I never tire of scenes like these from the streets of Copenhagen. The buildings, the bikes, it’s all good.

Posted on July 1st, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: bikes, buildings, copenhagen. Comments: 1

The Ghoul With No Name

I’m in Sweden at the Getaway Rock Festival for the next three days. In my absence I will leave you with three days of “ghost blogging.” This is Ghost, a band with no member names from Sweden. They will also be performing at the Getaway Rock Festival on Friday night, but these photos I took at the Roskilde Festival 2011 in Denmark last week.

Another nameless (and faceless) ghoul

Are you scared yet?

Ghost played on the Odeon Stage at Roskilde. Don’t take all the Satanic garb and lyrics too seriously; the members don’t seem to either as evidenced by their cover of the Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun.” Their songs are very catchy–sort of a cross between Blue Oyster Cult and Mercyful Fate. The audience had a great time and sang along throughout even though they don’t believe in Satan any more than they believe in gods or Santa Claus. At one point, just before Ghost came on stage, the crowd started chanting “Sa-tan sa-tan sa-tan…” before bursting into laughter. Scandinavia can have some fun with the religions of the Dark Ages as they turn all of the churches into museums, restaurants, and art galleries. When will the rest of the world?

Posted on July 1st, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: ghost band sweden, metal, roskilde festival. Comments Off on Ghost

One of the places we didn’t get a chance to visit the first time we were in Copenhagen was Vor Frelser Kirke, a famous church in Christianshavn. Once I had a bike, I made it my first stop.

The Church of Our Saviour is easily recognizable because of its gold, corkscrew spire which has had a continual line of tourists walking up it for 250+ years.

I went up as soon as it opened so there were few around, allowing me to take photos like this overlooking Copenhagen. By the time I was ready to go down, though, I had to wait for dozens of people to come out of the narrow passage before I could descend. There are far more steps to get to the top than I anticipated. The interior of the bell tower (carillon) can be easily viewed as you make your way up the tower. I imagine the sound is deafening if you happen to be going up or down while the bells are ringing.

Posted on June 30th, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: aerial photography, christianshavn, copenhagen. Comments Off on The Church of Our Saviour (Vor Frelser Kirke) in Christianshavn

Three years ago I showed you a similar image of Copenhagen’s famous Little Mermaid. I like how this one came out from the canal tour I took this past Sunday. Who knew mermaids had spines?

This famous statue was sent to China for six months during 2010 (its first trip ever), but now it has returned to the place in Copenhagen’s harbor where it has been resting for nearly 100 years. The move may have been a wise one for long-term tourism interest from the Chinese. I saw far more Chinese people in the airport this time than three years ago.

Posted on June 29th, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: copenhagen, little mermaid. Comments Off on The Little Mermaid

During late June, students graduate from gymnasium (high school), get in these farm trucks, put on sailor-type hats, grab their favorite noise makers (whistles, horns, etc.), get extremely drunk, and drive around Copenhagen (and all of Scandinavia I hear) making as much noise as possible. Pretty much any time of day or night the sounds from these trucks can be heard. The loud parties only last for a few days, but the sailor hats will remain on the new graduates throughout the summer. They wear them with pride.

People honk at the trucks and pedestrians cheer as they pass by making the scene an even louder one.

I have heard that they stop at each of the student’s homes to get food and more booze, but I haven’t actually seen the trucks stop anywhere.

Posted on June 28th, 2011 under Denmark. Tags: copenhagen, people. Comments Off on Studentereksamen season