June 5 2014 My Birthday!!!!

6-5-2014

We joined a free walking tour today, run by a company called, Sandemans.  The group met at Town Hall Square next to the Dragon fountain.  Our guide was a very knowledgeable, enthusiastic young woman, who is also a student working on her thesis in sound engineering.  He name is Helia (pronounced L’ E a-the “h” is silent just like my maiden name, Hebert) and she has lived in this country only 2 years.  Her home country is Spain.

The building which is the Town hall is modeled on a similar building in Seine, Italy.  One difference in this structure is the two polar bear statues on either side of the roof.   But the main difference is a large golden statue of Bishop Absalom that is perched on the side of the building.  Inside you will find a clock that tells not only the time of day, but also the movement of the planets and stars.

Across the street is Tivoli Gardens, the second oldest amusement park in the world, built in 1843.  They have a wooden rollercoaster which was built in 1905.  Over 4 million people visit the area attraction each year.  Next, Helia pointed out Stroget Street, the largest shopping route in the world.  It is a cobblestone street.

Copenhagen history has been plagued by several city-wide fires.  The first was in 1728 and was stared when a candle fell onto some flammable material.  It took three days for the residence to stop the fire.  This was accomplished by taking down several buildings in the path of the fire.  A significant factor in all of the previous fires is the wind, which is so prevalent in Copenhagen.

Our next stop was a large square.  In the 1700s it was the place of the market, but was also where executions took place.  The Danes usually beheaded or hung their offenders and oftentimes subjected them to the humiliation of having rotten food thrown at them.          

Helia said that Danish history can basically be divided into three periods:  the first 5,000 years, nothing much happened.  The next 500 years there was economic growth, fostered primarily due to the geography of the western part of the country.  The Danes had control of the waterways and would tax all of the ships passing through the northern sea.  Other factors that contributed to Denmark’s growth were the fact that the county had large quantities of wood to build ships and also had metals as a natural resource to make weapons.

During the middle ages the Calmar Union was formed.  It was an alliance between Norway, Sweden and Denmark.   All of the counties profited from the union.  However, in the 16^th century, the Swedish government decided to leave the union, which weakened the position of all the countries. 

After 1700, Denmark encountered a series of unhappy events that precipitated decline in the previous economic advantage.  In 1711 there was a plague that wiped out ½ of the population.  Then there was the first great fire in the Copenhagen.  In 1795 there was the 2^nd great fire.  In 1801, England was at war and Denmark tried to remain neutral.  Unfortunately, England position was that you are either with them or you are against them.  So in 1801, the English General Nelson attached Copenhagen.  Not being satisfied with this encounter, He returned 6 years later and destroyed the city again.

In the 1900s, Copenhagen developed a parliamentary government and there was a period of recovery, where the city became a center for the arts.  All was well until 1940, when the Nazi’s attached Denmark.  After a short 2 hour battle, Denmark surrendered and began a 3 year period in which the Danes worked with the Nazi’s.  However, there was a group of people who began the Danish Resistance movement.  After the 2^nd world war ended, Denmark became a social democracy, with a welfare state.

As our tour continued we came to the statue of one of the famous Danish figures.  Carlsberg.  He became famous because he owned a brewery and fostered standardization of the brewing process.  Eventually his company was the 4^th largest brewery in the world.  He became extremely wealthy, but also gave back to the people of his county.  He founded the Carlsberg Foundation which has donated to numerous Danish causes.

Our next stop along the tour was on the oldest street in Copenhagen.  The road is over 1000 years old.

Helia chose this location to stop and explain a very common expression used by the Danish people.  It is called Hygge  (pronounced Huga) or Hyggely (pronounced Hugly).  This word basically means to relax.  It is a universal desire of Danes to experience Hygge or Hyggely moments through their lives.

To be continued.

Next, our guide spoke about a famous sculpture names Haralson.  She recommended that we try to visit the Church of Our Lady, where there are statues of the 12 apostles sculptured by this famous artist. 

Returning to the history of Demark, Helia noted that Bishop Absalom is NOT noted for his religious devotion so much as for being a commander and war hero.  He tried to convert the Germans, fighting them for over 8 years.  He finally achieved victory when he discovered the figure of their “God” and destroyed it.  When nothing happened to Absalom and his soldiers, the Germans were afraid of him and converted to Christianity.

Our next stop was an old brick church that was built in the 11^th century.  In 1520 it became the first church to have protestant services.  By the 1600s the country had converted to Lutheranism.  The church, itself, is now a museum.

Out next stop was the Royal Theater/Opera house.  As a teenager, Hans Christian Anderson actually auditioned for the ballet in this very building.  He was told by the director that he was too thin to be accepted.  However, he persisted in his pursuit of the art and finally became a vocalist for three years.  Then his voice changed and he was told he could no longer sing with the opera.  This caused him to become quite depressed.  Yet it also led him to begin to write stories and become the famous children’s author for which he is known today.   

One of the more popular stories about Hans Christian Anderson involved his visited to author, Charles Dickens, in England.  He “squatted” at his home for five weeks.  After having made several unsuccessful hints to Anderson about his departure, Dickens finally had to have him kicked out.

Next our guide led us to the old harbor area, which is the famous Nyhavn canal of today, Helia explained that it was originally a red light district, where sailors spent there time ashore.  A huge anchor was placed at the head of the canal in the year 2000, as a memorial to the sailors and soldiers that died in World War II. 

Proceeding a short distance, we came to the area of the Royal Palace, which seems a misnomer to me, as there are actually four identical buildings, with a central square.  One is the Queen’s residence; another is the home of her son and his family.  The other two structures are used for formal receptions and political meetings involving the royal family.  Today we knew that the queen was home, because her green flag was flying over the building.

Denmark’s Royal family is the oldest in the world, having been in existence for over 400 years.  Queen Margaret was the first member of the royal family to marry outside of royalty.  She chose to share her life with a French diplomat.  Helia explained that the prince and his wife have a very normal family life, causing the Danish people to love and admire them very much.  They can often be seen riding bikes to pick their children up from school.  Having contact with the public is very important to them.

There is a statue in the center of the square of Fredrick the 5^th.  He was the one responsible for moving the royal family to its current location.  The multiple buildings allowed plenty of space for all of the family members to live near one another, but still have separate homes, as well as space for conducting the necessary business of the Royal family. 

The statue, itself, shows Frederick wearing a leafy crown like that which was worn by Caesar.  Some people think this shows a little bit of conceit on Frederick’s part.  Another example of his “confident nature” is his desire to build a church to St. Frederick.  He decided that it should be done entirely in marble.  As a result, it took over 150 years to complete, because of the extreme cost of the materials.  Today, it has the second largest dome in Europe.

Our finally stop of the tour was at the water front, just a block from the palace.  Helia wanted to point out the area across the bay, which is a relatively new community called Christianshavn.  She recommended we try to make a visit there, if we have time.  It is the location of the Opera house, which we could see from the steps of the waterfront where we stood. 

This concluded our tour, which we thoroughly enjoyed.  We were happy to offer Helia a tip, which she had explained at the beginning of the tour, was the guides only form of compensation.  They do not receive a salary.

We made our way back to Frederick’s house and were happy to see that Mark and Betty had arrived.  After we greeted one another, be found out that their luggage had been lost.  The airline was trying to trace them and we were hopeful that they would arrive soon.