Metro in Copenhagen

Recently a new part of the Copenhagen metro opened.

This is the Frederiksberg station.

The light is coming in....

A bit north of Copenhagen in Lyngby is the Frilands Museet. An open air museum with a collection of  historic buildings from the countryside. Walking in and out of these houses and farms, the overall impression is: These houses were dark inside. In the daytime the small windows let in just enough light to eat or write or work near the windows. The summers were OK, but the winters must have been very dark times.

The past staring you in the face....

Walking in Copenhagen along the harbor you are bound to pass theSkuespil Huset (across the Opera). Like the Black Diamond the facade that faces the water is mainly glass. This time there were people staring at passers by from the inside..... More or less strange figures, emerging like ghosts out of their Dickensian surroundings. 

An alienating experience. Like by looking into a window we can see not only what is behind us, but also into the past.

 

The freetown on the ramparts

Christiania "the Freetown" in Copenhagen (Denmark) is amply described on the Internet. In 1989 a special "Christiania Law" regulated its unique status.

Where everywhere in Denmark you see the red flag with the white cross, here in Christiania they have their own flag: Three yellow dots on red.

To most of the people it is known as a free place where it is more or less easy the get (soft) drugs. Maybe there are darker sides to this place, but it is also about, playfulness, being "green" and close to the earth and keeping this safe for the children. A space to live in a different way.

While walking along the ramparts of Christianshavn you see amazing buildings, colorful structures and creations, lots of flowers. Look at the pictures and see for your self.

2014

2010

2014

2010

I loved these next two colorful scenes, but I didn't find them this year. Both pictures were taken in 2010.

A toilet!

And yes, it is a carfree zone!

A tropical greenhouse....

The Botanisk Have - the botanical garden in Copenhagen (Denmark) has an excellent Victorian tropical greenhouse. 

In winter, when you want to warm up a bit while walking through the city, it is very nice to visit this greenhouse.
For all the information on this botanical garden, for instance on the history, see: botanical garden in Copenhagen  see also: Botanisk Have (in English and Danish)

Winding cast iron staircases lead you up and down (one way traffic) to and from the gallery high up. It is a bit challenging when you are afraid of heights, but it feels good to walk "through" the tree tops. The lens of the camera gets a bit foggy making the pictures a bit mysterious. 

The gallery

Condensation on the lens - the misty jungle

Down again into "the forest"

This Victorian Greenhouse is of course the right place to see the fantastic Victoria Regia's. I never forget to visit them, but the last time I was there they were gone... Just an empty pond where they used to be. Maybe they come back, but I still had some earlier pictures. The most wonderful leaves I have ever seen.

Amazing bridges

Bridges are fascinating. In Holland we have all kinds of bridges. Beautiful small old bridges over canals…. When the sun gets low in the evening the light might even come under a bridge.

The bridges of Paris are famous… Like the Pont Neuf (nothing new there, it is the oldest bridge of Paris – 1578-1604). 

And the elaborate Pont Alexandre III (Art Nouveau style – build for the World Exhibition in 1900).

Now the smaller bridges are  easy to catch on camera, but larger bridges are more difficult. The famous Charles Bridge of Prague took two shots…. 

The same with the bridge in Rotterdam.

Look at the little elegant Tango dancing sister in Buenos Aires… The Puente de la Mujer.

For taking a picture of an extremely large bride I need luck. In Turkey I tried to take a picture of the famous bridge over the Bosporus. On the boat trip it was raining. When driving over, there was a truck in front of us…..

In most cases it is forbidden to walk on large bridges. You cannot park a car near enough anyway. I remember trying to take a picture sitting in the back of a car while driving over one of the large bridges in Denmark years ago. When I saw the pictures I wondered about the lines… I hadn’t realized there was the heating in the rear window.

Flying over the Bridges in Denmark in freezing weather was a great opportunity.

Finally a portrait of two glorious bridges in full length.

This is the bridge in Denmark between the islands of Fünen and Sealand....

And this is the masterpiece between Denmark and Sweden over the Öresund. 

 Yes I was very lucky!

Bridge in Rotterdam