Spirit and Environment

Posted on 31. August 201631. August 2016 by Hanna

When I walk through the small streets in Taarbæk I cannot help noticing several birds decorated on the gables by the artist Jørn Mathiassen.
That adds harmony and good ambience to the walk as though you are welcomed by the town itself.

Taarbæk was founded as a fishing village in the 1600s, and the fish sold in Copenhagen. Today there is a small marina. The atmosphere is lovely in the town’s quaint streets and the harbour is cozy with a little restaurant.

Notes

Kunsteren Jørn Mathiassen, stod bl.a. bag scenografien til børneklassikeren ‘Jullerup Færgeby’

Taarbæk

Taarbæk Portalen

If You Have Ever Gone To The Woods With Me…

Posted on 30. August 201631. August 2016 by Hanna

How I Go to the Woods, by Mary Oliver

Ordinarily I go to the woods alone, with not a single friend, for they
are all smilers and talkers and therefore unsuitable.

I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds or hugging
the old black oak tree. I have my way of praying, as you no doubt have yours.

Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit on the top of
a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds, until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses
singing.

If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.

This morning I watched the deer
with beautiful lips touching the tips
of the cranberries, setting their hooves down
in the dampness carelessly, isn’t it after all
the carpet of their house, their home, whose roof
is the sky?
Why, then, was I suddenly miserable?
Well, this is nothing much.
This is the heaviness of the body watching the swallows
gliding just under that roof.
This is the wish that the deer would not lift their heads
and leap away, leaving me there alone.
This is the wish to touch their faces, their brown wrists –
to sing some sparking poem into
the folds of their ears.

then walk with them,
over the hills
and over the hills
and into the impossible trees.

This Morning I Watched the Deer, by Mary Oliver

There is an art to wandering

Posted on 26. August 2016 by Hanna

Sometimes I have a heartfelt joy to wander aimlessly.
I didn’t plan this walk. A walk among hawthorns and deers towards the coast of Øresund.
All my worries are left and the only thing that counts is the present moment.
Our brain needs a break so our spirit can live.

There is an art to wandering. If I have a destination, a plan – an objective – I’ve lost the ability to find serendipity. I’ve become too focused, too single-minded. I am on a quest, not a ramble. I search for the Holy Grail of particularity, and miss the chalice freely offered, filled full to overflowing.
by Cathy Johnson, On Becoming Lost

Where do you get inspiration for your walks?

Posted on 15. August 201615. August 2016 by Hanna

Where do you get your inspiration when you are going for a walk?
I found myself without any idea the other day. I had one glorious one in mind but it was far to late for train and ferry.
By a process of elimination, I chose the train towards Copenhagen and soon I found myself on Kalvebod Fælled on Vestamager, a place I have visit before.
But this time I decided I wasn’t going to walk these endless paths.
From the last time I knew there would be bikes for rent. Though I didn’t know how good the bikes were.
Now I’ve tried one and it was really great. I had an extraordinary ride with twinkling lights a blinking sea and wide open spaces where horses were grazing and birds foraging.
A group of children were swimming, and people went surfing further down the beach. A sailboat had crashed under one of the recent storms. A guy checked with the police who already knew about the ship.
I was so happy for the sun and the long bike ride that I forgot about the deadline for submission of the bike. It became a bit of rush at the end.
It is highly recommended. Not the rush but the bike ride!

My rented bike at Kalvebod Fælled, Vestamager

shipwrecked ship from a storm lately, at Kalvebod Fælled

Notes

You can download a map and read more about this stunning area; Kalvebod Fælled

Rent a bike: Friluftshuset

An Entertaining Stroll In The Citadel

Posted on 13. August 201614. August 2016 by Hanna

I’m standing on top of the Citadel’s ramparts looking over the harbour while swallows fly closely by. I am sure the birds benefit from the steep ramparts one way or another.

Particularly two traditions link the Citadel to the public holiday, Stor Bededag and the night before.

Best known is the custom of eating warm wheat buns on Stor Bededags evening. The reason is that not even the bakers were supposed to work from sundown the night before Stor Bededag and throughout the following day.
Therefore very large wheat buns were baked the day before which people could take home to heat and eat the next day.

However, the wheat buns were eaten the same night – while they were still warm and crisp.
Today it is possible to buy the wheat buns all over when Stor Bededag is approaching.

The second tradition normally associated with Stor Bededag, was the habit of Copenhagen’s bourgeoisie walking on the ramparts on the evening of Stor Bededag. The custom can be traced back to the 1700s and is said to be caused by the melodious chimes of Our Lady Church’s carillon, which lured people of Copenhagen out on a stroll to enjoy the newly sprouted, spring green linden and chestnut trees.

The carillon was set up in 1747 and destroyed by the British bombardment in 1807 the church’s spire was hit and crashed into the main building, which burned completely.

It seems that the tradition once again is popular among people from Copenhagen and every day might work

View from Langelinie, Kastellet, Copenhagen

Notes
Useful information on this site: Copenhagenet.dk
Kastellet
Kastellet, Copenhagen, Wikipedia

Add Colour To My Sunset Sky

Posted on 9. August 2016 by Hanna

Today I took the consequence, and found my winter jacket from the attic.
Cold, rain showers and strong winds, forget the summer clothes.
At Langelinie I spoke with a woman from Trondheim in Norway. Few minutes before that heavy rain squall had driven past.
The weather forecast promised sun all day she exclaimed to my complaints about the weather and I understood her frustration.

There is nevertheless comfort to find in this weather with huge cumulus clouds as in the quote by Rabindranath Tagore

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
by Rabindranath Tagore

View from Langelinie towards Trekroner Fort

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Trekroner Fort is part of an old fortification. A defence for Copenhagen against the Germans and The British at the end of the 1800s.

KØBENHAVNS FORSVAR MOD KRIG OG KLIMAFORANDRINGER

An Endless Fountain of Immortal Drink

Posted on 8. August 2016 by Hanna

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its lovliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

A Thing Of Beauty by John Keats

Kapervogn, Jægersborg Dyrehave

Messing about in boats

Posted on 5. August 2016 by Hanna

There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

I’ve been to the northernmost point of Sealand, Gilleleje.
When I arrived the sun was shining, and relaxed people walked about, enjoying the hustle and bustle with ships being repaired, fishermen arranging their nets and some people preparing for supper in their boats. A wonderful cozy atmosphere dwelt over the place.

Messing about in boats – I can recommend that.
______________________

Duckworks

Gilleleje Havn

Gilleleje – Danmarks bedste ferieby 2015