Tour of Denmark

Sunday the bicycle race Tour of Denmark ended with a run-up through the streets of Frederiksberg in Copenhagen. These events in the streets has been on the rise in the last few years and the citizens of Copenhagen are getting more and more used to them and the closed streets and redirected public transport. And the planners are getting better at informing about and planning the events. The speed of the bicycle race did seem to surprise this member of the homeguard's police division, as she had to jump out of the way of the peloton.

Sunrise over Amager

Another photo from my early morning session at Kystagerparken, this time taken with my "real" camera. This one is a bit untraditional, as most people like to have the sun in focus, but why be traditional?

Maybe not for free anymore

 

The day before yesterday I told you that the National Museum of Art has a free admission, but come new year that might not be the case anymore. Due to budget cuts it looks like it's going to cost money again to visit this brilliant museum. A shame really, as there has been a big increase in the number of visitors after the admission became free, especially the number of young visitors has risen sharply. And the price for the free admission per year? A measly 10 million DKR (2 million USD).

 

Looking at the lifeboat

 

At the National Museum of Art this statue is looking at one of the most famous Danish paintings, The Lifeboat is Taken through the Dunes, 1883, by Danish painter Michael Ancher (1849 - 1927). Painted at the artist hangout of Skagen at the northern tip of Jutland, it shows the hard life of the fishermen at that time and place.

 

National Art Museum

Copenhagen weather might not always be suited for outdoor activities and then it's nice to have other options. One of the better ones is the National Art Museum (Statens Museum for Kunst) where you can marvel at art from medieval times to the present. To visit the collections is free but you'll usually have to pay a fee to see one of the special exhibitions like the one about Matisse that is on at the moment.

Copenhagen Art Festival

 

Friday the Copenhagen Art Festival 2012 opened and with a host of events and exhibitions lasting into the autumn, there's going to be something for everyone. Some of the exhibitions will be held in the public space, like this Running Woman in the central park of Kongens Have, and some will be held at the participating art galleries. For more info visit www.cph-artfestival.org.

 

Sunrise over Amager

 

At this time of the year it's possible to get up in time to watch the sunrise and it's still warm enough that it's a pleasure to do so. This one is from one of the little known parks around Copenhagen, Kystagerparken, which lies with a view of western Amager.

Not the founder of Copenhagen

One of the good things about the construction of the metro and all the digging, is that the archaeologists discover a lot of new things about the old Copenhagen. One of the more interesting new discoveries is that this guy, Bishop Absalon, wasn't the founder of Copenhagen. There had been a thriving town with a church, a marketplace and a major estate in around 1000AD, 160 years before King Valdemar gave the town to Absalon, so now the history of Denmark need a bit of rewriting.

One of the paintings at the Galore Urban Art Festival at Toftegårds Plads in Valby was this huge one by Aryz of Spain. Here he is still working on the finishing touches of his artwork.

A boring square?

 

One of the largest squares in Copenhagen, Toftegårds Plads in Valby, looks more like a parking space without the cars than a place to meet or a place where things are happening. A few years ago it was used as a hub for the bus lines, but after that was changed nothing much has happened there. Or rather, there has been the big new redecorating that the square screams for, because a few things are happening there. At winter there's an ice skating rink there and in summer there's a flea market each weekend. And then there's a thing like the Galore Urban Art Festival last weekend. More than 200 Danish and international artists, music, graffiti and other art was the core of the festival.

 

Shop sign

Why do many shops in Copenhagen insist on having the most hideous and garish signs, when it's so easy to get a nice one like this? Maybe they don't realize what kind of message they send with a nice sign (or an ugly one), or maybe they're are afraid of the customers not being able to find them unless the sign can be seen from the moon. In most cases, I think, it's more a case of them not having given the subject any deeper thought.

From living room to boat

Fancy a boat right outside your living room? Then Sluseholmen in Copenhagen might be a good choice as many of the ground floor apartments are right next to the canals.

A modern Venice

As told before the newly developed area of Sluseholmen reminds me of Venice with its canals, bridges and residences on both sides. There's still missing quite a bit in my opinion, as there's not many shops, cafés or restaurants so it is a very quiet area.

Every nook and cranny

In a city like Copenhagen the people seem very adapt at using every nook and cranny to find a place to relax, to reflect, to read a book or just to get some sun. This place under the Metropolis building in the South Harbour District is perfect for all of that.

Red carpet for the swimmers

The red carpet has been laid out at the harbour bath that I told you about yesterday. Hopefully it will be used a lot this weekend.

Time for a dip

As summer seems to hit Copenhagen this weekend with temperatures of up to 30C, this might be one of the more popular places. It's one of the harbour baths in Copenhagen Harbour that have sprung up during the last 5 years or so. Not too many years ago it would have been impossible to swim in the harbour unless you really wanted to catch more than a cold, but recently the water quality has improved so much that it's now perfectly OK to take a dip. This one is placed at Sluseholmen in the South Harbour district with the Metropolis building in the background.

Nice house

 

Many of the houses of Gilleleje are nice ones, like this with its roof of straw, white chalked walls and red gables. In Denmark a lot of money go into maintaining these old houses and if it's a protected house, the owner can get tax reductions for the expense of maintaining it. With the prices for work done by carpenters, plumbers and bricklayers the tax reduction is necessary for many if they're to afford to have a house like this.

Beach

 

One thing people from Copenhagen and elsewhere visit Gilleleje for is the beaches. Nice and sandy with only relatively few stones and boulders it's one of the nicer ones on he north coast of Zealand.

A delicacy

 

One of the delicacies from the island of Bornholm is smoked herrings, but you don't have to visit the sunny island to enjoy them. In Gilleleje is a smokehouse where you can get them almost like the ones on Bornholm, and it's even named after the island.

A gorge to fish from

Near Copenhagen there's quite a lot of small cozy towns and one of them is the town of Gilleleje on the north coast of Zealand. Even though the fishing has changed from a lot of small harbours and small boats to a few large fishing harbours with big boats, Gilleleje still has a small fishing industry. Even the name refers to the fishing as is an old Danish word for a gorge and leje is a place you put your boat in the water.

The Mountain

 

One of my favourite buildings in Ørestaden is this one, the VM Bjerget (Danish for mountain) finished in 2008 by BIG (Bjarke Ingells Group). The building is built like a mountain side with 1/3 of the space given to the apartments and 2/3 to parking space underneath. It won the category of World's Best Residence in 2008 at the World Architecture Fair in Barcelona.

Not always empty

 

The Copenhagen metro is not always as empty as this. There's usually a fair amount of people onboard hence the shift to less seatings and more standing room. These driverless trains are often the fastest way of crossing Copenhagen if one of the only two lines run near you and your destination. As told before the third line, which is under construction, will be a very needed addition to the system when it's ready in 2018.

8tallet

 

8tallet, the figure 8 in Danish, is a residence in the area of Ørestaden in Copenhagen. The building by architect BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) won the award for world's best residence at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona 2011. With a fantastic view over Amager Fælled combined with really nice architecture I guess this wouldn't be the worst place to live in Copenhagen, if you can afford the price.

 

Gift wrapped

 

On the central square of Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen one of the buildings seem almost gift wrapped. It's the French embassy and it's under renovation. Instead of the usual banners with ads or info, the French PR firm Athem has made this very nice banner. Hopefully the renovated facade will be even nicer.

Rosenborg Castle in Kongens Have is a renaissance castle built by King Christian IV, or rather planned, ordered and paid by him, in 1606 as a country summer cottage. Inside is the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia along with the Royal Collection.

A poet

 

In Søndermarken Park in Copenhagen a statue of Danish writer and poet Adam Oehlenschläger look at the Copenhagen Zoo and Frederiksberg Palace, home to the Army Officer School. Adam Oehlenschläger (1779-1850) was the writer that introduced romanticism in Danish litterature and is best known for the poem Guldhornene and the national anthem Der er et yndigt land.

Nyhavn 17

 

If you're invited for a beer at Nyhavn 17 don't expect that you'll be sitting at a nice bar or restaurant. No, this will be a quayside beer, usually bought for cheap in a kiosk in a side street next to Nyhavn 17 and enjoyed while sitting with your feet dangling over the water of the harbour as you watch people stroll by. Pure bliss on a hot summer day.

The Pig

 

Traveling around northern Zealand you might be riding on the Pig as these local trains are called affectionally. The nickname is an old one from the time when the trains were operating on steam; the steam whistle sounded like a squealing pig as it drove through the landscape.

 

A sad sculpture

 
One of my favourite sculptures in Copenhagen is this one, called Death and the Mother by Niels Hansen Jacobsen, 1892. It's placed right outside the oldest building in the inner city, the St Petri Church from the 15th century. The church has been the German church of Copenhagen since being given to the German Lutherans in 1585 by King Frederik 2. Its most prominent internent is Count Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772), German doctor, royal physician to King Christian 7, de facto regent and lover to the queen. His downfall ended with him being beheaded, drawn and quartered.
 

Don't loose your head

 
As told yesterday the Royal Cast Collection's got a lot of casts and very limited space to show them all, hence the shelves with busts. Here you can find Nero and Ceasar, Socrates and Aristotle and many, many more.

Casts are not only for broken limbs

 

The Royal Cast Collection which is a department of the National Museum of Art is a nice little museum if you like classical sculptures. Here is not the originals but a lot of plaster casts and a few replicas in bronze and wood of some of the best known classical works of art. A total of 2.500 casts are on display which doesn't give much room for the visitors. Situated in an old warehouse in Toldbodgade with a fantastic view of the harbour and right next to Amalienborg Palace, it should be crammed with visitors but as it's only open on Sundays (2pm - 5pm) and on Tuesday (10am - 4pm) many tourists with limited time end up elsewhere. The photo was shot out of the windows and show the piece-de-resistance, a bronze copy of Michelangelo's David on the quay and in the background the Norwegian naval training ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl.