Time to pack away

 

The Christmas balls in Tivoli will soon be packed away until next year.

 

Hanging on

 

In Denmark it's the last of the Christmas Days today but the Christmas decorations are still hanging on here in Tivoli.

 

Merry Christmas again

Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate it today:-)

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas Eve which in Denmark is the day where we traditionally have our Christmas dinner with family and friends. The menu for tonight in my family is roasted duck with caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, something sweet, something sour and brown sauce. The desert will be rice pudding, called risalamande with hot cherry sauce. And afterwards it's time for coffee and the exchange of presents.

A very merry Christmas to all readers:-)

Taking a ride

The kids are having fun in Tivoli during their Christmas opening. In the background is an friend of yesteryear; the copy of the Russian Vasilij Basilica.

Cause for debate

Last year the Russian Christmas in Tivoli was debated hotly among the regular crowd of the amusement park. It was not Danish enough to many and people threatened never to set a foot there again. This year Tivoli has compromised by keeping the Russian area but also by having a Nordic area. I quite like the Russian area myself, but I guess it's a matter of taste.

Getting Warm

If you need some warmth in Copenhagen these days, one place to go is in Tivoli, where the coal braziers are glowing next in the Christmas market.

Chiming man

An art work has appeared on the central square of Rådhuspladsen in Copenhagen; a figure made of colourful yarn connected to a bell and a peace sign. It's another art work by the street art group Streetheart, made as part of their Christmas Calendar happening with one new surprise each day of December until Christmas Eve. This one is from December 4th and is made by Tejn.

Three Candles

What to do when there's what the Danish news call a blizzard (and the Swedes would call a mild snowfall) hits Copenhagen on a Sunday and you have a craving for some photography? How about some more time lapse photography, this time with three burning Christmas tree candles.

Defrosting Santa

I'm still playing around with my new Nikon D800 camera and I'm still struck by awe. One of the new features in it is the time-lapse function and a few days ago I just had to try it out on something. Into the freezer Santa went and out again the next day, now embedded in a block of ice. The camera went on a tripod with the macro lens, a black background went up and a spotlight was used for the main lighting. But as I didn't want to stand around for hours, waiting for the ice to melt, a hair dryer was very handy. Setting the time-lapse function was easy enough; a photo each 2 seconds and 30 minutes of shooting and off I, or rather the camera went. 30 minutes later the the ice had melted and the video was in the box. A few things I needed to improve the next time; manual focus on Santas face, a wider depth of field and a more solid platform for the tripod (or is it the hair dryer moving Santa a bit?). Not too bad for a first try I think, though.

The second attempt was much better. This time I skipped the hair dryer and went for a natural melting. A photo every 20 seconds for 5 hours and manual focus with an f=12 and the shooting could begin. Well home after work (the shooting started at 6am) I discovered that the battery had run out at some point so that the video was 25 seconds long instead of the planned 30 seconds, but I still got the whole melting. And I like the result! I've got a few more ideas to try out so this is not the last time lapse I'm doing.

Traditional

Some of the Christmas decorations in Copenhagen are actually quite nice, even for someone who gets a bit annoyed with Christmas when the first signs appears in the stores in late October. These bundles of oats are one of those examples.

Work of art

 

Some of the new pavements in Copenhagen is actually almost a work of art in itself. This one is from the harbour front at Strandgade where a new urban park has been constructed. And before you ask, yes, I am trying to ignore the fact that this is the first day of the Christmas month:-)

 

It's Xmas

To most Danes this is the day after as we celebrate on Christmas Eve with a dinner of either roasted duck (my favourite) or roasted pork with caramelized potatoes and all the trimmings. Gifts are given after dinner and then it's time to enjoy a cup of coffee. And Christmas morning is usually a slow one unless a family lunch has to be prepared. Btw this is my sister's very nice version of the duck last year.

Basilica again

The last post from Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen for now is this photo the Basilica with the traditional Christmas decorations as a frame. Despite the more negative voices I've heard about this year's Russian theme, I actually think Tivoli has done a good job of weighing the traditional Danish Christmas with the Russian one. Just because it's new and foreign doesn't mean that it's not good.

It's a Garden

Tivoli in Copenhagen is not called the Tivoli Gardens for nothing. They take pride in having flowers and plants making the amusement park looking pretty no matter what time of the season it is. So expect to find flowers blooming or at least with colours even during the Christmas market. These yellow berries made for some nice colours against the clear blue sky the day I went there, so I had to have a few shots of them.

That's a reindeer

Tivoli even got live reindeer at their Christmas Market. These you can't buy, though, they're only for show. But a great thing to watch for the kids.

Also a market

The Christmas opening at Tivoli was actually started as a Christmas market, and that is still very much the case. A lot of stalls selling all manner of Christmas or winter related stuff, like woollen gloves and fur hats, or stuff to eat or drink. It's probably not the cheapest place in town to buy your Christmas gifts, but I guess they have a lot of passers by that suddenly realize that they really do need that big ceramics Santa for the garden.

A tree of hearts

A tradition that still is on at Tivoli during Christmas is the tree of hearts. Hung with hearts that are lit at night and with three giant hearts made out of crystals beside it, it does make an impact on the visitors.

Getting some warmth

Xmas time is also a cold time in Denmark, so Tivoli has made sure that you can get some warmth into those frozen fingers by putting op these coal braziers around the garden.

Open for business

The rides in Tivoli is open for business during the Russian Christmas Market, but remember to dress warm as it might be a tad cold in the wind.