After this photo-shoot by the sea, I moved on to Helsingør. This city, home to almost 50,000 souls, is the largest city in north Sjælland. Situated at the narrowest part of the Øresund strait, it is linked to its neighbour Helsinborg by the busiest ferry line in the world, known as the HH (Helsingør-Helsinborg) ferry line. There are more than 70 daily departures to Sweden, most of them operated by Scandlines (which also operates the ferry line between Rødby, in south Sjælland, and Puttgarden, in Germany. My brother and I used it on our way back home, this summer).

The city is well known for its castle, Kronborg, where Shakespeare’s Hamlet takes place. It is also a vibrant and colorful town, very pleasant to visit when it’s sunny (I cannot tell about cloudy days).

Adventure n°4: The Culture Yard Library

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NATURE

No migrant in Hellebæk

No, this is not the title of a new campaign from the local far-right political party. Let me explain.

Saturday, 5.30am. The alarm clock rung. Damn, five hours of sleep was definitely not enough. But it was birdwatching day, and the weather promised to be good. Let’s go!

I swallowed a quick breakfast, made my sandwiches and headed out. While riding to Hellerup station, I enjoyed the sunrise and the empty streets, strange reminiscence of a morning in Helsinki, when I went to see the sun rise over the harbour before going to bed. Since the day I arrived, one month ago, I had never seen Copenhagen so quiet.

Adventure n°1: taking my bike to the train

Since I needed my bike to reach the meeting point for the birding tour, I took it with me on the train to Helsingør. I knew bikes were allowed in every train in Denmark. The agent came, and I showed him my travel card:

What about the bike?
What, what about the bike?
You have to pay for it.
Ok, how do I do that?
At the station…
Oh… (Oops)

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SIGHTSEEING

Pictures from the not-so-north

Caught between Uni work, Uni activities like playing Magic or badminton, birdwatching and classic sightseeing (oh, and let’s not forget … Continue reading Pictures from the not-so-north

NATURE

Gulls of Helsinki

This spring, while I was introducing friends of mine to birdwatching in Helsinki, I taught them the differences between the most common gull species we could observe there. Later on, I opened this blog and thought that it could be a good topic for an article, especially since gulls are generally not shy animals: they are easy to spot, and easy to shoot.

French-speaking readers: I have included French names; please make sure you don’t miss the footnote.

Common gull (Larus canus)

fr – Goéland cendré

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NATURE

Vestamager

Until the end of the year, I will have no class on Friday. Can there be a better occupation than birdwatching to start the week-end? (Homework? Nah, too mainstream…)

So yesterday I woke up at 11, and it was sunny. After Utterslev Mose, I decided to visit another birding place. Supported by the amazing website of DOF, the local bird conservation association, I settled on Vestamager. It’s a large green area located south of Copenhagen, next to the airport. Birds and planes to spot, the day promised to be good.

After an hour of biking through the city center, I reached a wide plains covered in grazing fields. In the distance, I could see a small wood, and behind it the dyke marking the end of the area.

I walked through the meadows. To my right, I observed a herd of cows followed by flocks of Common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Western yellow wagtails (Motacilla flava).

Western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava)

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