Copenhagen, or ‘Merchants’ Harbor’, has been inhabited since the ninth century, and was probably only called ‘Harbor’ in the beginning. The city is strategically located nearby the boat traffic in and out of the Baltic Sea. As we were planning the Copenhagen trip, the proposal to swim by The Little Mermaid came up almost immediately.
Knut was a bit busy, so Idun and Une made a survey the first day. On the map, there seemed to be bathing opportunities at the Citadel, which is located between the city center and the Mermaid. Idun had a good feeling, and wanted to surprise Knut with a bathing place he had not thought of. And yes, there is water at the Citadel. But was it really tempting?
It was not forbidden to swim, strangely enough (a ban on fishing is one of the rules, though). On closer inspection, this was completely understandable. The water was not tempting at all, probably like the vast, vast, vast majority of moat waters out there in the world.
But The Little Mermaid, what about her? Would a bath be right by her? Well, it actually is just right to have a bath with The Little Mermaid. BUT – at low tide there is not much water around her, so a bit of planning with regard to the tide is necessary.
The statue of The Little Mermaid was erected in 1913, and is made by Edvard Eriksen. It was the brewer Carl Jacobsen who donated the sculpture to the city, because he wanted to honor the fairy tale writer H. C. Andersen. The fairy tale about The Little Mermaid was published in 1837 together with ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. The mermaid’s infatuation with a human prince was impossible love. Both the fairy tale and the statue describes a great sorrow, which reflects H. C. Andersen’s own unhappy love life. The statue has been heavily exposed to vandalism, and its head has disappeared several times. The statue was painted red in 2017, in protest against the Faroe Islands’ hunt for humpback whales (!). Fortunately, Eriksen’s family owns a couple of plaster versions, which are very helpful in reconstructions. When we visited the lady, her lips were painted very red.
We were in Copenhagen to watch the end of Ulvhild’s one year study at AFUK. It was a very nice experience! Great circus shows with a broad variety. Idun remembered to take pictures during the first piece, but afterwards it was just glancing, so the small taste for Tobatheornottobathe will only be the picture shown below (Ulvhild in the pink bucket, with violin). Between the shows, it was possible to dine in the courtyard.
After the performance, Tobatheornottobathe went on a bathing trip to The Little Mermaid while the youths were left for the final party. The timing was perfect, as we cycled to the Mermaid at high tide, straight from the circus show. There are considerably fewer people gathered in the port of Copenhagen in the evening. And there is absolutely no one who raises an eyelid neither over ongoing bathing nor being asked to take a picture. So then it was just to swim to the Mermaid and say hello, and this was both beautiful and nice, as the Danes say (deijligt and skønt).
Luckily enough, nobody ran away with Knut’s cell phone, either. Isn’t that great? Just finishing dressing after the bath, this suddenly happened! What a luck!
It was midsummer and fireworks at 23:00 in Copenhagen. Awesome! A little less hectic than fireworks often are, but with many really grandiose solutions. Absolutely superb! A midsummer bath in Copenhagen is just right! And to swim with the Mermaid, it’s just right, too.