Now that was a party! The Copenhagen Distortion Festival was crazier than ever this year with an estimated 90,000+ participants roaming the streets (and clubs) of Copenhagen from Wednesday to Sunday last week. It really was something to experience.
We did our part which can be seen in Episode #54 of MyDenmarkTV.com - besides lots of party footage from the streets, we actually managed to film a 10+ minute interview with Distortion Festival Founder and Visionary Thomas Fleurquin WHILE CYCLING. You really couldn't have dreamed a better scenario for an interview in literally the middle of the party.
Check it out and enjoy!
Episode #54 - MyDenmarkTV.com from MyDenmarkTV on Vimeo.
Every year I look forward to the first few days of June when the Copenhagen Distortion Festival hits the streets. This year it's from June 2-6, 2010. If you are living in a hole or a similar dark space in Copenhagen and somehow missed the party in the past few years, understand that in 2009 there were over 60 events attended by nearly 40,000. It really is a hell of a party - though obviously the weather has a big impact on how it all plays out. My personal favourite 2 days are the Nørrebro and Vesterbro street parties, which I never miss if I can help it.
We're filming an episode of MyDenmarkTV.com in during Nørrebro Distortion on Thursday, and we've even lined up an interview Mr. Distortion himself, Thomas Fleurquin, who is the mastermind behind the whole thing - from when it was a tiny little bit of madness attended by a select few party people back in 2001 to now. I'm really looking forward to chatting with him about it.
Do yourself a favour and check out the party at least one of the nights.
June 2 - Center of city
June 3 - Nørrebro
June 4 - Vesterbro
June 5 - Final Party
June 6 - Chill out in the park
We spent a bit of time on Istegade recently putting Episode #48 of MyDenmarkTV.com together. It really is my favourite street in Copenhagen - if I was moving somewhere else in the world and could take one street in Copenhagen with me, this would be the one. We pretty much let the images do the talking in this episode. Enjoy!
The scene at Enghave Plads in Vesterbro last night as the Distortion Festival roared on. Blue skies and warm music. Priceless.
www.cphdistortion.dk
By: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
Construction, construction, construction. And falling prices. The Copenhagen housing market is quite a thing to get a handle on these days. On one hand is a rapidly growing number of apartments for sale (with rapidly dropping price tags), on the other is a pile of ongoing and recently completed housing projects - most of these were conceived and started quite some time before the housing market in Copenhagen went belly up some 18 to 24 months ago - after a lengthy and sustained period of rapidly rising prices. So there's plenty of units in these new buildings available if you like what you see.
There are a few intense pockets of construction around Copenhagen - each characterised by lots of visible 'for sale' signs. Perhaps the most ambitious of these development areas is found along the harbour front on both the Vesterbro and the Islands Brygge sides. The buildings are visually quite compelling, though their price tags are less so - for example, the new Havneholm apartments that are effectively opening up a whole new area of Vesterbro. The apartments being built directly behind the shopping mall Fisketorv (pictured above) are another.
For those who have take the bait and bought in this particular re-developed area, well, it's difficult to say how daily life is. There's no question the apartments themselves are (or will be) crisply modern and bright - and highly appealing on this basis. Yet one can't help but wonder how this squares with the general plan for development around the buildings - or lack thereof. This is the stuff that really makes urban life most pleasurable, at least by many estimations. Amongst that which surrounds these buildings it is strikingly undeveloped, scattered and inconsistent. Actually, it could be said that what isn't fournd in the area that provokes questions. Complimenting these sky-high per sqare meter priced apartments is certainly not trendy cafes and restaurants, or a thoughfully planned out landscape, though there is a certain type of shopping opportunity in Fisketorv. It is difficult to see anything that would compel the residents to do more than simply ride the elevator up and down to their wonderful new apartments - and stay there (granted, looking out at a wonderful view of the channel). See, while Fisketorv may be close at hand, trendy is not a word I would use to describe a day at this or pretty much any other mall. 
a second to none waterfront view - though not every day is a
blissfully sunny and warm one, especially in Copenhagen.
The development (and subsequent sales) plan for these new buildings basically goes like this:
1. put building in front of channel, ensuring (at least half of) the apartments have a great view.
2. sell apartments at wildly inflated prices based upon this waterfront location (and view).
3. hope they sell before buyers and prospective buyers realise that coherent integrated plan for creating life and opportunities for residents around the apartment buildings is non-existent.
But I digress. There is another part of the story.
On a wildly sunny June, July or August day, the Islands Brygge swimming area of Copenhagen is about as good as it gets in Copenhagen - it's few few hundred meters away from these new developments. So this is certainly an attraction and weighty selling point. The crowds (granted Copenhagen-sized ones), flock to the area to bake in the sun, swim in the clean (though generally chilly) channel waters, and barbecue as the sun sets (using with characteristic disposable barbecues that I have only ever come across in Denmark).
Perhaps the development project that epitomises the best and worst of life along the waterfront is the magnificent converted silos that bookend one side of the newly-constructed bridge connecting Vesterbro, via the shopping mall Fisketorv, with Islands Brygge. As an architectural project, this one is something to behold. Above the concrete base of this one-of-a-kind apartment building, sunny circular balconies provide a look-out over the water, and are surely the envy anyone who appreciates a waterfront view. But below the balconies, where the concrete base of the building begins, it's a different story. The developers simply didn't concern themselves in the least with that.
The picture above tells the story. Notice the wonderful grassy yard in which to relax by the sea, the cheerful play equipment for children, the direct swimming and boating access to the channel (which is indeed clean enough to swim in - there is a channel 'pool' just a few hundred meters away)? No probably not, as there simply isn't any of that! The landscaping is about as raw as it can get. There is a sort of empty modernness about it, but not much else.
On the other hand, the bridge out front is a true selling point, connecting Vesterbro and Islands Brygge as they never have been before - which indeed is a great benefit for those on both sides of the channel.
the bridge by night
So who exactly is buying these places? And what to really make of them? Are buyers really getting a good deal, a 'ground-level' opportunity to be part of something truly unique in Copenhagen? Or are these places destined to quickly shed their value and fall more in-line with the prices apartment around the rest of Copenhagen?
Perhaps this really is phase 1, and phase 2 will see a further transformation of the area as the developers move out, and local entrepreneurs spot opportunities to bring new life into the area. It's hardly around the corner, but it could happen yet. In the meantime, pull out your fat chequebook if you are truly compelled by what you see here and now - because it will cost you.
Tucked around a little corner of Vesterbrogade, not far from Enghavevej, lies a troika of late-night temptresses that many a late-night reveller in Copenhagen has succumbed to on one occasion or another. If you've been there once for a late night rollick, you've probably been there twice. Perhaps it last occurred during the late hours of a festively glowing December night, as each of the evenings for the next three weeks will be, following one of those infamous schnapps-and-herring-fueled Danish Christmas lunches. Maybe it capped off one of those rare Copenhagen warm summer nights in July, as the sun was rising in the east. Or a frosty night in January as early-hour cyclists bravely laid tracks in the freshly-fallen snow sprinkled over the street as they peddled their way home. Or perhaps it was some other random evening, a mid-week drinking session which would otherwise have been forced to a premature ending at the hands of one in Vesterbro that was less willing - and certainly wouldn't have you after midnight.
In any event, what is certain is that whichever of these three ladies-of-the-night it was that caught your eye, it was surely the foggy distortion of a pair of thick beer-goggles that attracted you to one or the other. Their names are Ludvigsen, Hacken Busch, and the incomparable (and still-smoke filled) Mørkbar. Lying within eyeshot of each other on Vesterbrogade, they are shameless in their overtures at these late hours. But they are also deceitful, for in truth they are three thirsty vampires who under the moonlit sky of the night want nothing less than fresh blood. And as it happens plenty are willing to oblige them. Time and again. Punters lusting after one, two, three of four final late-night barley-wurlitzers (or worse) which they can and do willingly and shamelessly provide.
And so it was last night as I left the clutches of Mistress Hackenbusch (and a half-emptied shot of noxious black Små Grå) in the wee hours of the morning and headed home to the comforts of my soft bed that I found myself thinking about this unlikely yet powerful seductive pull that these three late-night Vesterbro temptresses possess, and wondering if it really had to be like this.
Mofo Steel at Boutique Lize
Copenhagen has an astounding capacity to genuinely surprise. This is perhaps the biggest strength of the city. Then again, there are quite a few strengths of the place, which I've mentioned in a few articles on this blog in the past.
So wandering along Istedgade last night turned out to be a good choice - in fact, it was something of an instinctive feeling, an intuition you could say, that lead us there. I could almost a little voice in my head at the beginning of the night saying 'even though it's Wednesday night and there's always some interesting music at Cafe Tjili Pop on Wednesday, skip it and go out in Vesterbro tonight instead!'.
I don't know what went on at Tjili Pop, but Vesterbro indeed proved quite a more than worthwhile diversion on an otherwise quiet Wednesday night.
The evening began in Boutique Lize (okay, actually it began with a drink at Darling across the street, but it reeeealy began at Boutique Lize). There we discovered, much to our surprise, that a band was playing. This was the first time I'd actually seen a band playing there. In my mind, the place is only a cocktail bar, but apparently they are trying to branch out a bit.
The band very quickly caught our ears - it was a Danish one that we'd never heard of called Mofo Steel.
And what a band they were - 5 fantastic musicians, clearly with a wide range of influences, and a style that would be impossible to pin down to anything other then fantastic songwriting. I can only hope that they keep at it - they're the kind of band you want to see go far - it would otherwise be such a tremendous waste of potential. A extremely tight and immensely talented ensemble from the keyboards (often on the wonderful Hammond organ setting), through the bass player, guitarist, drummer and lead singer.
Their next gig, we found out, is at Loppen in Christiania on Sept. 27 if you're curious. I'm certainly considering checking that one out after what I heard last night. If I was from a record label and had stumbled into last nights show at Boutique Lize unaware, I would have been crapping my pants in excitement at the prospect of the discovery.
But the night was not over.
Following the show, we were wandering along Istedgade discussing where to go next (it was still not even 11) when we heard plenty of noise coming from a little clothing shop called 'Dig' (a shop that I had never noticed before) and people spilling out the door onto the sidewalk. As we discussed whether or not to check it out (of course sheer curiousity would compel us to) I noticed that none other than the suddenly famous (in Denmark) Trentemøller was behind the decks in this tiny place. We wandered in, handed over 20 kroner for a couple glasses of punch (the only drink being served), and proceeded to dance along to frantically energetic Trentemøller DJ-set (accompanied on the decks by another female friend whose name I never found out) for the next 90 minutes. You really can't ask for anything more fantastically spontaneous then that.
Two surprises in one evening - and both within 100 meters of each other. Now that's Copenhagen at it's best.
the sight and sounds of an unexpected street-level party on Istedgade...
the man of the hour - Mr. Trentemøller
...'Verdens Mindste Kaffebar' ('The World's Smallest Coffee Bar)
Copenhagen is at its best when it is at its quirkiest. And there are few quirkier establishments then 'Verdens Mindste Kaffebar' - 'The World's Smallest Coffee Bar'. Located on the little known street in Vesterbro called Tullinsgade (which runs of the more well-known streets, Vaernedamsvej). There's room for about 2 people inside (or 4 squeezed).
Drop by if you need a shot of caffeine. Or on a nice day, if you're in the mood for a game of table tennis - on a miniature table, naturally.
by: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
sorry, only grainy mobile phone pics once again...
The guys from Komponent struck again on Friday night (May 11), booking The Books, the fantastic guitar/cello duo of Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto from New York.
These two guys know how to put a song together. Their music is a series of beautiful and emotional guitar/electric cello pieces, complete with vocals and plenty lots of electronic effects. The result is an original, distinct and compelling sound which quickly hooks the listener.
Moreover, what Paul and Nick really know how to do is put together a stunning performance befitting of their songs.
Each and every song is complimented by a purposefully created visual presentation that Paul and Nick have created, synced to the music - the guys queue the videos themselves at the start of each song. Filled with vibrant themes created using an assortment of random video images, old home videos and computer graphics, each one of them powerfully transformed the accompanying song into something more akin to a sort moving painting with sound. And each video oozes a certain joy of life.
The result is a feeling that you are witnessing, right in front of your eyes, a force being tapped into that is far greater than the sum of the visible parts. And you are invited to partake in whatever it is. A rare feeling, indeed.
There are few greater pleasures then happening upon a fantastic band whom you have never heard of previously. As I had overlooked the Komenent mail in my inbox at the end of last week, it took a last minute SMS from a friend to get me to the show. Ironically, I managed to arrive at Lab in Vesterbro where the event was staged before those whom I was to join - and by the time they arrived all tickets had sold out. Which meant they themselves couldn't get in. Now that's injustice.
The Books audio/visual performance leaves a lasting impact - it's not at all one that fades from memory shortly after you leave the concert.
By: Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
Following on the heals of Part 1 and Part 2 of this Istedgade series, the focus of this one will be the trendier end of Istedgade, let's call that 'upper Istedgade'. What could be referred to as 'lower Istedgade' (or 'Istedgade the Hooker' and 'Istedgade the Junkie') are areas of the street offering their own distinct set of nightlife possibilities - and these will be the subject of part 5 of this series...
Istedgade by night is pretty good, indeed. Bars and cafés abound. It's not wall-to-wall cafes or anything like that - that would in all liklihood prove to be hugely problematic. Furthermore, the target clientel at the establishment of Istedgade trendier places are not those planning to end the night in a mess of sloppy drunkiness (even if a good few end up this way, nonetheless). There are other areas of Copenhagen where those less capable of handling a few drinks with dignity tend to frequent, which is a good thing for Istedgade. This is not at all to suggest that this makes Istedgade a quiet place by night. It's certainly not.
Along upper Istedgade, there are a fair number of generally unpretentious alternatives for having a quiet drink or less quiet drink.
Until recently, Cafe Riga, with it’s laid back atmosphere and underground music was the place to hang - but an ownership change some months ago, apparently provoked by complaining neighbours, has, as if a neutron bomb exploded, left the walls (and furniture) intact but sucked the life right out of the place. The fantastic underground music and excellent local DJ’s have disappeared (along with the atmosphere they largely were responsible for creating). Still, Riga’s comfortable chairs and couches remain a pleasant option for whiling away a few quiet hours in the early evening.
Cafe Riga today...a rather unpretentious welcome
A better bet, if hip and trendy is your thing (and Carlsberg is not), would be Boutique Lize. Only open evenings from Wednesday to Saturday, Boutique Lize serves a variety fine beers (mostly foreign) while the highly competent bartenders happily serve up a wide assortment of cocktails - some of the better ones in town. A glass of ‘Brugs’, a tasty Belgian offering available on tap, or a mojito (arguably one of the best in Copenagen) are both particularly recommendable.
Then there are a couple of Istedgade’s longstanding institutions of alcohol consumption and chatter – Bang and Jenson and McKluuds.
While Bang and Jensen has always managed to effortlessly maintain an image of laidback, hipster-like cool (and rarely lets you down on any night of the week, even late in the evening on Sunday), McKluuds fits quite a different description. It is all 'Copenhagen bodega' - though one of the more accessible ones. By all means drop by McKluuds for a very cheap beer and a free game of pool, but not for the atmosphere.
Bang and Jensen by day - still pretty busy
Bang and Jensen by night - even busier and rarely a let-down...
McKluuds...always cheap and always...well, cheap...
The place that could take the prize for trendiness would be Strassen - and maybe it does in a parallel universe somewhere else. Unfortunately in this one, it doesn't quite make it. Consistently apathetic service (and a really nasty batch of raw burgers served up to us several months by a cook in the kitchen who apparently was a little overzealous about trying to close the grill down early for the night) has put Strassen way out of favour in my books. Still, when the bartenders are in the mood, they are capable of mixing up quite a tasty cocktail. And Strassen does get the prize for the most amusing fishtank in Vesterbro - a large tank built into the wall with a huge mural picture of Istedgade laid out behind it.
Another unpretentious possibility would be Simpelt V (across from Riga). Doing it's best to take over from where Riga left off when it changed owners, they still haven't quite got the music issue down to a science at Simpelt V, but they're kind of trying. It does look pretty hipster, what with all the vinyl hanging on the walls and the pleasantly comfortable seating.
Simpelt V - hidden behind the bikes and graffitti...
An untested newcomer is Malbeck, an establishment billing itself as an Argentian Wine bar. We'll see if this one flies, in time.
And still more newcomers will surely arrive in the area over the next months.
But what if you're hungry (you may be asking by now)? Well, that's up next in Part 4...
by Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
The previous article (A stroll down Istedgade (part 1): Is this the seedy or trendy heart of Vesterbro) introduced an allegorical character, a schizophrenic named 'Istedgade' who it was claimed would star in an upcoming Woody Allen movie (a film apparently attracting a quite a significant 'buzz')...so that is where this article picks up. Got it?
welcome...
Istedgade the Hipster is unquestionably the most alluring of schizophrenic Istedgade's personalities.
First, about hipsters - in case you are not one but were thinking maybe you could be, or you are one and don’t know it, or you know you are one but are simply in denial. A hipster could loosely be defined as one who distains the mainstream - known to coldly yet vigorously reduce anything possibly fitting into any mainstream categorisation to kitsch and unworthy. With rare exceptions, they are rather skinny - 1 or 2% excess body fat kind of skinny, Mick Jagger skinny. They have complicated hair, just might be gay (or not entirely heterosexual) and of course, there are the tattoos. And if it’s not indie, underground, literature, music, film or some other sort of artform, it’s probably not that interesting. So while a lot of people could claim to be halfway there, one must be quite a determined breed to truely earn the title.
Meaning that 'Istedgade the Hipster' is a very specific sort of being - one quite in contrast to the other parts of its (schizophrenic) personality.
most certainly a hipster magnet...
Returning to our allegory (from Part 1) of Istedgade as the schizophrenic star of a Woody Allen film, let's talk about what happens in the film. Istedgade the Hipster spends much time on the couch in therapy (being a Woody Allen flick and all).
The opening scene (set in the office of Istedgade's long-time analyst):
Istedgade the Hipster (probably a 'he' but possibly a 'she') is lying on the couch complaining, agonising that in spite of their loud and continual protestations, he (or she) has become an object of fascination - the subject of the relentless and unforgiving talk of the masses. And this Istedgade the Hipster finds to be a terrible and rather soul-destroying plight. With amusing self-awareness, this fictional but ultra-cool hipster character worries that this film in which he (or she) is starring just may be Woody Allen's biggest film since Manhatten - a huge moneymaker. The buzz surrounding the film is ceaseless, and the very thought has left Istedgade the Hipster feeling more than mere anxiety. Istedgade the Hipster simply distains being associated with it all - this mainstream attention. Yet it seems there is no escape.
Rather, it has provoked a serious identify crisis within Istedgade the Hipster, one that could turn ugly (and into something more existential in nature).
So we return to the real world, briefly, once again.
A bit about Woody Allen movies. Woody Allen movies are always full of mainstream movie elements – the main characters are always Hollywood actors, the plot twists are often straight out of Hollywood and the endings are, more often then not, happily ever after. Of course, happily ever after in that trademark bizarre Woody Allen kind of way.
However, in spite of all this, they really are not quite mainstream movies. As stories, they have too many schizophrenic quirks. Instead, they stand apart, a brand of their own. They have this odd, hard to quantify, hipster-like shell that over time has proven quite resistant to penetration from the outside. Because in Woody Allen films there is basically always something different.
And in this way, they are just like Istedgade. Chalk full of, well, something different.
So the thing with Istedgade is that there is a risk that with all the attention it continues to attract (in it's coolness), and with its popularity continuing to soar, it just might cease being something different and instead become rather normal - just another not-so-distinct area of Copenhagen. If the graffitti should start to disappear (there's a fair bit of it at present), it will be more than a mere hint of what might be happening.
Now I'm not saying this is destined to happen, but surely sooner or later the chain stores and big money will get a whiff of it's potential and swoop in, no? And should this happen, as the composition of the shops and businesses shifts - Istedgade as we now know it will be no longer.
And should this turn of events take place, it will surely be the end of Istedgade the Hipster.
But we're not there yet. For now, Istedgade the Hipster thrives, genuinely non-mainstream (among many other identities as well, of course). The warmly welcoming local ecological bakery for bread, the numerous local design shops (mentioned in the previous article) for clothes, shoes and an assortment of other boutiques offering furnishing and other gadgets and gimmicks.
the local ecological bakery
funky light for the living room, anyone?
no brand names here...
or here...
or here...
or here...
or here, or here...you get the idea...
Yet when it comes down to it, of course, it's all very interesting, even if it's not quite a comprehensive in the range of 'stuff' you can find - you may need to leave Istedgade to get the rest of the 'things' you need.
And, of course, there's also Istedgade the Kitsch to contend with.
Istedgade the Hipster, of course, grudgingly accepts that lingering presence out of necessity, probably because Istedgade the Kitsch just isn't threatening in the way the mainstream stuff is. Istedgade the Kitsch is merely a bizarre and quirky part of Istedgade's schizophrenic personality.
Istedgade the Kitsch takes the form of a few peculiar shops selling an array of items presumably appealing to the (fairly numerous) immigrants of the area who have yet to acquire any sort of Danish design tastes and sensibilities. These immigrants are one of the features of the street that give it so much more character than other less diverse areas of the city.
welcome to the palace of kitsch...
see anything you like?
The junk being peddled at these kitsch places would make a great gag gift, if you’re looking for that.
But kitsch bits aside, Istedgade the Hipster has continued to grow stronger month by month over the last years - and this is without having even mentioned what is arguably Istedgade's the Hipster's best side - and that is the night time.
And this will be the subject of the Part 3, up next...
by Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
Sometimes seedy, with it’s graffiti and hookers, other times trendy with it’s design shops and cafés, Istedgade is a street of complex character. It’s not so easy to put a finger on just what Istedgade is and where it is heading in the future - which makes it a fascinating spot on the Copenhagen map. But the next several articles (yep, this is the first of five of them) will try to.
Allow me to make a slightly abstract comparison between Woody Allan movies and Istedgade, the street in Vesterbro with, well, many faces. I love Woody Allen movies. Istedgade, like many a character in many a Woody Allen film, happens to be of a slightly neurotic temperment. This is pretty evident when strolling along the street and perhaps that’s part of the reason why I like it so much.
despite the street art, it's hardly scary...
Of the two main (almost parallel) roads that transverse Vesterbro and infuse the area with life, Istedgade and Vesterbrogade, it is Istedgade and its colourful history, that is most known around Copenhagen, but also around Denmark. As home to trash, treasures, junkies and hipsters, truly it’s got a bit of everything. You could say. Perhaps it's missing a few things.
fitting right in on Istedgade...
If Istedgade were a person, it would be schizophrenic with a few personalities. One personality would be a lover of design objects, another surely a hooker and still another most certainly a self-styled hipster (with a few tattoos). There would also be the anti-hipster, a lover of all things kitsch. The self-styled hipster would in all likelihood be the favourite guise these days.
need some ink done? choice abounds around Istedgade...
So just for fun, let’s imagine this schizophrenic person really exists, an allegorical character. For simplicity, let’s call them ‘Istedgade’, shall we? And just to make it really fun, let's also assume this person ('Istedgade') happens to be a character in an upcoming Woody Allen film. And let's imagine there is quite a buzz surrounding this 'Istedgade' character - that is, this character is attracting a lot of attention. Sound interesting...
Our ‘Istedgade’ character, with this complex personality, should fit in just fine into the said Woody Allen movie. Admittedly, it wouldn’t be an entirely typical Woody Allen-type character (most aren’t schizophrenic, after all), however as many Woody Allen characters do, Istedgade would surely have an analyst. That is, Istedgade would be in therapy.
In particular, the 'hipster' portion of Istedgade's multiple personalities would be greatly disturbed by a few things - in particular the temperment of the other personalities with which it must co-exist, as well as by thoughts of just what the future holds for it.
Back to the real world, for a moment.
One can't help wondering, when wandering through Vesterbro and then along Istedgade, just how long things on Istedgade will remain as they are. After all, Vesterbro as a whole (and particularly the street Vesterbrogade) has transcended it’s ‘worker quarters’ past, even if bits of evidence still remain (like the many identical and rather small two room apartments, some still without showers). Housing prices have risen rather wildly over the past 10 years (as they have all over the Copenhagen), plenty of big chain stores have moved in (Blockbuster's 7/11's, national chain stores), while fashion and trendiness remain the current buzzwords, particularly in Vesterbro's less obvious corners. Still, entrepreneurial enterprise of all sorts thrives everywhere.
Yet within Vesterbro, Istedgade has thus far taken a different direction. It seems even quirkier still - more independent.
On Istedgade, the bigger chain stores and pretty much any serious corporate presence remains conspicuously absent. With the exception of a lone Nordea bank branch (not even a single bank machine elsewhere along the road) and a small outlet of a national appliance chain (Punkt), both at the farthest reaches of the street, and a lone 7/11 at the start of Istedgade near the train station, corporate presence is minimal.
Perhaps it is that old lingering fear of 'Istedgade the Hooker' and 'Istedgade the Junkie' (both of whom who will be introduced in an upcoming article) that is keeping the chain shops, chain restaurants and chain coffee shops and cafes away?
In place of Blockbuster, there’s an independent video shop ('Yvonne's'). In place of fast food outlets, there are numerous schwarma shops and a few pizza joints (everyone has their favourites, but I would suggest one of the best being Konya Kebab, owing to its a charcoal barbeque – something very rare for a Copenhagen schwarma shops). In place of dominating corporate chain store clothing shops in other areas of Copenhagen, such as H&M, Istedgade hosts plenty of more independent and oftentimes nearly anonymous design and trendy clothing and gadget shops - some rather expensive, others less so. There are a few excellent restaurants, a good number of interesting cafes and a handful of independent bakeries.
a kebab straight of the barbeque...
random funky stuff...
yes, it is...and you can buy the sign...
But Istedgade is no longer keeping quite the same low profile it once was, and it's former reputation as a seedy place (though still alive in well among those who haven't ventured into the area in recent years) is quickly fading away (once you leave the train station area, that is).
In any article focussed on Vesterbro, attention is increasingly focussed in particular on the perceived 'trendiness' of the Istedgade - at least the upper portion of Istedgade.
the local skateboard shop
To return to our schizophrenic Woody Allen character 'Istedgade', and in particular the 'hipster' slice of its personality. The current trendiness of Istedgade (the street) is largely the sort of trendiness that eschews the mainstream - and that's the sort of trendiness that makes 'Istedgade the Hipster' (this schizophrenic persona of our Woody Allen character) tick. In fact, it is why 'Istedgade the Hipster' exists at all. So the fact that this perceived trendiness is attracting ever increasing attention tends to make 'Istedgade the Hipster' feel, well, threatened. How long can it last?
Istedgade - is it really just another typical street in Copenhagen?
But all of this is just a sort of introduction. This (imaginary) Woody Allen character 'Istedgade' (and it's threatened 'hipster' persona) will be the focus of the next entry. Along with another slice of its schizophrenic personalities, 'Istedgade the Kitsch'.
It's right here - A stroll down Istedgade (Part 1): Is this the seedy or trendy heart of Vesterbro?
And for a bit more of an introduction to Vesterbro in general, At the heart of Vesterbro.
by Tim Anderson (timothyanderson2005@gmail.com)
At the moment, Vesterbro, the area of Copenhagen in which I live with my girlfriend, happens to be my favourite area of the city. Biased, perhaps? Sure, I’ve lived in this part of town for 4 of the 5½ years I’ve been in Copenhagen. Obviously I like it. That said, I have lived in other parts of Copenhagen long enough to gain an ‘outsider’ perspective on Vesterbro. There are also other areas of Copenhagen that I quite like too.
While in recent history Vesterbro was always the workers quarters, now what was once the old worker's club building (designed by the Danish architech Vilhelm Lauritzen back in the 50’s and used by the labour movement for various events for many years) is now (arbuably) one of Copenhagen’s cooler nightclubs, Vega. Which is pretty much where the rest of Vesterbro is at, in relation to decades past.
There are two main veins running through Vesterbro – Istedgade and Vesterbrogade - streets running almost parallel to each other. A third parallel vein, Gamle Kongvej, is just one step outside of Vesterbro (in Frederiksberg). Historically, these three veins are very much social progression of each other, as much of a geographic one - they are a little less so today. They tell quite a bit about Copenhagen’s modern history.
While Gamle Kongvej begins near to the bottom of ‘the lakes’ – a series of 3 man-made bodies of water connecting the east and west of the city – then runs into the heart of old Frederiksberg (home to many of the weathier families of yesterday), Vesterbrogade and Istedgade are quite the opposite – at least historically. I have lived on both of these two. It Copenhagen terms, these are noisy streets that are full of life - day and night. It is Istedgade that is the more famous – widely known thanks to its seedy reputation not only around Copenhagen, but the whole of Denmark, though Vesterbrogade is probably noisier (at least in certain parts).
Istedgade is not a bad place to start if you are a newcomer to the city, though admittedly it will give you a rather skewed perspective of Copenhagen. The first part of Istedgade, the part that lies close to the central train station, the part of the street from which much of Istedgade's reputation stems, is hardly indicative of the rest of the street (nor the rest of Vesterbro).
By in large, the apartments constructed in the Vesterbro over the last decades (and centuries) directly reflect the history of the area – they are workers apartments. My own apartment is a typcial example – a very small 40 sq metre, 2 room apartment in an older building. So frustratingly typical it is, that to this day the shower remains in the basement – shared by all in the building.
Few apartments in Copenhagen were fitted with proper plumbing at the time of their construction (decades ago) and somewhat surprisingly for a city so supposedly modern and proud of it’s design traditions as Copenhagen, quite a number have yet to be fully ‘modernised’ so as to accommodate a shower inside the apartment.
Then there are Vesterbro's side streets, filled with the unexpected - given that what one expects to find there is basically flats, flats and more flats. There are these, but there is much more.
Take Oehlenslægersgade. Disguised as another residential street, in fact it is home to a number of design shops, a specialty beer store, a handful of galleries, one of Vesterbro cooler bars, and a tasty take-away chicken joint (not too mention a horribly seedy bodega).
Saxogade is another case in point. Made famous by the 1968 children's TV show 'Sonja fra Saxegade' that most Danes have heard of, if not seen, it's another street with its interesting points. Part immigrant ghetto, but also home to a handful of less obvious restaurants, shops and cafe's.
In fact, there is a surprising amount of tucked away randomness hidden down Vesterbro's sidestreets - some of it well known, restaurants such as Cofoco, while much remains largely unknown and undiscovered to but a few.
The upcoming series short series of (sometimes lengthy) articles, starting with a five part series exposing the many faces of Istedgade, are going to explore Vesterbro in some detail. The first one is: A stroll down Istegade (Part 1)
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