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.

Staging product placement?

Now, this picture may make the most sense to you, if you are a Dane - or speak Danish. Therefore, here goes a translation and explanation: The sign says "Det danske vejr er Gajol vejr", which translates into "The Danish weather is Gajol weather ". Gajol is a Danish cough drop, making the slogan well suited for a country with some quite, let's just say, schizophrenic weather, where sun may quickly turn into bitter-cold wind and rain - and an accompanying cold.

However, once in a while the Danish weather shows its more pleasant face, like on the day this picture is taken. I was strolling down Vesterbrogade, a central avenue in Copenhagen, together with a friend of mine, enjoying one of the first real spring days here in DK, when we came across this neon sign. Now, that kind of ad board has been around for ages, making it as central a part of some cities as the town hall or well-known tourist attractions. Just think of Piccadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York - or, for my Danish readers, the Irma hen by Dronning Louises Bro.

While these signs definitely demand attention at night, at daytime they normally seem more anonymous. But this Gajol ad is actually quite brilliant (pun intented), as it, whether planned or not, works as product placement with all the sky as its stage. On this day, the slogan came across with a positive note, however, no matter the weather, the sign fits - because the changeableness of the weather IS the essense of the message.

So, in an age when micro-targeting through social media is replacing - or at least competing with traditional mass media advertising, this sign, to me at least, still works. It's concise, it's culturally adapted (let's face it, we Danes speak of the weather quite a lot), and it's brilliant. Nothing more, nothing less.

What do you think?

A little something to look forward to

Now, in case you didn't notice from my last post, January here in little Denmark far up north is often quite dark, rainy or even sporting snow (no pun intended). But what it does offer - except for a good reason to curl up under a blanket with a movie and a hot cup of chocolate - is some of the most beautiful mornings on those cold and clear days.

Still, winter CAN get a liiiittle too long - in other words (and to quote miss Olivia), you start longing for those su-ummer ni-ights - and days. It's moving in the right direction, though. Days are getting longer and we see more light during a day, so, though it is still freezing cold, spring is closing in on us, and so are those summer days and nights (tell me more, tell me more...).

So today's post is meant to be a teaser. A little something to shake that winter-weary head of yours and dig out the memories of summer days passed to remind you (and myself) what this little northern country also has to offer.

Remember those summer days, which may be few but then are even more blessing, when the sun shines on us, when the evenings are mild, when everything is in bloom, and when butterflies like the one above flutter around us. Got the image in your head? Good! Now, hang on to that for the next couple months, and before you know it, summer will be here again.

The awakening

What is it about January? It's cold, and it's dark. Getting up in the morning is difficult, because the pitch blackness makes it seem like all the world is asleep. And maybe it is. Though you are not the only one battling the wind, rain, snow, or whatever else the elements may throw your way, to get to work or school, it does seem like it takes the first couple of hours of the day, before anyone is actually awake. We are all a bunch of winter zombies, relentlessly striving towards some end destination without a thought in mind, except, perhaps, for longing for the day's first energy fix of morning coffee.

And then suddenly one day something happens! The lazy sun, who, unlike ourselves, gets to sleep in, yawns and stretches its rays above the horizon. The sky fills with gold, and the darkness yields to unveil a winter wonderland as beautiful as ever.

Those days make it all worthwhile. Though you had to get up at an unearthly hour, when everything was dark and depressing, the natural wonder, playing out live before your eyes, revives you like no cup of strong, black coffee could ever do. You stop in the middle of whatever you were doing to simply look. To take it all in. That's when you awake. Your mind, soul and body seems to rise with the sun.

The picture in this post is taken on one of those days, when the sun was just starting to grace the world with its rays of light. As it happened, the post has turned out to have a more poetic strike than normally, which was actually not intended, when I started writing. But that is what those sunny winter mornings do to me, so actually I find the tone quite fitting for the theme.