Farvel Børsen...

 All things built of men must one day fall.

Of course, some things last longer than others. Go to England and you see buildings, roads, bridges constructed a thousand years ago. Go to Italy, Egypt and even older structures still stand. They knew how to build things back then.

Two days ago, a building built four-hundred years ago caught fire. Seeing photos and watching videos of the destruction...you can almost hear millions of hearts in the Harbor of Purchase breaking as the flames engulfed one of the special buildings in the city. You could hear hearts breaking other places, too.

Copenhagen is known for many things, among them its spires. It's one of the cities known as a City of Spires. Today, there's one fewer, one less structure jutting into the Scandinavian sky. And it was a cool one, too. 

The building was home to the old stock exchange and recently a haven for priceless Danish artwork. Many of the pieces of art were saved, thankfully. Also, no one lost their life in the fire. I remember seeing the spire many times, but it wasn't until later I realized what the spire actually was. At the base were four dragons, and the twisted spire were the dragons's tails. Awesome.

The building was being renovated to celebrate its 400th anniversary later this year, which makes the event even that more tragic. I'm sure many in France can relate to what the Danes are feeling today, having watched a fire severely damage the Notre Dame Cathedral exactly four years and one day earlier in 2019.

 

I have no idea what plans are for the building. Knowing the Danes, they'll want to take action, either by rebuilding the original or creating a monument to Børsen's legacy. Whatever happens, it will be special.

All things built of men must one day fall...

It's a bummer when you see it happen.

Missing Those Amazing Danish Christmas Decorations...

I didn't realize it at the time, but what I saw when I lived in Denmark back in the mid-1980s would be something I'd not see again, at least haven't seen since. Not realizing things at the time is not new with me--as I get older, I'm noticing things I missed when I was younger and wish I had appreciated them back in the day.

What was it that I haven't seen in over thirty years? The way the Danes decorate for Christmas.

I'm sure Denmark is not unique in how they decorate. I imagine other European cities do the same, but what I loved and miss is the way they string lighted decorations over the narrow streets between the buildings. I did a quick google search and found a couple of examples, one from uniavisen.dk, one from thedanishpioneer.com, and one from visitcopenhagen.com. I believe these pictures are from Copenhagen, but I remember seeing this type of decor in Århus as well. I lived in Copenhagen the first Christmas I lived in Denmark and Århus the second Christmas.

I live in the western part of the United States. Whereas the cities in Europe have limited space, cities out west have room to spare, or at least, they did when they were first organized. We don't have narrow streets like they do in Europe. I guess you could string huge decorations between buildings here, but the effect wouldn't be the same. There's something charming, whimsical, endearing about how Christmas looks in Denmark and I love it and I miss it.

One day I might make it back to the land of the vikings during Jul. But even if I don't, thinking back about how that cold dark country looked at Christmas is a warm and wonderful memory.