The Copenhagen Report

The walls were was shaking, the earth was quaking....last night in Copenhagen. Quite a few woke up wondering just what the neighbours were up to. In fact, the shaking woke me up too. And indeed it was an earthquake 4.7 richter scale at 6.20AM - the biggest earthquake in Denmark in 23 years. Hmmm, how about that. Earthquakes are extremely rare in this area - not surprising given how flat the regions is. The epicenter was in Sweden, some 65 km away from Copenhagen.

Click here to read about it on the USGS Earthquake Warning Center site.

I have to admit that I was something of a rare species, in my surroundings, back in 2000 during the last Danish referendum on whether to replace the kroner with the euro. At the time I was attending Copenhagen Business School, where support for the Euro was about as close to unanimous as one can get. Business types, you know. Myself, I was quietly something of a skeptic. Actually, it wasn't really because I was against joining. My position was that Denmark was in the enviable position of being able to afford to wait. Denmark had stability and a solid economy, after all. Which is to say, it was the 'Euro Club' that had to prove itself to Denmark, not the other way around. So why rush it? Why should Denmark rush into the scheme before the euro had proven itself as a functional currency?

So to be clear, this was by no means true opposition to the euro, more of a strategic 'what's the harm in waiting a couple years?'. A type of passive opposition. In case you didn't figure it out, the euro was voted down in Denmark.

Those couple of years have long since passed and as it turns out the euro has long since proven itself. There is really no need for Denmark to hold out any longer, and plenty of reasons to go for it. And probably it won't be long before the question is put to the public. These days, the financial crisis has brought a significant softening of public opinion in Denmark, with the majority now shifting towards a position in favour of the euro.

It seems unlikely that Danish Prime Minister and EU-superfan Anders Fogh Rasmussen will be able to resist holding a vote on the matter much longer. Now dear Anders admittedly does his best to temper his displays of excessively-overt EU enthusiasm, lest he talk himself out of his position of leader of his own party by overtly coveting a 'higher' position elsewhere in Europe, or provoke disquiet among his not-so-silent coalition partners, the embarrassingly racist Dansk Folkeparti, should they sense he is becoming a bit too overzealous about something that simply doesn't fit into their bellicosely juvenile vision of 'Danmark for Danskerne'.

Ironically, it is the very issues that the government didn't dare to address during the last referendum that are now fueling euro support. Those being any arguments grounded in economic logic - such as the point that simply adopting a currency that the Danish kroner is already tied to anyway isn't such a risk, when it comes down to it.

The fact that in the recent weeks, the National Bank was obliged to increase the interest rate spread between the euro and the kroner during the financial crisis was the real kicker that really shifted opinion. When people in Denmark, with homes and apartments already deflating in value by the day, realised that they were now also paying as much as 1.5% extra for the privilege of holding their loans in kroner instead of euro, finally a certainly logic which was previously drowned in nationalist sentiment snapped with a nearly audible 'cracking' sound (of course, that may actually have been the sound of shareholders jaws dropping open and hitting the ground when Roskilde Bank was suddenly nationalised and their stocks become instantly worthless), and almost overnight the shift the brought supporters of the euro in Denmark into a majority position.

So bring on the euro referendum. It might just be the occasion the government needs to shake the moth-balls off of those EU flags - flags which the Danish government seems to have a morbid fear of flying for even an hour longer than necessary each year, lest they be interpreted as some sort of anti-Denmark sentiment by the more rabid elements of the Danish population.

More about it here in a recent article from The Guardian.

Opening the door the other morning, there they were. Yes, it is absolutely unbelievable that these huge think phone books which go straight into the recycling bin still make there way to the door of every house and apartment in Copenhagen...whether you like it or not! Seriously, does anyway actually use these things anymore? Stop! Stop! Stop!

And apparently Politiken's readers agree too.

The Danish island of Samsø was subject of a recent highly complementary profile in The Guardian, focusing on the incredible 'green' approach being taken by the inhabitants of the Danish island, who are now living 'off-the-grid'. Yep, no mainland electricity, the island is self-sufficient thanks largely to wind and solar power.

I've visited the island a couple of times, both visits occurred a few years ago, and I've been planning to get back every since. Samsø is an island whose reality more-or-less matches the romantic images phrases such as 'island life' can conjure up (assuming those romantic images involve Northern-Scandinavian type islands, of course). I mean, Copenhagen is also on an island, and I sometime jokingly refer to the idea of 'island-life' when talking about Life in Copenhagen because frankly this is not the sort of 'island life' people typically think about when using a phrase like 'island life'.

On Samsø, there's basically one small town of note, with a couple other smaller ones not so much of note. The best bet is to bring a bike (or rent one) to get around - but leave yourself plenty of time as it will take more than a day trip to get the most out of the island. Beaches are everywhere, there are some fantastic camping spots, it's as idyllic as anywhere in Denmark, and, the real icing on the cake, the island produces some of Denmark's most outstanding fruit and vegetables. Bring a pocketful of coins and be sure to stop at the farm produce stands dotting the roads of the island during the summer months to grab some mouth-watering produce. For example, I will always remember the eye-opening experience that a fresh Samsø onion (yes, an onion...) once provided me. Since that fateful day, I have found myself only able to cast a condescending eye upon mere supermarket onions, such a fresh onion snob I have since become. Okay, I may be over-dramatising just bit, but really, they are damn tasty onions.

So anyway, check out the article and the stunning accompanying pics. It's the kind of piece - particularly the photos - that's so compelling that if you're in right frame of mind, you mind find yourself fighting the urge to book plane tickets to Denmark (and ferry tickets to Samsø).

Most weeks, the Tjek section of Politiken makes for an interesting read. One focus of the section is on comparing a number of similar products sold in various shops around Denmark, and assessing which one represents the best value. 'Value' in the check section is typically a fairly holistic measure, encompassing price - but quality is really at the heart of it. The range of products that have been put to the Tjek test is quite broad – recent examples range from the mundane - like table salt (who would have known there was much of a taste difference between different types of sale, but Tjek made a convincing argument that there indeed is), the distinctly Danish, like packaged fish (mackeral, for the most part I believe) in tomato sauce, to this weeks featured produce - shaving cream.

Tjek really is a pretty useful endeavour, because frankly without investing a lot of time, effort and energy, it's pretty hard to assess most products in any detail, especially when it comes down to examining what sorts of additives they contain, and so forth. Which is where this weeks assessment of shaving cream was pretty revealing.

So let’s talk about shaving cream.

Now personally, I'm a big fan of 'Brig' shaving cream, which can be bought in Netto for a whopping 8 kroner (or approximately 1 Euro). This has always struck me as a far better value than the widely available alternative, Gilette (at about 5 times the cost). Comparing the two, Brig to me has an equally pleasant scent, does what it is supposed to do (ie. foam) - and a can of it seems to last forever. And really, who can quibble with the price?

So it was revealing to read Tjek to see how Brig rated, and how the alternatives stacked up. Brig was among the cheapest, but points were awarded for organic contents, no perfume, and non-harmful additives. I should also add at this point that I’m a huge fan of organic and non-perfumed products – soaps, etc. As more and more of these relatively natural products enter our apartment, the alternatives seem to become progressively less appealing - in many cases, at least. Especially when it comes to unnaturally flowery smelling perfumed soaps and detergents, and such.

So, Brig shaving cream it turns out, received a score 3 out of 6, handily outscoring Gilette (which managed a pitiful 1 out of 6 and was red-flagged in all categories).

But the clear winner was Anglamark Shaving Cream, available at the supermarket SuperBrugsen for 26 kroner - the only shaving cream to score 6 out of 6 – as it was the only shaving cream to contain absolutely no offending additives. As for Gilette, well, don't believe the advertising hype. There you have it.

Oh, be warned, the assessment did not get into niche categories such as 'best shaving cream pie' - should you be looking for just the right way to celebrate the winning goal in a future football victory, or such.

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The impossibly seductive Pernille Rosendahl (and Co.), live at Vega on Thursday evening, concluding a month long tour around Denmark.

There's always a risk of having to listen to a lot of not so great-filler whenever a band with only one album is headlining a show, but The Storm didn't waste anytime moving firmly from one solid track to the next from their excellent debut album during their high-energy show on Thursday. I certainly wouldn't hestitate to plunk down my cash to see them again in the future.

The Storm features a bit heavier sound than the now-defunct Swan Lee, but there's no denying Pernill Rosendahl is one hell of a talented singer - and they are a pretty decent songwriting duo as well, with the promise of more to come. Let's hope so.

by: Timothy Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)

Upon discovering that Transglobal Underground, one of the (many, many) favourite bands of The Copenhagen Report, was coming to Copenhagen for a show on Nov. 13, we got in touch with Tim Whelan, the band's leader, keyboard and guitar player, to find out in advance of the show about what they've been up to lately. But if you've never heard Transglobal Underground, it's a chance to check out their full-throttle live performance, which never disappoints...



It's great to see the band showing up in Denmark (and Sweden) for a few shows. You could say the shows from the current tour have been pretty scattered around - how does the band decide where to tour these days?

Most of the time we've been playing where the album has been released.....and it hasn't been released in Scandinavia so we haven't played there for 2 years up till the current invitation to play with Valravn.

The exhibition u-turn is notable for its scope, and for the fact that its simply not the kind of exhibition that makes it's way to Copenhagen often enough. It's really more of a typically London or Berlin kind of exhibition. It's by no means mind-blowingly original or anything like that, but it's amusing - and it would be great to see more exhibitions closer to this scale in Copenhagen. Personally, I haven't had a chance to fully explore many of the associated events, of which there are many throughout the month, but I did get out to one of the main parts of it, that being the one out at Carlsberg in Vesterbro/Valby, which was quite amusing and perfectly located in an big old (and now unused) warehouse/manufacturing room. A great way to spend an hour or two on a Sunday.

And of course the ever-reliable Louisiana has done it again with a fantastic retrospective of Danish artist Per Kirkeby's work. Watch the video in which the curator of the exhibitions talks to Per Kirkeby about some of the paintings to gain a pleasantly insightful peek into the mind of this well-known Danish artist, one who has put a lot more thought and feeling into his scratchy, abstract and colourful works then first meets the eye.





...and if nothing else, enjoy the inevitably peaceful setting of the almost always compelling museum, overlooking the Øresund Sea. And it's so much easier to get out there for a visit now that Louisiania is now open until late every weekday evening.

I know this blog is desperately in need of more loving, and I will work on it. In the meantime, a possibly helpful note: if you need someone to clean your toilets, consider poaching one of the staff from the cleaning service of Copenhagen airport. Apparently, they do scrub harder (or so their sign claimed...), which I suppose is what you would want. Enough said.

The unpretentious falafel stand in Christiania. A fine falafel, they certainly sell. The best in the city...it just might be, if you ask me.

Out came the announcement a short while ago that one of Copenhagen's 4 free daily newspapers, Nyhedsavisen, had (at last) run aground, apparently after bleeding some 1 million kroner per day (!!). It officially closed its doors for good yesterday.

Here's a couple of comments I can offer:

Firstly, this is hardly a surprise. In the last apartment we lived, Nyhedsavisen used to get delivered to the door most mornings, for some reason or other. We certainly never ordered it. Interestingly, it was generally there on the doorstep in the late evening, the day before. That is to say, the news was about as fresh as a loaf of stale bread - and an extremely low quality one, with not much taste to begin with, at that.

Secondly, bike anywhere around the center of Copenhagen and one cannot avoid the free newspapers. MetroXpress and Urban are arguably at the absolute bare minimum level of acceptability of the lot - lest you misunderstand what I'm mean, let me define 'minimum level of acceptability' as not unlike choking back an abnormally bitter and horrid morning coffee that is just a tiny bit above room temperature, when no other alternative is available (and your fighting off a mean hangover). So it's not saying much.

To put it another way, while basically it was barely even worth bothering to flip through Nyhedsavisen, MetroXpress and Urban can provide a bare level of distraction during a 5 or 10 minute metro ride. But not much more. And the fact that I'm even suggesting this is the definition of a 'minimum level of acceptability' suggest the depths to which daily journalism standards and expectations have fallen, at least in the area of free newspapers.

Imagine if somebody actually managed to put out a free daily morning newspaper that managed to provide some original insight, even if it wasn't comprehensive in it's coverage. That could actually be something worthwhile, and a much better way to kill time during a metro ride.

So good riddance Nyhedsavisen, we really won't be missing ya'.

*Ed. note: Upon second thought some hours later, I believe it was actually '24 timer' that arrived at our door each day, not Nyhedsavisen. Nonetheless, this doesn't really change the bottom line, since the free newspapers are virtually interchangeable anyway...and I should acknowledge that they do, every once in a while, pull out some half-baked piece of journalism that is mildly original. It just doesn't happen all that often, and it takes them rather a lot of forest in between...

I am not typically a reader of the Danish (tabloid-style) newspaper BT. But yesterday, I felt obligated to purchase a copy for the first (and probably only) time.

You see, my girlfriend's parents happen to be BT subscribers, which proved lucky for me, as it was they who discovered what I otherwise I would never have known - which was that in yesterday's BT issue I had been quoted extensively, though rather cryptically, in an article in BT's travel section.

Yes, it seems the good folks at BT (or at least one of their journalists, Kåre Welinder) was trolling around CNN's website and came across the interview I recently contributed about life in Copenhagen. Kåre was kind enough to write a very positive article based on a few of quotes and comments from that interview, translated into Danish - attributing them to 'den canadiske journalist Tim' ('the Canadian journalist Tim'). Nice.

A shame Kåre didn't bother to actually give my full name, or directly mention The Copenhagen Report, or drop me a line to mention he was writing the article (I promise I don't bite...even tabloid journalists) but no matter - Kåre was kind enough to suggest that the whole interview could be found on CNN's Travel webpage. I'm not entirely sure why he didn't instead quote from Connie Nielsen's slightly more high-profile and interesting interview from the same CNN page, on the same 'life in Copenhagen' theme - not that I'm complaining!

I also must admit that yesterday, for the first time in my life, I felt like a bit of a media whore, since only a few hours earlier I had finished ghost-writing an interview-article for an upcoming issue of World Finance magazine (an article about banking, that had nothing to do with life in Copenhagen...). From BT to World Finance, all in a day - talk about covering the media spectrum...

And one last personally amusing side-note. Each Monday, during one of the twice weekly 3 1/2 hour sessions of Danish lessons I subject myself to, each class member has to bring in an article from a Danish newspaper or magazine to talk about...I already know what article I'll be bringing to class this coming week...


A little surprise from BT...you've been quoted...

Rønne, Bornholm from the air...

Ending up on the Danish island of Bornhorm during the summer months, and a mere 3 hours from Copenhagen - assuming no bad weather has caused the catamarans to be cancelled (more on that later) - is never a bad option, in spite of the unreliable Danish weather. So, a few simple pictures...


Rønne from the sea...




Deep blue waters straight off the rocks waters makes for a great place for a quick jump into the water at Allinge (just in front of the røgeri)


the view from Hasle...


fishermen in the Rønne harbour...


wood...and water


a visit just woudn't be complete without a bit of smoked herring...in this case from Svaneke




yep, smoked herring...


smoked fish!


Now this is a moment in Danish time. A classic and tasty Bornholm tourist dish from the Svaneke Røgeri - smoked herring, rugbrød, and some butter (and in this case a mussel on the side...)


Homemade at Svaneke: The Flødebolle (a distinctly Danish, well, Scandinavian, chocolate treat...)




Hammershus...taking you all the way back to the 13th century. Kind of.


the view from Hammershus...

The ferry ride home on a rather, ahem, blustery day is another story...one involving cancelled catamarans, a slow ferry, small paper bags and many gagging-like noises. Thankfully, none of them were coming from us, the day of this photo.


can't bode well for a smooth ride home...


3 hours of wavey action, little paper bags and way too many unpleasant sounds...

Every now and then, some little and seemingly meaningless event or incident reminds you that things are always developing, and in the case of Copenhagen, generally for the better, I would say.

A recent addition at the exit gates at Copenhagen Airport is a case in point. The orange facade and clean lines of the relatively new 'Nørrebro Bryghus' bar is the first thing passengers see as they exit the airport. And this really is something notable - notable for what it isn't.

See, in years past, dear old Carlsberg would never have let such an opportunity to blast their green logo in front of a few million people, many stepping onto Danish soil for the first time, get by them. But somehow the little Nørrebro Bryhus-microbrewery outfoxed the giant, grabbing onto this prime spot. And it's more than a symbolic victory, since this really is the first 'visual of Denmark' as passengers exit customs and effectively enter Denmark.

It's also a nice allegory to the state of the beer market in Denmark, which has been thoroughly rejuvenated with the addition of piles of small breweries and tasty beers. I like it.

One of the best deals out there for a night of entertainment happens on a Friday night at Tivoli Gardens - the amusement park in the center of Copenhagen. Well, not just any Friday, but some of them. In case you live in Copenhagen, but under a rock, every week Tivoli hosts a Friday concert ("Fridagsrock") series, where for the price of admission you get a 'free' open air concert. And every now and then a major international act turns up - such as this past week - along with plenty of worthwhile Scandinavian names the rest of the weeks. Admittedly, not every one of them is exactly worth the price of admission, and there are times when Tivoli's lousy sound system can be problematic. But if you get yourself into the right position, and the band has decent sound guys, it can be pretty damn good.

This past Friday The Flaming Lips rolled into town and played a Friday concert at Tivoli. It was an impressive performance, to say the least, as The Flaming Lips take their stage show pretty seriously...well, sort of. Maybe seriously is the wrong word for a band that plays a nearly 2 hour show with a bunch of Teletubbies dancing along beside them. Yes, Yoshimi Battled the Pink Robots. Do you realize? Enough said.


Yoshima battles the pink robots...


Do you realize?

By: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)

"Så crooner vi igen" ('So we crooner again') announced the sign above the bar as we sauntered into Kassen on Nørrebrogade one Wednesday night not all that long ago. As the band set up the Rhodes kyeboard, double base and drum set, we had a hunch we just might have stumbled on to something. Casting our eyes over the classic bar menu, and the classically decked out bartenders, we decided we had to pull up a bar stool and find out.

Indeed we had.

There's almost nothing better than discovering a new mid-week diversion, even if it's actually not all that new and has (presumably) been there right in front of your blissfully ignorant eyes for some time. Precisely this was what happened Wednesday night about 3 weeks ago when, rambling around Nørrebro looking for just the right place to fit our mood that evening, 'Kassen' came up as a suggestion. It was a place we had been ignoring for some years.

And what do you know, turns out Wednesday at Kassen is 'Crooner Night'.

This means a special classic menu of cocktails (you know the ones, Manhatten, Martini, Cosmopolitan, etc., etc), and, best of all, a nice little lounge band playing in the corner.

Any band that can coolly finish off their evening set of crooner classics with a casually lounge-like jazzy version of a classic-in-its-own-kind-of-way 'Eye of the Tiger', just chilled-out enough to make you want to tap your feet as you throw back one last martini, is absolutely good enough to fill a few hours on an otherwise non-descript Wednesday night in Copenhagen. You gotta love it.




'Crooner night' every Wednesday at Kassen 20.00-01.00


Just right for a Manhatten...

Not that long ago, anyone going for a little bicycle ride along the lakes ('Søerne') in Copenhagen, which stretch from Vesterbro, past Nørrebro and all the way over to Osterbro, was greeted by very unfriendly gates and 'no cycling' signs. It looked exactly like this:


...obviously, not everyone agreed with the message

It was one of the most nonsensical cycling restriction in Copenhagen. Not only is are the lakes a great place to cycle, but with two enormously wide paths, one running right alongside the water, the other set about a meter higher set in from the water, there is more than ample enough space for both bicycles and pedestrians. But at long last, the restrictions are being lifted and finally the path along the lakes looks as it should. There are still a couple of fences up towards Osterbro, which I assume will disappear soon (or are being left to 'slow' bicycle traffic).


no more barriers or bicycle restrictions!

An amusing thing about this (above) picture is it is precisely the sight of a campaign an adamant local has been running every morning for the past few months, putting up a banner over the (former) barrier proclaiming the path along the lakes for pedestrians, then sitting herself at a chair on a table and thereby partially blocking the small entrance in the barrier where bikes and people could go through. Apparently a protest of the coming changes to along bicycles. I used to cycle by her on my way to work every morning.

Actually, I was even once (annoyingly) stopped by a tricky police officer positioned to catch the many, many people (like me) who chose to be, ahem, civilly disobedient when going along the lakes with a bicycle...the fine never did arrive in the post.

Incidentally, a fair way to judge of how the summer is going in Copenhagen, that is, if there has really been a summer at all, is to take a stroll along the lakes ('Søerne'). A hot summer not only means algae-coated green-tinged lakes, but also results in the lakes emitting a lovely stench. And judging things by this measure, it hasn't been such a bad summer around here. Fortunately the ducks seem to like it no matter what.




the lovely green Copenhagen lakes...

It's a bit frustrating that I just haven't had time these last few weeks for this blog, but as I promised, that will change soon.

In the meantime, perhaps this interview I did with CNN International about life in Copenhagen in connection with one of their shows, My City_My life could be of interest.

It's not often that you get to share the stage with Connie Neilsen, somewhat metaphorically in this case, and I certainly couldn't ask for anymore publicity for this blog than this!

Any reports of the death of The Copenhagen Report you may have heard (or more likely imagined) are greatly exaggerated, I can personally assure you. The Copenhagen Report will return in full force later in August...well, maybe partial force if the weather is good.

There has been good reason for a lack of articles. A vacation to Canada for two weeks for the first part of July, followed by a little assignment that has seen your correspondent working as Event Journalist covering a sailing race around the Baltic Sea (www.balticsprintcup.com, if you're curious to read all about it...) have meant my time in Copenhagen in July has been a grand total of 3 days.

Cheers!
Tim

Yes, it true that not all Danes have blond hair and blue eyes.

Okay, this post comes a bit late but who cares (as I mentioned recently, too much sun these days to be posting very regularly). So the annual Eurovision Song Contest (or 'Melodi Grand Pris' in Danish) has come and gone. No 'Fly on the Wings of Love' this year for Denmark, the song that won it a few years back for this country.

But I did really enjoy the French entry this year, which a friend pointed me to (it also didn't win). This is actually a very non-Eurovision song, by a very cool non-Eurovision artist, who made a great non-Eurovision style video for the song.

Sebestien Tellier's Divine - enjoy! (I still am...)

The scene at Enghave Plads in Vesterbro last night as the Distortion Festival roared on. Blue skies and warm music. Priceless.


www.cphdistortion.dk

Like there was a choice whether to join or not. When your flat lies just around the corner from the heart of the action, as does the flat of yours truly, you may as well embace the action and join in. So last night the Distortion Festival was as loud and rowdy and amusing as was to be expected.

From the 'Obama' Party bus to Christiania Cycle (with build in sound system) that kept the music playing even after it had 'officially' stopped, to the guys with a draft beer tap set up in their ground floor apartment serving beer directly through their window onto the street (now that's entrepreneurial spirit - especially given the outrageous queues at the local kiosks selling beer!) it was an entertaining evening.

As the Distortion Festival proves, when the sun shines so does Copenhagen...and when the sun sets, the fun really begins (even on a Thursday night). Thank goodness for the weekend...and the Distortion Festival in Vesterbro.

www.cphdistortion.dk


ahhhhh, Sankt Hans Torv...


the unoffical Obama '08 party bus...


yep, serving draft beer tap straight from a tap set up in their
well-located apartment - a nice way to help pay the rent...


as dusk settled in...


the main soundsystem once the clock passed midnight...