Copenhagen - A Fairy Tale
One of Copenhagen's ideal known landmarks could be the Small Mermaid. Paying homage to Hans Christian Andersen's character the bronze statue was produced by Edvard Eriksen in 1913, and was paid for by the Carlsberg Brewery.
Regrettably it's not so properly loved as known. There have been various prosperous missions to chop off the mermaid's arms and head, the last in 1998. The Danish Government responded by filling the statue with concrete to dull any future attempts. It seems to possess carried out the trick.
But why? In Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen is Shakespeare, Dickens and Wordsworth all rolled into one particular. Born in Odense, in 1805 the writer is perhaps best known for writing naruto- or eventyr - but was also a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels and poems.
To list some of Andersen's tales goes to demonstrate their familiarity: The Tiny Mermaid, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Match Girl, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Garments.
The fairy stories transcend western culture and have accomplished just about mythical status. Produced into pantomimes, ballets and animated films they're simply accessible for youngsters; maybe a hint towards the motives behind the vandalism.
In the finish of November, I spent a lengthy weekend in Copenhagen and not surprisingly went to view the Small Mermaid. Andersen's story was initially published in 1837 and my guide told me there was a lack of truth behind Eriksen's later representation that some Danes objected to.
The sculptor's muse was his wife, a ballerina. It truly is wonderful and poised and perhaps somewhat sad but indicates nothing at all of the torment Andersen's Tiny Mermaid faced. The character is often a really far cry from Disney's aquatic beauty.
Within the eventy the Small Mermaid visits a sea witch for a potion to transform her being. Drinking the potion means she will shed her tongue, and so her exquisite voice, but will be capable to walk with humans. She longs for the handsome prince she saved inside a storm to like her. If he accepts her, she will probably be blessed with eternal life.
"... your tail will divide and shrink until it becomes what the men and women on earth contact a pair of shapely legs. However it will hurt; it will feel as if a sharp sword slashed by means of you. Everyone who sees you might say that you are probably the most graceful human becoming they have ever laid eyes on, for you personally will maintain your gliding movement and no dancer will likely be in a position to tread as lightly as you. But each and every step you take will feel as when you were treading upon knife blades so sharp that blood need to flow. I am willing to help you, but are you willing to suffer all this?"
"Yes," the small mermaid mentioned inside a trembling voice, as she thought on the Prince and of gaining a human soul.
Den lille Havfrue, Hans Christian Anderson
In 2006 Danish artist Bjorn Norgaard was commissioned once more by Carlsberg (among other people) to create a new Small Mermaid. His vision is broken and defeated; there is a fragility in the creature, in spite of not becoming a readily recognisable type. It may be closer towards the original bleak and twisted tale.
A quick distance, across water, would be the restaurant Noma - in its original tongue the name is an abbreviation of Nordic Meals. It has two Michelin stars and, within the years promptly prior to 2013, was three times winner with the greatest restaurant in the world. (I would appreciate to possess gone but sadly having a week's notice no table for me!)
Chef René Redzepi's menu is traditional nordic meals, reinvented. It celebrates local and seasonal produce, taking benefit of climate and landscape. Redzepi and co-owner Claus Meyer pioneered New Nordic Cuisine along with a programme across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and dependent territories. There is a fierce pride in national identity and authenticity.
Throughout the city the old and the new compliment each other. The nouveau Noma is in an old warehouse exactly where dry fish, salted herring, whale oil and skins had been stored prior to getting sold off inside the adjacent Greenlandic Trading Square, the old centre of overseas trade for 200 years.
Royal residence, Amalienborg Palace is really a stones throw in the ultra contemporary Royal Theatre (which opened with Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark in 2008); the seventeenth century old stock exchange's spire produced up of four entwined dragons' tails shares the skyline together with the glistening Black Diamond - the new extension from the Royal Library.
Possibly the balance can continue and there is certainly now a place for each Eriksen's classic statue and Norgaard's modern day mermaid interpretation in today's Copenhagen.
Hans Christian Andersen's personal fairy tale began when, at 14, he left an impoverished upbringing in Odense to produce his fortune in the city. He lived within a number of places about Copenhagen like Hotel d'Angleterre as well as the attic of what is now Magasin du Nord - the oldest department retailer in Scandinavia. It is possible to go to the rooms, preserved inside the writer's memory.
When deciding on exactly where to go do not be fooled by the name Nyhavn, translated as new harbour. It is actually in truth among the oldest locations of Copenhagen and Andersen lived for many years in numerous apartments along the stunning, brightly coloured street.
The author was a keen traveller, journeying as far as North Africa and Istanbul, writing his experiences inside a Poet's Bazaar. Wooden boats are nevertheless moored in Nyhavn and it's easy to consider why the hustle and bustle of a busy port was such a draw for him with his wanderlust.
When I visited Christmas Markets lined the harbour. Nissen, the goblins Andersen described in his tales, were common decorations for sale. I would have liked to have traded my gluhwein for jam, to see if I could coax a Nisse house with me.
A single for lone travellers
I'm pleased to travel to most locations on my own but did appreciate the welcome in Copenhagen; individuals are particularly friendly and open. Danish culture consists of something known as hygge, often translated as "cosy" or "cosiness" it suggests so much a lot more with regards to companionship, warmth and friendshipone piece .
Often finest enjoyed with excellent food and anything to drink, Copenhagen's cafes and bars do their utmost to make a hyggelige atmosphere. And happily, for the lone traveller, a group may well only just have met - wherever there's an open fire and conversation you may come across hygge.
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