The bus
21 February 2012 20:00:00
The Germanic languages have the tendency to contract concepts quite a bit. In English one would say "the bus" when using the definite singular form but in Danish bussen means exactly this.
This photo was taken on a recent walk up Vesterbrogade with Christopher. This walk might feature later on this year as part of an upcoming series planned to showcase the diversity of the city. I hope you pop around to have a look at it.
-RS
Gefion
20 February 2012 20:00:00
When you first come to a country, probably as a tourist, you see the beauty of the country superficially. When, however you have a bit more time or spend time living there you get to understand its mythology better.
So it was for me with this statue, that of the goddess Gefion, which is situated near Churchill Square in the Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie.
In Norse mythology is a goddess associated with ploughing the Danish main island of Zealand out of a piece of Sweden which is a lake with a similar size and outline as Zealand. She is also associated with foreknowledge and virginity.
Gefion appears prominently as the allegorical mother of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the forty-page Swedish Romantic poem Gefion, a Poem in Four Cantos by Eleonora Charlotta. It seems to have been the inspiration for the fountain statue by Anders Bundgård.
-RS
Little Mermaid alert!
19 February 2012 20:00:00
Now what would a photo taken towards the eastern side of Nyhavn (known as the "Sunny Side" by locals) have in relation to the world-famous statue in Langelinje?
Well, H.C. Andersen the writer of the tale lived on this side of the harbour for quite a while and, the word on the blue building on the right hand side of the picture Havfruen means The Mermaid in Danish.
Danish Halloween
18 February 2012 20:00:00
One Sunday two years ago I came across swimmers who had cut a hole in the ice in among the boats in Nyhavn.In a country where people take pride in swimming all year round I didn't think much of it. That is, until I saw a small barrel being strung up and the participants hitting at it with a stick!
And so I got to know about Fastelavn, a Nordic tradition similar to Halloween. The day, which always occurs seven weeks before Easter, is sometimes described as the Nordic Halloween as children dress up in costumes and get treats.
What I saw was ‘hitting the cat out of the barrel’ (slå katten af tønden). In old days there was an actual black cat inside the barrel, and beating the barrel was superstitiously considered a safeguard against evil.
Today, the cat has been relaced by oranges and sweets. Other Fastelavn traditions include eating the special Fastelavn bun with cream inside and icing on top, and also making a ‘Fastelavnsris’, a kind of whip made out of twigs that you decorate with paper cats and other things.
-R.S.
The "New" Harbour
17 February 2012 20:00:00
This 17th century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen is one of my favourite places in the city, especially in summer. However, on a sunny winter's day the colours of these beautiful buildings come to life!
Today's word is "Nyhavn" which means New Harbour and makes me smile considering its four hundred years ago that it was called that and the name stuck!
-RS
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