Category Archives: General

Sønderborg Sunrise

Monday we woke up to a bright golden sky so for 20 minutes while eating breakfast I set up the camera to capture the sunrise you see above.

We live on 4th floor so we get a view of the sky for sunrise and sunset but we do not really have a nice skyline. Do you have any suggestions for the best spots in or around Sønderborg to experience sunsets and take sunset pictures from?

Sonderborg2017: My experience

Ever since we moved to Sonderborg in November last year, the city breathed Sonderborg 2017 and the hope of getting the European Capital of Culture title. Yesterday was decision day and, unfortunately, the decision did not go Sonderborg’s way. It was a disappointing result after all the hard work put into this bid by so many people.

In the last few weeks I had become actively involved in this bid. I was asked if I would be interested in being part of the team presenting to the jury and answering questions from them yesterday, giving the perspective of a newcomer. I felt honoured and said yes.

Regardless of the result, I do not regret the time I spent preparing my speech, in rehearsals, and researching all that I could to be prepared. I could see the enthusiasm and belief of the people involved, and it couldn’t fail to be infectious to all around.

I first met some of the jury on Thursday during their lunch with young representatives of the city. I thought they got the point then of what we have been doing here, and left satisfied. On Friday, following our presentation, we got some tough questions, but nothing we couldn’t tackle I thought. All that was left was the final decision, and it went to Aarhus.

Undoubtedly Aarhus can deliver a European Capital of Culture, but will this have as big an impact on many people as it would have in Sonderborg? I think not. I look forward to see what comes out of this for our region. The ball has started to roll, and it cannot be stopped!

We support Sonderborg2017

Earlier this week we wrote about our support for the Sonderborg 2017 bid. However, we are far from alone! These are some other people saying ‘Jeg støtter Sonderborg 2017’ – I support Sonderborg 2017

in Sonderborg:

at Danfoss Universe:

in Germany:

on the BMX ramps:

on the motocross track:

A Countryside Metropolis Song

The local musician and multiartist Richardt Nielsen of Rich-Art has written a song about what it means to be part of a countryside metropolis.

The lyrics are in both Danish, English and German and celebrates the diversity and joy of bringing people together. The video above is shot walking down the street with young people from Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Latvia.

Kan du sige ja til at være dig selv
Yeah,
Også når du kommer fra et lille sted
Yeah
Kan du mærke dit hjerte banker nu
Yeah
Det er så nice for vi lever nu

A countryside metropolis
Yeah
Metropolis and countryside
Yeah

Hej ved du godt din stemme lyder fedt
Europas tag det løfter sig lidt
We all believe in the human kind
With understanding we will change our mind
Wir werden alle wunder sein
And the capital of culture 2017
2017

© Richardt Nielsen 2012

Richardt has done a lot of interesting projects in and around Sonderborg (as well as in rest of Europe) usually working with young people and the influence of music and singing.

Visit to Dybbol Historic Centre

Dybbol Historic Centre tells the story of the 1864 war. During this war the Danish border was pushed northwards as the land around Dybbol was won by the Prussians. It was only during a referendum in 1920 as part of the reparations of WWI that the land came back under Danish rule. This war had a significant effect on the area that is still felt to this day.

1864 soldier

The 1864 story is told in a number of ways. First of all you get to watch a video about the war. I was surprised that the first part of the video focussed on the war movements and where the trenches where, before we got to why the war was being fought. I guess that most of the visitors are Danes and Germans from the area who already have very solid knowledge of this war, which is why this explanation is not critical. On the plus side, getting the commentary in English on my headphones was not a problem at all.

IMG_1445

Following the video you are directed to a diorama of the Danish trenches. I liked that the background on the 4 people in the diorama were given a background, explaining how they got to be there. In this background you also got information that one of the guys was 35 and was there as a ‘paid replacement’ for someone’s son. This information made it that much better in providing the emotion of the war.

IMG_1444

However, you don’t only get to hear and see what the war was like, you can also experience the story in the outside area. With events organised throughout the day, such as shooting of guns and a telling of the story of a soldier. You can also make pancakes on an open fire and make bullets, as was done during the winter special opening.

A visit to this site is a pleasant way of spending a morning. From the 1st of April to the end of October it is open daily from 10-17. During winter there are special winter events on specific weekends.

What’s On: August 2012

Once a month we take a look at what’s on in Sonderborg and surround area. These are our recommendations – to get a complete, updated list go to Visit Sonderborg’s upcoming list or use Kultunaut.

Leading on from a very busy July, August seems just as full of events! This is particularly so for the first half, when events planned for the school summer holidays in Denmark (that is July to mid-August for you non-Danes out there) are still on.

Guided Tours

First off, if you want to learn about the history and culture of the place, there are various tours to whet your appetite. There are guided tours about the war in 1864, tours of Grasten palace garden and church, Augustenborg castle, and the kayak tours we mentioned in the July update. More information from visitsonderborg.dk. Check the languages, as not all are held in English.

Historic Day at Nordborg Lake

On the 4th of August, from 10-4pm, there are various events going on around Nordborg lake, with events covering from the Iron Age to the present day. Unfortunately, the events are mainly in Danish and German, but you can still see Sebbe Als‘ sister, Ottar!

Maritime Events

This month there are both Flensburg Nautics for tall ships, gaff ships and yachts in the 3rd weekend of August, and the Kongelig Classic Regatta in the last weekend. Both are centred around Flensburg, with events going on in Sonderborg as well.

Culture Night Sonderborg

This falls on the 24th of August, with a variety of events around Sonderborg in the evening. The decision on whether Sonderborg or Aarhus will host the European Capital of Culture in 2017 will also be taken today, so keep your fingers crossed for Sonderborg! And come into the city in the evening to celebrate or grieve the verdict.

Cross-Border Shopping

Going across the border to shop has a long history along the Danish-German border here in Southern Denmark. These days where the Danish kroner is fixed to the Euro there is not a big currency difference for goods but different policies make some product have very different prices depending on which side of the border you step into a shop.

@andedk on Twitter: “2700 kr fattigere #Tyskland”

The way the Danish government tries to school the people in how they should consume is in large part done through taxes, which has the added bonus that money flows into the state coffers. Whether a tax is introduced to make money or to try and change behaviour is not always clear. However one thing is certain. If a thing people crave is cheaper south of the border you will get Danes driving for hours to save money.

Apart from regular VAT, where Denmark comes out at the top second in EU at 25%, Denmark has also special taxes on things like:

  • Tobacco
  • Alcohol
  • Ice Cream
  • Chocolate
  • Candy
  • Fat
  • Energy used in air conditioner
  • Green tax on trucks
  • Getting rid of trash

In 2011 Danes spent 6.6 billion kroner in cross border shopping and 47% of all Danes had shopped abroad in that year. In 2011 the primary items for shopping were alcohol (38%) and soft drinks (31%). The new “fat tax” introduced at the end of 2011 has meant that most of the people driving across the border to shop now also shop for regular groceries (56%). In fact every 4th beer produced in Denmark is sold in Germany, primarily to Danes, which means 181 million liters of beers travel back and forth over the border every year.

Here’s a list and map of the biggest chains of border shops across the border in Germany.

What items you shop for when you go across the border and which stores do you go to?

Photo of a shopping trip by Ande.dk.

Help us get to 99

We have set ourselves the goal of finding and doing 99 interesting things in and around Sonderborg. So far we have added 42 things to our list and done 23 of them but we need your help completing the list.

So if you know of something fun, enlightening, interesting or strange we can see, do, taste, try or smell let us know.

You probably know the feeling that if you live in an area you can always go to the local museum/castle/attraction so you end up never getting around to it. We started this list when we moved to Sonderborg at the end of 2011 to make sure we saw all the cool bits and the hidden gems without putting it off for ages although it probably will take a couple of years to do the whole list.

Geographically we would like the things to stay within about an hours travel of Sonderborg. It should be things that are open for the general public. Events that repeat on an annual or biannual basis are great but one-off events are more difficult to add.

How many from our list have you done and do you have ideas for what else we can add to the list?

SciBarCamp-Sonderborg: Your Thoughts

I believe that science is an integral part of the culture of a place (unless you are looking at a very strict definition of culture). I think this is particularly true for a town like Sonderborg that is dominated by big engineering companies such as Danfoss and Linak, as well as the smaller scientific companies at Alsion and the Mads Clausen Entrepreneur Park (while not forgetting the university). However, I have seen little outside of work/education that is concerned with bringing science to life – admittedly, I am newish to the area so feel free to point me in the right direction!

I have thought a bit about the science events I have attended over the years that have aimed to bring science to life. There has been the Cheltenham Science Festivals, Bright Club, SciBarCambBite-Sized Lectures (which I helped organise) and Cafe Scientifique. Most of these events require a lot of planning (science festival) and/or a long-term commitment (event series). The one which is different from the rest was SciBarCamb. It still requires a decent amount of planning, but with no long-term commitment it can serve as a launching pad for other ongoing projects, if the interest is there.

What is SciBarCamp?

You might be familiar with the concept of un-conferences, or barcamps, or foocamps from elsewhere. For one day, or a weekend, people with an interest in a topic meet up. There is no planned programme in advance. It is the people who attend who decide on the programme: At the beginning of the event the attendees suggest sessions they would like to have, and after an informal voting procedure, the sessions are put into a schedule for the rest of the duration.

SciBarCamp is a similar concept which brings together people interested in science. Last year I attended the first SciBarCamb in Cambridge (UK) and it was an activity bringing together scientists working in universities and industry, science publishers, but also artists and fiction writers who deal with the subjects of science. Sessions ranged from the relation between science and music, data archiving, and the future of publishing, to singing science songs, the use of science in fiction, and making DNA out of ballons! It brought together people who, although working in related fields, would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet and exchange views and ideas as their work doesn’t overlap as much. 

What Next?

I would be more than happy to see a similar event in Sonderborg. However, organising any event on your own is no fun. This is especially so for a newcomer to the region. So if you would be interested in helping out with the organisation (finding a location for the event, maybe some nibbles for the duration, encouraging people to come along and other practical things), are interested in attending, or in any way have anything to say about it (maybe you organise something similar, or another science-based event?) do leave a comment on this post. I do not have any idea for a date as yet (maybe sometime in the Autumn or Spring?), but if we want this to happen we need to start now. Is anyone with me on this?

But hey! “Why is it called SciBarCamp?”

Luckily for me my friend Eva Amsen has already written it down. Check it out here: The Etymology of SciBarCamb

Tilting-at-the-ring Poster 2012 (Ring Riding)


Every year since 1888 there has been a big Tilting-at-the-Ring tournament in Sønderborg. There is a tradition to have a new poster created every year. This year it was done as a competition and the winner was Jørgen Terp who works as a graphical designer at Broager Sparekasse. This is his description of the process of creating the winning poster:

Got a letter in January… One of those letters where you are not sure who the sender is. An invitation to take part in a competition with 9 other graphic design companies from the Sønderborg area. The task: What should the poster for this years Tilting-at-the-ring celebration look like? Sender: Ringriderfesten i Sønderborg.

First Input
A briefing and off it goes. The tilting-at-the-ring committee had decided that the theme of the poster should be something current. Something very current in Sønderborg in 2012 is the opening of the motorway from Kliplev to Sønderborg – so that had to be part of the poster.

Tilting-at-the-ring and motorway… Not something that results in “Wuhuu” when put together. Every time a horse enters a motorway it results in warnings on the radio. But with a handful of metaphors one can get the two things to dance together: Towards the target in high speed!!

Research time
One characteristic of the motorways built by the Austrian Strabag are the pretty arch bridges dotted along the motorway. A pretty curved shape – without a column in the middle. I have been to  KMG’s website, where brochures about the project describe these bridges.

Horse and tilting-at-the-ring is a must and also the two main sponsors Sydbank and KPMG who have paid to get their name on the poster. Also a web address for The Tilting-at-the-ring Celebration as well as their Facebook page.

The text with dates has to be easy to read when the poster is hanging from the lamp posts of the area. So it should be a simple, stylish and easy to read font.

An inspirational trip to the Ringridermuseet (Tilting-at-the-ring museum). Many thanks to Jens Schmidt who supplied me with the most fantastic stories of Tilting-at-the-ring in Sønderborg through the last many years. I can really only recommend a guided tour at Denmark’s only Tilting-at-the-ring museum!!

Conclusion
Horse, bridge and speed were the keywords used as my starting point.

Personally I have always been fascinated by the old Danish posters. I like the structure in them. Which is why I wanted to use this structure to make the layout not look too sterile.

Reading, set, go!
Out to take pictures of the last bridge before you reach Sønderborg. Met a guard and became a number in the statistics of unwanted people visiting the unfinished motorway.

From here the elements were drawn on a computer, the fonts were selected and the elements that had to be there were added. And all of a sudden it all fell into place!!

Handing in and waiting
As always when you hand something in the time till you get the verdict passes immensely slowly!! I was curious and wondered as to how the others had solved the task. How had they made it look – how different could it look??

Mojn, see you at Ringriding in Sønderborg!

Jørgen Terp wrote this account in Danish on his private blog and was kind enough to let us republish a translation. The Tilting-at-ring is next weekend in Sønderborg and if you walk around town you are bound to see some of Jørgen’s posters