Copenhagen, Denmark

And one more card for today which I have in my collection thanks to Genek.... and myself.

You may know or you may not know, in September last year I did a one day trip to Copenhagen. The fact that you may not have been informed about it through a postcard, is the ridiculously high postage rate... probably the most expensive one I have experienced so far (even worse than my last trip, whose postcards are on their way :P)

Anyways, it was great to see Copenhagen and even lovelier to meet Genek, even though the weather did play trick on us. However, that didn't ruin our experience of the Danish capital.
And out of the entire city, the colourful Nyhavn probably was my favourite spot!

Nyhavn, ninja style 

Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district, stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. It also harbours many historical wooden ships

It was constructed by King Christian V from 1670 to 1673, dug by Swedish prisoners of war from the Dano-Swedish War 1658–1660. It is a gateway from the sea to the old inner city a King's Square, where ships handled cargo and fishermens' catch. 

It was notorious for beer, sailors, and prostitution. Danish author Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nyhavn for some 18 years.

 The first bridge across Nyhavn, which was a temporary wooden footbridge, opened on 6 February 1875. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1912.

                                                                    And, say cheese! 

A nice rose on the stamp (even though Im not a flower person), from a set of 5 stamps issued in 2018.


So, lets close the post for today. Wishing you all a nice week and a nice February!

Copenhagen, Denmark

a very nice view card of Copenhagen...

...the city that is still on my to-visit list. I've written about it on a number of previous occasions...this time it reminded me of "The Danish Girl", the movie I watched recently and really liked it...a very heart-warming one, based on a true story  and I think that Eddie Redmayne was a great choice for the trans-gender role but also, Alicia Vikander did a terrific job...and if there is one fuzzy feeling you are left with after having watched the movie, is wanting to have a partner in life just like her...

if you are curious to take a look at the trailer...thought it doesn't even closely bring the depth of the whole story

Quite a lot of divided opinions regarding the movie, some love it, some say it's nothing special, some have prejudices regarding the whole thing...but as with many other things in life, I prefer to experience things on my own and decide for myself if I like something or not than to rely on what others say...and same was with the Danish Girl...so, give it a try and who knows...maybe you won't be disappointed :)

the big stamp is from a set of four Christmas stamps issued in 2010...the other two are from the four 'wavy lines' series, issued the same year.

Thanks a lot to Suzan for this one!

Skamlingsbanken, Denmark

A card that arrived recently as a swap with Hans Jørgen.

The card gives you a glimpse of Skamlingsbanken, which is large hill in Jutland, and famous for this column erected on the memory of 18 people who contributed to the Danish cause in Schleswig-Holstein on Skamlingsbanken's highest point, the Højskamling. The column is 16 metres only before its destruction on 21 March 1864 by occupying Prussian forces during the 2nd Schleswig War.
After the war, the stones were recovered, and in May 1864, and the column was raised again.

a number of stamps on the card...the one on the very right is from a set of 4 Hans Christian Andersen stamps issued in 2012, representing different works of the writer, and this one shows his tale "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep". The other big stamp was also issued in 2012, showing the central post office. The brown one is a definitive....and this one probably issued in 2010.

Our Saviour's Church, Denmark

next comes a fantastic swap card from Denmark! I was thrilled when Chris offered to swap...apart from not receiving Danish cards that often, this one has been in my favourites too for a while, plus it has bikes on it...just love the image! Esp. the winter charm of the snow-covered-bikes :)

well, besides the bikes, the card also shows Our Saviour's Church in Copenhagen, which is best known for its corckscrew spire with an external winding staircase that you can see at the top, from where you have a fantastic view over the city.
It is also noted for its carillon, which is the largest in northern Europe and plays melodies every hour from 8 am to midnight.
Chris says that despite the picture, it rarely snows in Copenhagen and that 40% of the people there commute to work on bike...hmmm, actually I thought it was much more, but lets not get disappointed. Coz Copenhagen is one of those places I admire coz of the bicycle culture and habit people have and ride their bikes in sunshine, rain, snow...you name it.

and I think this is my first EUROPA 2013 stamp...which this year represents postman vans...or other postal means of transport.

Amalienborg Castle Square, Denmark

The last card for today arrived again from Genek...this time through one of the Facebook swapping groups...I barely participate there, but this one was organized by Heather, and i thought id try my luck...and I ended up with a great card from my favourites :)))

the card shows the Royal Guards at the Amalienborg Castle Square in Copenhagen. The palace is the winter home of the Danish royal family and consists of four identical classifying palace façades
The domed structure you can see is actually Frederik's Church, and not part of the palace. While the monument shows the statue of Frederick V, and is located in the centre of the Square.

Seeing the snow on the card reminds me of the -11 degrees C outside right now....it is brrrrrr cold! when is spring finally going to come?!!

two awesome, 2012 stamps on the card! This set of two bridges' stamps represents: the Queen Alexandrine Bridge (right) and the Farø Bridges (left)

thank you again Genek! For the lovely card and stamps!!

Fyn, Denmark

been a while since ive posted something Danish...no wonder I still have cards from Denmark from 2009...

this one shows some bits and pieces from the Danish island Fyn (or Funen in the English speaking world...), which is the third-largest island of Denmark and the 163rd largest island of the world. (ok, not really something to brag about...I mean, 163 is not even in the '100 best')
The main city is Odense (now, ive heard of it, but hadnt really known it belonged to an island..)
Now, the card also shows Tåsinge, an island south of Funen, then Svendborg - the second largest city on the island, then Fyns Hoved - the outer part of the peninsula Hindsholm, the cities of Fåborg and Nyborg and the Lillebaeltsbroen bridge

well, nice compliation...

a very cute Danish stamp coming from a set of 8 stamps issued in 2009, called "Plays in the snow". Just adorable!!!

well, hope you are having a nice week...I mean Wednesday is at the door, so the weekend should be here soon :P

Denmark

A great official card I received from Denmark!

DK-12256

The card shows a Steam Locomotive VLTJ No. 6 from 1910 with mix trains, on the Harboør station in April 1973.

If I had figured it out correctly, VLTJ stands for Vemb - Lemvig - Thyborøn Jernbane, or Lemvigbanen, which is a Danish railway line in Northwest Jutland. Established in 1879, the line extends from Vemb via Lemvig to Thyborøn. The single-track line is mostly level, and is operated with a fleet of five single-unit Y-train railcars.
The railway is to be used to test a prototype hydrogen-powered train in 2010

hydrogen-powered train...now that sounds cool!! If this hydrogen train poses questions, you can read more about it here

the stamp was issued this year (2010) and comes from a set of 8 stamps representing Denmark's nature. This stamp here shows a Natterjack Toad....uhmm, not something id like to cuddle...

Rønne, Denmark

My last card for today comes from the favourites tag and dear Genek sent me this one.

I think that this card is better when left without words....the image is just too beautiful to be disturbed by talking about it. This is a street in the city of Rønne, which s the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. This kind of houses are typical for Rønne and one of the things which attract visitors...and make deltiologists admire at the postcards.

the stamp is from the 2010 EUROPA issue, representing Children's books...this one shows Frogeater Orla.

Copenhagen, Denmark

For a long long time I had this card in my favourites!  I couldnt believe it a few days ago when I found it in my mailbox!!!! Janek, you are amazing!!!!!

To me, this is probably the most fantastic Danish card I had seen, and I fell for it from the moment I laid my eyes on it almost two years ago.
There is just something really special about the card...starting from the colours...they make the image just lovely. Copenhagen itself is simply beautiful. And the greatest touch is added by the bicycles. You know how much I love bikes, and you (probably) know that one of the reasons why I love Copenhagen is coz its known as well as the Bicycle Capital City of the World...and I just love it how they are scattered on this card...yet, the owners dont really worry about them....they know they are safe. Here, they are capable to steal your bike even if its firmly locked...they made an attempt on mine once...trying to cut the chain. My dear lovely blue bike.
You know, i still cant believe it that after all this time, this card is finally MINE MINE MINE! When totally not expected even one single bit!

I think that butterflies seem to be quite often a motif for the Danish stamps. This one is from a set of 4 stamps representing Nature, issued this year.

Aitäh Janek!!!

Denmark

Here is a perfection of a postcard....that makes me so utterly happy...a new flag card to my collection!

The Danish flag is called Dannebrog and it is considered to be the oldest national flag still in use. Prior to the use of Dannebrog, Danish forces are known to have used the raven banner.
The flag is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design of the Danish flag was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

The legend of the flag is very popular among Danes, although most consider it to be a myth. The legend says that during the Battle of Valdemar the flag fell from the sky during a critical stage, resulting in Danish victory. No historical record supports this legend.

Christian Valentinussen, Denmark

For quite a while I was worried for receiving no officials, and then i got 4...two at the end of the year, and other 2 during this one...so my ratio is again in my favour....29 : 31....and few days ago i was in the mood to send some so i decided to pull out some addresses....and of course, first got USA, then Finland...then Germany....there is no greater deja vu :)....So since they were already out, i decided to pull out another one...and it went to France...and while stuck with all the work, i said to myself, lets use the whole capacity of 6 im able to send right now...so i pulled two more...China and Italy...the Chinese one is worrying me....my previous one to there has been expired for a while now and the user is active....well in case you are from one of the following countries, who knows, maybe one of my cards will end up in YOUR mailbox ;-)

DK-5601

One of the officials i got is from Denmark, which makes it my first official from there! And its an unusal card, since its again definitely different from anything else i had received so far.
it shows a painting from a Danish painter called Christian Valentinussen (1903 - 1985).
I dont know how exactly this painting is called, but from what ive read, there are several of his works which relate with fishermen and the beach and the sea.... so my guessing its that its one of those, i just dont know which one....if anyone could provide me with an answer, id be more than glad

Copenhagen, Denmark

I sometimes really regret not having paid attention when and how i had received certain cards and who actually sent them to me or who gave them to me or whatever...well, this is one of them...its origin is totally unknown to me...though I can make a number of guesses but I have no idea which one is right...

Anyway, the back of the card names the things you can see on the pictures, and here is what it says:

Nyhavn,
Rundetårn,
Tivoli,
Amaliehaven,
Livgarden,
Den lille Havfrue

well, I hope you understood it...the only one I can totally understand is Tivoli...the rest, i can guess from the pictures what they actually may mean

anyway, whenever I think of Copenhagen, i think of cycling, and the thing that frustrates me most right now is that my bike keeps having problems with the tyres..and its always out of order...and its really annoying coz for me its like my basic means of transport, and now im left without it and i have to walk everywhere, which takes 5 times more time than when i would be using my bike...we really should have bikes for rent here for a very cheap price so i could afford it on long-terms..

Hjørring, Denmark

A card I received back in 1993 from my pen pal, Helle. It was in 1993 when i actually started pen-palling...and Helle was one of the people who were among the first...in some other update actually, when ill be posting a postcard received from those first pen-friends, ill let you know how it all started :) Its a nice story...maybe some of you will recall it or even have an experience to share...so keep an eye on the posts :)

The card shows the town of Hjørring, Helle's hometown actually....as she said, she lives in one of the houses in the background, near the fields...and believe it or not, I actually tried to figure out on my own, which one is hers :)
As for Hjørring itself....it is a town and a municipality on the west coast of the island of Vendsyssel-Thy at the top of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark.
It is one of Denmark's oldest towns, and it celebrated its 750 year anniversary as a market town in 1993.
Archaeological discoveries show that the area was already populated 10,000 years ago.

Looks like a nice, calm town...I wonder how much it has changed, being that this card dates back to 1993 or before, depending on when it was printed actually...

Copenhagen, Denmark (05)

An older card, which frankly i have no idea when i had got it and how i had got it.....

Did you know that according to some surveys done, people in Denmark are considered to be the happiest people in the world?
It is said that the Danes pay some of the highest taxes in the world, but in exchange, the government covers all health care and education, and spends more on children and the elderly than any country in the world per capita.
And interestingly enough, what is considered to be the best symbol of Danish happiness is the bicycle..Danes can all afford cars, but they choose bikes simple, economical, nonpolluting machines that show no status and help keep people fit.
And it is very true that regular physical activity of any kind, does contribute to an overall of feeling better and content with yourself. Thats one thing I envy the Danes about....the bicycle culture they have
Here is a really nice link of a blog which deals with exactly that...cycling in Copenhagen....its amazing to actually explore all that biking world

The World's Cycling Capital

If there is one reason why id love to live in Copenhagen is that.....the bicycle thing :)

Copenhagen, Denmark (04)

Denmark

Rodovre, Denmark

Bornholm, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark (03)

Copenhagen, Denmark (02)