The 28 meter long Circle Bridge designed by the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is inking the area near Danisco with Christiansbro. It was officially opened in 2015.
According to the architect, ‘Cirkelbroen’ celebrates pedestrians. It’s supposed to reflect the daily life and intimacy that you find around the canal, its houseboats and sailing boats, the unique life on the ramparts.
The Circle Bridge (Cirkelbroen) in Copenhagen is a piece of art designed by Icelandic/Danish artist Olafur Eliasson
It is now possible to bike, run or walk along the promenade all the way from Islands Brygge through the Inner Harbor (Innerhavnen) and watch the city from a very different perspective.
About 5,000 people are crossing the bridge each day.
The footbridge consists of five interconnected circular platforms in various sizes, each with a tall mast designed to resemble ship masts with reference to the boats that sail the Copenhagen waterways. Copenhagen’s harbor was once a center of maritime activity, and Cirkelbroen is a testimony to that history.
More than 110 tensioned wires are threaded between the base of the bridge and the tips of five poles.
“While working on the bridge, I remembered the fishing boats I saw as a child in Iceland,” said Eliasson. “Fish cutters were often moored in the harbor right next to each other, and sometimes it seemed as if you could actually walk across the harbor by going from boat to boat.”
About 5,000 people are crossing the bridge each day. . “But rather than offering the quickest possible passage across the canal, the bridge creates small changes in the way we observe the city and opens the way for a renegotiation of public space,” says Olafur Eliasson.
The central platform is articulated to allow the bridge to swing back on itself, creating a nine-meter gap for passing boat traffic while smaller boats such as kayaks can pass below the elevated podiums.
More than 110 tensioned wires are threaded between the base of the bridge and the tips of five poles.
I hope Cirkelbroen contributes to improving the quality of life and the development of a hospitable and inclusive city,” concludes Eliasson.
Circle Bridge in Copenhagen, written by Tor Kjolberg
The ideal way to arrive in Oslo is by boat, for then you get the most complete picture (though arriving by car from the south along the Mosseveien also offers some impressive views).
The view from the fjord is dominated by the City Hall, a large brick building topped by two square towers which overlooks the busy harbor. The imposing Modernistic structure took 20 years to build – it was begun in the 1930s, but with the interruption of war, wasn’t completed until the 1950s.
The imposing Modernistic structure of Oslo City Hall took 20 years to build
The cavernous main hall is decorated with murals of Norwegian history and mythology, and the courtyard is adorned with bronze statues, a fine carved wooden frieze and the swan fountain.
Every year on 10 December City Hall hosts the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.
Nobel Peace Center opened in 2005
On Rådhusplassen is the Nobel Peace Center (Nobels Fredssenter), which opened in 2005 on the site of the Vestbane building, a former railway station. Exhibitions staged here focus on former Peace Prize laureates and topics such as war, peace and conflict resolution.
Just north of the Nobel Peace Center, the Konserthus (Concert Hall), home of the Oslo Philharmonic, holds concerts most Thursday and Friday nights, except in July.
Oslo Concert Hall is home of the Oslo Philharmonic
The last remnant of Oslo’s heavy industry, the Aker Shipyard, closed in 1982. In its place on the western side of the harbor are Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen, vibrant complexes of shops, offices a hotel (The Thief) and apartments overlooking the fjord.
Astrup-Fearnley Museum designed by Renzo Piano
Tjuvholmen is one of Oslo’s newest boroughs. The area is characterized by an intriguing architectural diversity and unique outdoor areas. It plays host to several galleries and art installations, including the Astrup Fearnley Museum, designed by Renzo Piano, flanked by a sculpture park and a beach.
The seafront boardwalk lined with cafés and restaurants is one of Oslo’s most popular meeting places and teems with people in the summer months.
Pål Moddi Knutsen, known as Moddi, is a passionate Norwegian singer/songwriter from the island of Senja.
His collection of songs, Unsongs, have at one stage been banned, censored or silenced. The attempts to suppress them were as mild as an airplay ban or as brutal as a murder.
Norwegian singer/songwriter Pål Moddi Knutsen, known as Moddi
“Welcome proof of music’s continuing, if underemployed, power to confront authorities,” wrote The Guardian.
“Norwegian sensation Moddi is a perfect example of more artists doing interesting and creative things with the format of the solo artist than there are with the band format,” writes William Howard in Songkick.com.
The young man has become a respected artist in Norway and received a double Norwegian Grammy nomination for his debut album Floriography in 2010. He has talen his music around the world’s festivals and toured with Angus and Julia Stone.
“All credit to the Norwegian singer and activist Pal Moddi Knutsen for unearthing so many songs that have run into trouble with the censors… a folk-pop list that roams from China to Israel,” wrote Thew Sunday Times.
“He may be an acoustic guitar toting troubadour but even when his music is stripped down to just him playing solo there is still something in the music that’s uniquely his,” says William Howard.
Moddi, portrayed by Lamo Yak
Moddi was also one of four artists and band who received an impressive 1,000,000 NOK grant from a-ha before their final tour in 2010. Their goal was to help up-and-coming artists who wished to pursue an international career in music.
The idea for the album Unsongs came when Moddu learned about officer Eli Geva, who refused to lead his forces into Beirut during the Lebanon war in 1982. The song about Eli Geva, sung by the famous Norwegian songstress Birgitte Grimstad, had never been released due to being too provocative at the time. “I was amazed to discover that one short song could convey so much history – and still be unheard,” says Moddi.
“Music is a huge part of my life, but I am also studying sociology,” he says. “I’ve got a lot left to do, and I use music as a tool to ventilate difficult subjects, so you could say the two things belong together.”
Danish fashion designer Freya Dalsjø stretches borders in Danish fashion with fur, wild color combinations and architectural elements.
Danish fashion designer Freya Dalsjø founded her brand in Copenhagen in 2012 after studying fashion at the Royal Academy of fine arts in Antwerp, and somehow, this Danish designer manages to merge femininity with functionality.
Freya Dalsjø, Creatures of the wind, Fall 2017
Her autumn 2017 collection, presented at the Copenhagen Fashion Week in Copenhagen in February included deconstructed suits and shirtdresses and coats with exaggerated shoulders. Dalsjø’s clothes showed bold, off-kilter silhouettes and emphasize on transforming high quality materials into unexpected timeless design.
One can sense Dalsjø’s desire to mediate the manufactured and get to the heart of something a little more real, and the collection is defined by the use of bold colors and lines with an artistic and architectural approach.
“I’m inspired by portraying a woman I know and am genuinely affected by her mood, reactions, and interactions, “says Dalsjø. “All make me want to portray something that feels more real and communicates an idea that different women can relate to.”
About Freya Dalsjø Born in Vejle, Denmark 1980
Fashion brand Freya Dalsjø established 2012
Educated at the Royal Academy of fine arts in Antwerp
Winner of Sølvtråden (Silver Tread) 2013
Winner of Elle Style Awards 2015
Cooperates with Copenhagen Fur
Danish Fashion Designer Merges Femininity with Functionality, written by Tor Kjolberg
Destination expert Fred Mawer calls Norway “Europe’s most beautiful country” in an article in the British paper The Telegraph on 3 August 2017.
He and his family was on a four-night journey with Hurtigruten, from Tromsø down the Norwegian coast to Bergen. He points out, however, that the voyage was a sedate experience and that a grown-up atmosphere prevailed on board. Even some of the offerings, such as lectures on Ibsen and Grieg, were too highbrow for him during a holiday.
That said, when he claims that Norway is Europe’s most beautiful country, we believe the family’s Norwegian coastal experience, wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Experience the beautiful surroundings in Narvik. The city is located by the emerald-colored Ofot fjord, where vessels ship iron ore all over the world. The fjord is surrounded by rugged mountain peaks and forested hills. From the mountain above the city you can see all the way to Lofoten, and in the mountains there are endless opportunities for mountain biking.
Narvik is located on the 68th parallel, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in northern Norway. You can fly to Evenes Airport from Oslo, Trondheim, Bodø or Tromsø. From there It’s one hour’s transfer to Narvik.
Downhill biking in Narvik
The terrain here is very mountainous and hilly, and the landscape is breathtaking. Biking here is one of the world’s most fantastic, yet untouched freeriding spots. However, the views often come after several hours of hard cycling.
During the cold winter months this place is dark, but during the summer months the sun never sets. Accordin to Sture Petterson, a resident of Narvik and editor of Singletracknarvik.com, most of the area is rideable from mid/late June except some of the highest altitudes like Låktatjåkko Fjällstation (1228 m) and Reinnesfjellet (804 m). All tours are within a range of one hour driving from the town.
Brage Vestavik getting some air in Narvik, Norway (Red Bull)
On a sunny day this place is as close as you will ever come to paradise. Bjørn Forselv has written several books on hiking and biking in the Narvik area, but unfortunately, the books have not yet been translated into English. For many years Narvik has been a well-known ski resort, but few people know the area as a bike destination. On Singletrack Narvik you will find links to pictures and descriptions of several freeride trips below.
The bike scene in Narvik was established already in 1997, when enthusiastic locals hand-built the long, steep downhill track from the top of Fagernesfjellet. It is served by a gondola lift and gives 700m of vertical drop. In the summer months the gondola lift runs until 8pm, as the sun does not set until very late.
Most of the trails in the Narvik area require a certain amount of off-road riding experience, but many of the rides are not that technically demanding.
On 24 August 2017 the Nordic food award ‘Embla’ is handed out for the first time at an award ceremony in Copenhagen City Hall.
The price will be handed out in seven different categories celebrating:
– The best food for children and young people
– The best food destination
– The best food entrepreneur
– The best food craftsman or –woman
– The best food communicator
– The best creator of food to many
– The best food producer
The nominees will be from all the Nordic countries. Related: New Nordic Kitchen
The new Nordic food prize, Embla, is aimed at helping to strengthen a shared Nordic culinary identity and culture, and increase interest in Nordic food outside the region.
The first pan-Nordic food prize is launched by six Nordic agricultural organizations.
Senior advisor at the Nordic Council of Ministers, Mads Frederik Fischer-Møller
The focus will be on ingredients, food, production and the professionals behind it. Mads Frederik Fischer-Møller, senior advisor at the Nordic Council of Ministers, said:
The Embla logo
“The fact that the prize is administered by organizations representing the breadth of Nordic food is a huge boost for Embla, its identity, and its purpose. The objective is for the prize to become as recognised as the Nordic Literature Prize.”
Embla will be awarded every other year. The host country for Embla 2019 will be announced at the ceremony. The awards ceremony in Copenhagen will take place in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark’s ‘Better Food for More People’ summit at Copenhagen Cooking.
Chief consultant at the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and project manager for Embla, Andreas Buchhave Jensen
Andreas Buchhave Jensen who is chief consultant at the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and project manager for Embla says:
“We have so many good things to offer in the Nordic Region. Tasty ingredients and a high level of innovation among food professionals. By sharing our experiences, we all benefit. The prize is also recognition of a Nordic culinary culture that we can all be proud of.”
New food prize celebrates Nordic cuisine, compiled by Admin
Different cultures have different ideas about privacy. The practice of revealing everybody’s salaries in Norway and Sweden dates back to the 18th century.
Norway has been making such details open to the public since 1863.
Would you be happy to have your tax return displayed for everyone to see? Want to know what your boss earns? Or your future husband? Each year Sweden and Norway publish everyone’s income tax returns so everybody in the country can inspect them.
What do the very rich really pay in taxes? Just some keystrokes on your computer’s keybpatd and the information is there. The person whose returns you request will know it was you, but that is all. This rule, introduced in 2014, resulted in the fact that the number of requests fell considerably. However, workers can see what their colleagues earn and neighbors can snoop on how much the people next door make – all legally and online.
Progressivity of Scandinavian and US incomew taxes
In the grand tradition of the “Jantelov”, where no-one is better than anyone else, Sweden and Norway publish everyone’s income and tax details, every year. So it’s possible to find out the average gap between women and men. However, only total income and total tax paid is revealed.
On a date every year in October, just after midnight, Norwegian citizens’ annual tax returns are posted online – and the country’s newspapers leap to produce top ten lists of the country’s highest earners, the incomes and taxes paid by the political and cultural elites, celebrities and sportspeople.
Sweden’s ‘tax calendars’are published in stages, starting with ordinary taxpayers, then high income earners from company bosses to celebrities. The Swedish gender pay gap has become smaller since the system was introduced, 6 per cent only.
For most foreigners, how much someone earns is not information that belongs in the public space. Money should be private.
Tax declaration in Sweden
In Sweden, businesses with 25 or more employees have to establish an equality action plan. And companies with big pay gaps face fines if they fail to take steps to close them.
According to domestic tax authorities, few Norwegians and Swedes have the same hangups as most foreign people about having their incomes disclosed. The list seems to symbolize the best of Nordic openness.
Norwegians living and working abroad say the rules mean there is more honesty about salaries back home than in the country they live in. “Isn’t this how a social democracy ought to work, with openness, transparency and social equality as ideals?” they ask. Tax transparency may also contribute to a flatter and more equal pay structure in the country.
The spirit of transparency, when it comes to money at least, doesn’t translate into every culture. What some see as an honest commitment to fairness is for others, an invasion of personal privacy, or as a Norwegian tabloid described as “tax porn”.
Income and Tax Transparency in Norway and Sweden, written by Tor Kjolberg
Join the Danish “Viking trail” in West Jutland and visit the historic sites and old as well as new attractions.
We think the best place to start is in the capital city, Copenhagen, where you initially learn about Denmark’s distant past in the National Museum (Nationalmuseet). There you can watch priceless treasures like Viking jewelry, coins, weapons and rune stones. Sample the Viking menu at Restaurant Valhal in Tivoli Gardens.
Natuonal Museum, Copenhagen
Next stop is the picturesque town Roskilde with its Viking Ship Museum. The town was founded by the Vikings in a strategic position overlooking the beautiful Roskilde Fjord. The Roskilde Cathedral is a key local landmark. This is the church in which the Viking king Harald Bluetooth is buried. The museum contains five completely reconstructed Viking longboats, built from salvaged wrecks from the fjord itself, discovered in the 1960s. Here you can also watch a film telling the story of the salvage and restoration.
Next, head south from Roskilde to the Viking stronghold of Trelleborg near Slagelse on Zealand. This impressive 1,000 year old ring fortress built by King Harald Bluetooth in 980 is surrounded by a 134-metre-diameter wall, where you can also meet ‘real’ Vikings and get a glimpse of their daily life and taste the Viking brew, mjød.
At the museum you can see some of the many discoveries that were made during the excavation and learn more about the castle and its function.
Standing stones at Gammel Lejre
About 10 kilometers west of Roskilde is Lejre, an important powerbase at which the story of the kingdom of Denmark began. The Viking Age discoveries from Gammel Lejre include a unique large hall complex (covering around 500m2).
Apart from the great halls, many splendid archaeological finds have also been recovered in the area and these are exhibited in the Lejre museum.
From Ladby Viking Museum
From Lejre, drive west over the Great Belt Bridge (Storebæltsbro) to the island of Funen (Fyn). South of the town Kerteminde, you’ll find Ladby Viking Museum where the Ladbyskibet viking chieftain burial site is located. The Ladbyskibet burial site is the only Viking burial site in Denmark.
140km south west of Kerteminde in Jutland, you come to Ribe, Denmark’s oldest town. It’s as though you have been transported back to 980. At its Viking Centre, you can wander through a full-size reconstruction of Ribe’s Viking market place. Beyond the longhouse there are barns, workshops and pit-houses. See their film, Odin’s Eye, which also takes you back to Viking times.
You can sense the history all around in this picturesque country town.
From Bork Viking Harbor
From Ribe, head north-west towards Ringkøbing Fjord. At its southern end, you’ll find Bork Viking harbour. At the open-air Viking harbor museum you can go sailing on the fjord and go fishing and experience the viking activities.
The Hobro Museum
About 45 miles away, before the town of Vejle, you’ll reach the the Unesco world heritage site where kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth erected two famous rune stones and built the largest structures of the period. The new Royal Jelling Experience Centre will tell the story of Denmark’s birth as a nation.
From Jelling, head to Aarhus and further north to Hobro, around 135km away. Here you can visit the Hobro Museum and its rich collection of prehistoric and Viking archaeological finds. Close by, you can see the foundations of a large Viking castle.
From Lindholm Høje
40km north of Hobro, towards Aalborg, you’ll come to Nørresundby and Lindholm Høje – the biggest ancient burial ground in Scandinavia. The site dates back to the Iron Age and Viking period and contains a staggering 700 graves, marked with striking stone rings and patterns. There’s also a great museum for you to visit. At Lindholm Høje Museum, you will find exhibitions which bring history to life. With an outset in the recovered relics, you will be introduced to Viking life through amazing reconstructions, panoramas, illustrations, and 3D animations.
Aggersborg wuth the chirch
Head to Aggersborg, near the small town of Løgstør. Here you can wander around the atmospheric ruins of a round Viking castle fortress and absorb the thousand years of history you’ve collected on your journey back to Viking Denmark. Aggersborg is the biggest of the Danish viking fortresses, built at the same time period as the Trelleborg, Fyrkat and Nonnebakken viking fortresses in 980-981 AD by King Harald Bluetooth.
Feature image (on top):
The new Royal Jelling Experience Centre will tell the story of Denmark’s birth as a nation.
Swedish football hero, forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is now honored and immortalized on a 1,000 kroner note, featuring his face. However, the noteis simply an artistic design and cannot be used to purchase anything.
But when the Swedish top scorer in fact will be immortalized in a statue outside the national stadium, he has certainly attained a living legend status in Sweden.
Zlatan-Ibrahimovic will be immortalized in a statue outside the national stadium
The 1,000 kroner note, designed by Swedish artist and photographer Bingo Rimer, has Zlatan’s face is plastered over Swedish currency artwork, and Zlatan now compares himself to Benjamin Franklin.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic now compares himself to Benjamin Franklin
The former Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus striker posed for Rimer with a blown up version of the note. The image was published on Instagram with the caption, “’You have Benjamin Franklin and you have me”. Unbelievably, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s ego seems to have been inflated even more than it already is.
A 1,000 kroner note is Sweden’s largest denomination available, so Ibrahimovic will without doubt be pleased by the symbolism, as he is a man known to have compared himself to God.
The former Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus striker
Although his fans and Zlatan himself will be disappointed that they cannot by anything with the 1,000 kroner note, they should not forget that five special official stamps of the forward in the yellow of the national team were released in 2014.
However, the 35-year-old Zlatan is currently a free agent, after Manchester United decided not to renew his one year contract. But United boss Mourinho has said that a move to get the striker back at the club is in the pipeline. Zlatan is likely to ask for a wage of a lot more than 1,000 kroner a week.
A Living Swedish Football Legend, written by Tor Kjolberg
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