Where do I live now?

Copenhagen, Denmark

During my visit to SICS in Uppsala in Fall 1999 I also went to Copenhagen for a few days in early September 1999 to attend the ECSCW'99 conference (European Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Work). Here are a couple of images to show you what it looks like there.

Two of the main attractions in Copenhagen are the Tivoli, which is one of the oldest amusement parks of the world, if you want to call it that. I didn't read up on it's history, but as it was built at the end 19th century, it was probably one of the first "electric city" attractions, with many many electric lights at night. Walking through Tivoli is like walking through what Disneyland might have looked like if it had been built a couple of decades earlier.

The other attraction is the little mermaid, which is not really a big attraction. Just a bronze statue of a naked girl with flippers sitting on a rock, right? I'm sure you have seen the postcards of her. Well, anyway. I didn't manage to see the original, but that's a longer story ;)

This is one of my first impressions of Copenhagen. Using the telephone in a hotel is so outrageously expensive, that the hotels themselves put warning labels on the phones! On the back of the label you are informed of how much meat they will cut out of your carcass for one minute of telephone use. For a call to the US they will charge you about 6 US$ per minute, for example.
The Danish phones also have the most vicious user interface ever invented. Note the completely screwed up arrangement of the number keys. Not only did they switch the low and high row, they also move the zero! It's amazing how standardization can spoil you. I managed to misdial my mother's number about 5 times, before I got it right.
(You might complain that your pocket calculator looks similar. True. But that's a calculator. Telephones and ATM are standardized to use the other arrangement - at least in countries outside of Spain and, obviously, Denmark. This same problem made an ATM in a Spanish airport almost eat one of my visa cards a couple of years back, but that's another story...)

This piece is a corner stone of the city hall and a wonderful use of 'public art', if you want. It does not only look like a chess piece, it's a bench on which you can sit and -- play chess! If you look closely you see a chess board engraved in the stone bench!

Some more 'public art' (or more 'pubic art'?) I happened to walk by just as this lady dropped her clothes to pose for her boyfriend (?) / photographer before the fountain. Some people looked, some rushed for their cameras (me for example ;) ) other just ignored the whole scene as if it was nothing special. Maybe it isn't...?

This area is called Nyhavn (pronounced roughly like 'newhaven' and that's what it also means, although it's an old harbour). A very nice area with many pubs and cool places to hang out. Nice old buildings and many old ships. One of the ships was for sale, a sign said. Just in case anybody of you is interested...

One of the places in Nyhaven. It's called Fisken Pub and has a big fish as logo. Careful: It's didn't have a single fish dish on the menu! That should have made me suspicious already... I never found out if the food was any good, because I canceled my order after I had waited for over an hour. (The beer was ok)

This is another pub in Nyhaven. I don't think they have mermaid on the menu either, but at least it looks very inviting...
That lobster on top... is that a reference to a certain Disney movie, I wonder...?
*singing* "Under the sea, under the seaaa, where is it better, where is it wetter, other than heeeereee..."

Copenhagen's old Stock Exchange...

... has this interesting tower on top...

Our conference reception was in the city hall, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos of the inside. Here it is from the outside.

And here it is from the inside -- the central hall.

This is where we had the reception. What they called a "small buffet" was a feast! And good stuff too!

The main entrance to the Tivoli.

One of the many attractions there. Just in case you wonder where Disney got that idea with the pirate's ship...

Not really inside Tivoli, but visible from Tivoli. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks pretty on that photo...

Tivoli at night. Now you may understand my comment about "electric cities".

Not what you think. This is not Tivoli! Actually it's not even Copenhagen.
This is the waiting room in a little trainstation, about half an hour outside of Copenhagen. I went there to see the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen (Out of Africa, etc.) is from around Copenhagen. Her house is now a museum, and the big garden has been turned into a bird sanctuary.

This is approximately the view from Karen Blixen's workplace. I could imagine working at such a place too... The marina is just across the street from Karen's house.

last modified 9/21/1999

	This is one of my first impressions of Copenhagen. Using the telephone in a hotel is so outrageously expensive, that the hotels themselves put warning labels on the phones! On the back of the label you are informed of how much meat they will cut out of your carcass for one minute of telephone use. For a call to the US they will charge you about 6 US$ per minute, for example. The Danish phones also have the most vicious user interface ever invented. Note the completely screwed up arrangement of the number keys. Not only did they switch the low and high row, they also move the zero! It's amazing how standardization can spoil you. I managed to misdial my mother's number about 5 times, before I got it right. (You might complain that your pocket calculator looks similar. True. But that's a calculator. Telephones and ATM are standardized to use the other arrangement - at least in countries outside of Spain and, obviously, Denmark. This same problem made an ATM in a Spanish airport almost eat one of my visa cards a couple of years back, but that's another story...)
	This piece is a corner stone of the city hall and a wonderful use of 'public art', if you want. It does not only look like a chess piece, it's a bench on which you can sit and -- play chess! If you look closely you see a chess board engraved in the stone bench!
	Some more 'public art' (or more 'pubic art'?) I happened to walk by just as this lady dropped her clothes to pose for her boyfriend (?) / photographer before the fountain. Some people looked, some rushed for their cameras (me for example ;) ) other just ignored the whole scene as if it was nothing special. Maybe it isn't...?
	This area is called Nyhavn (pronounced roughly like 'newhaven' and that's what it also means, although it's an old harbour). A very nice area with many pubs and cool places to hang out. Nice old buildings and many old ships. One of the ships was for sale, a sign said. Just in case anybody of you is interested...
	One of the places in Nyhaven. It's called Fisken Pub and has a big fish as logo. Careful: It's didn't have a single fish dish on the menu! That should have made me suspicious already... I never found out if the food was any good, because I canceled my order after I had waited for over an hour. (The beer was ok)
	This is another pub in Nyhaven. I don't think they have mermaid on the menu either, but at least it looks very inviting... That lobster on top... is that a reference to a certain Disney movie, I wonder...? singing "Under the sea, under the seaaa, where is it better, where is it wetter, other than heeeereee..."
	Copenhagen's old Stock Exchange...
	... has this interesting tower on top...
	Our conference reception was in the city hall, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos of the inside. Here it is from the outside.
	And here it is from the inside -- the central hall.
	This is where we had the reception. What they called a "small buffet" was a feast! And good stuff too!
	The main entrance to the Tivoli.
	One of the many attractions there. Just in case you wonder where Disney got that idea with the pirate's ship...
	Not really inside Tivoli, but visible from Tivoli. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks pretty on that photo...
	Tivoli at night. Now you may understand my comment about "electric cities".
	Not what you think. This is not Tivoli! Actually it's not even Copenhagen. This is the waiting room in a little trainstation, about half an hour outside of Copenhagen. I went there to see the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen (Out of Africa, etc.) is from around Copenhagen. Her house is now a museum, and the big garden has been turned into a bird sanctuary.
	This is approximately the view from Karen Blixen's workplace. I could imagine working at such a place too... The marina is just across the street from Karen's house.