The summer has finally reached Scandinavia and once again the fair skinned, blond haired and blue eyed people who have been in hiding since the end of last summer come out to spread their wings and towels near water.
Crossing the Bridge
I would hereby like to introduce you to the Oresund Bridge (Danish Øresundsbroen, Swedish Öresundsbron, joint hybrid name Øresundsbron), a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the Oresund strait. The bridge-tunnel is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects the two metropolitan areas of the Oresund Region: the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. The international European route E20 runs across the bridge and through the tunnel via the two lane motorway, as does the Oresund Railway Line. The bridge is the longest border crossing bridge in the world.
The above image is taken from the Danish side, overlooking the bridge and when the weater is good one can also see the Turning Torso in the far left corner. The airplane in the upper left corner just took off from Copenhagen Airport, (Danish: Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup) (IATA: CPH, ICAO: EKCH) the major airport serving Copenhagen, and the other cities within the Øresund Region.
It has become a more and more common site to see windmills all over the region. The above windmills are placed outside Copenhagen and can be seen from most waterfronts in the city. It is a good way to exhibit the future in a very straight-forward way to the city, saying: Get Used To It People!
The above Windmill Park can be seen when on the Øresundsbridge, on the right hand Swedish side when crossing over from the Danish side. It is a splendid vision and actually rather impressive.
For the longest time, the main attraction on the Copenhagen and its waterfront has been the Little Mermaid. She is a metaphor in H.C. Andersen's story about the Little Mermaid who wanted so bad to have a soul and be above the water, so she could be united with her beloved. A story that at this point has been hijacked by Disney, who have made the sad little girl into a singing redhead named Ariel with a foxy bikini. The head and arm of the Little Mermiad has been cut off several times, as either artictic expression or by piss drunk nigh crawlers. However, on September 11th 2003, she was blown up. It was incidentally the same year Denmark joined the Iraq war.
The above Turning Torso was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and officially opened on 27 August 2005. It has in the same way as the Little Mermaid on the Danish side of the bridge, become the main attraction for the city of Malmö. The tower reaches a height of 190 metres (623 feet) with 54 stories. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia, the tallest residential building in the EU and the second tallest in Europe, after the 264-metre-high Triumph-Palace in Moscow. One can actually say that this ultra fallic building has given the city of Malmö balls.
These days, I would personally say that the new Amager Beach Park that was created for the citizens of Copenhagen, is the main attraction of Copenhagen. It was completed in August 2005 and have ever since brought people to its zen-like beaches and sand dunes. It is a true pleasure to walk on this 4.6 km long beach, as the waves slowly roll in. One looks over at Sweden, sees the airplanes above take off with people in a hurry, while dipping a toe in the water connecting to the rest of the world.
It is also a paradise for dog lovers, as dogs also loves hanging out at the beach.
The 5 bunker-like building that sits on the beach, brings the mind to 2nd World War bunkers..however in a Star Wars like futuristic way. Each "bunker" houses bathrooms, cafe's, showers, changing rooms and storage space with a platform for a better view on top. The large concrete platforms connected to the "bunkers" are made for all kind of activity, such as skateboarding, rollerblading, biking and events.
The is no end to the amounts of romantic walks one can take, seeing the sun go down and turning the sky pink with a loved one in hand.
On the opposite side of the bridge, the city of Malmö is booming. Malmö is also called the New York of Sweden. It has a multi ethnic population and Sweden's best art, music and clubbing scene. Many young creative Swedes move down south to be part of the expanding city, but also to be closer to the rest of the world and the warmer weather. Other come to Malmö because they wanted to move to Copenhagen with their loved one. However, since the immigration laws became tighter in Denmark, they moved across the bridge. Now they enjoy the Swedish hospitality, cheaper rent and cars along with the brilliant new waterfront.
040 is the city area code for Malmö and has become the "Hip Hop" way of representing the home-town. In the above image, the young gentleman has included the 040 tattoo inside of the shape of the province or "state" of Sweden that Malmö is the capital of, named Skåne. Skåne--also called Scania--was until 1658 a province in the Kingdom of Denmark and part of the historical lands of Denmark, that once also included Norway.
You might have heard that Danish and Swedish women go topless on the beach. At one point this was very common, but went away for a while. Recently Danish and Swedish feminists women demanded to be allowed to go topless at indoor public swimming pools. so being topless on a beach is no biggie. The above waterfront area is part of the recently buildt Scania Parken, close to the Turning Torso. It is buildt in place of the former ship building yard called Kockums.
The proud standing Kockums crane was Malmö's former landmark and represented the hard working men and women of the working class city. The Kockums crane was sold and shipped to Ulsan in South Korea, after being sold to Hyundai Heavy Industries for the price of $1. The Koreans have dubbed the crane "Tears of Malmoe", due to the notion that the residents of Malmö wept when they saw their beloved crane being towed away.
One of the most important features at a beach is of course the ice cream. In Malmö they have the wonderful high end Gelateria & Caffetteria called Dolce Sicilia.
On Amager Beach the favorite ice cream place is called "Strand Tutten" ("The Beach Tittie" in Swedish) that also serves a mean Danish red hot dog.
The best way to get to the Turning Torso, the Scania Park and beach is by bus. If you come from Copenhagen, you take the train over the bridge to Malmö Central. Right outside the Central, you can take the number 2 bus right to the beach.
In Copenhagen, you can take the metro from anywhere in the city to the Amager Strand or Femøren stop and walk to the beach close by.
Sail on silvergirl, Sail on by. Your time has
come to shine. All your dreams are on their way. See how they shine. If
you need a friend I'm sailing right behind. Like a bridge over sunny
& windy water I will ease your mind. Like a bridge over sunny &
windy water I will ease your mind.
Simon and Garfunkel
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Danish Bastards!
Windmills Gone Wild