Balders Plads: A sunny haven

25 May 2014

One of the favorite pastimes for Danes on a beautiful evening like this evening, is to step out of their Apartments to savour the last rays of sunlight at the end of another day. I venture out to Balders Plads, a favorite spot for many, located just around the corner from Nannasgade where I live. I settle for a bench in the direct but slowly waning sun light. Its about 6.45pm. To my right the Baldersgarde Kaffee Bar still has customers. Several are seated outside enjoying the last few hours of the weekend, perhaps plotting between them the following weekend. Closer to my right three young woman are finishing off a bottle of wine, and judging by their mirthful laughter, I imagine that they too are making this day last as long as they can. In front of me slightly to my left, what I imagine to be a father and son, are enjoying a game of table tennis on a permanent outdoor table. I make a mental note that the father is by far the better player of the two, holding back with impressive restraint from smashing the balls that are sent his way time and time again with tempting height. 

Aside from taking in the sun and people around me, I'm reading Strings Attached: One Tough Teacher and the Art of Perfection by Joanne Lipman and Melanie Kupchyhnsky. The book recounts the experiences of the authors (both musicians in their own right) under the bellowing voice and unwavering baton of Mr K (Melanie's father), who over many years coaches countless students and orchestras to perform at their best. Its a story of incredible resilience and tough love, and is a 'must read' for anyone who has ever been inspired by another person, whether in music or otherwise. There are many magic moments in these pages.  

As I'm reading, sun hitting the pages on my left, I squint upward to the right and take in the age of the building (Anno 1901) and note the balconies that serve as airborne gardens stretching out over Balders Plads. Casually the sun fades ever so slowly behind one of the buildings and I imagine it to be close to 7.30pm. A glorious evening gives way to the thought of a workshop tomorrow and I too leave Balders Plads to prepare, like the sun, for another day.

The Copenhagen Mermaid

25 May 2014

After nearly 6 weeks here in Copenhagen, today I cycled down to Langelinje promenade to visit The Little Mermaid, the famous 100 year old unimposing 1.25m bronze Copenhagen icon, whose name was inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale by the same name.

Unfortunately, over the years the Little Mermaid has not been immune to acts of vandalism including decapitation, having an arm sawn off and, having paint poured over her. I read that these acts are occasionally carried out in the name of political activism, an action I find difficult to comprehend whatever the issue of concern. Today, all that disturbed her peace were the countless tourists who clambered the rocks to be photographed as close to her as possible.

A Day Trip to Sweden: The historical University town of Lund

24th May 2014

The transport sagas continue! I bought a ticket online on Friday to take a Swedish SJ train to Lund, about 50 minutes away from Copenhagen over the bridge in to Sweden. The ticket was quite a bit cheaper than the equivalent Danish train for the same journey (DKR 150 for myself only), was non-refundable, and, it was an express train. A contact in Sweden said that tickets for bikes are purchased from a machine at the Station. So, all good! Well no, I get to the train station with plenty of time to spare on Saturday only to be told that bikes can't be taken on Swedish SJ Snabbtag (Express) trains!!! I didn't want to risk leaving the GT in front of the train station all day and so I bought another ticket for 343DKR (which included a ticket for the GT). Hmmm...an interesting start to the day!!!

The weather forecast predicted a few showers and so I was well prepared with a backpack full of clothes just in case.

Image:footage.shutterstock.com

The train departed (0831) on time, the journey itself being relatively uneventful, apart from the rain that is, which had started to come down while crossing the Øresund Strait over the nearly 8km Øresund Bridge, the longest road-rail Bridge in Europe separating Denmark from Sweden.

Image: Ecobuddhism.org

  


A combination of condensation on the windows and the rain outside hampered viewing of the Middelgrunden wind farm, built in 2000 and comprising 20 wind turbines that between them generate 40MW of power, about 4% of the total energy needs of Copenhagen.

As is usual on these trips, first things first, and a coffee was in order before venturing out to see what Lund had to offer this day tripper. Though the rain had stopped, the wind was still strong and quite chilly for this time of the year. Maybe, this chill is normal - It is Scandinavia after all! My attention was drawn to a cafe along a cobbled street that had a youthful-looking German Shepherd sitting attentively with a young couple, who like me were also out for a coffee.  It transpires that this 9 month old dog called Ipsilon (an identifier more than a name!) was bred by the Swedish military and was about to be examined over the coming weeks as to his suitability for military service. 

Having had my fill of coffee and a tea cake I cycled around a little to get a feel for Lund, with its ornate cobbled streets and historical buildings. It's not surprising to learn too that Lund is the second oldest town in Sweden dating back to around 990AD. The Cathedral, one of the main attractions on offer, dates between 1090 - 1145 and site of the old University, another must see, dates back to 1425. The University in its current form is a little more uo to date, with a history stretching only as far back as 1666. Talking of the University, I didn't spend any time at the site of the current University buildings but the old ones were certainly worth viewing. 

This photo more than one of my friends will appreciate, is the site of the Institute of Philosophy where perhaps noted philosophers such as Samuel Pufendorf known for his natural law theories might have been seen. 

The main University building (seen below), more reminiscent of a Grand Palace than a University building, was not built until toward the latter part of the 19th Century. It was inaugurated in 1882 by King Oscar 11. 

Calendar: C. 1380

Having walked the grounds and tree-dense park of the old University, I made my way to the Lutheran Cathedral located only a short distance away on the other side of the park. Construction on the current Cathedral was completed in about 1145 though a Cathedral existed pre 1085 in Lund, perhaps even on the same site

Of particular interest (for me) in the Cathedral was the Astrological clock calendar dating back to about 1380.  The detail that can be seen in the clock is amazing. 

Patrick Andersson Antikvariat

Following a quick snack lunch I walked along Gråbrödersgatan browsing in the numerous Antikvariat book stores, including Patrick Andersson's and Anders Olsson's next door. Of course, I didn't leave empty-handed having settled on a copy in German from Patrick's shop of August Stringberg's early 20th Century classic 'Kloster/Einsam', two auto-biographical novels written in Stringberg's later years prior to his death in 1912. 
The afternoon was drawing on, surprise surprise, and, if I wanted to head out of town to explore some of the surrounding countryside I knew I'd need to get my skates on - ell, get on my bike anyway. The weather, which by this time was alternating between threatening and clear, remained dry allowing me a couple of dry hours in the saddle. Sadly, no mountain bike trails could be found, although I did find myself venturing down a bridle way and in to the oncoming traffic comprising several horses and riders! We exchanged pleasantries, each keeping some distance between horse and bike. On returning to Lund, there was just about enough time for a coffee to round off the day before catching the train back to Copenhagen.

Winnie Bugge Frandsen: Traversfloejte

22 May 2014: Debut Concert

Tonight's Baroque concert was held in Holmens Kirke (Church) located on Holmens Kanal 21, Copenhagen. 




The church itself was first established as an anchor forge in 1563 before being converted to the beautiful church it is today. The audience were treated to a range of baroque pieces ranging from J. S., Bach (1650 - 1685) to Diego Ortiz (1510 - 1570) to Francisco de la Torre (1469 - 1518). 

The arrangements also included instrumental accompaniment in the form of Barokcello (Helene Jerg) and Lute (Dohyo Sol). The evening culminated with J. S. Bach's Orchestra Suite nr 2 in h-mol BWV 1067.

John Mills: Legendary Classical Guitarist visits Copenhagen

19 May 2014 - Det Koniglige Danske Musikkonservatorium (The Royal Danish Academy of Music)


This afternoon, legendary classical guitarist John Mills (UK) proved that he's still got the strings under his control, rewarding a small audience of less than 100 people to a diverse range of pieces by Alexandre Tansman (6 pieces in Modo Polonico), Hans Haug (Preludio and Alba), F. Moreno Torroba (Suite Castellano), Joaquin Turina (Sevillana (Fantasia), Manuel Ponce (Sonata Mexicana), Annette Kruisbrink (Homeaje a Andres Segovia), Isaac Albeniz (Capricho Catalan), Enrique Granados (Spanish dance in G dur) and, rounding off with Bach (Suite No 3) as an encore. It must be close to 40 years since I first saw John Mills perform at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (if my memory serves me correctly). Amazing, still going strong and still seemingly getting so much enjoyment from sharing his incredible talent with the audience. He commenced his visit Friday evening with a public lecture, followed this up with a Masterclass on Saturday, and rounded off both his short sejourn and my weekend with today's beautiful performance. Tak John.

Roskilde: A day trip with a couple of surprises!

17 May 2014

Have you ever had one of those days when you planned to do something, set out to do it, only to find that the plan changes? You have - Yep, me too! In fact, today was one of those days. I set out at around 8.30am intending to travel to Odense, the birth place of Hans Christian Anderson. Odense is about 1 1/4 Hrs away by train. So, how come I didn't make it? Well, I just couldn't bring myself to pay the nearly $200 for a train ticket for a 1 1/4 hour trip!! I mean, only the week before last I paid just over half that for a flight to Switzerland! But, that's a topic for another day.

To my right at the Copenhagen train station ticket office, was a sign indicating that a train was leaving for Roskilde in 10 minutes. At some stage I wanted to visit Roskilde Viking museum with its Viking ship exhibition, and so, that was settled. Having bought my ticket (140 DKR + 26 DKR for GT 3!) I rushed down to platform 7. Phew - Just in time! It was pretty much standing room only in the bike coach of the train, with prams and bikes crammed in together as Copenhageners ventured out to enjoy the second day of sun in over a week. 

After a feed at Cafe Vivaldi and a visit to the tourist information centre, I headed for Roskilde Domkirke (Cathedral), a UNESCO World Heritage protected building with a history dating back over 1000 years. 

Originally this Cathedral started out life as a wooden Church built by the Viking King of Denmark and Norway, Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (Haraldr blátǫnn Gormsson) in the 10th Century. With the discovery of brick pressing, a technique learnt in France, it not long after (around mid 1100 AD) became the first Gothic church to be built using brick in Scandinavia.

   

Roskilde Domkirke is also renowned as the burial site of many Danish Monarchy over the last 600 years with new Chapels being added to to the structure to accommodate an increasing number.

Inside everything looks quite modern and definitely well-cared for. In fact, even while I was there the floors were being polished in the main Knave area. 

  Aside from the many amazing exhibits to see inside the Cathedral and its 1st floor museum, another feature of the visit was seeing a bloke wearing a Fremantle Dockers shirt in the Frederick IX Chapel. We exchanged G'Days, had a bit of a yarn and continued our separate ways. For those of you not in the know, The Dockers are the local footy team in the town in which I live back in Australia. 
OK, so before I digress to footy (not that I know much about it), from the Cathedral I made my way down to Roskilde Harbour to visit the Viking maritime museum, the site of the restoration of five Viking ships that during their lifetime were used in a nearby Fjord Channel as a blockade to protect Roskilde, the then capital of Denmark in the early 12th Century, from any marauding army.

Having fallen asleep during one of the film shows inside the museum, it was time to head out of Roskilde along the coastline. With glorious skies, about 6km West of Roskilde I stumbled upon a 12km mountain bike trail (totally unexpectedly - honest) at Boserup Skov. 

 
Of course, like Hareskov, it was likewise very boggy after the recent rains and so the ride was very reminiscent of yesterdays, that is, muddy muddy muddy. Have I mentioned that it was muddy? That said, it was nonetheless a very enjoyable ride comprising of mostly twisting and turning single track, a couple of up and downhill sections, and as expected, lots of roots. 

 
 


I completed the trail at a small cafe at Roskilde Friskole i Boserup where I gorged on not one, but two pieces of pie washed down with a luke-warm coffee :-)
 



 
Having filled my water bottle, I then continued on a loop ride south-west of the Fjord through some quite attractive countryside to the historic villages of Kattinge, Herslev and alongside Bognaes Fjord (my name for it). The ride around this area reminded me of a ride I once enjoyed in France many years ago through sunflower fields.
 

Probably one of the most attractive vistas was this one (left) looking out over the south side of Bognaes Fjord, before making my way back to Roskilde to catch the train to Copenhagen and the final 4km ride from the Station to Norrebro. All up, I probably did somewhere in the region of 50km today. A shame I forget my Garmin GPS to trace the Boserup Skov trail ride. As I said, it was totally unexpected. Now I know, never leave home without your Garmin!!

Hareskov bog!

16 May 2014

Yay, another ride out on the trail this afternoon. It has rained for the last 8 days and so I was expecting to find the trail a little soggy. I wasn't disappointed! It was like riding through a bog most of the way. As you can see, one of the dips turned out to be deeper than I'd anticipated and, yep I got stuck. 

  Most of the time I was able to keep it in a low gear and just keep the pedals turning and get through most of the mud and boggy stuff - but not all :-) Talking of pedals, I put my SPD's on for today's ride. After having fallen in the soup a couple of times when I needed to release my feet off the cleats quicker than I was able, I loosened the spring screw on the pedals and that did the trick. 


Toward the latter part of the ride on the trail - the last 7-8km I'd say, I'd given up gingerly trying to negotiate the mud and just haired through anything in the way - except two trees of course which had separately come down on the trail and these I had to climb over. Apart from that, it was a fun ride and rounded off at MTB Tours (shop) in Hareskov with a coffee and a chat with Kasper and the other blokes.  Every time I go to the shop too, there's somebody else there with a fat bike - that's a bike with 4 inch plus tyres. They must be popular here although I don't know where they'd ride them. I can't imagine riding one through today's trail - but then I've not ridden one - yet! - so I wouldn't know. This pic isn't THE bike but it's the same as.

The ride home from the shop I did in record time clocking just under 29 minutes, averaging 26kmh and maxing at 43Kmh - no, not a downhill, just doing a 'Tim' and catching a couple of roadies in front of me! Managed to better 11 PR's too on segments from the shop to home (Strava talk for my MTB buddies). A great way to start the weekend.

Copenhagen: Cycling capital city of the world

11 May 2014

Originally I called this page 'Mountain Biking'. But then I got to thinking that in this cycling capital city in the world, there will be many two-wheeled stories to tell in text and picturees. And so, I changed it to 'cycling'. Everybody cycles here - what are you waiting for?

Jaegersbrogarde, Norrebro

City bike parking!

When was it Dad you were in the Tour De France?

GT Force 3 resting!

Black Diamond: Contemporary dance at The Royal Danish Theatre

11 May 2014 (A thundery looking Sunday afternoon spent at the grand old Danish Theatre, Kongens Nytorv)

The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen dating back to 1748 has seen many visitors over the years including Søren Kierkegaard who visited to hear Mozart's Don Juan.  Today, yours truly graces the seats for the first time for a performance of Tim Rushton's Black Diamond.

In the middle of the stage stands a guardian dressed in a long black jacket. Silver dust is raining down from the sky. To the minimalistic and unsettling tones of Philip Glass, the man waits for the silvery dust to settle - and then the performance starts.” 

 – Tim Rushton (Concept and Choreography)

My first contemporary dance performance in a long time. Breathtaking in every respect with tempo changes altering the mood of both dancer and audience. Sections in both of the two Acts had the audience literally on the edge of their seats, others, nodding to a melancholy slumber only to be brought back moments later.  Visually and audibly stunning in every way. Sensational!

See a preview and more here.

Underwood Ink - Kerouac's book cafe of choice, had he visited Copenhagen!

What an interesting place this Bohemian Book Cafe is, and just what I needed today to take my mind of an increasingly painful tooth!! 
 

Check out their web site here

I like the brand logo too which in my humble opinion truly depicts the kind of place it is - What do you think? What isn't apparent of course is the Chopin playing in the background, adding a classical touch to the place. Underwood Ink opens until about 2am most nights and, I can just imagine what the ambiance will be like with poetry readings and the occasional impromptu musician passing through!

I chatted with both Iluka and Thomas (who were working behind the bar) about all sorts of things from research, happiness in Denmark, environmentalism, Thomas producing a documentary exploring why the Danes are the happiest people in the world (my suggestion - I wonder if he will!!), classical music (Iluka plays piano), books and more.

 
 




Just behind where I was sitting at the bar, the owner, in true relaxed style was enjoying a game of chess with his mate over breakfast.

As I was taking this photo (left) I was thinking how wonderful it would be to set up this kind of a place in South Terrace, Fremantle - Probably just the right sort of 'arty' crowd!
 

Talking of art, I couldn't help but notice the interesting picture located in front of where I was sitting (Right).

Anyway, after 3.5 hours, two delicious coffees prepared to room temperature to accommodate my painful tooth, an ample helping of scrambled eggs, a peruse of the eclectic mix of books  from Hrabal to Dostoyevsky on the shelves, as well as a copy of VisAvis (Voices on Asylum and Migration), I bade Tak to everyone present promising to be back another day. I'm looking forward to it and hopefully without the painful tooth (I mean, still with the tooth but without the pain!!).

Soeren Kierkegaard

6 May 2014

Soren Kierkegaard: Born 5th May 1813, 201 years ago today!! Well, not today today, but rather, the day I took this picture.

Kierkegaard family - Norrebro cemetry, Jagvej, KBH

He's somewhat of a figurehead here, and why wouldn't he be, a son of Copenhagen.

People understand me so little that they do not even understand when I complain of being misunderstood.

Søren Kierkegaard, Journals Feb. 1836.

 David F. Swenson wrote the following about Kierkegaard's journals and mode of authorship in 1937:

"Rarely has an authorship had a more inward motivation than Kierkegaard’s. He gives the impression of writing as a bird sings its song, or the flower spreads its fragrance. He permitted intentionally the undermining of his own personal authority and prestige among his contemporaries, in order that his thought might speak for itself. He spent money freely for the privilege of writing and publishing in Denmark its greatest prose literature; and it was a sore difficulty under which he labored in later years, when the springs of productivity flowed as strongly as ever, to be compelled to dam the stream because of increasing financial straits, and to confine himself to his diaries; which did indeed intensify his always vigorous self-reflection. At his death his patrimony was completely exhausted , barely enough remaining to defray the expense of the funeral. It was his father’s financial resources that had underwritten the authorship, and Kierkegaard had on the whole earned no money; he was thus not a “practical” man of “serious” purpose". 

Lectures on the Religious Thought of Soren Kierkegaard, given at Princeton Theological Seminary in March, 1936, on the Stone Foundation by Eduard Geismar, Introduction by David F. Swenson, Augsburg Publishing House.

Kierkegaard died on 11 November 1855 at the early age of 42.

Copenhagen's Harbour

11 May 2014 - Down at the Harbour

Copenhagen's music scene

What a great place to enjoy budding musicians from all corners of the globe. Copenhagen offers regular almost nightly concerts from students of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. In fact, last week I was invited to a concert in which four cellists gave performances of Max Bruch, Eduard Lalo, Tchaikovsky and Bach. 

The concert itself was held in a beautiful and very fitting location called Admiral Gjeddes Gaard.

Among the four players, was Josefine, the sister of a mountain biker I met the weekend before last while helping build a trail in a forest about 20km north of Copenhagen. So, back to the concert - all the performers were amazing and posses obvious incredible talent. Josefine's parents introduced themselves to me before the concert, and then after the concert I also met Bjarke, her boyfriend, who is an accordian player. They've invited me to their house later in the month for coffee, to play the Shakuhachi, and perhaps even a duet with the mother who is a harpist and composer of considerable talent. Sometimes Shakuhachi is played ensemble with a Japanese harp (Koto). Probably quite different, but a lovely idea :–)

Here’s a piece played by the mother:

And, here’s an example of Shakuhachi and Japanese harp:

With all the music on offer in Copenhagen, I'm sure that I'll quickly be able to quickly extend this section.

Book cafes in Copenhagen

I've been looking around - surprise surprise - for a couple of books in particular to gift to people here, and thus far drawn a blank. However, the process of searching has led me to several interesting book shops and book cafes.

9th May 2014 (My Birthday!)

Here we go, coming back from the dentists this morning (but that's another story), I stopped in at Tranquebar Book cafe, a place I've heard so much about. First impression, yummm, what a beautiful smell of coffee. Unfortunately though, yours truly couldn't drink coffee - tooth too sensitive to heat - Bummer!!!! Apart from that, the centralised cafe service area also had other goodies on offer such as exotic teas from around the world, various juices, water (my choice!), and cakes. OK, it's possible I admit that I might have tried a strawberry slice! The travel books were immediately locateable and arranged geographically by region (Africa, Latin America, Europe etc). I was drawn to the Asian area and found some interesting-looking books on Japan. Nothing purchased though - Honest! Some will no doubt find that hard to believe, though I did keep telling myself that "it's your birthday you may treat yourself to a handful of books". Anyway, I didn't. But, I did enjoy browsing around the various sections and also admiring the many arts and craft items from Latin America and Africa for sale.

Recommended by Thomas E. Kennedy, A Shout from Copenhagen

Thomas said: "Tranquebar Book Café (on Borgergade – just across the street from the Torture Rehabilitation Center) is a sprawling place named for the only colony Denmark ever had in India and modeled after the travel bookshop in the film “Notting Hill,” though this one is considerably more elegant and roomy. Its stock includes not only travel books but the literature of the countries you are considering traveling to as well as products from those countries – textiles, objets d’art, knickknacks, beer and wine! You can sit in one of its many chairs sipping a glass of red wine and reading for hours, undisturbed."

The bookcafé, specializing in travel literature, takes its name from Tanquebar, on the Coromandel Coast in the Bay of Begnal; it was an old Danish colony and trade place in the South Indian state Tamil Nadu.

The art of traveling requires nothing more than a good comfortable chair, a pile of books about your chosen destination - its history, art, architecture and nature - a couple of biographies, a novel and perhaps a language dictionary or glossary. And then you're off. If your finances, time and significant other allow, naturally you can do the whole thing, buy a ticket to a distant place, find guides and travel books in Tanquebar's shelves and take off out in the blue. The bookstore stocks all sorts of travel guides: from the traditional ones to the newer ones, from books about architecture, art, nature to books about business and politics from all the world's destinations.

First weekend at Hareskov

20 April 2014
Of course I'm not alone in Denmark.........GT Force 3 arrived with me on 13th April 2014 at CPH airport with barely a scratch.

I had to seek out a little help though putting the disc rotor on the front as well as brake assembly together. But once done there was no holding us back and the first weekend we took the train to Hareskov 13km north of Copenhagen. 

On the train I met Kasper who it turns out runs the local bike shop and manages the trail building in the local forests. What a small world because not a few days before I'd contacted the trail builders via their web site and offered my help. 

Anyway, Kasper showed me where the shop was and extended some excellent Danish hospitality with free coffee and a place to change, and wash my bike after having covered some really wet and boggy terrain on my first venture on to Denmark's trails.

A great bunch of folks and I'm sure I'll be seeing much more of them in the coming weeks.

Trail building at Rudeskov

27th April 2014

Today was the big trail building day out in Rudeskov about 18km north of where I live in Norrebro. By the way, Rudeskov (skov = forest), at least the Rude bit, is pronounced nothing like it looks.

It's somewhere between the French 'Rue' and German 'Ruh' but with a more silent 'R'!! Just when I think I get it right people say 'Va' - What!!! Oh well, I'll keep trying drawing on all that language training.

 So back to the trail building. Well, the idea was to build two table top jumps about 1.5 km in to the forest. Easy except, tonnes of rubble needed moving from the road side and, the trail cleared to get the rubble out to the jump site.

So, the order of the day was, work a bit, talk bikes, work a bit more, talk more bikes then lunch while talking bikes.

Then, work a bit and talk bikes and so on...you get the drift...until the jumps were finished and Kasper and others, myself included could try them out.......

Welcome

Welcome dear reader to my first blog. It's taken a little time to get around to starting one, but now that I have, I'm hoping to share in this space some of the mainly non-work highlights of my 2014 Sabbatical in Europe. 

So, here goes...........Just click on any pages that interest to you, whether mountain biking, music, coffee & books, environment or perhaps even philosophical musings!!

Note too that you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

I hope you enjoy the blog as it unfolds this year and of course I look forward to catching up with you somewhere in the world.

Dave
7th May2014