Bart Westgeest

A middle aged dutchman who moved to Denmark in 1998. Married to Daniela Lot.

My passions are writing and learning about society, culture, language, history and everything I can run on my Linux computer.

Early Springtime Videos

Apr 102012

April 10, 2012 Posted by Bart Westgeest Nature No Responses »

Spring is slowly but surely on its way to Denmark.

The first flowers have shown up, and a few trees start showing their leaves. One can feel that times are changing, although in an overall picture it is hardly visible yet.

This video is from Saturday, March 24th. 2012, showing the local forrest. There is the singing of birds in the air and the sound of a woodpecker rattling through all that empty space:

And another, from Easter – Sunday the 8th. of April 2012 – Sunshine, but only a few degrees Celsius:

A lucky book find: H. C. Andersen – 1868

Oct 082011

October 8, 2011 Posted by Bart Westgeest Culture, Language No Responses »

The benefits of living in a certain place or country is, that one can come across items in shops that are hard to find elsewhere. A few days ago there was a sale in a second hand bookshop here in Denmark, with prices for all books in the entire shop being the same, but declining every day. I happened to walk into the shop on the last day of the sale, were the price for any book had gone down to 5 kroner – (0.90 USD/ 0,70 Euro).

As one can imagine the books left in the shop were not very interesting, but there was this little, old and damaged “book”, that drew my attention. It was a work by H. C. Andersen, “Dryaden” from 1868, which – I realized later -was a first print, published during the lifetime of the famous writer.

I must immediately admit though, that the little paper-book is in a bad state. As can be seen on the pictures it is for example being hold together with some tape. Therefore its economical value is very close to nothing. But buying a first print of H.C. Andersen, for such a low price, feels good anyhow.

It has some nice details like the last sentence on the last page: “En fransk og engelsk Oversættelse ere under Arbeide.” Which means that at the time it was printed the publisher was working on a French and English translation. That seems like a good idea, to translate an H. C. Andersens work.

———————–

The famous fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805, and died in 1875, and is in the English speaking world known for stories such as “The Little Match Girl“, “The Ugly Duckling“, “The Little Mermaid“, “The Emperor’s New Clothes“, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier“, and “The Princess and the Pea“. (Wikipedia)

The Abbey Church in Horsens.

Aug 012011

August 1, 2011 Posted by Bart Westgeest Culture, History, Religion No Responses »

The Abbey Church, Horsens.

As a foreigner I find the Lutheran churches in Denmark rather strict and slightly less aw-inspiring than most churches in for example middle Europe. With the reformation in 1536, most statues and decorations disappeared form the Danish churches and the main focus went from the altar to the pulpit.

The Abbey Church in the town of Horsens is therefore a surprise, as it is very rich in its art and decorations. Situated in the middle of the town, at the end of the main shopping street, it is a little oasis of quietness with its small park and relatively big building. Originally build between 1261 and 1275 as part of a – now disappeared – monastery, it went through various extensions and a last restoration program around 1890.

This history is also visible in the interior, where objects of different moments in time fill the space with many interesting details. One of the first things one notices are the painted wooden benches, or “pews” as they are called, which date from a restoration in 1738. They are all hand painted with emblem-paintings on the doors and ends. Perhaps not the best paintings in the history of art, but very nice and original 18th century decorations nevertheless. The floor of the church is covered with tiles that, although being from the last restoration in 1890, give a historical feel and fit very well into the interior.

Looking to the far end of the church one sees almost an abundance of richly decorated items, such as the pulpit from 1670 with many figures and reliefs, and the Baroque Choir latticework with large figures of cherubs and saints. On the left of the choir is a larger Baroque Chapel with coffins and an epitaph, and on the right is the so called Russian chapel, where 4 members of the Russian royalty are buried. They were expelled to Horsens in the 18th century, as they where considered a possible threat to the Russian throne.

Altarpiece Aabey Church Horsens - CC from Wikipedia user:Nico-dk / Nils Jepsen

At the end of the church is what I consider the main piece of all, the altarpiece from around 1500, a possible Dutch work. It is filled with numerous figures, including 7 horses in its main frame, depicting the Crucifixion and 12 apostles and 4 saints.

At the entrance of the church one can buy a brochure (5 Dkr.) in English with information about all the main objects in the church, and containing an article about the Russian Court in Horsens and “A little about Vitus Bering.”

Birthday of HM Queen Margrethe II in Århus.

Apr 162011

April 16, 2011 Posted by Bart Westgeest Events, Tourism, Tradition No Responses »

(Picture Daniela Lot)

The Danish Queen Margrethe II celebrated her 71^st birthday at the Marselisborg Palace in Århus today. This city is the largest city of the peninsula called Jutland. Normally the Queen celebrates her birthday in Copenhagen, which is about 3 to 4 hours away from Århus. Many people of Jutland therefore seized the opportunity to visit the Palace in Århus to wish the Queen a happy birthday.The field in front of the palace was open to the public and officials estimated that around 5000 people visited the occasion.

At 12:00 the Queen and HRH the Prince Consort Henrik appeared on the steps of the palace. Birthday songs where sung and people waved their flags and cheered, closely followed by the press with their large zoom lenses. They had plenty of time as the Queen and the Prince Consort returned twice to the steps to wave to the delighted crowd. After that people quietly left the area in good spirits.

The Danish television company TV2 has a video of the occasion.

Danish News in English

Sep 192010

September 19, 2010 Posted by Bart Westgeest Culture, Finance, Politics No Responses »

There are a few major channels for reading Danish news in English.

The only genuine English-language newspaper is:

The Copenhagen Post

Two major Danish newspapers also have news in English:

Politiken.dk – newsinenglish

Jyllands Posten – uknews

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR), who has a major website on the Danish internet, has a news page too:

DR.dk - Andre_sprog/english

And for those interested in business, there is the financial orientated newspaper:

Børsen – news in english.

Prøvesten – from a word to an island.

Dec 202009

December 20, 2009 Posted by Bart Westgeest History, Language 1 Response »

Picture: Map of the main attack by the swedish army on Copenhagen on the 11th of February 1659. Source: Wikipedia

While listening to the danish language program Sproghjørnet I heard a discussion about the word “Prøvesten”. It was said that besides being a stone to test whether a material was what it seemed to be, for example gold, it had also been the name of a ship. This ship, together with other ships, was after ending its duties, sunk to form the basis of a little Island called Prøvesten on which was build a fortress to defend Copenhagen.

I went looking for this little island on the internet and saw that it is now part of Copenhagen harbour, well connected to the mainland. I also found amap showing the little island of Prøvesten but also the rather immense defense works of Copenhagen. I had hardly realized that those remains of the defense system still exist and that Copenhagen had once been fortress like that. I came to think of this post of Cristhoper’s picture blog with the text explaining about an amazing long siege of Copenhagen.

It struck me that there is a lot of focus in Denmark on the prehistoric times of the Vikings and before. An enormously rich and unique period of Danish history, but there have been other times, much closer to ours, that have been of major importance to the present state of this part of the world.

I know a tiny little bit about Swedish supremacy and Danish invasions and interests in the south of Sweden and the Danish interests in the north of Germany. There must have been many wars and events, but it is not a very common thing to discuss this period in the media or elsewhere.

Was Copenhagen indeed such a strong fort as the remains of its walls suggest?

Being a Dutchman I remember a story from Danish history books about the Dutch “helping” to free Copenhagen from a siege by the Swedes, and I wondered if it was a part of the same story.

It is quite amazing to notice that finding information about this period is not that simple. The internet is great, fantastic, but sometimes it is clear that it is also still young and under development.

Luckily there is Wikipedia telling about the long siege of the apparently well defended and walled city of Copenhagen in 1658 to 1660. And indeed it is confirmed here that the intervention of the Dutch fleet was a major help that probably saved the town. Wikipedia states (without naming a source) that Dutch marines even helped on land, o.a. in this fragment:

The moats and the beaches had been kept free of ice, and now the ice free zones were widened to 44 feet with the help from 600 Dutch marines. The ice was thick, and the work was done in heavy snowfall from 4 o’clock in the afternoon till evening on the 10 February.

After reading a little bit more about this Swedish attack on Denmark I now understand that Denmark was on the verge of being wiped out completely. A major event as big as the defeat against Germany in 1864. The latter being more often mentioned and commemorated, probably also because it is not that long ago (as a result of this war parts of south Denmark became danish again as late as in 1920). But where as the teaching of history and the culture and identity of the Dutch is mainly based upon the 17^th century, it is in Denmark an eventful period that seems to be outside the main interest or perhaps overshadowed by other periods.

Grundlovsdag: A day of the nation

Jun 052009

June 5, 2009 Posted by Bart Westgeest History, Politics, Tradition No Responses »

Today, June the 5th, is each year the day when the Danes celebrate their national constitution (in danish: Grundlov). It is the day when in 1849 King Frederik the 7th. signed the first constitution, thereby giving power to the people in stead of the aristocracy or king.

Even though it is not an official holiday (it used to be half a holiday from 1891 to 1977) you can expect celebrations especially during the second half of the day. As Grundlovsdag is the day when people celebrate the Danish democracy, there will be numerous political speeches by leading politicians held throughout the country. A lot of them will be in a natural setting where people (hopefully) can enjoy the weather and landscape while listening to the speech.

Many shops and, after 12 o’clock in the afternoon, also companies will be closed. But since there is no law made about the celebration of Grundlovsdag it is up to the companies to decide if they will, or can, give there employees an afternoon off.

How to take the bus in Aarhus

May 312009

May 31, 2009 Posted by Bart Westgeest Tourism, Transportation 9 Responses »

(Edit: This post is updated on September 4th. 2011 to include the latest change of prices for bustickets.)

Public transport in Denmark is expensive but good. The art of taking a bus is not too difficult as the system is well arranged. Here is for example how it works in Århus.

Where can I buy tickets?

An new ticket machine in an Århus citybus. On the window a map of Århus with the different zones.

Tickets can be bought when entering the bus, either at a ticket machine inside the bus (for yellow buses) or by asking the driver (blue buses). Buying single tickets in the bus is more expensive however, so if you are planning on more than a handful of rides it is cheaper to buy a 10-trip card, which in Danish is called a klippekort. They can be bought at the busterminal, the trainstation, large supermarkets and in one of the many kiosks.

A "klippekort" machine.

When entering the bus you can klip your klippekort by entering it in the special machine that will stamp it with a date and time.

Tourists could perhaps consider buying an Aarhus-card for one or two days which includes free transport inside the city.

Locals who are planning to take the bus regularly could benefit from a card valid for a month, which in danish is called a periodekort.

What does it cost?

The price of a bus-ride is depending on the length. The city and municipality is divided into zones, so you pay for the amount of zones you travel. This is a link to a PDF file with a map of the zones in Aarhus. If you buy a ticket in the bus, then a travel within two zones (that is the entire city center) costs Dkr 20 (3,8 USD/ 2,68 Euro), 3 zones cost Dkr. 27 (5,15 USD / 3,62 Euro) and 4 zones (that is for example to villages outside the city) Dkr. 34 (6,48 USD/ 4,56 Euro – prices and exchange rates of September 2011). Each adult can have 2 children under the age of 12 for free. The ticket is valid for two hours, bus changes included.
A klippekort is sold for the amount of zones you want to travel, so there you will have to think for a second if it will be 2, 3 or 4 zones as prices for the 10-ride cards vary. As stated before it is cheaper to buy a klippekort if you want ten tickets or more.

See here for an overview of the prices in Danish

What bus should I take?

At each stop there is a list of buses that will stop there (each busline having a different number), together with an overview of each of the bus-stops along the route of the buses. The overview is basically based upon street names, so if you want to travel to a specific address it will help to know the name of the street you want to go to. People that enter the city by train can turn to the left when exiting the main exit of the train station for a large number of the yellow city buses that have their stops there. People who are looking for the blue regional buses should turn to the right when exiting the train station and walk a few hundred meters to arrive at the main bus terminal.

All information is also available on this page for the yellow city buses and on this page for the blue regional buses.

Yellow and blue?

In Århus there are two types of buses: yellow and blue. Prices are the same for both and the klippekort is valid in both types of buses.

Photo: Midttrafik

The yellow buses:

The yellow buses are the city buses. You enter them in the middle or the back (unlike in Copenhagen btw) and you buy your ticket at the machine or you klip your ride by klipping your klippekort. You leave the bus through the front door.

Photo: Midttrafik

The blue buses:

The blue buses are the regional buses. They have fewer stops in town and drive to the villages and cities outside Århus. You enter them at the front where you buy your ticket at the driver or klip your klippekort. You leave the buses at the middle or back.

All right, and how do I get off?

There are red buttons everywhere in the yellow and blue buses with “stop” written on them. Press them and the bus will stop for you at the next bus-stop. There is a special button for people who want to get off with a pram (there is often an open space in the middle of the bus) so that the driver knows that it might take some time to get off.

Anything else?

Remember that you can always ask the driver for information or help.

Final Tip:

If you zoom in long enough in Google Maps, you’ll notice blue bus-symbols on the map. Click on these and you’ll see which buses stop at that stop. If you choose a busnumber you’ll even see a timetable.

Here is an example:

View Larger Map

Store Bededag – a Danish holiday

May 082009

May 8, 2009 Posted by Bart Westgeest Culture, Religion, Tradition No Responses »

Today, the 8th. of May 2009, is a national holiday in Denmark. It is called Stor Bededag, which literally can be translated into “Great Prayer Day”.

Hans Bagger_source Wikipedia

It was Bishop Hans Bagger who decided in 1686 to declare the fourth Friday after Easter a national Prayer Day. This was to be a day where the whole country had to pray, fast and go to church. It was created to gather many minor “prayer days” into one general national day so that there would be more time for people to work. The celebration of the day survived a major clean-up of holidays in 1770 by the influential doctor and prime-minister J.F. von Struensee who abolished about half of the number of holidays in the country.

Since the tradition of fasting and other religious practices are not widespread in Denmark anymore, the day is for most people not too much more than another day off in Spring. But the consuming of Varme Hvede (white wheat), a light type of bread that is to be eaten warm, is still popular. The tradition originates from the time when the bakers made large quantities of this type of bread the day before the Stor Bededag, so that they could have a day off from work and participate in the tradition.

Here is a link (in Danish) to the recipe of Varme Hvede.

Saxo Grammaticus and his Gesta Danorum

Apr 272009

April 27, 2009 Posted by Bart Westgeest History No Responses »

Original Gesta Danorum parchment page. Page 1, front, of the Angers Fragment. Now located in the Royal Library of Copenhagen, found in Helle Stangerup's book Saxo, 2004.

Original Gesta Danorum parchment page. Page 1, front, of the Angers Fragment. Now located in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Source: Wikipedia

This picture shows one of the four most precious pages in Danish history.

They became known as the Angers Fragment, called after the city in France where they were discovered. They were written before 1220.

As you can see they contain notes and additions that were meant to be added later. So scholars assume that they are written by the writer himself, a man called Saxo Grammaticus. The huge work he wrote is a history of the Danes, unique in it’s kind, the Gesta Danorum. The Angers Fragment are the only 4 original pages that survived the ages, but luckily a copy of the complete work was found an brought into print in the year 1514.

About Saxo

There is not too much known about the writer. He seems to have followed a family tradition by being a soldier at some point and he was a thoroughly educated writer of classical Latin, as that is the language he wrote his history in. He create the work for the Danish archbishop and statesman Absalon, a highly influential and well known figure in Danish history.

His work: Gesta Danorum

The title of the book he wrote can be translated as “The Deeds of the Danes”, a name that was given at a later point in history to the book. It is an attempt to write the history of the Danes from the earliest beginnings to the time of Saxo, where he extensively describes the achievements and history of his employer Bishop Absalon. There wasn’t a world of science in the 11th. century as we know it today where something is only true when many facts support a theory. So Saxo did what everybody did. He read the books he had at his disposal (a source could have been the Icelandic Sagas), listened to the stories and perhaps asked everybody he knew that could give him some information. Oral tradition was strong in his time before bookprinting and it can sometimes prove to be remarkable accurate. After he had gathered his information he then added what he thought was fitted. Of course he wasn’t free from political influences and he wanted to give the Danes a place in international history. So not everything he wrote are actual facts, especially not in the first period of the history.

That leaves us wondering today which parts are true and which are fiction. But it is one of the very few sources available and therefore important for the understanding of the (mythical) world of the time.

One of the many stories in the Gesta Danorum is about a certain Amlet, which, probably via a later version, became the source of inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Saxo’s work is an often cited work in Denmark as it remains the classical work in and about Danish history.

This is a link to an English online translation of the Gesta Danorum.

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