200 years bombardment of Copenhagen 1807

Copenhagen this weekend 'celebrated' the 200 years of the Second Battle of Copenhagen, (16 August - 5 September 1807). Though unknown to most modern people, because of bigger world events (Napoleon wars), this battle was on of the first terror attack in man's history on civilians with missiles. (For further reading, try Wikipedia). Brussels suffered a similar destiny one hundred years before that.
Denmark at that time was much more powerful than today's 'tiny country'. Which is the reason why the world's most powerful naval nation at that time, Great Britain, saw it as a threat. And the Danish diplomacy might have been rather poor. At the bottom line stands, that almost half of the city was burnt or destroyed during the battle.
All over the city, the historic places were pointed out for tourists. With exhibitions, speeches, markets, koncerts etc. all over the town. As well as reconstructions of the battles, some military camps and life at the front.Copenhagen Cathedral. It's not the that was destroyed in 1807. In fact, the old one had a much higher spire than the new one.
One of them the new cathedral. The old one was totally destroyed in 1807. (See the ancient picture in Wikipedia). A missile hit the tower, without the fire workers being able to disarm it, and the cathedral burnt down to the ground, taking most of the surrounding house with it. The symbolic destruction of the city's proud cathedral during the night between the 4th and the 5th of September meant a mental breakdown for the defenders.
With all respect, that turned into some kind of 'Ground Zero'. Odd, that a nearby church, in fact right across the street, the church of saint Peter, was left unhurt.

Summer's almost gone

Summer 2007 will be remembered as one of the most rainy summers in modern history. Close to the record of 1980. Floodings, storms and only a few days of sun.
One of the signs of summer's ending is the annual motor bike race to Bakken, one of Denmark's most famous amusement parks. Whereas Legoland and Tivoli are for tourists, Bakken is for Danes (and Swedes). And when it closes, as it did the last day of August, ten thousands of motor cyclists drive from the center of Copenhagen to Bakken. A trip of about 15 kilometers.
Tivoli closes one month later. Because it is right in the center of Copenhagen, whereas Bakken is somewhat far away, close to a forest a beach (Bellevue).Motorcyclist pass the station on Nørrebro in Copenhagen on their way to the amusement park Bakken.
And to make it more clear. An international meteorologist institute just put Denmark on the top list of countries that will be affected by changes in the climate. So the weather forecast for Denmark the next 80 years will be: Showers, rains and floodings.

Copenhagen Harbour Festival 2007

The famous British sea hero, Lord Nelson (the one on Trafalger Square in London) considered his battle of Copenhagen as one his three greatest victories. This shows that the tiny little country Denmark 200 years ago had a significant force of sailing ships. That was some centuries ago, the Danish fleet is still large. But the harbour of Copenhagen has lost influence, and is now rather used by cruisers and tourist.
That leaves the old buildings for business and housing. And the once so contaminated water is now so clean, that you can take swim in it without endangering your health. The county of Copenhagen even have life savers and swimming areas.
Once a year, a full weekend, there is a harbour festival. And this year with great weather. For some reason, the weather turned excellent, and all the citizens rushed to the harbour, for swimming and enjoying the sun. Not very many with sun tan.
The picture is from Sunday August 5th. Many activities are going on. Music, theatre, activities with boats, swimming, whatever you can do at the 'sea side'. This might look like something from the countryside. But it is in fact happening just about 5 or 10 minutes from the centre of the city. (Across the bridge in the background).

Bikes in Copenhagen

Copenhagen (capital of Denmark) is trying to make itself the image of a 'green' city. Though hypocracy flourishes, fact is that transportations for work is roughly 1/3 drives their own car (one person in each, of course), 1/3 take train, bus or other collective transportation, and 1/3 their bike. It's also a fact that bikes have their own bike streets, like on the picture.
Actually, it is faster to go by bike to the centre of Copenhagen, as the streets are overcrowded and velocity slow. And you do not have problems parking. And no expenses either. And it is healthier, as people tend to eat too much and too fat. But the trend is not for more bikes. Denmark is a wealthy country, and the trend is rather that families have their second car. So maybe in a few years, there'll be even more cars, less bikes.

Floods?

The weather is always a good subject for conversation. Also in Denmark. Maybe especially here, since it changes all the time. What is more, we've had many changes that worries many. Within only decade there's been about 16 new records for weather. That could mean that the climate is changing. The most visible is that it is getting warmer and more rains.
This summer has been with extreme floodings. Hundreds of families with their houses destroyed by water. But even the usual trip in the park can be a surprise. This pictures shows - not a creek - but what used to be the path around a little lake. The path has now become part of the lake, with about ½ meter of water on it.Changes because of humans and their way of living? Just normal changes of climate as it has always been in the history of Earth? Many theories. Any Dane has her view on it. But noone can tell for sure. Noone doubts though that this is going to last, and that the policy makers has to deal with it.

Vacation time in Denmark

July is the big vacation time in Denmark. Most Danes do have 6 weeks of annual vacations, whereas 3 normally are in the summer time. Though the summer is short and very nice, many people prefer travelling to other countries. That leaves the streets rather deserted, and the beautiful gardens that many Danes use a lot of time on, are left to birds, cats and other animals.This picture shows how a normal Danish outskirt street looks like: The houses surrounded by 'walls' of hedges. Behind those, you'll find neatly gardens. And as you can see, noone in the streets. The ones that are not on vacation, probably will be at work.