With the winter weather now settling well within Canada and now I hear also across most of Europe with a blanket of white, I thought I would post a few sunnier and warmer images from a day excursion to Dragør. An Old sea-side district of Copenhagen.
This is the one of the main streets along the bus route as you first arrive in Dragør. To the right is were the harbour and the older historic buildings are located and on the left is the more traditional style of houses. We shall go right and venture back in time.
For many centuries Dragør was a small fishing village dating back to the 12th century about 15km from centre of Copenhagen. But over time Copenhagen has grown to include this area. The fishing port is still active today, but from the boats in the harbour most I would guess are not for commercial fishing.
The first part of the name, Drag-, refers to drawing (dragging) boats ashore. The ending -ør is common in Scandinavian place names and means a beach covered in sand or gravel.
As we leave the main route and venture down the side streets, the roads are all cobblestone and narrow. Never designed for cars and only locals are allowed to drive here, if you can call it that. As far as I could tell there were no parked cars in these areas or even garages for cars. So the residents must park elsewhere.
Immediately you have a feeling of slowing down to a more leisurely pace. Maybe not as slow as the gentleman in this image but slower. With street photography, you take what you get. I wished he had been a little more to the left by a few feet.
While most of the building are the traditional danish yellow there is interesting texture in the walls and stonework. There is also interesting discoveries behind high fenced yards.
Many of the buildings have quaint and secluded yards interwoven with trees, shrubs and flowers. Without the sound of cars and other street noise, this just has to be a perfect place for reflection. Still lots of thatched roofs to be found here and easy to imagine that you are 200 years in the past. This has become a very trendy area for the wealthy from Copenhagen as they are very expensive to purchase
From the letters on the building wall you can see the date of 1742 and therefore it must be one of the more modern buildings in town.
On the harbour front side the building attend to the more commercial needs of tourist and sailors.
You can see how the building has had additions added and I guess at that time not many building codes in effect.
To all a very Merry Christmas and the best seasons greetings to those of other faiths and a great New Year filled with exciting photography opportunities.
Niels Henriksen
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