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Farewell, Europe!

28 September 2018

After seven long weeks, it’s time to go home.  

Never fear, I’ll be back -- in just a couple of weeks!  But ... for only two weeks, and without as aggressive a travel agenda.  Farvel!

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23 September 2018

Munich - pictures from Asam Church (pics 1& 2)

Then, Marienplatz and the animated clock chimes in the New Town Hall.

Last picture: view of Marienplatz from the top of St. Peter’s.

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22 September 2018 

Still more Oktoberfest

Pic 1) At one dollar a fahrt, I was nearly bankrupted by the fines.

Pic the last) Steve lost his reading glasses on the roller coaster! 

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22 September 2018

More Oktoberfest! Rides, crowds, great hats, food, garden gnome train rides... 

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22 September 2018 - Munich

Oktoberfest!  With Steve.

Huge crowds, huge amounts of beer, pretzels, brass bands, families ... tent after tent after tent packed with thousands of people, many in traditional costume. 

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Sept 22-23, 2018

More München Oktoberfest parade scenes.

Picture 3 - in front of the Munich National Theater at Max-Josef-Platz.

In the last picture - stiff cardboard-looking gingerbread cookie hearts hang everywhere. Very unappetizing looking...

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Sept 22-23, 2018

Oktoberfest in Munich!

Pictures from the Saturday (beer-oriented) and Sunday (’Traditional Costume Parade’) parades through Munich.

So many horses! So much horse poop!

Pic 6) Traditional “Loferl” calf socks: https://germangirlinamerica.com/lederhosen-socks-men/

In the last picture - the crowd follows the parade into the Oktoberfest grounds for the traditional first tapping of the season.

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18 Sept 2018 - Copenhagen

Fun slo-mo video of a goal scored at the Santander Cup 2018 playoffs at Frederiksberg Hallerne, Copenhagen.

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18 September 2018 - Copenhagen

Women's Team Handball - Pics from tonight's Santander Cup 2018 playoffs at Frederiksberg Hallerne, Copenhagen.

København Håndbold lost to Randers HK by one.

Very cool! Some observations:

I'm no sports photographer, but it's probably a very easy sport to photograph. (Pics here are just with my Samsung Galaxy -- I wish I had something better on hand.) Almost every possession ends when someone jumps in the air and does something dramatic, always about 6 meters from the goal. Just point your camera at the spot in front of the goal and wait and you'll probably pick up something dramatic.

It's hard not to draw parallels to women's roller derby. Part of me believes that this is a level of success women's roller derby could achieve... with just a little tweaking.

This was a 1400 seat arena, well over half full of excited fans -- kids and grownups. I got front row seats this morning on line for 100 DKK (about $15).

The action is non-stop -- substitutions take place on the fly, with no stoppage in play. (I'll never stop advocating for rolling starts in derby.)

It's a penalty to hold on to the ball for more than three seconds, so something important is always in motion.

There was good production budget, including live Danish television and instant replays to assist with assessment of penalties.

Very family friendly - the game started at 6:30 and was over at 8:00. Two thirty minute halves, no halftime show.

Staging costs are low (got a ball and two goals?). Two referees and an EMT. Scoring rules couldn't be simpler -- put the ball in the net, earn a point. Then the other team gets the ball at half court.

It's not a contact sport, yet it's a bit of a contact sport. It's the same level of physicality as a rough high level basketball game. There's lots of boxing out and jockeying for position. The most frequent injuries in this game were winces after receiving hands to the face.

It was interesting to watch "pulling the goalie" strategies. Since it just takes a few seconds for a goalie to run off and on, goalies spend a lot of time on the sidelines between moments of terror.

The skill set which seemed like the most natural crossover wasn't basketball or soccer, but volleyball -- passing, diving on the floor, jumping to block. I was surprised to see so many players without kneepads.

As with a lot of sports -- better live than on television. Having come across it on TV a few times during my time here in Denmark, it didn't feel nearly as silly in person.

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16 September 2018 -  Malmö, Sweden

Pic 1) The Malmö Opera House and 2) curiously trimmed tree across the avenue

Pic 4-5-6) the Turning Torso, the tallest building in Scandinavia (2005). Designed by Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the WTC Oculus in NYC.

Pic 7) Dog park in Västra Hamnen (”Western Harbor”), which includes a full dog agility practice setup.

Pic 8) Garden at Kungs Parken (”Kings Park”)

Pic 9) Canal living in Västra Hamnen

Pic 10) Kungs Parken

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16 September 2018 - Malmö, Sweden

Malmö is more less a sister city to Copanhagen, just a twenty-five minute train ride across the Oserund Strait (Öresund in Swedish and Øresund in Danish).

I downloaded a free walking tour audio guide and spent the afternoon in Sweden, the fifth country in this adventure.

Pic 1) Tribute to the working class at Möllevångstorget

Pic 6) Town Hall and the main square

Pic 7) Lilla Torg (”Little Square”)

Pic 8 & 9) Scenes from Folkets Park (”People’s Park”). The rose is a symbol of the Social Democratic party which dominated Swedish politics for ages.

Skateboarding and skating common and supported -- it’s easy to see why Malmö was one of the early best European women’s roller derby teams.

Pic 10) Church of St. Peter, the tower of which has been rebuilt no fewer than six times due to a variety of collapses (!).

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15 September 2018 - Copenhagen

Some favorites from the Design Museum Danmark

Pic 1) “The Double Chief Chair” (1949), designed by Finn Juhl

Pic 2) Piano by Poul Henningson, 1931

Pic 3) Any guesses with this is?  Answer appears below.

Pic 4) The Hall of Chairs

Pic 5) Bow chair, 1963, by Grete Jalk

Pic 6) An extremely uncomfortable chair? Sort of. by Søren Thygesen, 2015. Read about this work here.

Pic 7) Danish political and advertising posters from 1930s

Pic 8) Posters from 1968 student protests in Paris

Pic 9) “Yellow Standing Object” by Michael Geertsen, 2010. Every household needs one!

Pic 10) Necklace: “Svamp-o-matic” by Kim Buck, 1984. Closer view here. As worn by Cher at the 1988 Oscars.

The object in photo number 3 is . . . a pig feeding apparatus.

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15 September 2018 - Copenhagen

I’ve been to these tourism hot spots before -- just not on this trip and not on this Tumblr. 

So this afternoon I biked to revisit Nyhavn (Pics 1-7), Marble Church (Pic 8), and Amalienborg (Pic 9).  These are each about 2-5 blocks from the rented apartment.

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14 September 2018 - Copenhagen

Additional shots from Tivoli Gardens.

Final image: Come on, kid, it’s an AMUSEMENT park.

(Edit - on further reflection, after traveling around Europe alone for over a month... I may have more in common with this kid than I might like to admit)

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14 September 2018 - Copenhagen

Pictures from yesterday’s visit to Tivoli Gardens.

It’s a tidy little amusement park tucked in the middle of town. Admission is $20, and it’s a lot more if you want passes to ride the rides. There are tons of restaurants and things to do, including an indoor concert hall, outdoor band shells, etc. 

I expected it to be full of tourists (it was) and a little artificial and cheesy (it was) -- but really impressive and remarkably calm and civilized for an amusement park / garden / outdoor mall.

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9 September 2018 - Kraków, Poland

A few last shots from the weekend

Pic 1) Yoga on the Wisła River

Pic 3-5) Nicer pictures in the Main Market Square - the sun was much more cooperative on Sunday for better pictures

Pic 6) Paddleboat on the Wisła

Pic 7) Saints Peter and Paul Church, with better lighting

Pic 8) Sunday there was a Weiner Dog festival in the Main Market Square

Pic 9) Kraków takes their liquor stores quite seriously. Click for link

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8 September 2018 - Krakow, Poland

Pic 1) Translation: “Good Beer Foams -- Just As This.”  Fun poster in a boutique in the Jewish Quarter

Pic 2) Used book fair outside the Saints Peter and Paul Church

Pic 3) Main Market Square and St. Mary’s Basilica

Pic 4) Typical Jewish Quarter street

Pic 5-6) Wawel Castle.  Note again the patched-together architectural themes -- reflecting a parade of ruling powers and royal family lineages and tastes.

Pic 7) Tadeusz Kościuszko -- American Revolution hero -- at Wawel Castle 

Pic 8) The courtyard at Wawel Castle (and our walking tour guide) -- built to copy Italian courtyards, but with two big differences: a steeper roof slant to accommodate snow, and with taller windows to let in more of the scarce light given the regular Polish gloom.

Pic 9) Courtyard at the University

Pic 10) The “Papal Window” at the Bishop’s Palace outside St. Francis of Assisi, from which JPII would greet and address fans