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Huh..?You are joking?!? No, I’m actually not joking. I’m dead serious. This video shows you the beautiful graveyard with suntanning people.

Close to my house in the centre of Copenhagen is a beautiful, old graveyard called “Assistens”. It is the last resting place of a long line of famous Danish people such as H.C.Andersen and Soren Kierkegaard.

But in the summer time it is also the daily resting place of many “Copenhageners”. And it is totally legal. We are not illegal invaders.

Suntanning is indeed permitted in the graveyard…even in a bikini. But of course you are expected to act in a proper manner and treat the place with respect.

And really, why should we not utilize this public space for “living” activities? In Europe death is considered such a final and tragic event. In many other parts of the world, death is a celebration. By sharing the space with the dead people I feel like some of the morbidity disappears.

It really is a beautiful oasis in a busy city and it has been used as a park for decades in all seasons. It is wonderful for walks in the winter as well when the trees and bushes are covered in snow…a real fairytale landscape. I love this place.

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Today was an amazing day in Copenhagen. The sky and sea were blue, the people smiling and the weather hot…32 degrees! I spent the day on the beach with my wonderful sister Gitte and thousands of other Danish people who had gotten the same idea.

This video was filmed on Amager strand (Amager beach) in Copenhagen and it shows you Sweden in the background and lovely Danish beach life.

Enjoy…we did

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Thanks to some wonderfully sunny July weather in England, Tina and I ventured out for a walk by the river at Port Meadow in Oxford - a large area of common land to the north and west of Oxford, England.

The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and has never been ploughed. In return for helping to defend the kingdom against Tina’s marauding Danish ancestors, the Freemen of Oxford were given the pasture next to the Thames by King Alfred who founded the City in the 10th Century. The Freemen’s collective right to graze their animals free of charge was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 and has been exercised ever since.

It’s a great spot to go for a walk or just sit by the river and watch the boats cruising past to the soundtrack of cackling geese.

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I cushioned my re-entry from Thailand to the UK with a month in Spain. Beginning with a few days catching up with friends in Barcelona, Tina and I made our way down to Andalucia - flying to Jerez near Cadiz - then staying in a small town called Vejer De La Frontera.

Vejer de la Frontera - Jewish Quarter

Perched on a sizeable rocky plateau about 7 miles inland from Cape Trafalgar on the Costa de la Luz in Spain lies the medieval town of Vejer de la Frontera. The Costa de la Luz is a section of the Andalusian coast facing the Atlantic Ocean, extending from Tarifa, at the southernmost tip of Spain, north and northwestward, along the coasts of Cádiz and Huelva provinces, to the mouth of the Guadiana River.

With stunning views of the surrounding countryside - and all the way to Morocco in the background - it is hard to recall a more strikingly located town.

Vejer has been granted the status of Area of Historic and Artistic Interest and has also won the Most Beautiful Towns of Spain award. Vejer contains several ancient churches and convents, and the architecture of many of its houses recalls the period of Moorish rule, which lasted from 711 until the town was re-captured by the Spanish in 1248. Fighting bulls are bred in the neighborhood and a running of the bulls is held annually.

Cape Trafalgar (Cabo de Trafalgar) is perhaps better known as the location of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 where the British fleet, commanded by Admiral Nelson put paid to the combined French and Spanish fleets, and died in the process.

Losing yourself in the maze of narrow, cobbled streets of Vejer feels a bit like stepping back hundreds of years in time. The locals are wonderfully friendly and put up with my Thai/Spanish/English language mixture. The coastline of the Costa de la Luz is undeveloped, unspoilt and extremely beautiful - with wide, never-ending windswept beaches. Could this be our next destination?!

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This video shows the wedding of my wonderful dad and his girlfriend Sanne on May 31st 2008. In the video you get a good idea about what a traditional Danish wedding entails in terms of customs and traditions.

With love,
Tina Noga

NB. To read more about Danish wedding traditions, please read here

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