Monthly Archives: May 2012

Rum Regatta 2012

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From the early 18th century Flensburg had a booming trade in sugar and rum. Cane sugar would land from the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) to be refined. A side product in this trade was pure rum that would get blended in one of Flensburg’s 40 rum houses earning it the nickname Der Rumstadt (The Rum City).

Rumregatta 2008, Sønderhav

Once a year Flensburg goes back in time to when the sugar boats from the Caribbean would slide into the harbour with a bounty full of sweetness. From across the world gaff rig boats (with pretty sails) come together for a friendly race in Flensborg Fjord called The Rum Regatta. Up to a 100 of these classic wooden ships will come to this gathering that has been held for the past 33 years.

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The programme is not the easiest to read but here is what I think are the highlights:

The event starts off in Sønderborg on Thursday the 17th of May, where the ships should arrive around 3pm after competing in the Herings Regatta.

Friday morning the boats will leave Sønderborg at around 11am to start the Flensborg Fjord Regatta – the race to Flensburg. Here is a video from Sønderborg in 2011

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qOC7zTavRR8%23t%3D1m21s

Friday the Gaffelmarkt starts around 10am and boats will come in to the port throughout the day. At noon small boats will race in the Sail-Service Regatta the harbour itself.

Saturday at 10 the boats leave the pier in Flensburg to start the real Rum Regatta at 11. The regatta should last until 5pm with a ceremony to celebrate the winner at 6.30pm

Sunday the boats will leave but the Gaffelmarkt will be open 10am – 6pm, where the event officially ends.

Panorama of Sails

First two pictures are by Arne List. The one right above is by Benjamin Asmussen.

Cathrinesminde Teglvaerk #15/99

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In centuries gone by the area around Flensburg Fjord was well-known for its brickworks, or teglværk. In fact, the area had the largest concentration of such facilities in Northern Europe. As time passed these brickworks did not survive the changing times and have mostly disappeared, with only the one in Cathrinesminde left in the region.

As is appropriate, this brickyard has been turned into a museum of industrial history, and in 2007 named one of 25 Danish national industrial monuments. As a museum it showcases not only the history of this specific brickwork, but of the brickworks in the area.

Cathrinesminde Teglværk

On the technical side of the brickworks the thing that caught my eye is the big brick-making machine in the first hall you enter in the museum. You can get the machine to work with a 10DKK coin. This is more than just payment for the experience of seeing all the parts in motion: the section where the clay is ‘extruded’ into a thin layer, the section where the extruded clay is cut into tiles and, of course, the engine that allows all of this to happen.

Coming from a country without a tradition of brick making – we have a natural stone that is perfect for use as a building material – I was also delighted to see representations of designs that bricks can be built to show: from turning pillars to embossed features and various patterns. I always thought of bricks as a functional object, so this being an industrial museum I was delighted to see this creative aspect of brickworks so prominently.

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Within the museum you also have the opportunity to explore the life of the worker related to the museums through a series of workers quarters each set up to represent a specific period during which Cathrinesminde was in operation (1732-1968). In these huts you can observe the changing style in living quarters, the increasing comforts the workers obtained, as well as a details on the cost of rye bread, beer and the working conditions (pay, working hours) of the time.

The worker huts are a bit away from the main museum, making them easy to miss. However, I am glad that the museum attendant pointed them out specifically as worth a visit. It was fascinating to observe the changes from the 1700s to the 1900s, and entertaining to spot items from our grandparents’ houses in the house from the 1960s. We were 2 Maltese an Irish guy and a Dane, and we all recognised an item or another!

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This museum highlights both the technical aspects of such brickworks as well as the creative and social aspects related to brickworks. This gives the museum that extra dimension that may often be missing in technically-inclined museums, making this a museum well worth your time in my opinion.

Education in Denmark

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I am tired of constantly being told by certain people that the Danish education system is an all-singing all-dancing perfect affair. In the words of a friend, “the Danish education system is not backward like the education systems in Russia, France and the UK”. So I decided to dig a bit deeper.

A quick search online brought me to review on the national policies of education commissioned by the Danish Government from OECD. When I saw it I thought ‘Great – an objective report!’ and set to reading it.

So what did I find?

The report  was written following the PISA results carried out in 2000, a study which aims to investigate how prepared students are to future challenges. It is divided into 2 parts: a background report on the Danish education system, and an examiners report written by people from three reference countries (Canada, UK and Finland). In the examiners report there are sections on the strengths and on the weakness of the system, which I found particularly interesting:

The strengths

A strength of the system is, without a doubt, the interest of the state in investing in education (7.8% of GDP in 2008). This provides some of the highest ratios of staff to students, resources and equipment. The government also provides the different schools with the flexibility for innovation. Another positive aspect from my point of view is that the students are happy and feel well-supported. The parents also are strongly involved. This makes for happy customers all round, with public satisfaction being constantly high.

The weaknesses

Unfortunately, what the report clearly shows (saying it in the first paragraph of the executive summary) is that while Denmark has one of the most expensive education systems in the world, it is disappointingly underperforming. In particular, the report identifies a strong underachievement, where there are “fewer high flyers, a lower average performance, and a greater proportion of those experiencing serious difficulties” than might be expected. A possible reason given for this is that there are very few evaluation systems put in place to be able to identify if there are problems that need to be taken care of, and often very little sharing of successful practices.

However, what I found even more surprising is that, while I have constantly been told that the quality might be suffering because Danes aim for equality, the report clearly shows that this is not the case. In fact, the difference between the weaker students and the ones from less advantaged backgrounds and the average is bigger than in other countries they looked at. One particular point they picked up on was that the weaker students are often taken out of class to improve in one subject (mainly Danish from what I understand), which consequently means that the students are automatically falling behind on the other subjects, causing a downward spiral from which it is harder to get out.

I think the report really hits on a couple of things I have been feeling since I have been bombarded by how great the Danish education system is. I tried to summarise the main points that struck me, but there are others, such as that the system focuses on the social and emotional skills, but forgets that its primary aim is also intellectual skills, and that it should also challenge the kids. So I urge you to read the report yourself if you have an interest in the subject… and I am curious. What do YOU think?

King of the Road

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In London the King of the Road is probably the pedestrian who crosses the road at random, particularly in the centre. In Malta it is the motor vehicles who hurtle down the roads like nobody’s business. In Denmark? My vote goes to the bicycle!

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Denmark being such a flat country makes cycling the transport method of choice is small towns like Sonderborg. You can probably think of cycling as something of a national sport. It knows no boundaries.  You see old ladies, style conscious teenagers, foreigners and Danes alike and also parents with a couple of kids in their carrier.  Everyone owns at least one (two or three?) bike.

However cycling doesn’t become big in a vacuum, as other countries have lately started to discover. A cycling culture arises because the facilities are right for cycling. This is true for Denmark. Bicycle stands are available all around you. Bike paths, often separate from the main road, also cover much of the road network. The paths are also decent, and more importantly, they are cleared when it snows! All in all, cyclists have a good life here.

Of course, if there is a king, there must be a pauper. Well, car being cars, they probably come a close second to the bikes. This leaves pedestrians at the very bottom of the pecking order. Why do I say this? Well, let me just say this one point. You need to look out when crossing the road on a green light – because cars crossing your path probably have a green light too! Not a very comforting feeling now is it?

Sønderborg in a Different Light

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Sometimes photographs can make things you see every day look new and interesting. That’s how I felt when I came across Anne-Kathrin Pries‘ pictures where she paints with light in Sønderborg.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/annepries/5640249004/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annepries/6248890085/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annepries/6696522799/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annepries/6658446197/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/annepries/6034996397/in/photostream

I asked Anne-Kathrin a couple of questions about these photos:

How did you get the idea for these light photos?

I get inspired by other photographers. I saw some night pictures where they used a torch to paint/lighten up the foreground, and I tried that and was hooked. On Flickr.com I found other people from around the world who take lightpainting pictures.

The light photos you take have a very magical feel to them. How do you create them?

I take these pictures in a completely dark environment, preferably where there are no city lights.
I take a longetime exposure (keeping the camera lense open for a long time) which can take up to 10 minutes if it is dark enough and I walk into the picture with a light source while my camera stands on the tripod and captures the movement of my light.
First I started to paint with common torches but you can use everything that lights up. I found some toys like a Star Wars sword, which is very useful. I got some good results with steel wool too. It burns very brightly and can illuminate a big area.

Do you get these photos in one take or do you spend whole nights running around with saber swords and sparklers?

The most exciting part is that you never know how the picture will look like in the end. It depends on how much light is around or if it’s full moon, then you won’t have so much time for painting and when it is really dark you can often sit for hours and wait until the camera has collected enough light. The hardest part is to focus when it is dark, you can’t really do it … sometimes I spend hours and afterwards I find out that my picture isn’t sharp :-/. Another thing is you can’t really see what you paint or where in the photo you place your light… but after some time you get a feeling for it.

Which is your favourite photo and why?

It is this one. I used a bicycle light for that and this was my second try in painting people. It is really difficult cause you need to turn off the light, after drawing one arm, to go back and draw the head, and so on. It can easily turn into a big squiggle. For this couple I just needed only one try and it was perfect … I didn’t think I would get this.

One last thing, what’s you favorite place in Sonderborg and why?

My favorite place is this one. I love the water and the beach, I take most of my pictures there:-)

See more photos by Anne-Kathrin on her website or her flickr account.

What’s on in May 2012?

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Every month visitsonderborg.com publish a quite extensive calendar of events for the upcoming weeks. May seems to herald in a whole range of festivals and flea markets, and this being spring makes it the perfect time to explore the surrounding countryside. These are the events that caught our eye, but you can have a look at the complete calendar here.

Festivals

During the first weekend (3-6) there is the Graasten market and music festival and the Nordborg city festival. From the 17th to the 20th of May it is the turn of Sonderborg to have its own city festival. There will also be the Rum Regatta in Sonderborg and Flensburg. Nøffelskov Festival then occurs on the 26th of May.

Flea Markets

Flea markets, known as ‘loppemarked’ in Danish, appear to be a favourite activity of Danes, with sports clubs and social associations organising them as a way raising funds for their organisation or charities. On the 14th, 21st and 28th there will be a flea market at `Den Røde Plads` (The Red Square) from 10am-5pm at Stationsvej 2, 6430 Nordborg.

Get Moving

You will probably find something to catch your eye this month, whether you are interested in long-distance running (100km Als Rundt Run on 17th of May) or shorter running distances (1864-run on the 27th of May). If you are interested in something more sedate there is Ladywalk on the 21st of May, or any number of countryside walks organised by Fodslaw as well as other organisations. You can also get a tour of Graasten palace and gardens on the 17th, 27th and 28th of May (though only in Danish or German).