Freki presents 'Strandvejen' ( Denmark's "Gold Coast" )

[FREKI]

Hi guys - long story short, went out on a trip up along the eastern coast to Helsingør ( Elsinore ) and took a lot of photos on the way - initially these were ment for my "Freki presents Denmark" thread, but they are so thematically consistant that I thought I'd give them a thread of their own..


So what is Strandvejen - well it's a 40km historic road along the coast of Eastern Zealand linking Copenhagen with Helsingør - the name "Strandvejen" means "the Beach Road".

The beaches and the view out over the Øresund Straight, with Sweden on the other side, made it a very popular place to live amongst the wealthy and it continues to be so to this day - in fact the area between Helsingør and Copenhagen is the richest area in the Kingdom.

The historic nature and NIMBYism of the Strandvej means most buildings and areas are protected or under such strict local plans that expanding or building new is hard and costly, if not near impossible, so today the really rich live further inland behind tall hedges - but you still won't find a house here under $2million

Other than the road itself the stretch is also home to several marinas where the wealthy have their boats ( there's a culture of sailing boats in this region, so they dominate ) I visit one of them in this thread.

And with the health and wellness craze in the country many of the old beach hotels have been made into wellness resorts - you'll see a couple of those too.


Anyways let's get to it - we start off in the northern Copenhagen suburb of Skodsborg and follow the road north.











Sweden on the right
















Rungsted Marina










































That's it folks - hope you liked the photos and by all means ask away if you have any questions..

And if you are interested in more photos from Denmark check out my "Freki Presents Denmark" photothread: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=221043

[JohnSRZ]

I like how all the architecture is very consistent. The ocean looks very calm, I love that.

[Centropolis]

looks very pleasant and mild.

[boulevardofdef]

This may be the most American-looking area I've ever seen in Europe. Lots of affluent areas along the U.S. East Coast look like this.

[James Bond Agent 007]

It's got that "resort city" look to it.

[ColDayMan]

Thanks!

[Shawn]

My God, it looks just like a Danish Cape Cod. These could be pics of Barnstable or Chattam. Gorgeous!

[kool maudit]

Great photos. The most inner section of this road is on my commute, the part through Hellerup. It's a such a pretty drive, and the "city" section is pretty impressive as a suburban high street itself.

[Centropolis]

i'm assuming that the seawater in the straights and in between islands on the east side of denmark is appreciable warmer in summer than on the north sea coast?

[begratto]

Originally Posted by boulevardofdef

This may be the most American-looking area I've ever seen in Europe. Lots of affluent areas along the U.S. East Coast look like this.

I was thinking the same thing. Except for a few small details, this could easily be in New England or in Eastern Quebec.

[Xing]

Do you only take pictures when the sky is blue, and the grass green? I feel like your pictures have enlightened my dark, dreary, soul.

[FREKI]

First of thanks all! As always feedbrack is greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by Xing

Do you only take pictures when the sky is blue, and the grass green? I feel like your pictures have enlightened my dark, dreary, soul.

Unless I have no other choice ( like when travelling ) I feel like good weather and good season is the best time for taking pictures.. it's certainly the time when I'm most motivated to spend a day outside

Originally Posted by boulevardofdef

This may be the most American-looking area I've ever seen in Europe. Lots of affluent areas along the U.S. East Coast look like this.

As soon as you get away from historic cores I don't think there's all that much difference from Europe and North America - of course there are parts of Europe where terrain makes the suburban lifestyle hard, but in flat parts of Europe like Germanic and most Slavic nations then it's basically the norm with single family home suburban lifestyle..

And Denmark is flat - VERY flat - so it makes a lot of sense here as it has for many many years..

This is for example how Århus looked ~1300 years ago:


http://i.imgur.com/MZdArO5.jpg

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i'm assuming that the seawater in the straights and in between islands on the east side of denmark is appreciable warmer in summer than on the north sea coast?

Yup - like the US the western coast of Denmark get's cool water and big waves from the North Sea ( Atlantic Ocean ), but the shallow water between the many islands and here on the eastern coast the water is calm and heats fast in the long summer days..

It's by no means tropical, but you can swim and enjoy various water activities.. where on the west coast it's more suited for surfing and beach activities..

Originally Posted by kool maudit

Great photos. The most inner section of this road is on my commute, the part through Hellerup. It's a such a pretty drive, and the "city" section is pretty impressive as a suburban high street itself.

I initially would have covered Hellerup, but there was some car show going and they had blocked off part of the Strandvej there os I ended up driving up north before we started walking around.. ( hadn't planned on making a seperate photothread then - if I knew I would have taken a lot more photos )

I do also like Hellerup a lot - one of the places I could see myself living..

I have some photos from a few years back somewhere - I should dig them up so I can cover the area more until I get my arse to that area again
( it's also been a while since I visited Tuborg Havn - I really like that place, it's just a shame the development stopped - they had such great plans for a nice 22 story highrise at the entry to the habour )

[kool maudit]

I agree Tuborg Havn needs a highrise. I have also thought that about Kalvebod Brygge. I absolutely understand the argument for keeping such constructions away from historic centres, but there is something about contemporary, glass-and-steel architecture that begs for high-rises; they add a key something to the scale, as churches do for 19th century areas.

I am actually sitting in Tuborg Havn right now and there are still some big lots, notably the one near Hellerup Skole. So maybe just maybe.... (although I am sure Hellerup residents might object, but then they are still part of Gentofte Kommune if I'm not mistaken, so maybe Gentofte might decide it wants the tax revenues?)

[kool maudit]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i'm assuming that the seawater in the straights and in between islands on the east side of denmark is appreciable warmer in summer than on the north sea coast?

I have noticed that the water in the central strait (the one that passes between central Copenhagen and Christianshavn) is warmer than the open sea off Amager Strand or up by Dyrehaven nearer where these photos were taken.

But of course I am talking about the harbour bath areas (Havnebadet) and... I strongly suspect that about 500-2,000 children pee in there every day, so... maybe it adds up.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures! It's always interesting to see the rich areas, resort areas, and waterfront areas of other countries.

[Danny]

Very nice pictures and place!

Awesome white and healthy houses. It must be a wonderful place to live in enjoying the views over the sea.

Thanks for sharing, Freki.

Congrats and greetings from Madrid, Spain.