Kongens Have (The King's Park)

 One of the three large city parks near our house is Kongens Have, or the King's Park. It's one of the most popular parks in the city, and always full of tourists.  Copenhageners don't see much sun, so when it does make an appearance, these gardens are covered in sunbathers.  But no matter the weather, it always seems used.  You know the saying, "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes"?  It's definitely true in Denmark.

 Inside the park is Rosenborg Castle, originally built in 1606 as a summer house, then used as a royal residence until the 1700s.

 Just a little summer home fixer-upper.

Romantic and all, but these cobblestone sidewalks that cover the city begin to wreak havoc on stroller wheels.

 Fall has been particularly beautiful in this park.  The long tree lined alleys turned bright orange.  In the mornings, as Woody and I walk to play groups or run errands, we often see groups of children in daycare all dressed in their winter clothes playing in the leaves.  So precious.

Already preparing for winter, draining the fountain.

Move Over Jeff Tweedy

There's a new rockstar in town.

RockStar from Jesse Foss on Vimeo.

More Shepard Fairey

Found in Kongens Nytorv

Halloween

We've noticed over the years that Halloween is slowly creeping into the hearts of holiday-makers in countries around the world. My first year in Switzerland it was hardly a blip on the map for the locals.  I remember an Italian parent of one of my kindergartners asking me what a pumpkin was. That was one of my first realizations that I wasn't in America anymore. In Bosnia, the students dressed up and paraded around the school, but there was no evidence of national understanding, let alone trick-or-treating.  In Japan, always eager to join in the fun, the students at school dressed up as witches, witches and more witches and decorations were up in department stores.

 

Here in Denmark, Tivoli is the center of Halloween.  They opened their doors for 10 days to show off over 15,000 pumpkins, booths, gluhwein stalls, and costume contests.  We took baby Felix dressed in his homemade Yoda costume (sorry baby, you will be the kid who will never get the store-bought costume). I've never been a big costume person, but I wouldn't miss a chance to put the littlest one in something funny.  My friend, Azusa, taught me how to knit so I could make this hat for the baby. James found the perfect stick on a bicycle ride for Yoda's staff, and I did a very rough stitch to make his little hooded robe. 

We entered him in the costume contest, which, as you can see, was dominated by witches.  In fact, three store-bought witch costumes beat out the cutest homemade Yoda baby. A travesty of justice, in my opinion, but I'll chalk it up to being lost in the translation of the meaning of Halloween. I have to blame it on that, because if I don't, I'm just another crazy competitor in the mom-petion. 

We also celebrated James's 36th birthday on Halloween. 

What better way to honor dad than with a mini-me? Complete with plaid shirt, cardigan and goatee.

Woody played with the streamers and balloons while I made a chocolate gingerbread tart.

Happy Birthday!

The Lakes

At any given time of the week, you can usually find a steady parade of prams and lycra-clad joggers going around the lakes in central Copenhagen. 

 The five lakes are just a block from our house and part of our weekly walking.

 We aren't alone.  Especially on a sunny day, Copenhageners come out to sun themselves just like lizards on a rock.

 

Cafes and restaurants line the lakes, beckoning tired moms pushing sleeping babies in prams to stop in and warm up with a hot drink. 

 The lakes aren't really more than shallow ponds filled with goose poop, algae, and stray trash, but strangely, they are a beautiful attraction within the hustle and bustle of the city.  

Geese, swans and ducks thrive here.  The rare heron also makes an appearance.

 At sunset, the light settles on the windows of the surrounding apartments buildings, then fades to the glistening lakes. It's a beautiful sight.

Airwalker

And one more that never fails to amaze. 

Starting Early

We have a hard time keeping him away from the bikes these days.  I can picture this as part of his video montage after he claims his Olympic gold medal for cycling. 

Bikelover from Jesse Foss on Vimeo.

The Strange Country

Really interesting video about Japan. 

Japan is currently offering 10,000 free tickets to visit and share your experiences.  I'm thinking I'll have to do something about that.  Baby's return to his birthplace?  Does that tug at the heartstrings of those handing out tickets?

World Cycling Championships

Copenhagen played host to the World Cycling Championships at the end of September.  The city center closed down to traffic as residents, school kids and guests cheered on their countrymen rounding the city streets.  The time trials went right by our house, so Woody and I snuck out to capture a few shots.

 

This awesome shot was a total fluke.  I took James's camera with me and I know nothing about the features and settings of anything other than a point-and-shoot, but somehow managed to get one sweet shot.  That's Denmark's rider in the Under-23 time trials.

 Most of my shots turned out like this.  These guys were fast--but my photog skills are poor.

These school kids were let out of class to cheer on Denmark.  They also took to chanting "USA! USA!" when the red, white and blue sped past.

 The top riders were followed by motorcycles and cameramen.  Each rider had his/her coach riding behind in a team Skoda, many yelling things like "Alle! Alle!" or "looking good, looking relaxed," or something along those lines in many different languages.

 Swedish rider

 Woody was inspired to train for the 2031 World Cycling Championships (he'll be 20 then). 

On a separate note, I bought this cozy stroller sleeping bag thing to use this winter when we we are out and about.  I never thought I'd be using it daily in August and September.

  Except for car traffic, commuters were mostly able to go about their way on the bike paths. 

Making New Friends

Goofball