Copenhagen Pictures Blog

The Town Hall Clock has stopped

H.T. Ohlsen — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:23:00 +0000

At 12 noon today the Copenhagen Town Hall Clock stopped working. This is now the second time in a couple of weeks that it has gone on strike. The word from the town hall is that the clock is suffering from the wear and tear of the passage of time. Considering its otherwize flawless function since its activation in 1902, that was to be expected. It would seem a good idea, though, for the town hall people responsible for the maintenance of the clock to consider the concept "preventive maintenance"?

Until it is brought back in activity, the Town Hall Square is unusually silent without the usual bell ringing every 15 minutes and on the hour.

Metropols Of The World table settings at Royal Copenhagen

H.T. Ohlsen — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 11:53:00 +0000

Royal Copenhagen at Amagertorv 6 on Strøget have opened their annual table setting display. Every year for 43 years now, Royal Copenhagen has picked a theme and had 6 or 7 artists or notabilities set a table using Royal Copenhagen porcelain and silverware. This year the theme is "Metropols Of The World", and the metropols chosen are New York, Paris, Tokyo, Milan, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Copenhagen.

If you are the least interested in how to set a table or in Royal Copenhagen products, then don't miss this display. The imagination of some of these artists in combination with something often seen as a very mundane task is impressive, and just might inspire you to try some of these ideas out yourself.

It is a mystery why this event isn't mentioned on the Royal Copenhagen website, but at least you can find the opening hours on it so you'll know when to go. Enjoy this unique Copenhagen christmas event.

Tivoli opened for Christmas

H.T. Ohlsen — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:44:00 +0000

Today Tivoli Gardens opens for Christmas, and will stay open until December 30. This is a seasonal must-see in Copenhagen, with a great atmosphere. Many little stalls where you can get "gløgg" (warm spicy red wine with chopped almonds and raisins), christmas cookies and even christmas tree decorations. Be aware that there are usually a lot of copenhageners visiting, with a lot of prams, so you won't exactly have Tivoli to yourself.

The Black Diamond on Copenhagen Pictures

H.T. Ohlsen — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:54:00 +0000

Today the thread Downtown Copenhagen has seen a change. A picture from the inside of the Danish Parliament was removed and a picture of the new part of The Royal Library, Den Sorte Diamant or The Black Diamond, was added instead. It makes sense to include The Black Diamond in the thread on the Town Hall area as it is part of the significant changes that are taking place in the inner harbor in Copenhagen. The inner harbor is more and more a focal point of creative and impressive new architecture, and The Black Diamond is an important part of this development.

The new Copenhagen Opera was added to the Holmen thread previously for the same reason. The New Opera is an amazing building on several levels, and is part of the juvenation of the Copenhagen waterfront with its striking architecture.

Free entrance to state museums beginning in 2006

H.T. Ohlsen — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 09:17:00 +0000

A very positive development for tourists visiting Copenhagen is that as of 2006, entrance to state owned museums is free of charge to their regular collections.

In the Copenhagen area this includes the National Museum and the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Statens Museum for Kunst.

Unfortunately this coincides with the temporary closing of the most popular permanent exhibition at the National Museum, Danish Prehistory, for three years while it is being recreated in a more contemporary style. Today the Danish Prehistory exhibition seems very old-fashioned after being "in production" for more than 30 years. The good news is that the most important and popular pieces from the collection will be back on a temporary display already from May 2006, so you can still get some glimpses of viking age in Denmark while the exhibition is being redesigned.

At the moment, also Statens Museum for Kunst is closing part of its space. The museum is in the process of fireproofing the old building, keeping all activities in the new white marble building. This does not mean that the museum stops its activities - a Rembrandt exhibition will be available from 4 February - 14 May 2006. But as this is not a permanent exhibition, you will be charged an entrance fee.

Welcome to a more easily accessible cultural Copenhagen!

Manchester United-fans in town

H.T. Ohlsen — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 11:27:00 +0000

There are currently some 4000 Manchester United-fans in Copenhagen, for the Manchester United - FC København Champions League game tonight in "Parken". It is not in any way neccessary to tell them to have a lot of fun - they are obviously having a great time! :-)

Copenhagen Airport Facilities

H.T. Ohlsen — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 14:37:00 +0000

Copenhagen Airport Facilities

The Copenhagen Pictures staff is not fanatical about Copenhagen – every now and again trips are made to other destinations to see what they do right. The upside of this is the reaffirmation that Copenhagen is indeed as great as you are being told on Copenhagen Pictures.

This is coming to you from the transit area of Copenhagen Airport, as you find Wireless LAN or WiFI available all over the airport. Unfortunately you are charged DKK 60 an hour for access, and you have the choice between an hour or an hour. In this area The Vienna Airport is leading the way with free WiFi access – hats off to the service mindedness of Vienna.

But the facilities at Copenhagen Airport in general are fantastic – no wonder that the airport is continuously being rated Europe’s best or the World’s best by different media and traveller organizations. Today I noticed a few changes. One is for the transit traveller that never gets to leave the airport. At the entrance to Finger B you now find a somewhat smaller scale model of The Little Mermaid, so you won’t miss her entirely. There were actually people with cameras around it when I passed, so it is being appreciated.

I never get the travel books in time for the trips, and often have to spend time at the destination looking for it. Today I found that the magazine and book store next to Finger B has a large travel literature section – pretty much the entire Lonely Planet Series covering the World for one thing. I’m not as amazed by the collection of English/American language books, but the titles I spotted cover something of interest for most people. I went with the latest John Irving novel.

There are no announcements over loudspeakers at Copenhagen Airport, so you have to look for the large signs showing flights, gates and status every now and then. But the loudspeaker announcements have more or less been replaced by sms or text messages. Next to the flight on the website you find a mobile phone symbol. Click on it and enter your phone number, and answer the confirmation sms with the word “FLY”, and you will receive an sms when changes to the flight status occur – go to gate, boarding and eventual delays come right to your mobile. Way to go, CPH!

Tropical Islands in Denmark

H.T. Ohlsen — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:27:00 +0000

The Danish Meteorological Institute today reports that two Danish islands between Denmark and Sweden, North of Zealand, lived up to the definition of tropical islands yesterday: The temperature didn’t drop below 20 degrees celsius (68 fahrenheit) all day and night. Most of the coastal towns are not far away from this kind of heat either.

The beaches are of course packed, as most Danes are on their Summer vacation, and the incoming tourists are not slow in following the trend. And forget about getting a table in Nyhavn – even standing room is scarce at the moment.

The good news is that this weather is continuing as far ahead as the weather people dare look, but a word of caution: Drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids and put on sunscreen. The UV index published by the Meteorological Institute is close to the level where you need to wear a hat and light clothes as well to be reasonably protected when staying in the coastal regions.

Tivoli Gardens Overcrowded

H.T. Ohlsen — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 19:10:00 +0000

Tivoli Gardens are now asking visitors who have the choice, to please come visit the Tivoli Gardens on weekdays, not during the weekend. There are so many visitors Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday that it may have unfortunate influences on visitors' positive experience.

Tivoli Gardens are winter open until and including December 30th.

Spirit of the Wild photo exhibition on Kongens Nytorv

H.T. Ohlsen — Fri, 12 May 2006 13:41:00 +0000

On May 16th. until August 15th., Kongens Nytorv will have one more attraction - a photo exhibition by Steve Bloom called "Spirit Of The Wild". 100 photos in poster size, taken by Steve Bloom in the last 15 years of wild animals from all over the World. The photos will be available outdoor on the square, and will be lit when it's dark. As the photos are on the square itself, seeing them is free and available to everyone.

This exhibition is the continuation of a similar exhibition on Kongens Nytorv last year, when the French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand's amazing photos of the diversity of the Earth were on display, and were seen by an estimated 700,000 visitors.

Denmark is now a creditor nation

H.T. Ohlsen — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 10:32:00 +0000

This just in - The Danish National Bank has just released a press statement saying that Denmark is now a creditor nation. Denmark now owes less money to other countries than other countries owe Denmrk. This is the first time since World War II. Economically this puts Denmark in a class of countries like Norway and Switzerland.

This is great news for Danes - since the eighties we have been working on getting rid of the foreign dept through a tight economy. It will probably take a few more years before we have consolidated our position, but this is an important milestone in Danish history.

Summertime and new thread ideas?

H.T. Ohlsen — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:49:00 +0000

Today, Denmark - along with all of the European Union - changed to Summertime, moving the time one hour ahead, so we're now at UTC+2 (CEST) rather than UTC+1 (CET).

Looking out the window it seems a bit far fetched, but spring and summer is coming! A link to the list of what ships visit the cruise harbor Langelinje (unfortunately only available in Danish) has been added to the bottom of the Langelinje thread, and I've begun considering the Summer's additions to Copenhagen Pictures. One thing whih will be added is a thread about shopping in Copenhagen and Denmark - I see a lot of requests for this, so sure thing, it's coming.

What content do you think should be added to Copenhagen Pictures? Let us know - click on "Comments" and tell us!

What do you think?

H.T. Ohlsen — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 11:54:00 +0000

One very important reason for this blog to be added to Copenhagen Pictures is to get feedback from you - what do you like about Copenhagen Pictures? What did you possibly look for but not find? Do you think there should be more information about a specific subject?

I'm looking at what people search for when they find their way to Copenhagen Pictures, but that doesn't tell me what searches that might have brought people here, but didn't because I haven't thought about that perspective around Copenhagen, and consequently have no material on it available.

So what do you think? At the bottom right of this entry there is a link, with the text "nn comments" - click on it and share!

Site feed for Copenhagen Pictures Blog

H.T. Ohlsen — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 13:41:00 +0000

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