The Copenhagen Report

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Another night of insanity Saturday night in Nørrbebro...
2008-02-17 20:33:00
Or not. To follow up the last post, this was the scene in the heart of Nørrebro last evening. The same place that continues to take a whacking in the media owing to all the so-called rioting, protesting and such.On the ice rink at Blågårds Plads last night as I cycled by, I was attracted by the sound of reggae music, and the sight of families and children skating and playing on the ice. A DJ was playing at a small stage set up on one end of the rink, and bright spotlights illuminated the ice. It was a great atmosphere.Of course, this was a stark contrast to the portrayal of an unsafe area of the city, out of control and in the grip of violent and out of control gangs and 'rioters' and the like.Unsafe? Dangerous? Yeah, if you slip on the ice and manage to crack your head open, perhaps.Don't believe a word about Nørrebro being out of control these past few days - anyone talking such talk is talking from their ass. Nothing more, nothing less (as I mentioned in the previous post).Cen...
More About: Night , Saturday , Insanity

Suckered-punched in the mouth by south Jutland marketing...and crappy super
2008-02-14 08:18:00
...not quite the like the apple pie mom used to makeFor those with a serious sweet tooth, Denmark is not a bad choice. And I'm the first to acknowledge that I have such a sweet tooth - it's no secret.Whereas many a newcomer to Denmark, upon seeking out and tasting one of those infamous and authentic Danish pastry are shocked at the staggeringly sweet nature of these little sugar bombs, I thoroughly enjoy them. Interestingly, it should be noted these are nothing like that which is served under the tag 'danish' in other countries. Rather, these are heart-stoppingly sugar-laden and often sticky things, the likes of which you've surely never tasted anywhere else. For many the sweetness is simply too much (and in truth, many Danes feel the same way). I, on the other hand, reach for seconds. Perhaps it has something to do with coming from a country famous for producing one sweetest products made from a natural substance, maple syrup. Or maybe it's just me.Examples include: viennabr...
More About: Marketing , Super , South , Mouth

On toast and ovens and heating stuff (in certain Copenhagen apartments)...a
2008-02-12 08:11:00
by: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)Here we have a distinctly Danish toaster. It is, from a global perspective, not your typical toaster.Rather, if you're not from Denmark, it's probably not like any toaster you've used or owned before. I hadn't. I thought it would be a cool and very Danish thing to go out and buy one for myself, until I realised that the real value of a toaster comes from the fact that the bread gets toasted (quickly) on both sides at once. Do it one side at a time and not only is it slower but, inevitably, one side gets cold while the other is being toasted. So I decided to go for the more traditional version and spurn Danish design (actually, I've never figured out whether the design is actually Danish...).Anyway, this is just a lead-in, as this is not a post about toasters. Well, it sort of is. It's actually a post that is more generally about heating things, buying contraptions that heat things, and the state of apartments in Copenhagen .Our a...
More About: Apartments , Stuff , Toast , Heating

"Er det en abe?"*
2008-02-06 20:27:00
This is one of those very embarrassing incidents. For those non-Danes unfamiliar with Danish TV, 'God Morgen Danmark' ('Good Morning Denmark') is a live daily news program broadcast each morning. Actually, in the background is the central station in Copenhagen where the show is broadcast from each day, if you're curious.A shockingly good laugh, but my goodness, she surely won't be hearing the end of this one for some time...and for good reason!Below is an English-subtitled version (the offending remark occurs around the 1.20 mark...). If you're a Danish speaker, you can click here to watch a slightly longer non-subtitled version.* English translation: "Is it an ape?"

When a political project collapses...
2008-02-05 19:15:00
It has been another ugly few days in Danish politics. Two members of Ny Alliance, the flailing political project which has essentially now done precisely the opposite of what it set out to do, left the party over the past days. That's 2 out of 5 of the party's elected members - or 40% if you are one for numbers. Ouch! This is a party that is flushing itself down the toilet, albeit taking a few flushes to get the job done. The leftover stench will likely be all but forgotten once it disappears, which at this rate won't be too long in coming.Somehow, something went wrong when it came to agreeing upon on a strategy when the election was called back in the fall (and since) of exactly how to stand up to the Dansk Folkeparti's usual mildly-to-extremely racist tactics, views and demands, not to mention the government's own particular and often rather peculiar manner of handling or 'appeasing' these.It seems that Gitte Seeberg, one of the founding members of the party (who left ...
More About: Political , Project

A fine plantation at Sankt Hans Torv
2008-01-20 22:29:00
Slightly sunken into one of the (opposing) corners of Sankt Hans Torv in Norrebro, Kaffe Plantagen (meaning 'the coffee plantation'...) is one of those place one hesitates to publicise - a place that is best when busy, but not too busy. Then again, it's a not exactly a hidden gem and that its not exactly unknown (at least to locals).Aside from consistently producing a fine cup of coffee, what's special about Kaffe Plantagen is the comfortable efficiency of the interior design that has gotten it just about right - great for grabbing a quick java before perusing the fantastic little clothes shops of Elmegade or having a little pseudo-intellectual conversation with a friend or two, but also as a fine premises for those hoping to productively wile away a few solo study hours with a few books and a laptop, be it mid-week and mid-weekend. It's this last point that sets the place apart - and keeps it busy. It's not every cafe that one can enjoy hanging out on their own, whether to r...
More About: Fine

The Storm is coming...
2008-01-20 22:17:00
A short time back I wrote a short entry bemoaning the fact that Swan Lee, one of the best Danish bands to be found, split up (it happend a couple years back) while another even more known Danish band that mercifully split up some years back announced they were getting back together. Well, the mystery about what alluring Swan Lee lead singer Pernille Rosendahl would do next is no longer.The answer is The Storm , a project with her boyfriend Johan Wohlert (former bass player from Mew, another popular Danish band). I think I can follow her boyfriend's motives in leaving Mew, because frankly if I was waking up beside Pernille Rosendahl everyday, I'm sure wouldn't be too keen on getting out of bed each morning, and I certainly wouldn't be keen on touring around Europe without her. So perhaps it was a clever move...The Storm has a Myspace site, www.myspace/thestormdk with one decent sounding track called 'Drops in the Ocean', and a few announced gigs - including one at Store Vega in ...

Life on the Ledge
2008-01-16 21:43:00
This morning I woke up to a most curious sight. It was a sight that instantly took me back to the year 2006, which was one I spend in Shanghai - it was a rather common sight over there (and surely still is). I immediately grabbed my phone to snap a couple quick pictures of the moment. Perched outside the ledge of the 4th floor window across the street was a window cleaner. No safety harness, no nothing - very much like how it was in Shanghai (there the window cleaner would perch on dubiously installed air conditioning units to reach the windows above, or hang off skyscrapers attached to a single rope sitting on a wooden plank). It was an entirely superfluous act, I should mention. The windows he was cleaning were the sort that could easily be cleaned from the inside - both front and back. So apparently he enjoyed the buzz of doing the cleaning in this way. In fact, I could easily relate."good morning, Copenhagen!!'You see, the sight also brought back memories of my university days,...
More About: Life

Skating, skating skating...
2008-01-13 17:43:00
This is as good way a way to fill a Copenhagen Sunday as any, especially if it's one of those Sundays, as today was, when pretty much all of the shops are closed. Skating at Kongens Nytorv. You can rent skates until 10 in the evening every night, 7 days a week, for the rest of this month and next.

Making a statement, Copenhagen style...
2008-01-12 17:37:00
As I've mentioned before, I have a soft spot for street art - and this one is a classic. Covering a Nørrebro bench by Dronning Louises Bro (Queen Louise Bridge), what more needs to be said?
More About: Copenhagen , Style , Statement , Cope

What's the matter with Denmark?
2008-01-07 00:22:00
Denmark is not exactly the most widely known country in the world, though it does have it's moments of fame and imfamy. These clips from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show are pretty classic. Nothing like good old black Danish humour - and they really were shot in Copenhagen.Part 1 - with excellent Wulff & Morgenthaler and Jan Gintberg segmentsPart 2 - more good stuff...And for a great taste of Danish humour in comic strip form, click over to www.wulffmorgenthaler.com.
More About: Matter , Denmark

What people will endure to get some fresh meat (on New Year's Eve)
2007-12-31 12:36:00
Wandering down in the center of Copenhagen earlier today, along Købmagergade one of the main shopping streets, I was amused to see a rather lengthy queue of people outside one shop - a queue that extended some distance along the street. I assumed it was some sort of 'year-end blow-out' sale at a clothing shop, but quickly realised it was actually a line of people waiting to enter the butchers. Fair enough, it is one of Copenhagen's excellent butcher shops.Hopefully that New Year's Eve meat wasn't sold out by the time those at the end of the queue were served. And one of the butcher's was even outside serving up glasses of bubbly for those waiting patiently outside - and enduring the winter chill....did somebody say 'fresh meat'?...a little early-afternoon bubbly to ease the lengthy wait
More About: People , Meat , Fresh

Bankerot: Like a strange dream (including brunch)
2007-12-31 11:22:00
Dark, dingy and crowded. And fully of wacky, tacky adornments. Now that's the formula for a successful cafe, wouldn't you agree? Well, alright, if you throw in excellent and affordable brunches served late into the afternoon, very reasonably priced dished served during the rest of the day, a decent selection of beers extending well beyond Carlsberg and Tuborg and plenty of cosy corners to squeeze into to, it just might be enough.Apparently it's worked for Bankerot (on Nansensgade) which is certainly one of my favourite 'stand-by's' in Copenhagen. Maybe not the place to hang out on a sunny summer day, or for that matter any other sunny day falling something during the rest of the year, but given how relatively few of those there are anyway, it still leaves a lot of days that are just about perfectly suited for an hour or two at Bankerot.If it was just about the food and drink, Bankerot would be just another cafe in Copenhagen (though still notable for its reasonable prices). Bu...
More About: Brunch , Dream , Strange

Christiania's Christmas Market
2007-12-18 22:19:00
At least the Grinch(es) in Denmark who keep trying to cancel Christiania haven't managed to cancel the Christiania Christmas Market . Only a couple days left until this year's edition finishes on December 20. It's a charming market, if busy on the weekends. One that doesn't change terribly much year-to-year, but it has solved rather a few of my Christmas gift-buying problems over the years so I'm not complaining.And if not for the gifts, head there to fill your stomach - such food, most of it pretty simple, always seems to taste better when it's the homemade kind sold at a market. Frustratingly, when I dropped by this year, it was so overwhelmingly crowded we just couldn't be bothered to squeeze ourselves around one of the tables. But no matter, crowds or not, a stop by Den Grå Hal in Christiania in December is always worthwhile. not everything that glitters is gold...mmmmmmm....
More About: Christmas market

A tale of two Danish bands...both going precisely the wrong direction
2007-12-04 22:01:00
This Danish band broke up a couple years ago, and many wondered if they'd lost their minds - and just what the real story was. And many are still waiting for them to figure out that they had a f*%king good thing going and should just get it back together. Really, they're bound to figure this out themselves one day.Swan Lee live in concert...This Danish band broke up a few years ago, and everyone (with at least an ounce of musical taste) breathed a sigh of relief. Then they recently announced they were getting back together. What the f*%k? Why? Why?If you don't know who they are, don't worry. Ignorance really can be bliss.
More About: Bands , Wrong , Tale , Dire

Christmas comes to Sankt Hans Torv
2007-12-03 14:56:00
In all my years living in Copenhagen, until today I never noticed there was a Christmas tree market set up at Sankt Hans Torv at this time of year. The main streets of Vesterbro may be a little more festively decorated for December than Nørrebro, but it's nice to see a small sign of Christmas in this part of town...

A late-night threesome on Vesterbrogade
2007-12-02 10:44:00
Tucked around a little corner of Vesterbrogade, not far from Enghavevej, lies a troika of late-night temptresses that many a late-night reveller in Copenhagen has succumbed to on one occasion or another. If you've been there once for a late night rollick, you've probably been there twice. Perhaps it last occurred during the late hours of a festively glowing December night, as each of the evenings for the next three weeks will be, following one of those infamous schnapps-and-herring-fueled Danish Christmas lunches. Maybe it capped off one of those rare Copenhagen warm summer nights in July, as the sun was rising in the east. Or a frosty night in January as early-hour cyclists bravely laid tracks in the freshly-fallen snow sprinkled over the street as they peddled their way home. Or perhaps it was some other random evening, a mid-week drinking session which would otherwise have been forced to a premature ending at the hands of one in Vesterbro that was less willing - and certainly w...
More About: Night , Late , Late Night , Some

A Christmas beer worth sipping...
2007-11-27 17:13:00
The other night while out drinking, I happened upon a very worthwhile beer from Denmark, of all places. Needless to say, this one wasn't from Carlsberg or Tuborg. Actually, it's a seasonal one, the Christmas beer from Ørbæk, which happens to be called Santa C. appropriately enough. Now the one I tried was on tap, so it remains to be seen if the bottled version smacks the taste buds quite the same way (they don't always, after all). It wasn't a dark beer either, I should add, knowing this is a characteristic commonly associated with Christmas beers. Actually, it was rather refreshing...What really won me over was when I came across the beer at none other than Netto, earlier today, and realised as I was examining the label that it was actually an organic beer (økologisk øl, if you prefer). The company chooses to keep the organic part rather subtle, just a small mention on the side label. So that's today's beer recommendation.Oh, and as always gifts (um, how about BEER!!) are wel...
More About: Beer , Worth , Wort

Ranees f*#king tasty Thai food
2007-11-26 17:05:00
Saturday night's Thai food experience took the prize. Ranees at Blågårdsplads in Nørrebro. If you're a fan of Thai food, write that name down. Then go there. Even while travelling in Thailand did I rarely manage to taste such deliciously picante Thai food. Naturally, being something of an amateur Phad Thai aficionado, I had to try Ranees take on that one. My dinner companions for the evening went for a couple of equally delicious curries. The Phad Thai was a plate of steaming fresh noodles, sprouts and spices along with five or six giant tiger shrimp, a pile of crush nuts and a wedge of lime - the last two items being necessary to even be considered as a serious Phad Thai. And indeed, it had just the right taste and texture on the tongue. I've previously raved about the deserving Phad Thai at Sweet Basil, but this one managed to top it. Not an easy feat, but it was the freshness of the ingredients that did it.But the highlight of the night was actually the starter (pictured abov...
More About: Food , King

Could I give you a Bitchslap?
2007-11-25 22:35:00
So out doing a bit of bar-hopping/bar-crawling or whatever you want to call it on Saturday, I ended up grabbing a magazine that caught my attention as I was ordering a beer at Jolene on Sorgenfrigade in Nørrebro (an intentionally kitsch funny kind of place - DJ and an acceptable selection of beer - which I was kind of thankful closed at midnight not because I'm getting old and wanted to go home (I didn't) but because it was a decent evening and an alright vibe but the night was kinda going nowhere and when Jolene's closed it obviously forced us to go someplace else and we otherwise may not have since it was kinda shitty weather outside and we were kinda comfortable sitting there on Jolene's couch).Anyway, this morning when I woke up I found this magazine stuffed into my jacket pocket waiting for me so I got to flipping through it to be pleasantly surprised. There's not so many Copenhagen mags out there that are written in English, especially ones actually worth reading (actuall...
More About: Give

So what now?
2007-11-20 19:20:00
Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt graciouslyconcedes defeat on election nightSo I feel there is a need for me to close the book on this election campaign before I move onto other topics (and get back to some regular posting). So it's four more years of Fogh in Denmark, after the various opposition parties failed (just) to crack the government's majority. The Ny Alliance secured themselves a position as an legitimate opposition party, but failed to obtain a position of influence, as they came so tantalisingly close to doing. So now they have a few years to demonstrate to the population that they are more than a mere protest party. It'll be an uphill battle with only 5 MP's elected, but it's more than they had before. And they sent a stong message by supporting Anders Fogh Rasmussen, but not giving any ground to Dansk Folkparti. Whether he deserved their support is another matter.Anyway, if you believe in the prophesizing powers of The Economist, then Anders Fogh Rasm...

So it's election time again in Denmark...hold your nose
2007-10-24 22:51:00
So November 13 is the magic day - the culmination of what will be a whirlwind 20 days of flat out campaigning. There is a certain charm that is the election process in Denmark - I've been through a couple of them since living here. Within hours of an election call, the leaders of all the parties are assembled (even the minority parties with no seats in parliament) and debating the issues in front of the cameras for television.Consider the mess in the U.S. where weeks are spent negotiating the rules of the debate, with each side trying to get the upper hand based upon their perceived strengths. Or in Canada where the few significant fringe parties (with no elected members of parliament) are endlessly pushing for the right to participate in any televised debates, and the mainstream parties are endlessly pushing for the right to exclude them.No, in Denmark the whole process is characteristically quick and efficient, with the television station basically dictating the rules of the game...
More About: Time , Election , Nose , Hold

K.I.S.S. my ass
2007-10-03 21:43:00
Intent on subjecting myself to another few weeks of pain and torment integrating myself better into Danish society, I recently signed on for another round of Danish classes. A combination of extended out-of-country traveling and the demands of a new job mean two years have passed since the last time I sat myself down at least twice a week to agonizingly memorize the 15 sentences of Danish (among other things) required by K.I.S.S (Copenhagen's Intensive Language School) for each class. Actually, I enjoy learning Danish, but I'm not a natural at languages, so it's a lot of work and very time consuming - and provides a fair amount of amusement for others, though not myself, as I stumble and stutter to form meaningful sentences. And that's not to mention the cost, call it a tax for living in a foreign country, on my social life as I dedicate some 15 hours of class and study time in the evenings each week. It's a lot.But, an unwanted reprieve was at hand, just in the nick of time.Mu...

Christiania...in perspective
2007-09-19 19:38:00
An amusing article about Christiania (and it's much discussed pending, or possibly pending, demise) appeared in the Comment is Free section of The Guardian the other day ('Farewell to Freetown'). Check it out if you have a few minutes.Even if containing a few basically minor factual inaccuracies, it's a pretty solid and original analysis. It's always nice to get a bird's eye perpective on issues so close to home and see them cast in a different light.I liked her suggestion that as a consequence of Danish society, being so relatively homogenous and universal in it's approach to "housing, education, homewares and even clothes" that "the flesh itself is the only remaining beacon of individuality". Hence, the popularity of tattoos (and interesting hair styles) here.I think it's true - I'm pretty sure the per capita average of people with tattoos in Denmark is one of the highest in the world, though I can't prove it.When this 'universal approach' is combined with the values o...
More About: Perspective

A problem of integration (and a modest proposal)
2007-09-14 22:27:00
By: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)With the threat of a possible election hanging over the country, and not-quite-but-essentially-election style posters appearing on billboards around the city, I decided it was time to come clean and acknowledge that here in Denmark, there is a problem of integration that must be politically dealt with.In countless Danish political and non-political circles, it has been pointed out over and over again in recent years that there is a small problem of integration in Denmark. At this point that one could be forgiven for believing that what they were hearing was in fact an old vinyl record skipping skipping skipping.But here?s the reality: there is a certain much-discussed minority group that has begun to establish themselves in this country, yet try as society does this minority group continues to have grievous problems adapting to the culture that surrounds them here ? on the streets, in the schools, in the bars and cafes - and even behin...
More About: Integration , Proposal , Problem , Modest , Prop

The sound of real Istedgade fun...
2007-09-13 23:21:00
Mofo Steel at Boutique LizeCopenhagen has an astounding capacity to genuinely surprise. This is perhaps the biggest strength of the city. Then again, there are quite a few strengths of the place, which I've mentioned in a few articles on this blog in the past.So wandering along Istedgade last night turned out to be a good choice - in fact, it was something of an instinctive feeling, an intuition you could say, that lead us there. I could almost a little voice in my head at the beginning of the night saying 'even though it's Wednesday night and there's always some interesting music at Cafe Tjili Pop on Wednesday, skip it and go out in Vesterbro tonight instead!'.I don't know what went on at Tjili Pop, but Vesterbro indeed proved quite a more than worthwhile diversion on an otherwise quiet Wednesday night.The evening began in Boutique Lize (okay, actually it began with a drink at Darling across the street, but it reeeealy began at Boutique Lize). There we discovered, much to our...
More About: Sound , Real

Denmark..looking down from above
2007-09-06 22:07:00
Early this morning I had the rare opportunity to float over a little part of Denmark from a big red hot air balloon. A memorable experience indeed, from the first blast of the hot air burners that lifted the huge balloon off the ground, to the deers running away as the balloon passed above them, and the dogs barking as they sensed us approaching in the distance and the waving school children who were probably almost as excited about what they were seeing as we onboard were looking out over the land below that stretched as far as our eyes could see. And of course the landing which ended with the basket tipped sideways, as is normal when there is anything more than very light winds.The flight passed directly over the thriving Danish metropolis of Ringsted (population 30,850) before eventually landing in a farmer's field some kilometers on the other side. But I'll just let the pictures do the talking....the hot air burners begin to lift the balloon off the ground...your truly dwarfed...

Sights you unfortunately won't see in Denmark - but should!
2007-08-29 00:33:00
the EU flag aflutter in the breeze...but not in Denmark One thing that has always annoyed me is the Danish governments insistence on minimalising - which is to say entirely avoiding - flying the European flag on any official government buildings in the country. Anywhere. Pretty much every other European country happily flies the blue EU flag, alongside their own, in front of most government buildings - which is surely the way it should be.It's a shame this doesn't happen in Denmark though. After all, Denmark has a lot to offer Europe, particularly the new members - the less developed countries.And it's not like there is any risk that flying a few EU flags will ever overshadow the Dannebro, Denmark's own flag. After all, this is a country where families wrap garlands of Danish flags around the Christmas tree each year (thank goodness the Americans haven't caught on to that idea...), and on birthdays Danish flags are flown in front of homes, or little Danish flags decorate the tab...
More About: Sights , Nate

Notable spots to grab a cup of java in Copenhagen...
2007-08-28 00:20:00
...'Verdens Mindste Kaffebar' ('The World's Smallest Coffee Bar)Cope nhagen is at its best when it is at its quirkiest. And there are few quirkier establishments then 'Verdens Mindste Kaffebar' - 'The World's Smallest Coffee Bar'. Located on the little known street in Vesterbro called Tullinsgade (which runs of the more well-known streets, Vaernedamsvej). There's room for about 2 people inside (or 4 squeezed).Drop by if you need a shot of caffeine. Or on a nice day, if you're in the mood for a game of table tennis - on a miniature table, naturally.
More About: Java , Spots , Grab

Bicycles here, there and everywhere...
2007-08-27 00:05:00
As anybody who lives in Denmark, or has visited the country well knows, there are few places more bicycle friendly than Denmark. Not surprisingly, cycling is the primary means of transportation for a huge number of people in the country - particularly in Copenhagen.But it's not just Copenhagen.This past weekend I was out in the countryside, about 45 minutes north of Copenhagen - I'd brought along my bicycle on the train so I would have a means to get to where I was going once I reached the closest train station. I was amazed at what I found. Not only was there a sizable bicycle path taking me directly to my destination from the train station (this was not the surprising part), as I cycled towards my destination I couldn't believe my eyes when I came to a 'roundabout' in the middle of the cycle path, where the path intersected another. It was a 'roundabout' constructed entirely for bicycles!
More About: Bicycles , Bicycle