Moments

Days are made from series of moments. Moments are made of a tricky stuff. They can be hard to come by, are easily missed, and when you are blue, they can be impossible to see. And then in just two sunny days, Copenhagen will offer them up like pearls on a never ending string.

The Hitchkock blonde.

A hit of color.

A hit of cycle chic. Men can play that game too, you know.

A ladybug pedicap driver taking a break under a rescued bunker tree, by the lakes.

A red wall reflected in a window, visible only from this particular angle, I tried to move closer, and it disappeared, kind of magical. Perfectly illustrating why the classic Copenhagen window frame is named after our flag, Dannebrog. And... I think it is summer. Dare I say?

We are back in sandals.

Picking up on the outdoor activities.

I wish some moments could last.

♥

Mmmmmagnolia

One day I will get one of those phones, smart and made out of glass. And then I will start making weird apps for Copenhagen, like the one mapping the scents of the city. In spring, it will glow like crazy at this corner, where the magnolia tree is the first to bloom, and all too quickly cover the ground in a blanket of cream and pink leaves. Maybe the phone will even make a subtle mmmmmmm-sound, to remind you to stop and take in the magnolias, while they last.

 

On the corner of Østerfarimags Gade and Gothersgade. Approximately here (map).

Street art, Paris

Philippe Baudelocque 

 

 

Four days in Paris

It’s funny how two hours on a plane that is smelling like someones armpit, can seem like days, and then four days in your other favorite city will fly by so incredibly fast. I just got back from Paris, and I am so inspired. It is still cleaner than Copenhagen, and way greener too. In a strange development, they seem to be picking up the pace in advertising, and buffing/painting over street art like crazy. I’m slightly concerned, but worrying about one city is tough enough as it is. And, fortunately there is still an obvious love and respect for the beauty of the city. Something the city planners of Copenhagen could stand to learn from: preserve and respect history, let things grow, work with existing structures and nurse the open spaces. And: get with the 21st century and plan for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists, not cars. Voilà.

Remember this vertical garden from last year? See how far it has come:

This is the best form of advertising I have seen to date. I want to shop with someone who gives this to the city, instead of obnoxious banners that become outdated within weeks. The city should invest in vertical gardens too, as they help clean the air. Some say we have a few in Copenhagen, but other than the one from the European Environmental Agency back in 2010 that is long gone (but why?), I have not seen any. And you know I have hungry eyes...

It's not that I want this for Copenhagen, I demand it. Ha.

(Oh, I’m gonna spam you so hard)

Helmut Lang with a twist. The repetition, and the contribution from the street.

I'm the only one here! I wonder if I will ever stop feeling that way.

Beautiful store signs, such diversity and originality.

Something old.

Something truly original.

Something... something.. hahaha.

Did I mention the cyclists? The numbers are nowhere near Copenhagen's, but they are obviously serious about it, and you can pick up a street bike on nearly every corner. Our old street bikes were more of a cosy joke, and they have now been permanently retired. A new bike-share-system is in the works, paid for not by the city (so odd), but the train company. The priorities in my city, I don't always get them...

Moving on to yummi doors.

Door detail. Everywhere you look, there are door details.

Beautiful decay. I don't know the man, but his picture ages really well.

These fences are lining all the garbage containers at construction sites. People use them to attach flyers, and once removed, little pieces of tape and paper are left behind like confetti stuck in the moment. A celebration of whatever you want it to be.

Sometimes, simply everything is beatiful.

(intermission, brace yourself for part two) 

♥

Fried brain

This is going to be a this and that post, because my brain is fried. A little glass:

The cyclist's basic nightmare. A weekend special, always keep an eye out on Sundays, and don't get too close to the sidewalk.

Sunday I crashed the flea market in Jægersborggade with a packed bike's worth of stuff. I nearly parted with this beautiful glass brooch, until I realised it could be used as a freaky lens. This is exactly why I still have too much, too weird stuff cluttering up my house.

I seriously need a break, so I am on one. View from the train:

To be continued... 

(And I promise next time I will be back with something more than just a fried brain)

A useless currency

Yesterday I got two emails with requests to use my pictures for credit. It happens all the time. My camera is dying, and all these generous offers of photo-credit are useless when it comes to paying rent or buying new camera equipment. There should be a bank for photo-credit deposits, and stores where you could spend it. If you pay with photo-credit, you should also be obligated to accept it as a currency, wouldn't you say? Otherwise you are just telling people that their time and effort are worthless.

As an alternative to this useless currency, I have come up with a fixed low price for commercial use of my pictures online. One of the ladies (employed by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of all places) took the time to get back to me with this: "thank you, but we found the same motive elsewhere free of charge". Can you believe the nerve? I look forward to the day, someone volunteers to do her job for free. At this pace, it won’t be long.

Har du shoppet dig lykkelig? / Have you shopped your way to happiness? by Gal Kunsti.

Would you look at this crap?

This is me, any given day of the week: WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS CRAP? And every single time, my friend will look at me in slight confusion: what? This is an example:

Most common response: oh, I didn’t notice that. How about this, then:

"Nope".

I will then bring up examples of entire public squares in Copenhagen destroyed by wall-to-wall spam, like this:

"Byens Hegn" the city's metro fence. Allegedly there to display selected street art. Lamest excuse for raking in advertising money that I have ever heard of. 

Again they would say, is there even advertising there? Didn’t notice that either. 

So what is the big deal then, you may ask? Well, it is pretty serious. This spam filter that we have developed on places like the internet, is now applied to our daily lives. We (most people) don’t see our surroundings anymore. We are simply blinded by full body ad buses and taxis, even houses covered in scaffolding wrapped in ads and overloaded fences and metro stations. Or the flickering screens at shops, banks and gas stations, and inside taxis, buses and trains.

Full body advertising is the only language spoken here. This is the metro.

And what is behind this advertising? You probably guessed it already...

More advertising, blinking at you manically from big screens. Because with the most expensive public transit in the world, you just haven't paid enough for your ride. 

But it is not just advertising that goes in the filter. Litter goes in the spam filter, too. As does any non-commercial attempt at communication, even the beauty of the city, hidden underneath it all. This eye-rape is the equivalent of yelling at people uncontrollably, how can you expect anyone to listen when you actually have something important to say? Mostly I am just afraid that it is too late to intervene. The fact that no one seems to notice it anymore, completely unaware of the high price they are paying... is it too late? Please tell me you see it too?

(I can't tell you how much it kills me to show you something so ugly, dammit!) 

(I have to leave you with something beautiful, OK?)

On a recent trip to Malmö, Sweden, I was blown away by the simplicity and raw beauty of the new train station. Here, the customer is valued, and not treated as a cash cow. Raw concrete walls, and what is displayed for your viewing pleasure? Beautiful old strips of movies of train rides across the world.

Made to look like you are on the train, as the landscape passes you by.

Copenhagen has a long way to go. 

And Sweden rocks!

(end rant)

♥