Bremen Town Musicians by Krista Baumgaertel in Riga, Latvia

Nearly two years ago, I had the opportunity to go on a Baltic cruise with my husband and parents. I shared some of my adventures on the blog then, but then life distracted me again. I still have several treasures from the trip to share here. 

One of our ports of call was Riga, Latvia. There were other discoveries that day but this one merits its own post. A sighting of the Bremen Town Musicians near St Peter's Church in the Old Town. I had a few sightings of this tale on the trip as I recall, but this was a favorite.

As always, you can click on these images to see them larger. 

At the time, I didn't understand that this statue was politically inspired. I just thought it was another instance of affection for the tale--which it is--but deeper meaning was also intended here. After all, Riga was once behind the Iron Curtain. Here's what I discovered when I sought more information about the statue:

From the Live Riga site:

The political monument "Bremen Town Musicians" was created by Bremen artist Krista Baumgaertel. The sculpture is based on a fairy tail by the Brothers Grimm, but created with a political subtext as it was inspired by Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika. The sculpture, a gift from Riga's sister city Bremen, was made in 1990. It's a humorous approach towards previous political stereotypes. The bronze figures are not staring through the window at the robbers' feast at a table full of drinks and food; they are peering through the Iron Curtain on a completely new world where they had thought to find a bone or a piece of meat. Come see the musicians - an ironic view at sudden independence.

Hans Christian Andersen Statue and the Tivoli

May 2nd was a very full day for us. We spent the morning at the Thorvaldsen Museum as I have already shared. The afternoon was spent exploring more sites and ended with a visit to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. We stayed at the Scandic Palace Hotel, right in the heart of historic Copenhagen and very close to one of the most famous Hans Christian Andersen sites in Copenhagen, the bronze statue of HCA looking at the Tivoli. Probably the Little Mermaid in the harbor is only more famous for HCA sites in Copenhagen. Sorry, I failed to get a good picture of the Andersen Castle at the Tivoli and hadn't realized it. You can see the statue to the left in the picture above. 

The Tivoli is an amusement park and entertainment facility, one that charmed HCA when it opened. The gardens inspired him to write "The Nightingale" according to Tivoli's historical timeline:

On August 15, 1843 the garden gates were opened for the first time and the guests were awestruck by the elegant and exotic gardens. Among them was the one and only Hans Christian Andersen, who was inspired to write the fairy tale the Nightingale .

Within the gates is one ride inside inspired by Andersen's tale of "The Flying Trunk." We didn't visit due to time priorities and weather. It was cold! I don't know how people were standing to be on many of those rides. The Andersen Castle isn't a museum for Andersen, by the way, it's just a building named after him. I was fine walking around and bundled up, but getting onto a breezy open air ride would not have been my definition of fun. It was colder than usual according to the locals.

And while I am here, I will highly recommend the Scandic Palace Hotel. We were there for four nights and were quite comfortable. The staff was wonderful and I was thrilled with the history of the place, too, for many famous people have slept within its walls, including Audrey Hepburn. The hotel is across the City Hall Square from the Tivoli and literally right next door to the HCA Museum, which I will post about soon. And I will sound fully like a spoiled Tennessean when I say it also had some of the largest rooms we've slept in when traveling in Europe. It's nice to not trip over your luggage when changing time zones has one stumbling around sleepless but exhausted in the dark in a new hotel room. The hotel was also quiet despite being in the middle of the city. The only sounds we heard at night were the clock tower bells which I wish I could hear every day and night. I love them.

Anyway, it took three days but we finally had good sun so I stopped to take pictures of HCA after having only greeted him the previous days for I saw him each day of our stay in the city.

He needed a good cleaning on one side but his knees were shiny from plenty of tourists climbing on his knee. A graffiti artist had tagged the book in his hand recently, too. Poor HCA!

One of the most important rules of travel--and life actually--is to not only look around you but up and down as well. Looking down by the statue treated me to two sewer covers that also honored Andersen, the only two I saw. The rest were ornate but not Andersen related. I wonder if there used to be more. The one above has an inset with the Steadfast Tin Soldier on it. The other was missing its inset figure. Wonder what it was? Thanks to whoever the selfish tourist was who took it! I'm assuming, but I feel pretty safe in doing that.

Wonder what Andersen would have thought about having sewer covers with his visage on them? Rather a dubious honor when one considers it.

Cupid and Psyche at the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, Demark

One of my favorite artistic mediums is sculpture which is fitting since my husband has discovered a budding talent for just that in the last few years. He is chagrined that it is one of the few visual art mediums he didn't study in school but has found it is one of his best. So May 2nd was a banner day since we probably saw more sculptures than we have ever seen in a 24 hour period. 

We started our day with a visit to the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen. Bertel Thorvaldsen is one of our favorite sculptors. Our first day in Copenhagen and within hours of arrival we went to see Thorvaldsen's Christus and Apostles statues at the Church of Our Lady, the cathedral of Copenhagen. So we had already had a wonderful experience with his work. That was a meal. His museum was a feast. 

But what about Hans Christian Andersen and fairy tales? Well, actually, this was a favorite day for me with very little HCA or so I thought. I actually learned that Thorvaldsen and Andersen were good friends. In fact, Andersen was one of the last to spend time with Thorvaldsen before Thorvaldsen's death. From Wikipedia:

Towards the end of 1843 he was prohibited from working for medical reasons, but he began to work again in January 1844. His last composition from 24 March was a sketch for a statue of the genie in chalk on a blackboard. At night he had dinner with his friends Adam Oehlenschläger and H. C. Andersen, and he is said to have referred to the finished museum saying: "Now I can die whenever it is time, because Bindesbøll has finished my tomb."

After the meal he went to the Copenhagen Royal Theatre where he died suddenly from a heart attack. He had bequeathed a great part of his fortune for the building and endowment of a museum in Copenhagen, and left instructions to fill it with all his collection of works of art and the models for all his sculptures, a very large collection, exhibited to the greatest possible advantage. Thorvaldsen is buried in the courtyard of this museum, under a bed of roses, by his own wish.

The museum has hosted a special exhibition about HCA previously (see Writing Is an Act of Love) and owns items about HCA, although none were on display. For example, you can read about Thorvaldsen and Hans Christian Andersen here and A Letter to Thorvaldsen from H. C. Andersen.

But enough about HCA for now. Don't worry. He'll return again in future travel posts. Now I want to turn to mythology and sculpture, especially some of Thorvaldsen's work centering around Cupid and Psyche, perhaps my favorite myth especially since it is a predecessor to East of the Sun and West of the Moon and Beauty and the Beast.

But first I had to share Heavenly Wisdom (1825). She was one of the first figures to greet me in the museum. We have an Athena in Nashville that is quite famous, but I found myself liking this thoughtful one with her little owl at her feet. It's a plaster version. The marble version is found in Saint Peter's in Rome.

As we continue, please note the photos are all my own with all their flaws and you can see them slightly larger by clicking on them. They have been sized down for the web. I am going to link to the piece's museum page where more details are provided and sometimes a better picture. The museum had both marble and plaster pieces. The plasters are always dirtier since they are more fragile but they still have some beauty to be seen.

First, from an information care at the museum, a summary of the Cupid and Psyche tale to remind us of the story.

Now some of Thorvaldsen's interpretations of the story scenes which provide "illustrations" of the story for us today.

Cupid and the Sleeping Psyche, 1841

Psyche and the Sleeping Cupid, 1841

Psyche, 1806

Cupid Revives Psyche, 1810 This is beautiful, there is another version, too: Cupid Revives Psyche, 1810 which I like even better but I didn't see it in person to photograph it. The details are more refined in it. Gorgeous.

Cupid and Psyche, 1861 Executed by Georg Christian Freund under the supervision of H.W. Bissen after the original plaster model ca. 1807

From the museum card:

After many inhuman ordeals, Psyche has at last found her Cupid again. In her hand she holds a chalice with the elixir of immortality that will render her divine like her lover, so the two can finally marry.

Bonus: I also fell in love with this Huntress on a Horse, 1834 that is a rare piece of classical inspired art that shows a woman in action. Even Athena, Goddess of War, is usually just standing still. Its companion piece of a male hunter was much more sedate in action, making it even more magical.

And finally, there were many, many, many Cupids fluttering around in marble and plaster in the museum, the cute cherub types. Those don't capture my fancy as much but this one made me laugh: Shepherdess with a Nest of Cupids, 1831.

From the museum card:

The small cupids represent various aspects of love: The cupid with his eyes closed represents slumbering love; those kissing represent active, ardent love; the cupid laying his head on the shepherdess’s arm is hoping for love; the one patting the dog represents constancy and the one flying away fleeting love. Perhaps the cupid that is not clearly seen represents secret love.

Finally, Thorvaldsen did several studies and other works of Cupid and Psyche, too. The museum site has some photos of the plasters and sketches. These are not as lovely to me since the plaster has deteriorated, but they provide a look into the artistic process. If this really interests you, search the site and see drawings and other works, too. For now see:

Cupid and the Sleeping Psyche, 1838

Another Cupid and the Sleeping Psyche, 1838

Psyche and Cupid, 1838 (waking Cupid)

Another Psyche and Cupid, 1838 (reunited perhaps?)

Hans Christian Andersen at Frederiksborg Castle Gift Shop

As I mentioned in my last travel post about our day visiting the national art museum, Hans Christian Andersen at Frederiksborg Castle, the final destination by design is the gift shop in a museum. Well, we visited this one and I found a few treasures--badly photographed here--to share.

First discovery were the little glass Frog Kings pictured above. Which made me laugh since Frog Kings are so ubiquitous and have nothing to do with Hans Christian Andersen. But it's not surprising that the Frog King is the first tale to be found in the Grimms' collection. I liked this version of the frog since he also holds the gold ball that is rarely remembered from the story.

Moving on, I found some Hans Christian Andersen candy. I didn't buy any--my purchases for this entire trip were minimal and well, it wasn't chocolate. :) Besides, if the label didn't tell you, it would be hard to know this was HCA themed candy. The silhouettes aren't very distinct.

There were a few HCA fairy tale books--nothing new that I hadn't seen before and I forgot to photograph them as a result. But I found these papercut ornaments to be my favorite finds. I was tempted to buy them all until I did the math. They were expensive (about $19 USD each) so I settled on my favorite--the Princess and the Pea, of course. 

I was rather sad that there wasn't a good book to buy--the best ones were ones I already owned and I don't own that many HCA books. Well, relative to other people, I do, but he's not the focus of my folklore library. So I was hoping something would be new to me. But the papercut ornaments seemed fitting so I was happy to find one of those to commemorate the visit.

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Ugly Duckling

The Emperor's New Clothes

The Princess and the Pea

Sorry the photographs are dark. You can see the entire collection of HCA themed papercut art by at Oda Wiedbrecht's site with much better photographs, of course. Here is a scan of the one I bought:

Bonus round: As I mentioned, we traveled to the castle by train. I was surprised to find the following message above my head as we waited for the train that morning--whimsical and so very U.S. The world really has gotten smaller. But it was a fitting reminder of how I wanted to spend my day from an unlikely source so I was tickled by it.

And on a similar note, I saw many posters that day advertising a Danish performance of "Into the Woods" at the Tivoli which is essentially the performing arts center of Copenhagen as well as a famous amusement park. I got a bad picture of it--the goal was to get it before several people walked in front of me and to avoid glare. Not very successful. John and I are reflected in the lower right corner. 

But I found the poster again on the Tivoli site for the performance that happened on May 19th. Wonder how well the music--if it does--translates into Danish. Not sure if this was a musical version or not.

And this again shows the universal influence of the Grimms. I've really got to get to Germany next time!

Hans Christian Andersen at Frederiksborg Castle

On Monday, May 1, we took the train to Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, Denmark, about 45 minutes away from Copenhagen. Formerly a royal residence, it is now the Museum of National History for Denmark. We looked at a lot of art and saw some impressive rooms like the Chapel and the Great Hall. A small room in the Chapel is also where one can find the original religious paintings of Carl Bloch, one of my favorite parts of our visit. The chapel was quite impressive.

and the Great Hall (that's me in black in the far distance, just left of center, studying a sculpture). This one has great scope for imagining a royal ball, Cinderella visions included.

I wasn't expecting to see any Hans Christian Andersen references--silly me--but somewhat near the end of our visit, we entered a few rooms that had portraits of famous Danes. Well, I looked up over the doorway in one room to spy a familiar face. Hmmm, over a doorway and hard to see, I thought. This picture was taken with my zoom.

Then I entered the next room and realized HCA, unlike most of the other famous figures, was represented twice. The sunlight made it hard to get a good photo, unfortunately, without glare.

That was more than I expected, but there was more to come. Quite literally the last room we visited before returning to the hallway that lead to the gift shop--finding the gift shop's always a good sign that your tour is done--I discovered this little dark alcove. Well, I know him, I thought! 

This time the room was too dark--and no flash allowed, of course--to get very good images. I could barely read some of the items in the dim light when standing in front of it. Some of my photos are too blurry to share, but I did get a few in focus. 

I don't remember ever seeing this portrait before. Obviously, he was going through one of the "I'll experiment with facial hair" stages of early manhood. He was 26 when the portrait was painted.

This was one of the photos I am most familiar with of HCA.

An HCA papercut! Always fun to see one of those!

To Travel Is to Live: Copenhagen and Hans Christian Andersen

Hello all! I have safely returned from a trip to the Baltic where I encountered many fairy tale sightings, some expected and some not. I am going to share pictures and stories over the next several days, going in chronological order for our trip. My husband John and my parents traveled with me on this grand adventure!

We arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 29th. After two flights and too many hours sitting with very little sleep, we wearily navigated the airport to claim our luggage. We turned one corner and suddenly I was face to face with the Little Mermaid! I scrambled for my camera for obvious reasons and snapped these pictures. 

There was a replica of the Little Mermaid statue that sits in the harbor. We weren't planning to go to the harbor during our stay in Copenhagen so I was thrilled to see the mermaid in the airport. (And I would see other versions throughout our explorations of Copenhagen, too, most of which I didn't photograph.) Don't worry, I did plan on a few other fairy tale visits, just not to the harbor which was out of the way of our other destinations and cold. We spend the entire trip in coats, gloves and hats. It was a chilly, even snowy, spring in the Baltic!

There was also a large display case featuring the traveling trunk Hans Christian Andersen used in his own travels. It was large--nearly five feet tall--and suddenly made me feel better about my single suitcase and backpack for a two week trip. But I also felt sorry for whoever had to lug that thing around when it was full--no wheels and not very convenient handles either.

Here is the placard about HCA that accompanied the statue and trunk. You can click on it to make it larger and hopefully read it if you are interested.

More HCA sightings to come as we explored Copenhagen!

Mermaid Travel Sites

This article was featured yesterday on CNN.com. From Mermaids: Entertainers with a tail By Katherine Dorsett Bennett, CNN:

Mythical mermaids have fascinated humans for centuries, and alluring creatures in bikini tops and fish tails seem to be keeping the love alive.

One of the first mermaid shows in the United States can be traced back to Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, where mermaids debuted synchronized ballet moves at an 18-seat theater in October 1947.

Mermaid shows have evolved from that Florida roadside attraction off U.S. 19. Here are five spots where mermaids are making a big splash.

(The article discusses each location, so go there to read more, but I have found links for each location and included them here:

The Sip 'n Dip Lounge: Great Falls, Montana

Downtown Aquarium: Denver, Colorado

Dive Bar: Sacramento, California

Wreck Bar: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Silverton Casino: Las Vegas, Nevada

And did you know that my Mermaid and Other Water Spirit Tales From Around the World book will probably be the bestselling book in the SurLaLune library by the end of the year? It has already surpassed all of the books but Sleeping Beauties!

The Truth About Germany: Fairy Tales

No, I haven't forgotten that I have not finished my Grimm Legacies coverage. I have a few papers yet to cover and hope to do that in the next few days. (I have been swamped with some other projects the last few weeks since I returned.) However, I wanted to share this video about fairy tales in Germany that Jack Zipes shared during his keynote at Grimm Legacies, demonstrating both the kitsch and ongoing legacy of the tales in Germany.

Here's a description, too:

In this installment of roving reporter Michael Wigge's quest for the truth about Germany, he explores why Germans are so good at fairy tales. Just look at the Brothers Grimm whose book on fairy tales is the most widely read German cultural book in the world and translated into more than 160 languages and dialects. Wigge visits the Fairy Tale Park "Frau Holleland", and goes to Polle, the alleged home of Cinderella.

See Efteling, Hear Fairy Tale Music: André Rieu in Wonderland

Last week Gypsy posted about a book published in conjunction with Efteling, the fairy tale inspired theme park in the Netherlands. I have been collecting fairy tale themed travel destinations for a while and always plan to do a series of posts, but I've been so overrun this month with projects outside SurLaLune that I think I am going to use some of the travel posts for some of the days remaining this month. This post isn't quite travel nor quite a fairy tale music post, but borrows from both actually. I will be posting more about Efteling in the near future, but I wanted to share this DVD/CD combo featuring André Rieu playing a concert in Efteling. The music is fairy tale and folklore inspired and the video shows imagery from inside the theme park, too.

I have a preview video below as well as this description. This one is very safe for the entire family, in fact it is more geared to young families from what I can see in the preview. And, yes, this one also shows how ubiquitous Disney is, in a competing theme park no less.

André Rieu - In Wonderland. To the music of Thus spake Zarathustra the gates open to reveal an enchanting, fairy-tale world. There are stunning melodies, recorded at Efteling, one of the worlds most beautiful fairy-tale theme parks, and performed by André Rieu, his orchestra and choir and some fantastic soloists. It is a fascinating, magical film, exciting and amusing from beginning to end. This fabulous, fairy-tale DVD has contributions from Suzan Erens, Carmen Monarcha, Carla Maffioletti, Mirusia Louwerse, Brian Dickerson, the Platinum Tenors, soloists from the Ballet of the Vienna State Opera, the International Dance Theatre, and the Berlin Folk-Music Sparrows. Its a unique DVD with an enchanting atmosphere and wonderful, fairy-tale melodies, performed by top soloists. Enjoy the most beautiful fairy-tale music including Swan Lake, Hansel and Gretel, Solveigs Song, the Sabre Dance, the Old Castle, Cinderella, the Magic Flute, and all the wonderful fairy-tale characters. Come away with us to the land of fairies, elves and a thousand-and-one nights, and live happily ever after.