Getting ready for winter

In Copenhagen you can still see the red squirrel in parks and gardens. At the moment they're busy preparing for winter, making caches of nuts and seeds. Grey squirrels have aaparently been sighted in Denmark but they're not a threat yet.

Ivy on the wall

With all the old buildings in Copenhagen it's no surprise that the ivy has really taken root on some of the walls. And with autumn here the colours of it are fantastic.

Moving soon

The new area for the polar bears, seals and north Atlantic birds will open this winter, and especially for the bears will it be a major improvement. Maybe they already sense the upcoming move as they were very restless yesterday.

Closed for the season

 

The tour boats of Frederiksberg Have has been closed for the season, so if you fancy being rowed around the canals of the park you'll have to wait until the spring. Oh, and summer is officially over as the clocks has been set an hour back this night.

More autumn colours

Another pic from Frederiksberg Have. With the canals you really get colours everywhere, even on an overcast day.

Frederiksberg Have

Another great place to take a stroll in Copenhagen in any season is the park Frederiksberg Have. The park was planned by King Frederik IV alongside the Frederiksberg Palace, and now houses both the remnants of a baroque garden and the characteristics of a romantic garden. There are several lakes, canals and exotic trees and shrubs in the garden, which is very popular, especially in summer.

A season of colours

It shouldn't come as a surprise for readers of this blog that autumn is my favourite season. The colours are plenty and the weather in Denmark changes almost by the minute, with sun like this one minute and drizzle the next. This photo is from the park Kongens Have, with the palace of Rosenborg in the background.

Autumn in Kongens Have

One of the places to be when autumn hits Copenhagen, is the park Kongens Have in the centre of the city. At the moment it's almost an explosion of colours.

Værnedamsvej - a street with a Parisian flair

Værnedamsvej is a small street on the municipal boundary between Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. The street stretches over 190 meters and connects Gammel Kongevej with the junction where Vesterbrogade and Frederiksberg Allé meet. The name comes from Werner Damm (d. 1762), who in the 1730s ran a popular eatery in the street. The street was formerly known for its many butcher shops, but today there is only one. Instead there are many small shops and cafés, and the street currently has a Parisian flair. Here the shops has moved out on the streets for a bit of celebration.

Spot the fool

I've got a few obsessions and being annoyed with foolishness is one of the major ones. So whenever I see something like this...individual...my blood pressure goes right up in the red. A lot of people seem not to care that what they're doing might actually be dangerous to others, and this guy apparently thought that riding a moped at speed through a pedestrian area while chatting on the phone was a brilliant idea. In cases like this, I get very old-fashioned and hope for a bit of Old Testament justice. I couldn't care less if he killed himself, but I bet the rest of humanity would like to keep on living for just a bit longer.

Are we a bit consevative?

We Danes really don't like change, which shows whenever a new building is being built. This one, which replaces the old House of Industry, has been met with more than a bit of criticism even before the old one was closed. Apparently it's too high, there's too much glass, too many crossbeams, it blocks the view from inside Tivoli Gardens and it just doesn't fit the area. Well, to me it's a huge improvement over the advertisement covered Lego-brick that was here before. It's really a total renovation of the old building as the framework was kept and the façade and interior was replaced. It should be finished by summer next year.

Last sunflower

With autumn very much in evidence in Denmark, this was probably my last chance of getting a photo of a sunflower. And one of the last days where this bee could search for more pollen for its honey.

For all seasons

For readers of this blog it's no secret that one of my favourite places in Copenhagen is the Botanical Garden. I go there whenever I'm in the mood for a quiet stroll through a bit of cultivated nature and I'm near the centre of Copenhagen. As the plants and trees change with the seasons there's always something to look at there. Even though this photo is 3 weeks old, the autumn colours are already showing.

A new sign

Copenhagen has become a city where a lot of things are forbidden, so now the signs start to show what you're allowed to do. This one is from the Botanical Garden and after the renovation I've mentioned in an earlier post, it is now allowed to sit on the grass in some places.

How to mark your bicycle

With thousands of bicycles being stolen each year in Copenhagen, many try to make sure their two-wheeler is not among them. You can lock it with multiple locks of the heavy kind, you can use a very old rusty one or you can make sure your bike stand out in the crowd. This one is even easy to find among the hundreds of other bikes at Nørreport Station.

Halloween in Tivoli

 

For the next two weeks you can really get into the Halloween spirit if you visit Tivoli. This has become a tradition in last decade or so, but even if it looks a bit like every year there is something new, like the scary area that opens at night (you have to be at least 12yo to get in) and the fact that it's open for two weeks and not only in the school autumn holiday. So get your fill of pumpkins and cheesy Halloween stuff and just enjoy the atmosphere in the Tivoli Gardens.

Not enough brooms

 

As told yesterday the city council will make an effort to get the streets and parks of Copenhagen cleaned up. Hopefully we will then see a lot more of these ones in the future.

Cleaning the streets

 

Copenhagen of lately has become quite a dirty city, so the city council has decided to keep on pouring a lot more money into keeping the streets and parks clean. What is really needed, in my opinion, is a change of attitude instead. It has become perfectly ok to litter wherever you are, even though there might be a trash can within a few steps of where you are. And before someone cry youngsters, it's not only kids and young people doing it, it's families and old people as well, men and women, rich and poor. Too many people seems to think that the garbage will magically disappear the second it is dropped on the ground. The result is obvious to anyone visiting the city, there seems to be trash lying around everywhere. I've got no easy solutions as a change in attitude is something that'll normally take years to happen.

How to get some warmth in Copenhagen in October

 

One way to get some warmth in Copenhagen in the autumn is visiting the tropical house in the Zoo. Here it's a pleasant 25C every day year round, and you can watch free flying birds and butterflies as an extra bonus.

Old passage with atmosphere

 

The inner city of Copenhagen still has a lot of old buildings like this passage along Regensen, a dormitory from the 17th Century, built by the builder king Christian IV. Unfortunately some people think that this and similar places are perfect for tagging or urinating, so there's certainly an atmosphere, except it's the wrong kind.

And now working Saturdays too

 

The company constructing the new metro city-ring in Copenhagen has just got permission to work on Saturdays, as long as the work isn't too noisy. With the ongoing debate about the high levels of noise from the construction, this won't be the last we hear about that issue. The photo here is from the construction site around the Marble Church (yes, the construction site almost surround the church).

Looking at the Marble Church

 

On the square in front of the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, the equestrian statue of Danish king Frederik V looks towards the church bearing his name, The Frederik Church. The dome of this church, nicknamed the Marble Church for its use of that material, is one of the dominant features of the city's skyline.

A new day

 

When the sunrise look like this, it's actually a joy going to work in the morning.

Autumn colours

 

The colours of autumn are beginning to show in the trees of Copenhagen. This tree is always one of the earliest ones going red in Vigerslevparken.

 

For the homeless

 

In a number of places throughout Copenhagen, small huts like these can be found. They are made for homeless people and others that can't function in a normal social housing area. They are compact units with heat, electricity and water and are offered by the commune for a small rent. This one is placed with about ten others in the outskirts of Valby.

Among canons

 

A camping trip at the moment might not be on the program, but if you like camping in strange places, this might be something for you next summer. In the old fortress of Charlottenlund Fort you can raise your tent right next to some really big guns, but don't worry, they won't go bang all of a sudden. The fortress was made decommissioned right after WWI as was the rest of the defenses around Copenhagen.

 

Sailing to the fort

 

Just outside Copenhagen Harbour is a fortress called Flakfortet, one of three island-fortresses built to defend the harbour against naval attack in the 19th century. To get there you have to sail with this boat which leaves from the end of Nyhavn during the summer months. On the island there's a little harbour and a restaurant.

Sunsets are early

 

With autumn in full swing in Copenhagen, the sunset is happening earlier each day. Today it's going to set at 18:38.

 

On a rainy day

 

With autumn in full swing in Copenhagen rainy and grey days are the norm. This photo is from inside the Valby Station looking out over the tracks and a train leaving.

The Dance in the Mirror

At the new building for the Royal Library, called the Black Diamond, there's not only books. The building is used for a lot of exhibitions and performances, like this photographic exhibition called The Dance in the Mirror.

At the Royal Library

At the Royal Library in Copenhagen next to Parliament is a little nice garden, that only a few people use. So if you have the need for some peace and quiet, this is a nice place.