King Christian X of Denmark on one of his morning rides (c. 1940-1941)

King Christian X of Denmark on one of his morning rides through Copenhagen during the German occupation. The photo - here shown with my editing and colorization - is in the National Museum of Denmark archive.

"During the first two years of the German occupation, in spite of his age and the precarious situation, he nonetheless took a daily ride on his horse, Jubilee, through Copenhagen, unaccompanied by a groom, let alone by a guard. A popular way for Danes to display patriotism and silent resistance to the German occupation was wearing a small square button with the Danish flag and the crowned insignia of the king." (Wikipedia)

A Danish vase

Here is a vase/candleholder I like. By Normann Copenhagen.

The start of the Christmas music season: Monteverdi's Maria vespers performed by the Copenhagen Soloists

 

Conductor Jonathan Ofir rehearsing with the Copenhagen Soloists in the Church
of St. Mary this afternoon.

One reason for why I always look forward to the Christmas season, is that there is such a wide variety of music on offer. The Christmas music season opened today, although I was not able to go the concert that I had planned to attend - Monteverdi's Maria vespers, performed by the outstanding Copenhagen Soloists in "Buxtehude's church", the beautiful Church of St. Mary in Helsingør.



Rehearsing Monteverdi's Mariavesper.

Fortunately I had a chance to listen to parts of the rehearsal in the afternoon. Based on what I heard, those who made it to the concert were in for a treat!

Tomorrow the concert is repeated in Copenhagen's famous Marble Church.



The Church of St. Mary is ideally suited for baroque music performances.

The Copenhagen Soloists is a solistic vocal and instrumental ensemble which specialises in baroque music. It consists of leading vocal soloists, who perform both soli and choir parts, and instrumentalists on period instruments.

Copenhagen continues to be one of Europe's most popular cruise destinations

Cunard's Queen Victoria was one of the cruise ships visiting Copenhagen during the 2013 season.

Copenhagen continues to be one of Europe's most popular cruise destinations. At the end of the 2013 season (there are still five Christmas cruise calls in December) the number of calls will be 346 and the number of passengers is going to be just over 800,000:
"Copenhagen has become the natural hub for cruise traffic in northern Europe. We continue to be competitive and are attracting both new and returning guests. The location of the port in the capital is perfect. The airport is close by and Copenhagen is a city that attracts many different types of shipping line and guest – there is something for everyone here," says Arnt Møller Pedersen, COO Cruise and Ferries at CMP.
The biggest month for cruises was June, with 88 calls, followed by 86 in July and 74 in August. The season ends in December with five Christmas cruises. Of the 346 calls, 46% are turnaround calls, i.e. the ships take new passengers on board before departure and then passengers disembark when the cruise is over. Numerous changes of crew also take place in Copenhagen during the season. Copenhagen is therefore a sort of home port for these ships during the summer season in the Baltic Sea.
The rest of the calls are transit calls, which means that the ships visit for the day, allowing the passengers to spend six or seven hours as tourists in Copenhagen. Cruise passengers' and crews' consumption has been estimated as DKK 825 million per annum.*
CMP is making extensive investments to develop cruise traffic. A new cruise quay will allow 500 calls a year from the start of 2014. Three new state-of-the-art terminal buildings are also being built for the turnaround business.
"We are pleased to be able to contribute to the development of the tourist industry by creating the best possible conditions for cruise traffic," says Arnt Møller Pedersen.
Top six nations for cruise passengers in Copenhagen:
1. Germany (25%)
2. USA/Canada (22%)
3. United Kingdom (14%)
4. Italy (7%)
5. Spain (4%)
6. Australia (3%)
2013 was also the first cruise year with turnaround calls for Malmö, with the Spanish cruise operator Pullmantur's ship Empress calling ten times with just over 36,000 passengers.




The flagship of the Windstar Cruises fleet, the Wind Surf
left Copenhagen on August 19.

Next year the port of Copenhagen will have a new cruise-ship quay, which will mainly be used for so called turnaround ships - ships that changer passengers and crew in Copenhagen.

Luciano Benetton's eco-yacht Tribu in Øresund

M/Y Tribu approaching Helsingør in the afternoon on June 18, 2013.

Yesterday afternoon another interesting privately owned luxury yacht, M/Y Tribu was on its way to Copenhagen in Øresund. Luciano Benetton's 50,5 meter (165 feet) explorer style yacht was the first private yacht to be awarded a "Green Star" certificate of environmental efficiency. 

M/Y Tribu passing Helsingør yesterday.

A fast going Swedish motor boat meets Tribu in Øresund

Whether Benetton is on board his yacht in Copenhagen is not clear. The yacht is also available for charter for  € 185,000.00 (about 250,000 USD) a week. 

In the end of May, it was reported that the Tribu is for sale. Fraser Yachts in Monaco is asking € 13.9 million for the eco-yacht.   

The first visit of a Zeppelin to Denmark and Sweden in 1912

The "Hanse" flying over Malmö on September 19, 1912.

The first visit of a Zeppelin to Denmark and Sweden - and also the first commercial Zeppelin flight outside of Germany - took place in September 19, 1912. The Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag published the following report of the event, together with three photographs:

"The Zeppelin airship 'Hansa', piloted by count Zeppelin, departed on 19 September at 4 A.M. from Hamburg to Copenhagen and Malmö. On board were about ten passengers, two of whom were German and two Danish officers, with a responsibility to supervise that no photographs were taken when flying over military fortifications. The other participants were German and Danish journalists.

At 10 A.M. 'Hansa' arrived in Copenhagen after a most enjoyable flight in calm and sunny weather. Having circled over the city for an hour the airship landed at the Amager airport, where 
20 000 people welcomed the travelers with roaring ovations.

At 11.35 A.M. the 'Hansa' took off and steered towards Malmö, where it arrived at 11.55. The airship did not land, but confined itself to circle over the city, where people had gathered to cheer and celebrate the visit."

"Hanse" landing at the Amager airport in Copenhagen.

Count Zeppelin and the other people on board welcomed after the landing.

 Wikipedia has published a detailed schedule of the flight, with somewhat different time indications:

• 03:55 53°33′N 9°59′E early morning launch from Hamburg, Germany;
• 07:15 54°35′N 11°31′E over the Hyllekrog spit on Lolland island;
• 07:20 54°34′N 11°56′E over Gedser;
• 08:00 54°46.5′N 11°30.5′E over Maribo;
• 08:25 55°0′30″N 11°54′37″E over Vordingborg;
• 08:40 55°15′N 12°08′E over Faxe;
• 09:10 55°25′N 12°09′E over Herfølge;
• 09:30 55°27′N 12°11′E over Køge;
• 10:00 55°39′N 12°18′E over Taastrup;
• 10:20 55°41′N 12°34′E landed at Copenhagen, where people wrote postcards to family in Germany;
• 11:55 55°35′N 13°2′E launched from Copenhagen and flew over Malmö;
• 13:30 54°46′N 11°53′E over Nykøbing Falster;
• 15:30 53°52′N 10°41′E over Lübeck;
• 16:40 53°33′N 9°59′E landed back in Hamburg.

The " LZ 13 Hanse" was brand new at the time of the visit - it had been delivered on July 30 the same year. 

During two years of commercial service it carried 6,217 passengers on 399 flights, covering 44,437 kilometres. At the outbreak of World War I, the German military requisitioned it for use in attack flights, reconnaissance, and finally as a training airship.

Copenhagen - wonderful also in the autumn

The Royal Danish Opera's waterside Opera House was inaugurated in 2005.

Copenhagen, where I had the privilege to live for almost five years not too long ago, is one of may favorite cities. When I revisited Copenhagen in October last year, there were not as many tourists as in the summer months, but still the city was full of life:

Cruise ships in Øresund 2012 (1)

2012 was another great season for cruise ships in Øresund. Copenhagen - again this year chosen "Europe's Leading Cruise Port" - set a new record this year with 376 cruise ship calls, 840,000 visiting passengers and 230,000 crew members. In addition a number of cruise ships visited the ports of Helsingborg and Helsingør.

Below are some of my favorites during the first part of the 2012 cruise season. (A selection of pictures from the rest of the season will be published later.)

AidaCara - here photographed on April 20 - was the earliest cruise ship in the Sound in 2012. 

AidaBlu on 30 April

Mein Schiff 2 in the early morning hours.

Queen Elizabeth early in the morning on its first 2012 Øresund visit on May 12.

Norwegian Sun sailing northwards in the Sound on May 13.

Discovery on its way to Copenhagen on May 14.

AidaCara on its way to southwards in the Sound on May 18.

MSC Poesia  sailing northwards in  Øresund on May 20.

Azura on its way to Copenhagen on May 22.

AidaBlu  and a swan on May 24.

Costa Fortuna in the early evening on May 27.

Silversea on May 30.

Balmoral in the Sound on Jun 2.

CostaNeoRomantica and Hamlet's Kronborg castle on June 4.

Classic cruise liner Marco Polo on a gray and hazy June 8.

MSC Lirica on June 10. 

Jewel of the Seas going northwards in the Sound on June 10

Delphin heading north on June 15.

Queen Elizabeth on its way to Copenhagen on June 15.

Waiting for the train in Copenhagen

Waiting for the train to Helsingør at the Østerport station in Copenhagen on an evening in October ....

Havet and Halmø - Two vintage sailing ships in Copenhagen

The topsail Ketch Havet at Larsens Plads in Copenhagen

The Larsens Plads (Larsen's Place), in the immediate vicinity of the Amalienborg Palace area, is the prestige waterfront in Copenhagen. No wonder then that only some of Denmark's finest vintage sailing ships are allowed to berth there more permanently. 

In the middle of October, when I visited Copenhagen, the gaffrigged topsail ketch Havet and the schooner Halmø were berthed at Larsens Plads. 

The Havet is owned and operated by Alice and Henning Breindahl  Sørensen, who also live aboard the ship

"The topsail ketch Havet was the last wooden cargo ship built in Denmark.
She was built in Holbaek, Denmark in 1953-54 for servicing the trade route to Greenland but never got there. Instead, the ship worked as a coaster in Scandinavia and the Baltic.
In 1977 she was fitted with the current rig and re-registered for passenger service."

Read more here

Below deck Havet has 6 double cabins with private shower and toilet and a saloon with seating for 46 people.

The 37,5 m ship, with a sail area of 600 m2 is presently used for different types of charter trips and company  events. There is room for 46 guests on daytrips and 12 overnight guests. 

The ropes are in perfect order

The schooner Halmø and the ketch Havet at Larsens Plads

The other classic sailing ship berthed at Larsen's Plads was the two-masted schooner Halmø (32m), one of Denmark's best-preserved vintage ships. Halmø, which was launched already in the year 1900, sailed for decades as a freighter and domestic packet boat.

During WW II Halmø carried many jews to safety in Sweden

"In 1974, the schooner’s life took a new turn when boat builder, Freddy Jørgensen fell in love with her in Sæby Harbour. He and his son devoted more than 12,000 work hours restoring her into a classic yacht. New masts of seasoned larch wood were built and Halmø was later treated to a new rudder, steel keel and oak planks. The original hold was carefully converted into a beautiful saloon, one four-person cabin, three double cabins, a bathroom and two toilets."

Read more here

Additional pictures of the extremely well maintained schooner Halmø:

PS
Here is a nice photo - shot by a friend of mine - of the Halmø sailing in the vicinity of Copenhagen in September: