Springtime joy

Remember those Peanuts comics telling you that happiness is a warm puppy or a big bunch of dry leaves? What I especially like about these drawings is that they make you appreciate the small things in life.

So every now and then I try to do the same. To share a little happiness. Back in the winter of 2009, happiness to me was a warm fireplace, while some months earlier happiness was rediscovering one of my butterfly shots, as it made me realise just how fantastic summer in little old Denmark can be.

Right now, on this particular April Saturday, happiness is springtime. We are enjoying one of the first really sunny and almost warm days of 2011. On such a day, you don't have to do much else than simply look out the window, and a smile immediately appears.

So: Happiness is...one of the first beautiful spring days following a long winter.

The picture today is obviously from Paris. Here spring sprung a little earlier than in Denmark, giving us the opportunity to enjoy European springtime when we went there in March.

Three towers

More by coincidence than by plan we came across a small coastal town in northern Italy in the beginning of spring one year. Too early for tourists, really, though we still found ourselves there. I'm quite sure that in the summer the beachfront of this town is a lively place boasting laughing kids, smiling parents, yelling vendors and nice seafood restaurants.

Now, however, though the sun was out, the weather was still chilly, the waterfront restaurants were mostly empty, and the beach chairs were all covered up.

Preparing to drive on to the next town along the way, at the end of an alley we spotted a peculiar sight. Not one, not two but three tall, medieval towers stretching for the sky side by side. We parked the car, wandered down the alley and suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a maze-like, old town with rough churches, sunny squares and strong fortifications.

Looking up, you could see the blue sky through the narrow spaces between the buildings, sometimes interrupted by the occational line of laundry. Once we had turned the first corner, the noise of the cars on the busy road just outside was completely gone. The streets of the Medieval village were empty at this point, people probably being at work at that particualur hour. Because it wasn't deserted - the laundry gave that much away.

Walking along these narrow alleyways, it felt like taking a step back in time. You could almost sense children running around, merchants offering freshly caught fish, while chasing away the occational rat, and soldiers defending the inhabitants dwelling behind the city walls.

The contrast of this place compared to the busy and frankly quite bland town outside the walls was amazing. This place was tranquil, interesting and exuding hundreds of years of history. A place of both then and now, as our adventure took us to a beautiful square with a nice restaurant offering us a sunny spot to enjoy lovely treats and spectacular service.

Standing guard

The street in this shot, Nørrebrogade, is one of the absolute busiest in all of Copenhagen. So busy, in fact, that it's main bus line transports a staggering 65.000 people around each day! The street is also the lifeline of the Nørrebro quarter, which is very multicultural and quite lively - sometimes a bit too lively. With so much going on, it's great to see these little fellows standing their ground, while bikes, cars and pedestrians are swooping by.

Actually these guys embody much of what I love about my neighbourhood: the mix of small, weird shops (to one of which these figures belong), the many cultures, scents and impressions all rolled into one central avenue.

And for my foreign visitors a little bonus info: The yellow wall in the background hides a large and very beautiful churchyard, where prominent Danes such as the fairytale father Hans Christian Andersen, the singer Natasja, the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and the scientist Niels Bohr are laid to rest.

Happiness is....

...a warm fireplace on a cold, stormy night.

Right now the wind is howling, the rain is pounding on the windows and the trees are bending so as not to break, while daring cyclists are fighting to stay on their bikes though hardly getting anywhere.

Oh yes, Denmark is having its first true winter storm. On a night like this, a warm and cosy fireplace like the one in this picture post would be nice to have. This particular fireplace, however, is a French one. I took the photo last year in november, while enjoying a late autumn holiday in the French Alps.

Creepy-crawlies

To those of you who might experience a true sense of disgust, when faced with creatures like these, I do apologize. Had these small bugs been more...well...spider-like, I can assure you that I would have never got anywhere near close enough for a close-up. These, however, fascinate me with their large eyes and sort of alien-like appearance.

Therefore: Enjoy...or don't - it's completely up to you.