a good book.

 

Bell

 

 

The back entrance to the garden of the Royal Library is crowned by this bell. I haven't heard it toll yet so I'm not sure about its function.

Yet another mermaid

 

 

Just outside the Royal Library's modern building called the Black Diamond is this small, modern mermaid looking inland. I still like the original better, but this one is nice nonetheless.

For sale

 

 

Further down Frederiksholms Kanal lies this houseboat, a former lighthouse ship painted a very patriotic red and white, this being the colours of the Danish flag Dannebrog. At the moment a struggle between the harbour authorities and the owners of the houseboats are on, as the owners feel they're being forced out of the inner harbour and out to the outer harbours. The authorities on the other hand wants to tidy up inner harbour so it looks nicer for the residents and the tourists.

Canals

 

 

Around the Danish parliament of Christiansborg are canals like this one. Quiet and nice on an early spring morning, they are almost iconic for Copenhagen. Small pleasure boats and larger houseboats mingle with boats from the harbour cruises and old museum boats. This canal is called Frederiksholms Kanal and has Christiansborg on the left and the National Museum on the right.

More art on the green wall

 

As told yesterday the green walls around the metro construction sites in Copenhagen are being decorated with art and photographs. This pic is from the wall at Kongens Nytorv.

 

The green Wall of Copenhagen

 

As told here before the construction of the new metro line in Copenhagen is making its mark around the city. One of the more obvious things is the large, green walls that has been put up around the construction sites. In a bid to make it look a bit better some of the walls will be used as place to show street art, photographic exhibitions or other public stuff. Here it's iconic photographs on Kongens Nytorv. -CL

 

A relaxing spot

 

Another of my favorite spots for relaxing is this one in the middle of the park Frederiksberg Have. With its soothing sound of falling water and relative peace and quiet (when the local kindergartens are not having a nearby picnic) it's perfect for having a light lunch, reading a good book or just sitting and contemplating life.

 

A green city

 

Copenhagen prides itself of being a green city but sometimes the city council seems to take it a bit too far. On my street the green has taken over on the sidewalk in many places like here where the weeds are being measured in meters. I know that the funds for maintenance has been cut, but repairing the damage usually ends up being more expensive than maintaining it.

No service or delayed

These days are not good for the commuters in Copenhagen, as construction works on stations, railway lines and roads make travel around the city more than just a bit difficult. Trains run after a new timetable with fewer trains, closed lines and busses as a substitute, and busses change route and stops pretty arbitrary, so use rejseplanen.dk to plan your travel and expect extra travel time. The photo shows the busiest station in Denmark, Nørreport, that is being renovated while in service most of the time.

 

Step in

 

Another pic from the demolition of Scala in Copenhagen, taken through this half-open door in the only facade still standing. I'm hoping that its replacement will be graced with better fortune than this one. -CL

A new sidewalk

One of the many streets in Copenhagen closed to traffic due to construction work seems close to be opened again. A four lane street, Vester Voldgade running across the central square Rådhuspladsen, has been transformed to a two lane street with a wide sidewalk perfect for café tables or outdoor life. It's still closed down to traffic at the square and will be until construction on the metro finishes in a about 2018.

Tivoli revisited

Long-time readers of this blog knows that a favorite spot of mine to hangout and relax is the Tivoli Gardens, part amusement park and part garden. The amusement park part is great for the children and the young-at-hearts but I must confess that my favorite is the garden part, especially in the daytime before the rush of people. This is from one of the first opening days in the 2012 season, showing the blossoming of the trees at the lake.

 

A green city

A nice thing about Copenhagen is the parks. There's always one within walking distance of wherever you live or work and they are well kept. If I'm supposed to meet late at work and the weather permits, I like to start the day taking a stroll through the park next door to me, Valbyparken. Here a number of small theme gardens and the big Rose Garden gives plenty of nice objects for a few shots with the iPhone. And editing afterwards is easy enough with one of the many apps.

Facade

 

At the old Scala building in Copenhagen only one of the facades are left standing, the rest has been demolished and trucked away. It won't be long before construction of the new buildings on the site will begin. Hopefully it will prosper better than Scala did. - CL

 

Steps to the trash can

Copenhagen tries to get rid of its reputation as a very dirty city by making a campaign to get people to step up to the trash cans and use them. Most of the trash cans in the inner-city now has these foot prints leading to them. By the way, did you know that you can be fined up to 6.000 DKR (800 euros) for littering? And that last year two (2!) people got fined for littering in Copenhagen (but not 6.000 DKR)? -CL

Yet another mermaid

This is the Genetically Modified Little Mermaid and her location is only a few hundred meters from that of her 'older sister' the well-known Copenhagen landmark of The Little Mermaid. Danish professor Bjørn Nørgaard has created a sculpture group called 'The Genetically Modified Paradise'. It takes a humorous look at post-modern society and consists of eight sculptures of which this is the most striking, in my opinion at least. -RS