Reacting

I like to observe people's reactions to the homeless people in Copenhagen. Some just ignore the misery, others give them a quick glance and almost shameful hurry on, and then there's some that simply can't conceal their curiosity. This mother and her two kids just stopped and stared at the lying figures, before moving on. These sleeping people are a fixture on the City Hall Square as they try to get some warmth from the vents underneath.

Playing to no audience

The street musicians doesn't seem to mind the cold weather as they're on the streets and squares of Copenhagen all year round. This one on the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen) did seem to be struggling to attract an audience, as he sat with his back to the green fence surrounding the metro construction site. At least the sun was out to give him some warmth.

Cleaning up

The first day of the year begged for a thorough cleaning up after the celebrations of the new year. In the centre of Copenhagen tons of garbage needed to be removed so the street cleaners had their work cut out for them. They weren't alone, though, as a group of volunteers from the Nusrat Djahan Mosque in Hvidovre helped from the early hours. Really nice to see that there's still some here who cares about the way the city looks. I hope this spirit of goodwill will spread to the rest of the city as well.

Take the train

 

If you're to tired to move around the inner city of Copenhagen why not take the train? This one is with a guide and will take you on a round trip through the old city starting from Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square). I suspect that it is best to use it in the summer months as Denmark can be a bit chilly at other times.

Restaurant Cold Feet

 

Twenty years ago the favourite street food in Copenhagen was hotdogs from a pølsevogn (Danish for sausage waggon). With a surge of alternative fast food like kebabs and burger joints they're on the decline, but you can still get your fix of pork and bread in many places in the streets of Copenhagen. This one on Rådhuspladsen, City Hall Square, is aptly named Restaurant Cold Feet and is open all year round.

 

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.

Still Digging

As mentioned before the new Metro lines are on their way, so the central square Rådhuspladsen and other squares are not exactly pleasing visually. From this photo was taken in February until now progress has been made though.

Big tables

At the newly held Copenhagen Design Week the city was full of examples of good (and bad) design. On Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square), these two gigantic tables called LACK from IKEA where an example of sustainable design and conscious choice of materials. The LACK table is produced many different places in the world to reduce unnecessary transport, however the first and the largest production sites are situated in Poland.

A fish a day

Last weekend was the Day of the Fish in Copenhagen which is a day where the fishing industry promote their products to the people of the city. With a lot of stalls, free samples, competitions and live music (a band called Tørfisk - Dried Fish) at the City Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen) they did get their message through. This monkfish was the centre of a competition, where you could guess the weight of the beast and win a price.

Save the Elephants

Outside Copenhagen City Hall this elephant stands tall.

Feeding

On Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) in Copenhagen this guy made sure that the pigeons and seagulls didn't go hungry as winter set in.

A law-abiding tricyclist

In the last couple of weeks I've shown you a bunch of photos of bicyclists in Copenhagen, that didn't think the rules of traffic applied to them. Fortunately there's still a lot of law-abiding bicyclists here, so even though all of those photos was taken during a single hour, it was at one of the busiest places in Copenhagen and scores of other bicyclists went by while doing nothing wrong at all. This lady on her tricycle with flowers was one of those last.

For my next posts I'll leave Copenhagen for a while and show you some of the places that I've visited this summer.

Another one

Another young man in Copenhagen on a bicycle that is obviously not built for him. With cell phone in hand and headphones covering the ears, he might have some trouble reacting to the traffic around him.

Not only youngsters

It's not only young people in Copenhagen, that has little respect for the traffic laws. Many elderly ones also seem to think, that the rules don't apply to them.

Find five faults

Can you find five faults on this photo from central Copenhagen? I'll give you a hint, it has to do with behaviour in the traffic.

Busted!

This lady realised that she was caught on camera as she pedalled by me chatting merrily on her phone, not that that made her stop her important conversation. For some, it seems, communicating is more important than life itself.

Texting or driving - that's the question

Another young lady more concentrated on her texting than her bicycle driving in Copenhagen. I pity the pedestrian, who gets in her way here. I know that women pride themselves for their ability to multitask, but this is dangerous!

Mother of the Year?

This mother, caught on camera in Copenhagen, sure shouldn't be elected Mother of the Year, as she obviusly can't be too fond of her children. She drives against the traffic on the sidewalk, crosses the pedestrian crossing and weaves in and out of the pedestrians on the square. If her children takes after her bad traffic habits, as they probably will, their lifespan won't be long, helmet or no helmet!

A lady's bicycle

A lot of the bicyclists in Copenhagen should be avoided at all costs, and this guy seems to be one of them. Driving through a busy pedestrian crossing while on the phone is an accident bound to happen. And then I get a bit suspicious when seeing a guy on a small lady's bicycle; I wonder if he borrowed it from his girlfriend or "borrowed" it from someone else. Maybe this is one of the 79.397 bicycles stolen last year in Denmark.

Watch out for the big yellow thing!

Texting while driving is as dangerous as DUI studies have shown, but apparently this young lady haven't heard or texting is just more important than her life. No wonder there's a lot of bicyclists that are injured in the traffic in Copenhagen.