Month: August 2016

1st of all: Denmark today is a country, sovereign state, parliamentary monarchy and not an island – it consists of many. The Kingdom of Denmark covers the biggest island of the world – Greenland (as the climate change continues, the name will be really spelling…) – , the Faeroes, and besides these two constituent countries, proper Denmark with the peninsula Jutland and many other islands like Zealand with the capital Copenhagen – with the royal Slotsholmen island.

2nd: Denmark again ranks number 1 in the latest UN World Happiness Report. Besides other important factors, measuring happiness comprises important factors like how subjectively people feel about happiness, freedom, living their lifes autonomously, the personal perception of corruption and generosity in a country as well as income, life expectation plus the social network available.

3rd: It is a favorite holiday destination, easy to reach from Germany and lots of vacation houses to rent.

For a first view check out the official website of Denmark.

Our reason to spend our holidays in Denmark, northern Europe? Affordable, never been there (well, Thomas decades ago…), flat. Flat? Well, yeah, this time, why not?

We started our tour via the landline THE Saturday – holidays all over Germany and Bettenwechseltag – and of course faced some heavy traffic. But, we were cool with it, saw the landscape changing… And while driving over the long and impressing Stoebaeltsbroen (FOTO tt) we really felt like coming to a new country. No, no – no worries, not all steel and concrete like the bridge. Arriving at our house after having passed little towns, summer fields, we immediately felt being on vacation – with a wonderful green garden around the house, not a rectangular one with fences around; curves instead and different old and new plants, trees and bushes, tiny hillocks, we were really surprised. Started our speedy have-a-look-around-tour around the house straightaway and we all said ‘Hello’ to our neighbor.

Did we have plans? Yes, we had: Relax. And due to the changeable weather we planned from day to day. Worked out… the sea not far from us, other sights we easily reached by car: little harbors with amazingly excellent fresh fish like you get in Havnebyen e.g.; visited small and very small villages, cottages, mansions… Ah, missed to visit the ‘Hamlet’ castle Kronborg and others, but Dragsholm where we enjoyed the new inspiring Danish Herbal Kitchen a lot – not comparable to anything else we tasted before. Nice add on: it is a hotel also and a circular track leads through the surrounding landscape. A propos tracks: Most of the hiking tracks lead along the coastline as the inner part of Denmark is mostly cultivated.

Nevertheless, there is enough room, even for horse riding. In the State Forests you are allowed to use every path – and there are lots of. The Islandic horses in action do a great job in tölting and/ or passing/ loping through the woods. And luckily, being not too tall on an Islandic horse, we always were able to ride under the boughs… real tölt feelin’.

As the hotel prices in Copenhagen were so unbelievable high *and Rusty wanted to be there too*, we decided to make two day trips, one to visit the famous Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, the other one to Copenhagen to meet friends in the first place. Of course there are galleries and museums to visit.

On the way to the Museum we chose the ferry from Roervig (sorry for the wrong spelling but did not find the typical slashed ‘o’ on my computer…) to Hundested and drove partly along the northern coast into the worst weather we had during our holidays – freezing cold (52 degrees Fahrenheit, strong wind and heavy rain). So had only a short walk at the beach near Gilleleje, topped with great houses. After lunch we headed towards Louisiana, stopped by at the old Cistercian abbey Esrom. Louisiana then: perfect view Swedenwards and the art is just incredible. Start your tour whereever you like, in the older parts or the part with the more modern layout – you always have a terrific walk-through, through different buildings, mixed with art and greens. So, do not forget to visit the garden with art pieces you can touch and feel, step into or step on… just enjoy, unexpectably longer than usual.
Had the chance to see the Poul Gernes exhibition – as we do not know so much about Danish artists in general this has been really an experience; well, the designer Arne Jacobsen nearly everybody knows… discover more of his works live, like the old smoke house and the round house he built in Havnebyen, the National Bank in Copenhagen, … Copies and reproductions of his work are around the world anyway…

Copenhagen – another one hour drive from where we stayed. Passed by at Gitte’s gallery and had a quick glance at the works for the new exhibition, strolled through the quarter – and: found a building looking like a typical one in Miami actually , and other interesting buildings like the ‘Erlöserkirche’ (the tower we mistook for a minaret); thanks to our friend Kay, artist, and for us the perfect trip advisor too, we had a super stroll through the city center; new sensation for us – the HAY Design Warehouse and other interesting spots we do not have here.
Bicycles all over, crowded with tourists – not easy to get along with a dog, actually there were only few Rusty remembers… not allowed to enter restaurants and cafés has been OK that day, we could sit outside most of the time, otherwise… but Kay and his family were so very nice and hosted us all for a tasty diner.

Talking food… surprisingly good stuff in the supermarkets and reasonably priced. Some, but few special shops, eating out however is kind of an investment… ‘Ah, the alcohol is so expensive.’ ‘No, other reasons.’

Weather has been a topic for us as I pointed out before. Rusty loved counting the deer crossing the garden at every time of the day and by the end of our holidays we felt like having had contact with the whole deer population there. Needed the oven sometimes – and of course we were watchin’ the Olympics – from a Danish point of view, did not catch the words but the emotions we could understand; so we missed several disciplines, had a focus on the sports the Danish are good at: Badminton, Badminton, Badminton; handball; water sports, … you know more? ‘Didn’t you watch live streams?’ ‘Hey, it has always been a car drive to buy new bytes… and new bytes..’

Took another way back – had a land-water-land drive, going down to Falster island, schwupps, with the ferry to Rostock and headed to Berlin.

Denmark – islands, happy people, holiday destination. Islands all over, had the impression that they must have a special happiness, more what we call satisfaction (?). Am I right? Or not?

P.S.: Although Europe, they have no Euro there but Danish crones. Do not throw anything at people. Don’t forget your leash, but sometimes just forget it…

P.P.S.: And kisses for the nice Airdale lady in our neighborhood from Rusty…

 

 

 

 

In general I miss statements from the FDP in Germany regarding important political issues
(or are they hiding behind other opinions?) – and as far as the posters for the voting in Berlin are concerned, I have to add: Well, I see children, young and old people, did I miss the handicapped people? By the way: Thank you TAGESSPIEGEL for your comment on the posters today… main parties only, OK, expected more diversity… regarding the future, you know…

So, had the EM finally with Portugal taking it all, apart from the embarrassing hooligan behavior we are really happy to say that there were no other attacks (if so: pls report to the authorities) – ah, Germany did not succeed in the EM after being world champion – and? Drama? Of course it is disappointing as the aim was to win. But – if the most offensive players missed because of injuries mostly and the few left could not replace their jobs… I am not talking about the strange ‘Müller Elfmeter’ in the game vs. Italy… In front of the TV we only saw the UEFA pictures resp. what the UEFA allowed us to see – in the stadium and for the players it is always different – for everyone directly involved in the game, no matter what role.
We loved to see strong teams we never had the chance to see before in the championships – Slovakia, Hungary, …; and no one would have bet on Iceland or Wales reaching the play offs.

I am not a soccer expert (Thomas is much more) but some things in my eyes were really weird – and some new ideas how to play the game to give it another twist I really could identify. Learning effect. Some were complaining that there is too much money spent on soccer.
Well, for some players (in the player market in general), stadiums, for advertising, may be.
But the effect – ask those who travelled and had the chance to visit France, to be part of the crowd in the stadiums, who earned money with the EM, even in small bars, restaurants…

Ah, and the Olympic Games! Rio, Samba feelin’, sunshine, Copacabana… favelas, crime and corruption. Lot of Russian athletes missed it as did a lot of politicians (Were they on vacation?
The politicians, I mean; the athletes, there is the doping reason). Well, the Olympics are still fascinating, I think nobody can deny it. But troubles are rising: started with Rio itself, the Olympic Village being not really in shape, the arenas that won’t be used by the poor afterwards (IOC, are there any plans?), the strange behaviours of some athletes and so on…
Mr. Bach celebrating – the games, his power – the power that failed in dismissing the Russian athletes completely for systematic doping reasons.
Positive signs are nevertheless arisin’ like athletes sponsoring their medals for good e.g.

New records have been set up, the stars did their job like every athlet did – as he/ she started
in Rio. This alone is an achievement and the pure medal counting is only a part of the big whole thing. And please, if you set the goals for medals – then make it possible to gain them and support the trainings and the effort behind… legally, of course.

Apart from sports, Europe and the world behaves hectic these days.

Brexit – now a fact – will have big impact – not only in economy and the financial markets – no, it will have direct influence on the people – free travels and work? Sorry, no longer possible.

Hey, I expected to have a job in the new wind parks? Sorry man, the company will leave
after the Brexit.

Oh, your spouse is living in another EU country? Hm, well, oh, do we have a paragraph for that? And so on…

New job for the EU, for sure. Brexit…, well, a lot of people just did not really know what the referendum was all about…

Attacks seem to be everywhere – in France right after the EM in Nice, in the US (esp. in the southern parts of the country) the police faces a kind of counter reaction. In Germany, we had attacks in Bavaria. And in Japan. And in… Terror, amok, IS, the words are buzzing through the press. Security. Big thing – may be the British play the island joker as a solution
‘Ha, come on over if you want to, but swim! To make it fair: We allow Burkinis.’

In politics – of course – they seem to have the right solutions. And the easy ones at first sight people believe right away. Main issue: strong leader. Seems as if it doesn’t matter anymore if he tends to be a dictator then or not (even Erdogan’s election has been democratic…ha, ha).
How would you describe Trump then? Some media here (even the ones I thought were always critical) now tend to underestimate a possible Trump effect, in case he would be elected.
And what about Mr. Putin? And…?

Is there still the good tradition of ‘Diskurs’, also in politics? Talk to each other first – and do not give the demagogs too much room. I am really concerned about the fact that whatever has been revealed about Trump and his campaign is forgotten the next day – disappointing that the  and the NATO seem to have no idea how to handle Turkey. Now, Germany is warning Turkey:
‘Do not implement death penalty.’ Oh gosh, what about the other things happening now and happened right after the coup bid? Shortcut answer? ‘Sovereign State’…

And here in Germany? The political parties are kind of self-destroying or, OK, re-adjusting themselves. CSU and CDU are always competing, in persona Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Seehofer, well, Mr. Söder is preparing to be Seehofer II, Mr. Gabriel as Vice Chancellor at the moment seems
to be divided into three: left-left, left and green, the ‘Greens’ want to take over the power
with a ‘Öko Diktatur’, the AfD seems to fall into two parts (we will see if two parties of this kind is even worse than having just one proclaiming a ‘new (in fact: too old) national position’),
and so on…

Berlin is voting for the House on SEP, 18 and the parties have mounted their election posters, some more in a funny comic style, some of course very serious and some are not readable at all. And one party decided to paint their posters themselves… well, but very embarrassing:
CDU posters claim for ‘SICHER lernen’, ‘SICHER feiern’ etc. (‘SECURE learning’,
‘SECURE’ celebrating’). Annoying: no fellow citizens appear whatever their skin colour is…. hm, security for the white ones only? And what will Berlin visitors think?
International Berlin, open society, tolerant??? If I missed posters that show Berlin reality pls announce.
And may be someone has simply forgotten to tell Mrs. Merkel about it?
‘Wir schaffen das.’ So far away if Berlin itself puts up these kind of posters;
moreover, I missed comments in the Berlin press about that too.

Remember what life is: ‘It isn’t black and white’ as a good friend told me years ago when I was a student (as he noticed that I still used an old black and white TV). I changed – of course…

Want a short dog notice? New law regarding dog handling in Berlin, most of it starting later, beginning 2017. Beware, the more you regulate the more people will demand their rights and – again – bureaucracy will rise… end of discussion, end of Diskurs.

And here another notice that caught my eye (HC(A) Online, Jul 18, 2016 Julia Yates, UEL, stated):

‘If all the usual plans and ideas have failed, the organization is likely to look around,
desperate to try anything which might work. Even a woman.’

Hopefully this statement is ironic Mrs. Yates. Because one thing is clear: Women are not pure fill-ins. Not at all. If women now are the “Red” Adairs in times of crisis –
hey then, pay us an extra fee for taking all the risk: for bursting through the glass ceilings, etc. Would be fair enough.

 You cannot find your way through in this world respectively these topics are not interesting for you at all (‘Ph, the world… I have my problems here and they are more important!’)? It is up to you, but nevertheless, a last comment:

Finally, let’s make a cosmic outlook: Proxima Centauri b – another possible next planet, earthlike. If everything is too confusing here – hey, there is a promising new planet to start again 😉
(kidding, of course, solve the problems where they are…).