Category Archives: Europe Holiday 2013

And the winner is DENMARK!!

Just returned from the Grand Final of Eurovision 2013. It was a great experience seeing the show live and I look forward to attending it again in the future. I’ll upload some photos and video in the next day or so, but I need to go to bed now, as we need to up earlyish tomorrow to get our plane from Copenhagen to Berlin, Germany.

Farvel

Just returned from the 2nd Semi and it was great. The arena is about the size of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and we had excellent seats really close to the stage, so we had an excellent view of everything. My hearing is suffering a little bit as a result, but should be fine ready for Saturday. We saw Julia and Sam going up the lifts to the commentators boxes and will try to say hello on Saturday if we see them again. I’ve bought all the merchandise I wanted/needed except for a lanyard as they had already sold out of these (I’ve tried ordering some online, so hopefully the online store is still in stock)

Me outside Malmo Arena before the start of the 2nd Semi Final

The winners from the 2nd Semi are Hungary, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Norway, Iceland, Armenia, Finland, Malta, Greece. Yet again some of my favourites didn’t get through to the Grand Final such as Israel, Switzerland and San Marino. Otherwise it was a great show and I had a fantastic time. Make sure to lookout for the multi directional fire (it also changes colour), there was more pyrotechnics in this semi than in the 1st one. Can’t wait for the Grand Final on Saturday.

Switzerland performing live at the 2nd Semi Final

My only complaint was the transport or lack of after the show. We waited for 20mins at the train platform for a train back to Copenhagen and by the time it finally arrived the platform was packed full of people who all wanted to get on the train. Then when we finally left, the train made several stops on it’s way to Copenhagen. When we finally got back to Copenhagen, one of the escalators at the exit was going down, so there was only one running up. I couldn’t be bothered to wait, so ended up running up the down escalator encouraged on by the crowd (Freya is telling me they are European yobbos). Suffice to say I made it to the top successfully, accompanied by a cheer.

Anywho must got to bed now, as I’ve got a big day ahead of me tomorrow with more sightseeing around Copenhagen before another lovely dinner from Guru (it’s a really nice Indian restaurant near us which does takeaway and it quite reasonably priced, plus their food is really yummy.)

Farvel

After much travelling, we’re finally here in Copenhagen, our base from which we will attend the Eurovision Song Contest.

Copenhagen is quite different to Stockholm. It’s just as busy as Stockholm, the prices are about the same as in Sweden and the people are friendly, but it just seems a little bit dirty. Also there are bicycles everywhere!! Sometimes there are more bicycles riding down a street than cars, yet Copenhagen doesn’t have a bicycle hire scheme like London (Copenhagen had a scheme in the past but ditched it as the funding stopped). There have been multiple times in the past couple of days where having a bicycle handy would have been much more convenient to get from A to B than trying to catch a bus or train/Metro.

Anyway, so far we’ ve visited Rosenborg Palace, Kings Gardens, the Round Tower, Storget (the main shopping street), Christensborg Palace (the 3rd version, as the royal family has burnt down the previous two versions back in the 18th century) and gone on a canal tour. On Friday and Saturday we’re hoping to go to Amalienborg Palace (current home of the Danish Royal Family), Kastellet (The Citadel), The David Collection, Skagen shop, Our Saviour’s Church (more specifically the tower of the church) and if we have time Tivoli Gardens and a wander around Christianshavn.

Our hotel here is very spacious compared to Stockholm and is centrally located. The water pressure in the shower is somewhat lacking and I had huge Internet problems for the first 2 days but these appear to have sorted themselves out.

I’m looking forward to the 2nd Semi-Final this evening and we’re just about to leave for the train, so I’ll tell you all about it when I come back.

Farvel

Well here we go, the 1st Semi is coming up, I thought I’d do a sort of live feed below even though you’re all not going to see it till Friday (SF1 – Friday 7:30pm on SBS1), plus I won’t be able to do this for the 2nd Semi or GF (but I’ll be sure to post about these shows as soon as I get home, so be sure to check back here on Friday and Sunday your time)

9:05 pm – Just watching SF1 on TV now, the intro is a very interesting take on the winning song from last year. Can’t wait to see the 2nd Semi on Thursday and GF on Saturday!!!

9:08pm – Funny hosts and English translations as usual. Typical Eurovision 🙂

9:10pm – It appears we might be able to vote in this Semi, this could be exciting!! More later on when the voting starts

9:11pm – 1st song up, it’s Austria with Shine

9:14pm – A good solid start to the ESC. Probably not a winner but should score well, next up is Estonia with Et Uus Saaks Alguse

9:15pm – B&W, nice effect, first time I’ve seen it used in Eurovision. Another solid song, probably not a winner but should score well.

9:16pm – The wind machine’s back, hopefully it’s Julia’s friend Melanie 🙂 and smoke Yah!!

9:18pm – Thank you Estonia, next up is Slovenia with Straight into Love

9:19pm – Freya doesn’t like this one, but the first dance-style song this year so we’ll see how the audience reacts…

9:22pm – The audience liked it, but I’m not too fussed. Next up is Croatia with Mižerja

9:24pm – Good harmonies, but not one of my favourites. Good job Croatia.

9:27pm – It’s now Denmark’s turn with Only Teardrops. Currently the Danish commentator is talking, but I don’t understand a thing as it’s all Danish to me

9:28pm – No shoes for our singer, Freya thinks she sounds like Shakira. Another solid song, possible a winner. Did you know Denmark has only had 2 victories in the past 42 times they’ve entered.

9:29pm – What?? Glitter already, but this is only a semi-final. Them Danes and Swedes must be quite chummy.

9:30pm – The Danish commentator sounds very pleased with her performance, and the host is back. Shock Horror, she’s wearing the same dress, budget cuts must be hitting hard, only one host this year and no costume change yet???

9:31pm – Funny interlude, and now here comes Russia with What If

9:33pm – And there’s giant light globes on the stage. Doesn’t sound like a winner to me, but still a good performance by Dina.

9:35pm – And now there’s portable giant light balls… Solid finish. Good job Russia

9:36pm – Now onto Ukraine with Gravity. I like this song, so I’m hoping she gets through to the Grand Final.

9:37pm – ???? I don’t understand that. What’s with the guy carrying her on??

9:38pm – Butterfly ring noted – Cue the lightning and smoke machines. Freya’s just said she thought this was a Disney song I’ve been listening to for the past several weeks. Come on!!

9:39pm – Apparently this sounds like Defying Gravity from Wicked according to Freya. And now she’s relating the song to the Lion King.

9:40pm – Well done Ukraine, my vote for you is secured. Now we’re onto The Netherlands with Birds.

9:41pm – I applaud The Netherlands for still participating, even though they haven’t won since 1975 which just happens to be the year our singer was born. Somehow don’t think this year will be any different. The song’s quirky but not winning material. A solid performance though.

9:45pm – Now it’s Montenegro with Igranka. Was that a duo of astronauts and some slow mo I saw. Perhaps something is lost in translation with this song.

9:46pm – Hmmmm, its weird, but after last year’s performance from Montenegro….

9:48pm – Next up it’s Lithuania with Something (yes that’s the title of the song)

9:49pm – It’s Angel from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and he’s got something to tell us…

9:51pm – A solid performance from Lithuania, probably not a winner, cause he’s falling apart and he’s leaving today, so won’t be here for the Grand Final anyway 🙂 (Probably for the best, as which sane person names their shoes 🙂  )

9:52pm – Now it’s Belarus with Solayoh – I’ve been liking this song in the lead up so we’ll see…

9:53pm – It’s a giant disco ball!!

9:54pm – A good song, but not a winner. Freya reckons she doesn’t normally wear heels very much as she appears to be struggling to move. Reminds me of some of Greece’s past performances…

9:55pm – Cue the disco ball drums, fire and a key-change. Let’s drink to that…

9:56pm – WOW, multi directional fire!!! That’s cool. A good (Freya says dubious but she’ll vote for her anyway) performance and in with a chance for the Grand Final.

9:57pm – Not it’s Moldova with O Mie, another personal fave

9:58pm – Interesting, she’s not singing in English like in the Youtube promo video. Freya says she looks like a Toilet paper doll cover, you know the one that covers the toiler paper rolls.

9:59pm – She’s flying and now her dress is on fire. Good job Moldova, votes from me coming your way.

10:00pm – Grandma we’re now onto your favourite country, Ireland with Only Love Survives.

10:01pm – I think I just spotted a Bodhrán drum (Celtic Thunder anyone??).

10:02pm – Well so far it’s better than Jedward from the last two years.

10:04pm – Not a fave of mine, but I’ll put in a vote for you Grandma. Next up Cyprus with An Me Thimasai but first a small interlude with with our host, look out for our (Australia’s) Hijack – YAHHHH

10:07pm – Go Australia!!, now back to the formalities with Cyprus with An Me Thimasai.

10:09pm – Another solid performance, but I don’t think it will win. Good job Cyprus.

10:11pm – Now it’s Belgium’s turn with Love Kills

10:12pm – Hmmm, another good performance, but not one of my faves. Freya thinks he looks like an older version of Justin Biber or Amanda Bynes from She’s The Man.

10:15pm – Now it’s the last song of the semi – Serbia with Ljubav Je Svuda.

10:16pm – Katy Perry look alikes. Interesting costume designs. I suggest reading the English lyrics to this song to make better sense of the onstage performance.

10:19pm – Another good performance, but not one of my faves. Let’s get ready for the recap…

10:20pm – Now time to vote, let’s see if it works….

10:26pm – Alas no luck with voting yet, but the host has ridden a Segway to the Green Room, which I believe is just behind the main stage. And apparently it’s were everything happens, except the bulk of the show. Also appears budget cuts have affected this section of the show as well, as usually there is another host for the Green Room. Oh dear, more humour lost in translation. Anyway lets talk to some countries….

10:28pm – Cue the video, the host is tired….

10:30pm – Some very corny host insertions throughout the video 🙂

10:31pm – It’s about time for another recap… Still no luck with voting

10:35pm – Voting over, not sure if any of my attempts worked. Now it’s time for the interval act….

10:37pm – Our Danish commentator has just solidly talked through the entire first 5 minutes of the interval act. Granted there wasn’t any singing, but still, just SHUT UP!!

10:41pm – Very good audience participation here, and release the pingpong balls.

10:42pm – Argh the commentator is back… Ah Ha a costume change for our host ready for the results.

10:43pm – Where did they find this crazy lady???

10:4pm – Ok, lets get back to the results, but first a quick view of the entries from the Big Five and Sweden.

10:45pm – The French entry looks like Julia Zemiro

10:46pm – Again the UK entry says, “yes we’re here but really don’t want to win, so we’ll just send someone”

10:48pm – Ok, not it’s time for the results, yes?? Alas no, we need to find some famous people in the audience. Can we now find out the results?? Alas no, we need to have a quick chat with the Executive Supervisosr of the ESC. NOW, can we find out the results now?? Yes, finally…

10:49pm – And the results are…  Moldova, Lithuania, Ireland, Estonia, Belarus, Denmark, Russia, Belgium, Ukraine, The Netherlands. And there we have it the first semi is done and dusted.

10:55pm –  Now for quick recap of the winning countries

10:57pm – So that’s it. I’m excited for Semi Final 2 on Thursday and the GF this Saturday.

Just a small post – For those who’ve been paying attention, you would have noticed by now that I’ve been signing off my blog posts differentlly in each country. In case you hadn’t guessed, I’ve been translating the English words Goodbye/Bye into the native language of the country I’m posting from. 🙂

Adjö