Teacher Aboard Logs

God Dag (good day) from Copenhagen!

When you last heard from me, we were in Hamburg, Germany. Just before Hamburg we met our new crewmember, 'P.J.' L. Parlin Meyer, Jr. is her real name and she replaced Jon Mitchell (SuprTuf) who 'jumped ship' in Bremerhaven. Welcome P.J.!

In Hamburg we picked up three new passengers - Howard MacIver and Myles Brager from Baltimore, Maryland, and Pat Tognoni whose daughter, Dayle, is a deckhand here on Pride II. In the picture, Pat is facing the camera with Capt. Miles far left beside 'Mac' and Myles. We left Hamburg on September 7, leaving the drizzle behind.

We entered the Kiel Canal at noon in order to take advantage of the shortcut across to the Baltic Sea. It was a great decision by Capt. Miles as it very scenic. We exited the canal at 8 p.m. and as it was already dark we tied up at the dock of a local town.

The next day we set sail shortly after noon and sailed into the Baltic Sea headed for Copenhagen, Denmark. We made excellent time and so the Captain, after having a muster (meeting) with the entire crew, decided to head into port a day early.

Copenhagen, Denmark

I found Denmark fascinating in that it manages to keep its past alongside the future and does so with style and grace. Take, for example, these photos.

The first is a set of windmills that greet boats coming from the Baltic Sea. They're found all over Europe along the shorelines and generate electricity from the wind. Just around the corner and down the street from the train station is another windmill, but quite different from the others. This one is in a park and looks quite 'comfortable' and appropriate.

I was impressed by how the Danes have such strong ties to their past and yet look so modern. I walked down an historic cobblestone street with very narrow alleys and suddenly stumbled across something else quite modern - Elvis!! He's alive and living in Denmark!!

The Little Mermaid and Other Sculptures

Like most European countries, Denmark has its own share of art in many forms. As you know, Hans Christian Anderson spent much of his life here and penned some of his most famous writings inspired by this beautiful country. Perhaps the most famous of these is the story of "The Little Mermaid," the story of the mermaid who gave up her voice and tail for a pair of legs so that she could be with the Prince whom she dearly loved.

Sadly, he did not return her love and she pined for him forever. The statue is fairly small and sits in a cove off the main harbor projecting the loneliness of this sad creature so much that I went back and shot this photo thinking that it represents her mood much better.

Within half a mile, I discovered an amazing group of fabulous sculptures. Perhaps the most impressive was the statue of Geffion. The myth is that she was promised as much land as she could plow. So she mated with a giant and bore four sons whom she turned into bulls. With these massive bulls she was able to plow the land she so desperately wanted. Not much motherly love there! It is a very famous statue in Denmark and attracts a great deal of attention.

Nearby there were two statues from mythology that stand guard at an entrance way accessible from the sea. I merged these two photos so that you could try to identify them together. Do you know who they are?

Street Art in Copenhagen

Copenhagen has lots of other art forms including street theater and street musicians. This first photo is of a mime painted entirely in silver. He puts on a 'mechanical' mime show that is quite impressive.

Down the way a few hundred yards I listened to a British band that was colorful to say the least. They interjected a great deal of humor into their repertoire and had the audience laughing for quite some time.

Farther down I listened to yet another band of street musicians, but these focused on classical music. They played pieces from Mozart and Haydn and dazzled the audience with their skills. Can you identify the instruments?

Another popular art form here is the use of spray paints to create a kind of fantasy art that blends earthly concepts with the rest of the solar system. I first saw this style demonstrated by the original artist in Mexico several years ago and was quite impressed. The colors are very vivid and although I couldn't use a flash because the artist was working, you can make out some of the effects on the top piece. The artist looked like something out of a virus lab since the paints are toxic and he has to wear a respirator and protective clothing.

Go to Part 2 of the September 13, 2000 Log