København Sommer 1: Vestamager og Dragør

Although my summer has been busy with trips to Italy and the States, my downtime has been here in København (Copenhagen). Since returning from Italy my local resident Amager (area of København) expert (Morten) has shown me great places in my summer neighborhood worth sharing and for those of you living in Copes - worth checking out when you have the time and energy.

The first bike adventure was to Vestamager Natur Området - the West Amager Nature Area and Pinseskov (Pinses Forest) in particular. This place was used by the military in the past but has now been converted into a nature area, although due to the continuing presence of landmines some places are fenced off with big red lettered signs saying among other things "Forsigtig!" which means Caution!

Despite some areas being fenced off there is still plenty to explore and see. There are fenced meadows with horses, a few types of deer (saw 5 when I was there some with BIG antlers!), camping areas, a bird sanctuary (called Kalvebod Fælled Fuglereservat), birch forests. The area is best explored by bike given its vastness and location.

Here is a pick from the bird sanctuary area where we took a snack stop in the late afternoon sun...














Near the Nature Center at the park there are some fun and interesting playgrounds constructed out of wood that are really cool (for kids of ALL ages). Check out this ship in the sea of grass. Who wouldn't want to pretend to be Pirate Jack Sparrow on this awesome ship?














The second bike trip was a bit further away to the small harbor town of Dragør. I had no idea such a lovely place existed beyond the planes and noise of the airport. Biking directly under planes taking off for far off destinations took us to a place that seemed like a step back in time. Throughout the town most of the houses and shops have thatched rooves and ocher colored walls like you see here - the hopping center of town...





















According to Frommers this was a herring fishing village reaping its bounty from the Baltic Sea. The "after 1520, Amager Island and its villages -- Dragør and Store Magleby -- were inhabited by the Dutch, who brought their own customs, Low-German language, and agricultural expertise to Amager, especially their love of bulb flowers" http://www.frommers.com/destinations/dragor/1737010001.html

The harbor in Dragør doesn't have much of a fishing industry now but it is still full of boats - probably owned by Copenhagen yuppies but in anycase its still pretty...
















We noticed near the harbor area that several houses had these small (and adorable) enclosed gazebos. They all looked daaarlin' (to borrow a word from Aunt Ellen).
















Seeing the gazebos and their dainty interiors with cute curtains and linen table clothes I thought about how nice it would be to sit there with a cup of coffee in the morning and observe the morning mist disapate as air warms to reveal the boats in the harbor. While in my dreamy reverie I was pulled back to reality with Morten's comments "thats just too idyllic for me". Maybe so but its fun to daydream....