Vertigo, cogs and towers
During my recent trip to Copenhagen, we visited the Baroque Church of our Saviour. And when I say we visited it, I mean we barely looked about ourselves before feverishly climbing the tight spiral staircase within its gilded spiral tower. For someone like me who is scared of heights, this is no mean feat.
To climb the entire 90 metres would, for me, have been a torture – I contented myself with the lower balcony which is still dizzyingly high. Many fresh faced examples of Danish youth smiled reassuringly at me as I clung in sweaty horror to the railing and watched my friends disappear up the final, steep slope. Even the fearless ones confessed to a touch of vertigo and a bit of the old wobbly knee. Didn’t stop my partner, R, from telling me he had actually reached out and touched the gilded ball at the top of the spire though… I on the other hand, preferred the gentle delights to be found inside the tower.
Halfway up the inner staircase I discovered these stone wings, imprisoned behind a metal grating. I enjoyed having the excuse of photographing them. Oh, and before I forget to tell you, this is the church tower described in Jules Verne’s Journey to the centre of the Earth, and which his brother and nephew climbed on a visit to the city. You can read Paul Vernes entertaining account of climbing the tower here.
Best of all the things I saw was not the view from the top, but this mechanical wonder. Whether it was part of the clock mechanism or part of the Carillion I do not know; climbing up and down the narrow spiral staircase with little room to stop and let others go by, I barely had a chance to look. I’m glad I snatched a photo of it so I could enjoy it at my leisure.
This is a Skywatch Friday post. To see more fascinating skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday!
