A fairytale crafted by Hans Christian Anderson, which tells of the daughter of the kind of the sea who falls in love with a prince. She must wait 300 years to become human.
Other very well known stories by Andersen are "Ugly Duckling" and "Thumbelina."
Last march she left Denmark for the first time since Edvard Eriksen sculpted her (almost 5 1/2 feet) in 1913 for an exhibit in Shanghai (under the title "Welling Fairytales"), going on right now.
This sculpture on the main street of this town is undoubtedly a variant of the little mermaid's story. Isn't she refined?....endearing, or
...fill in what you think of her....
...fill in what you think of her....
When entering Solvang people have this view on the mountains. I envy them.
What I like about the day we visited is
that the clouds enveloped the mountains, making it look like an impressionist painting.
The stores showed the American colors for the festivities of the 4th of July...and some had a 50% off Sale that day! Of course, I went shopping, and no, I didn't drag hubby with me:)
I left him in a coffee shop where he was reading magazines. He was quite all right with that!
Hubby contributed to this day's festivity with shooting a reflection of me in a store window. What is not easy to see (click on image to enlarge) is that I have a butterfly on my shirt (in a window decorated with flowers. (flowers - butterfly - woman -do you get all the associations?)
The Danish also have a windmill that looks similar to the Dutch one. In the past a windmill served to grind grains to flour, but since I went shopping we didn't get to the delicious Danish pastries and paying more attention to the building styles. We'll do that another time!
16 comments:
Oh, I so enjoyed reading this post considering I live in Denmark.;)
I have heard of this place but never had a chance to visit it while living in the US.
Yes indeed, Danes are proud of their old windmills, even tough today they power windmills of quiet the different kind, compliments of Vestas.;)
xoxo
Yes I'm familiar with Andersen's stories (well some of them anyway)... The very south of Sweden is not unlike Denmark(and indeed it was under Danish reign during some parts of history).
The photos are beautiful.
I love your new header, Jeanette. The swirling water looks cool and inviting--if not a little too rocky for a swim, I could still dangle my feet there for a rest.
Solvang looks like a very pleasant place to visit. I was not aware of Danish windmills.
I've been to Solvang and found it to be very similar to Volendam. I would hate to think people think they've been to Holland when they've visited that place. The same goes for Solvang, I think. That's not really a good impression of Denmark and things Danish. The Danes are very modern people and so are the Dutch. Nostalgia is for the tourists.
What a wonderful little town to wander around in ... The Little Mermaid statue is adorable - except that jumping fish kinda scares me!
Zuzanna,
Glad you enjoyed the post! Yes, in Holland we have the new windmills too (less romantic looking though:)
Thank you for the link, but sorry, Firefox don't let me go there:(
Monika,
Scandinavia has been on my list to visit, but there are too many countries and not enough money, LOL
So, I'm glad Solvang was close by!
Rudee,
Thank you - you are right, it's not good to swim, because it's too shallow and too many rocks, and the water was freezing cold when we were there a month ago! But a perfect scenery for a painting:)
EG Wow,
Since I never visited Denmark, I didn't know about the Danish windmills either, till I came to Solvang! Isn't it interesting how several countries came up with the same idea? (when travel was not that frequent as it is now)
Irene,
You are right, nostalgia is for the tourist, but for Solvang and Volendam it is making a livelihood.
Clytie,
When one lives in the city, it makes for a nice and easy day off, if you want to do something else than visit a museum or see a movie!
What if I say that this is a friendly fish?:)
Lovely post on Denmark! I love the fairy tales of H.C.Andersen. Did you see the musical with Danny Kaye playing the part of Hans Christian Andersen? The little mermaid story I know in a different version.In order to become human she had to give up her beautiful voice to the seawitch. Her tail became a pair of legs, but each step she did caused her much pain. She was mute and couldn't talk to the prince. That's why he didn't marry her. Did you see her statue in Copenhagen?
I loved tghe travelogue in Denmark, especially the tales of Hans Christian Andersen.
Great images, I especially like the delightful sculpture fountain and the lovely summertime photo of you in the window.
I visited Solvang as a child. All I can recall is eating at Andersen's Split Pea Soup nearby. I would love to visit Solvang again someday.
hi jeannette,
i just became a follower of your blog and it is interesting to seen all your fantastic work!
Reader Wil,
Yes, I love anything that Danny Kaye played in -he was such a natural!
I know that variant of the Little Mermaid too! Unfortunately not seen the statue in reality. Scandinavia is on my list!
Nitwit1,
Thank you! Thought you were already out of town:)...or you're missing blogging too much?
Diane,
Thank you Friend! Hope your wish will be granted...it's worth it!
Jakob,
Thank you! Now, if you could divulge some of your photo secrets to me...!
BTW , my burglar story was partly made up by me. The end was not true.
Sorry...
Reader Wil,
Since You're from Holland, I thought it wasn't true, but here in the States it could be true!
If you (legally) buy a house for one dollar here - which has been done by a friend of us!...then the sky of absurdity is the limit:)
Magical and delightful, I still enjoy a good fairytale.
Pam,
Me too, Pam. I've never stopped dreaming.
Post a Comment