The Copenhagen windows

One of the unwritten rules state that you don’t look in other people’s windows, no matter how uncovered and inviting. The fact that they show you trust, by not covering everything up, is not an invitation to take advantage. Just like a woman in a short skirt, is not an invitation to get handsy. She is trusting you to control yourself.

So how does one report on the importance of the uncovered Copenhagen windows, without violating this trust? Tricky. In the dark months (half of the year), the lit up windows are like beacons, a proof of life adding to the overall feeling of safety in the streets. In daylight the little details stand out, sometimes it is almost like a small exhibition.... making it impossible to resist... In these cases I tell myself that it is okay, as long as I am shooting from an angle that doesn’t reveal anything but the actual window display. Spoken like a true grabber.

Ground floor living, I don't envy these guys.

The birthday window = happy kids inside. Notice the trademark Copenhagen Smog Finish. Ugh.

Classic Fastelavn window, with the decorated twigs, for whipping parents into obedience. Whipping stops only at candy and cake. An extorsion game much cosier than it sounds, I promise.

When it is an elementary school, other rules apply, long as there are no kids in the shot. Rules clear there.

Irrisistible butt.

Happy feet at the Copenhagen Business School.

And, for those unfamiliar with the unwritten rules:



Sign language.

Okay?

A change is gonna come

Spring is here, and she’s in a mood. Sometimes it is almost fall like, going from cuddly and mild to stormy and wild. Ever since I spotted the big, beautiful magnolia a few years back, I have been looking out for the waxy magic to re-appear. It skipped a year, but this time around, it came out. But before the buds were even halfway out, they were torn off by crazy winds. I’m telling you: the climate has changed.

Balding before their time. When I returned to catch them in full bloom, they were all gone. Not even visible on the floor, like that magic time. Poor, patient magnolia, it finally gets there, and is blown to pieces.

On the bright side of things, winter was mild, and street trees are so happy to be salt free. What a difference it makes, from crippled and bald to perky and leafy. They really don't ask much, trees.

The bunker trees, rescued by citizens. Hard to imagine they would all have been gone, were it not for the public outcry. This is the kind of urban planning your tree hugging friend is up against. And it goes on and on. More on that later.

In other news, the government has allowed French frackers Total to drill for shale gas in Denmark. Wisely prohibited in France. At the moment they are only test drilling, but if they find gas, the contract allows them to collect it for the next thirty years. They are also planning to drill very close to Copenhagen, gambling with our water supply.

Total, frack off!

Since the embarrassingly small demonstration against fracking last fall, the resistance has grown. Still, it may be too late, with the contract already signed. I'll let you know if fire starts shooting out of my faucets. Ugh.

Ever so slightly people seem to be waking up, realising that everything cannot be left up to the politicians. We need to stay informed, and decide for ourselves which direction we want to go, as a people and as a country. The climate has not weighed in yet, in the upcoming election (date yet to be announced), they are still kicking the weakest, promising to tighten the screw. Only this is not what we need to hear. We need visionary leadership with heart and backbone. People have begun asking for a constructive dialogue, demanding that the politicians refrain from throwing mud, and instead explain how they plan to move things forward. This is all happening from the bottom up, making me me so hopeful, that the citizens will pave the way. Reviving the concept of democracy. Change is in the air.

I'll grant her that, spring: she has her moments.  

♥