This spot is one of my favorite places around Copenhagen. Placed in Kalvebod Fælled, which is a huge common right next to Copenhagen. Kalvebod Fælled is a dammed area, it is completely flat, just a vast plain. My spot is at the edge of Pinseskoven. Which is actually the biggest birch forrest in Denmark. Birds carried seeds from Sweden and created this beautiful forrest right next to Copenhagen – I’ve always loved birch trees.
I’ve camped here, at this particular spot, numerous times. What keeps drawing me to this place is the view. You have this marvellous view of the plain which lets your eyes stretch. And when it gets dark you can see the impressive Ørestaden city lights in the distance. Living in Copenhagen often feels like being in maze of red brick buildings. I’m fortunate to live on the fifth floor and from there I have have proper view of what seems to be the horizon. Off course the stairs are a daily nightmare! But before I moved up to the fifth floor, I often felt that there could pass many days where I didn’t have the opportunity to let my eyes have a rest on a distant view. The distant gaze is important to me, it feels like the visual equivalent to filling your lungs with fresh air. It has this dreamy feeling of freedom, the possibility to go anywhere. Like when you look at the ocean and get the feeling that you are somehow connected to the whole world. When I was a kid my grandparents sometimes visited from Westman Islands. Living in the Westmans Islands my grandfather had seen the ocean every single day of his life. So he went crazy by the mere thought of not being able to see the ocean. We had to go, for a family trip, every single day to have a look the ocean when he was around. That has always made a big impression on me, so to look at the ocean has always been special to me.
This is a picture of the traces from one of my camps. I always try to keep the traces as minimal as possible. I only make open fires in dedicated spots or keep them contained so they don’t damage the vegetation.
These pictures were taken during the first covid lockdown. I was all set up for a peaceful night in the tent. At about 11pm I had just settled in my tent with my book and my thoughts, when I heard a pounding beat followed by a crowd shouting. A freaking rave was going on just 300 meters from my camp and the DJ was terrible. Playing ridiculous music. Ravers where trickling from the woods everywhere and accumulated to a crowd of 100+ people. It pretty much felt like being part of a cartoon, to be lying in a tent trying to read while there was a rave going on a stonethrow away. But eventually I fell asleep and woke up the next morning to the sound of the rave. They continued until 10am and then turned of the music. I walked over and had a look, people where happy to have stolen this chance to have a party in the middle of nowhere in these constrictive times.