{"id":4320,"date":"2024-05-22T06:56:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T05:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4320"},"modified":"2024-05-22T07:30:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T06:30:24","slug":"week-17-copenhagen-and-london","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=4320","title":{"rendered":"Week 17: Copenhagen and London"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started the week in Copenhagen, flew home on Monday evening, went to work Tuesday, and flew to London Wednesday morning. So not a single picture from Alicante this week, just Copenhagen and London.<\/p>\n

17_1<\/strong>
\nI arrived in Copenhagen by train from Aarhus early Sunday afternoon, and the first order of business after leaving my things at the hotel was to visit the cemeteries where my parents are buried. At the Vestre Kirkeg\u00c3\u00a5rd cemetery there is a statue commemorating the Danish soldiers who fell when Germany occupied Denmark on 9 April 1940. A small ceremony is held on the site on the anniversary each year, and since I was there less than two weeks later, the flowers and wreaths were still there:
\n\"DSF9499\"<\/p>\n

17_2<\/strong>
\nI pay the cemetery to maintain my mother’s grave, and they do it well, including planting the flowers of the season 3 times a year:
\n\"DSF9502\"<\/p>\n

17_3<\/strong>
\nSpring was in full evidence at the cemetery:
\n\"DSF9503\"<\/p>\n

17_4<\/strong>
\nAfter the visit to the cemetery I went to the centre. My first stop was to look at the sad spectacle of the demolition of what remains of the Stock Exchange building, a 400-year old Copenhagen landmark that burned down earlier in April, an event comparable to the Notre Dame fire in Paris in 2019:
\n\"DSF9539\"<\/p>\n

17_5<\/strong>
\nA steady stream of passers-by comes by to have a look and to record an event in the 800 years of history of Copenhagen:
\n\"DSF9539\"<\/p>\n

17_6<\/strong>
\nA subversive sticker. The fire of the old exchange (it was no longer functioning as the Danish stock exchange, that is in a modern building elsewhere) has sparked a discussion about the part the trading there played in centuries past, when some of the commodities traded were a product of the sugar plantations in the Danish West Indies, making Denmark part of the slavery system in the Americas (until it was abolished in the early 19th century), and a more general discussion of capitalism. So some people on the left were not entirely sorry about seeing the old exchange go up in flames (nobody was hurt in the fire):
\n\"DSF9537\"<\/p>\n

17_7<\/strong>
\nThen I walked on to Nyhavn to have a beer at a bar that I used to go to with my father, yet another way in which I honour his memory when I am in Copenhagen. This guy was playing and singing pretty well, and I gave him a coin:
\n\"DSF9563\"<\/p>\n

17_8<\/strong>
\nThis is the bar where I had my pint, McJoy’s Pub:
\n\"DSF9566\"<\/p>\n

17_9<\/strong>
\nOn Monday morning I decided to go to Langelinie to see the Japanese cherry trees which should be in bloom now. On the way to the park (which also houses the Little Mermaid) I passed Kastellet, a 19th century defensive fortification which was never used in war and now serves as a nice green area:
\n\"DSF9575\"<\/p>\n

17_10<\/strong>
\nI finally reached Langelinie, and sure enough, the cherry trees were in bloom. They were planted in 2005, financed by a wealthy Japanese man who loves Denmark. Today a Japanese culture festival is held here every spring:
\n\"DSF9580\"<\/p>\n

17_11<\/strong>
\nI then took the metro to Christianshavn, a part of Copenhagen located on the adjacent island of Amager (that also houses Copenhagen airport). It is a former working class neighbourhood, now rapidly gentrifying but still retaining a certain feel to it. This is Christianshavn Kanal, architecturally similar to Nyhavn, but with a completely different, more peaceful, feel to it:
\n\"DSF9601\"<\/p>\n

17_12<\/strong>
\nI continued my habit of photographing dogs waiting for their humans outside shops, here outside a supermarket on Christianshavn Torv, the central square of the neighbourhood:
\n\"DSF9596\"<\/p>\n

17_13<\/strong>
\nAmager is connected to the main island Sj\u00c3\u00a6lland with a series of bridges, and a promenade runs along the waterfront. I came across a wine shop under one of those bridges, Langebro:
\n\"DSF9622\"<\/p>\n

17_14<\/strong>
\nCopenhagen has a variety of public transport–buses, commuter trains, the metro, and also water buses like this one:
\n\"DSF9624\"<\/p>\n

17_15<\/strong>
\nI crossed over to the Sj\u00c3\u00a6lland side on this pedestrian bridge, Lille Langebro:
\n\"DSF9629\"<\/p>\n

17_16<\/strong>
\nThe next item on my agenda was the Black Diamond, a modern addition to the Royal Library built in 1999 under considerable controversy, but today an integral part of the waterfront:
\n\"DSF9628\"<\/p>\n

17_17<\/strong>
\nThe old reading room of the Royal Library. Entry is only allowed for users, and photography is not allowed, but such restrictions rarely stop me:
\n\"DSF9652\"<\/p>\n

17_18<\/strong>
\nGrundvig at the Royal Library. An early 19th century priest, writer and educator, he is one of the most important cultural personalities in Denmark’s history, right up there with H.C. Andersen and S\u00c3\u00b8ren Kierkegaard:
\n\"DSF9653\"<\/p>\n

17_19<\/strong>
\nI continued to walk around Central Copenhagen, taking in more signs of spring in this inner courtyard at the old part of the University of Copenhagen campus in the centre (most of the actual teaching takes place in a new campus on Amager):
\n\"DSF9679\"<\/p>\n

17_20<\/strong>
\nA poster on the fence of Copenhagen’s main synagogue, calling for release of Jewish hostages held by Hamas:
\n\"DSF9678\"<\/p>\n

17_21<\/strong>
\nAs I was walking on K\u00c3\u00b8bmagergade, one of the two main pedestrian streets, I suddenly heard music in the distance. The Royal Guards were out on a walkabout, to the delight of locals and tourists alike:
\n\"DSF9670\"<\/p>\n

17_22<\/strong>
\n\"DSF9672\"<\/p>\n

17_23<\/strong>
\nEven the police escort was smiling:
\n\"DSF9673\"<\/p>\n

More photos from Copenhagen can be seen here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

On Monday evening, I flew home to Alicante, and on Wednesday morning I flew to London, my first visit there since 2016, the year of the Brexit vote. A former trainee, Antanina, is now a Lecturer at London Metropolitan University and had invited me to a workshop on illegal IPTV that she organised on Thursday. For me, this was a nice excuse to make my first visit to London since 2016.<\/p>\n

17_24<\/strong>
\nI had chosen to stay in a hotel on Southampton Row, near Holborn, an area I know and like. I had planned to have lunch at a Lebanese restaurant but found it temporarily closed, so instead I went to this traditional pub:
\n\"R000399\"<\/p>\n

17_25<\/strong>
\nAnd I had this most traditional of English dishes:
\n\"R000401\"<\/p>\n

17_26<\/strong>
\nI spent the afternoon visiting Tate Modern. Part of the pleasure is getting there, crossing the river on the Millenium Bridge:
\n\"DSF9707\"<\/p>\n

17_27<\/strong>
\nThe view from Millenium Bridge:
\n\"DSF9710\"<\/p>\n

17_28<\/strong>
\nI saw many interesting works at Tate Modern, including these by a collective called Guerrilla Girls, decrying male dominance of the art world:
\n\"DSF9720\"<\/p>\n

17_29<\/strong>
\n\"DSF9722\"<\/p>\n

17_30<\/strong>
\nWhile having a drink at the caf\u00c3\u00a9 at Tate Modern, I noticed these two women with a delightfully low-key birthday cake:
\n\"DSF9748\"<\/p>\n

17_31<\/strong>
\nI had a brief chat with them and took a close-up of their “cake”:
\n\"DSF9746\"<\/p>\n

17_32<\/strong>
\nThe view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from Tate Modern, a magnificent sight:
\n\"DSF9750\"<\/p>\n

17_33<\/strong>
\nIn the evening, Antanina had invited me a couple of the other participants in Thursday’s workshop for dinner at a Georgian restaurant near her university:
\n\"DSF9794\"<\/p>\n

17_34<\/strong>
\nThe food was delicious, starting with the appetisers:
\n\"DSF9788\"<\/p>\n

17_35<\/strong>
\n\"DSF9789\"<\/p>\n

17_36<\/strong>
\nThis was my favourite, the Georgian version of pierogi, called khinkale<\/em>. They are eaten by hand, using the top as a handle:
\n\"DSF9799\"<\/p>\n

17_37<\/strong>
\nOn Thursday morning, Antanina is getting ready to start the workshop:
\n\"DSF9811\"<\/p>\n

17_38<\/strong>
\nAntanina speaking. I have known her since 2012 and have followed her career since then. It was really nice to see her in this position now:
\n\"DSF9815\"<\/p>\n

17_39<\/strong>
\nI spent Thursday evening in central London, walking from Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square, passing the Athenaeum Club, one of London’s classic “gentlemen’s clubs” (although membership includes both men and women these days). I used to visit it from time to time about 20 years ago, meeting Norman the Headhunter there:
\n\"DSF9828\"<\/p>\n

17_40<\/strong>
\nI went to one of my favourite pubs, The Chandos near St. Martin-in-the-Fields. It was very crowded but I found a spot to enjoy my pint and look at the other customers:
\n\"R000405\"<\/p>\n

17_41<\/strong>
\n\"R000403\"<\/p>\n

17_42<\/strong>
\nBack on Piccadilly Circus, crowded as always:
\n\"DSF9842\"<\/p>\n

17_43<\/strong>
\nMy flight back to Alicante was late Friday afternoon, so I had the morning free. I used it to walk around the neighbourhood, visiting a couple of the squares and parks, including Russell Square, a wonderful little urban oasis:
\n\"DSF9855\"<\/p>\n

17_44<\/strong>
\nThe benches at Russell Square carry memorial plaques like this one:
\n\"DSF9849\"<\/p>\n

17_45<\/strong>
\nHowever, there are also plaques that do not necessarily refer to someone’s death:
\n\"DSF9856\"<\/p>\n

17_46<\/strong>
\nAnd this plaque is truly unique, a wonderful example of English humour:
\n\"DSF9860\"<\/p>\n

17_47<\/strong>
\nLots of squirrels live on Russell Square:
\n\"DSF9868\"<\/p>\n

17_48<\/strong>
\nI spent the next couple of hours at the National Portrait Gallery, visiting a great exhibition of art by Black painters and sculptors. There were several people like this man, drawing amid the visiting crowds:
\n\"DSF9964\"<\/p>\n

17_49<\/strong>
\nI made my way back to the Russell Square Tube station, one of the oldest stations in what is the world’s oldest metro:
\n\"DSF9979\"<\/p>\n

17_50<\/strong>
\nA good reason to use the lift:
\n\"DSF9980\"<\/p>\n

I picked up my luggage from the hotel, took the Tube to Victoria station and made my way to Gatwick for the flight home. A gallery of my visit to London is here<\/a>. I have also set up a separate gallery of the art<\/a> I saw at Tate Modern and at the National Portrait Gallery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I started the week in Copenhagen, flew home on Monday evening, went to work Tuesday, and flew to London Wednesday morning. So not a single picture from Alicante this week, just Copenhagen and London. 17_1 I arrived in Copenhagen by train from Aarhus early Sunday afternoon, and the first order of business after leaving my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4205,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4325,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4320\/revisions\/4325"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}