Urban Parks

Today we had an independent class where we visited four urban parks in order to compare them to the fortification parks we went to on Tuesday.  The first park was attached to Frederiksberg Palace as the gardens for the royal family until 1869 when it was later given to the Danish Army Officer School.  It was a huge greenspace with lots of trees, water features, elevation differences, and sittable space.  It was a beautiful day today in Copenhagen (about 73 degrees Farenheit) so everyone was out getting as much Vitamin D as possible.  If there's one thing I've learned about the Danes, it's that they relish the sun whenever they can get it because their winters are so dark and cold.  Although this was a considered an urban park, it was much older than what I expected.  It was an island of green paradise in the bustling neighborhood of Frederiksberg.  Although it was an urban park, it is also considered a historic one.  The majority of the space was grass separated by small footpaths (no bikes) with a moat/river intersecting the outside paths of the park.  It was much like the parks we saw on Tuesday in that it was mainly used for recreation and relaxation. There seemed to be mostly adults there with the exception of a small children's playground area.  Young and old adults were drinking, playing soccer, picking flowers, or just relaxing in the sun.  In general, it was a relaxed atmosphere in comparison to the more modern urban park that I will discuss next.

A very different kind of park was called Superkilen in the residential area of Nørrebro.  It catered more to young children or those wanting to really recreate instead of relax.  This contemporary park had three distinct parts that we believe were used to separate the ages of users.  The first two parts of this park were definitely different than the beautiful green space of Frederiksberg Gardens because they were covered in pavement!  I think it was a special type of pavement but it still made the space look more urban and modern than a traditional garden.  There were modern structures that children could play on or with (I loved the black octopus slides, see photo).  There were many more families watching over their young children instead of couples sunbathing.  This park specifically was not my favorite, but it was an interesting contrast to the elegance of Frederiksberg.

Courtyard Gardens and another Kolonihave

Today we visited two different suburban garden plans.  The first was a collection of attached houses for people who had lived abroad for many years and wanted to come back to Denmark.  It is a very esteemed community filled with many of Denmark's most successful citizen.  Each house has a similar layout, an L-shaped living space with a courtyard garden filling in the rest of the square.  The gardens were walled so that contributed to a sense of privacy.  The house was indeed focused on its courtyard with large windows from the living area looking upon the beautiful flowers and outdoor seating area.  The walls of the courtyard touched a larger area of grass that connected all of the houses.  The houses were literally in a squiggly shape (see picture of plan).  A sort of "clubhouse" was at the head of all the houses and acted as a meeting place and restaurant for all residents.  This garden style is an example of how people can have their own green space in the privacy of their own homes yet are still connected to the community overall via a green way albeit a simple one.

The next place we went was a different type of kolonihave than we saw yesterday.  Again, a kolonihave is a garden area that people who live in apartments can have so that they have access to a garden or green area.  This one was developed by a famous landscape architect C Th Sørensen.  We were lucky enough to speak to his daughter about her father's design process.  These kolonihave were circular pieces of land enclosed by shrubbery with green grass in the spaces between.  The shrubbery were not always perfect, nor high enough in every case to completely isolate the owner of the kolonihave from the rest of the development.  Also, owners must walk in the green grass to get to their spot.  I think that these factors led to a much more socially cooperative space instead of an isolated one. Plus, the owners could grow vegetables or whatever they want! There were many less restrictions.  The community also had a thatch roof center house where the owners could go to meet and enjoy each other's company.

Christiania and Kolonihave

Today we visited two very different types of green spaces in Copenhagen.  The first, was the psuedo-autonomous area of Christiania which is world famous for its "green light district."  However, we were there to see a different type of green!  The area, to me, is basically like a commune.  It was also a walled area at one point with a man made moat surrounding the land.  The water feature is still there, but the land mass has been turned into a super hippy-ish compound.  The elevated area surrounding the town and separating it from the water contain paths where we spent most of our time.  We walked around the perimeter looking at all the different houses, their gardens, and the green space at the outside of the city.  Some of the cool things we saw were a mini glass green house in the shape of a pyramid, a house in the shape of a semi-circle (called "the banana house"), personal gardens, and tons of graffiti.

The second part of our day was my favorite time so far in Copenhagen.  Our class was fortunate enough to be invited to visit a "kolonihave" of another professor in our program.  A kolonihave is a small, 150m garden in association with the Royal Horticulture Society.  It is separate from the city and apartments but close to other kolonihaves.  Essentially, it is a large area of green space divided into several plots that people are on a waiting list for (the man we talked with waited 18 years!).  Each kolonihave generally has its own little house at the back with a small kitchen or gardening shed.  This one in particular had a Cape Cod style little house that was decorated beautifully.  The garden itself had plenty of grass, areas to lounge in the sun, a squirrel feeder (the squirrels here are red), a barbeque grille, and shaded areas for eating.  Oddly enough, no vegetable plants are allowed. It was exceptional, I LOVED it.  

4 Parks, 4 Functions

Today we visited 4 different parks that each had its own function in Copenhagen.  The first, Ørstedparken, was   formed around one lake.  It had plenty of green grass and pathways.  It was the smallest park we visited, but its ample shade and space to recreate made it one of the best of the day.

The second park was my favorite: Botanisk Have, or the Botanic Gardens.  What made this property unique is that it is taken care of by the University of Copenhagen because it has an educational element to it- almost every single plant was labeled.  The space itself was immaculately manicured and well taken care of.  The greenhouse was a beautiful glass structure with separate rooms for different kinds of plants (cactus, orchid, palms; I even saw a poisonous tree).  There were multiple water features within the park as well, all littered with lily pads and koi fish.  Beautiful.  However, my favorite aspect of it was a elevated, rocky area that you could climb up for an awesome view!  There were Caroline blue irises at the top (Go Kappa!).

The third park was called Østre Analæg.  In my memory, it is the "three lakes park" because all of the footpaths border three lakes/ponds.  It had a recreation area for children that was pretty cool and modern.  Also,  a camping site where gypsies or homeless people were living and I got yelled at for trying to take a picture, oops.  I am definitely going running there, it is a perfect park and the outer loop is about 8KM.  In this park is also a museum (I think it was for art).  They attached a super modern addition right on to the original old building, the architectural contrast was visually striking.

The final park we went to is the only remaining evidence of the historical bastions that once encircled the city of Copenhagen.  Kastellet is a unique park due to its raised perimeter, once used for protection but now there are walking/running trails on top of it.  It was really sunny and hot because there was little shade.  There was literally a moat that went around the fortress, but it offered little in the way of aesthetic pleasure.  This was my least favorite park.  However, it did have some awesome views of the waterfront because of the elevation!

In a more general sense, these were historic parks in Copenhagen's city center.  What makes these areas so unique and interesting for us to study is their function in the Danes's everyday life.  These aren't places that one simply visits on a weekend to catch sun.  These are areas that the people in Copenhagen pass through each day whether as a corridor of transit or a way to get outdoors.  There were people of all ages exercising and playing in the grass- by the way, Danish kindergartners are the cutest EVER.  The green spaces are a way to escape the city and have access to a more peaceful atmosphere.  As with the botanical gardens, they can also be a center of education.  To have this much valuable property devoted to green space shows how much of a priority the environment, citizen health, and aesthetics are to the people of Denmark.

Also- see this car? Tesla.... Awesome!  And a charging station right on the street.

Lejre- An Outdoor, Archaeological Museum

First off, I apologize that there are no pictures to go with this. I could add some from the internet but I don't think it would do the exhibit any justice.  What an awesome place to spend our first class!  The exhibit was comprised of an Iron Age village, Stone Age camp, 19th century market, Viking burial areas, and reconstructions of housing.  Besides the exhibits, the area is used as a research facility to study how the first inhabitants of Denmark used the land.


As a class we came to several conclusions that applied to our class, Danish Greenspace.  This first field trip was a way for us to learn about the beginnings of how settlers used the land.  We discussed how climate change had a paramount impact on the evolution of settlers.  First, the Ice Age carved out the Danish landscape as it is today. As the climate warmed, the rise in sea level created the many islands, fjords, and lakes that exist today.  The sea level rise is especially important in explaining how the hunters and gatherers transitioned to a more settled society based on fishing and maritime exploration.

In essence, the field trip was important to learn how inhabitants of Denmark adapted to the land or manipulated it in order to form a more agriculturally-based society.  Lejrd was an exceptional, living example of the transition of Danish settlers. 

This is NOT your typical "abroad blog"...

So initially I was not going to do a blog for my abroad trip in Copenhagen for this summer, 2013.  However, I am excited to say that I have to do one as a part of my first 3-week class! The class is entitled "Danish Greenspace" and is focused on experiential learning.  We are fortunate enough to travel across Denmark almost every day to different examples of urban and natural landscapes that make the country so unique.  I cannot wait to report back with pictures and comments on all of the field studies!

xx,
Maggie