All language subtitles for Europe.From.Above.S04E02.720p.DSNP.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV

This is Denmark,
as you've never seen it before.

From above,

\we'll reveal an island nation
rich in seafaring tradition,

where innovative thinking
is helping the nation shape

the Europe of tomorrow.

In this series,
we take an aerial tour across Europe,

filmed over the course of a single year,

and through the changing seasons,

we will uncover the culture,

history, and engineering

that built the great
European nations we see today.

Denmark is the smallest
of the Nordic nations.

It's made up of the Jutland peninsula
and well over a 1000 islands

which guard the entrance to the Baltic Sea

and its rich trading ports.

\Despite its size, Denmark
is a country of historical power,

\and its royal kingdom stretched
as far as the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

The nation's position
on a vital trade route

means most of its major cities
have access to the sea.

From Aalborg in Northern Jutland,

Aarhus, its second largest city,

and colorful Copenhagen,
the nation's center of power.

Even the inland city of Odense,
on the island of Funen,

is connected to the sea by
an eight kilometer canal.

Through winter, Denmark's capital
is covered in a layer of frost,

but as the weather warms the ice
covering its city center lakes melts

and the port is freed
from its frozen grip.

Spring arrives in Denmark.

As the landscape warms,
many of Denmark's 5.8 million people

take to nature
to shake off their winter blues,

including a dip in the cold Baltic Sea.

There are 93 cold water bathing clubs
throughout the nation,

the oldest dating
back to the 19th century.

Today, swimming platforms
extend out into the sea

in most of Denmark's seaside urban areas.

The Snail, in the capital
is arguably the most eye catching

and nearby another standout structure

has been built
for adrenaline-seeking Danes.

Denmark is one of Europe's
lowest lying nations.

Its highest peak reaches a mere 171 meters

at Mollehoj on the Jutland peninsula.

But in the country's capital, Copenhagen,

a plume of white steam marks
an extraordinary mountain resort.

This is Copenhill.

Our aerial cameras

reveal a state-of-the-art power station

with a mountain sports resort
built on to its roof.

Opened in 2019,

this extraordinary building

includes an all-weather 450 meter
ski slope, hiking track,

and the world's tallest climbing wall.

It's the first of its kind
anywhere in the world,

to combine a district power plant
with an alpine sports center.

It's Nikkel Mattsson's job to keep this

brand new recreational hub
in full working order.

It is one-of-a-kind,

\hopefully there's going to
come more of them,

\because this just makes so much sense

of having this power plant beneath
and then using the roof of it.

Before the first skiers
and boarders arrive for the day.

Nikkel has a vital job to complete.

He needs to lubricate and clean the lift
that takes skiers up

the steepest 30 percent gradient
to the very top of Copenhill.

Its seafront location
means regular maintenance

is essential to prevent the lift
corroding in the salty air.

This one-of-a-kind building
has established itself

as Denmark's mecca for mountain sports.

But beneath its playful exterior

lies something much more industrious.

A furnace at the heart of the plant

burns rubbish that can't be recycled.

That in turn, heats water to create steam
to drive a turbine,

producing enough electricity
for 150,000 homes.

A new generation
of carbon capture technology

is soon set to become operational

and it is hoped, will remove
even the greenhouse gas

from the clean smoke, preventing it
from entering the atmosphere.

Nikkel finishes his checks
and has the lift in full working order,

just in time for the first skiers
to hit the slope.

Camilla and Louise have come to Copenhill
for their first ever skiing experience.

Their instructor, Jakob,

guides them down the hill's lowest slopes.

And quickly has them
gliding to the bottom.

I never tried skiing before

and I think it was very fun.

I have two kids.
It's not possible for me to,

like, just go to Sweden or Norway to ski.

So, an amazing opportunity to ski here.

With Camilla
and Louise's lesson complete,

the city's more daring
skiers can have their turn.

Outside Denmark's big cities,
its rural landscape is dominated

by field after field of agriculture.

The nation has the highest proportion
of farmland in the entire world.

When spring arrives,
this scenery undergoes

a miraculous aerial transformation.

Huge swathes erupt into vivid yellow

as fields of rapeseed burst into flower.

A spectacle that is celebrated
in Denmark's most remote corner.

The Danish island of Bornholm
lies so far east.

\Its nearest neighbors are Sweden
to the north and Poland to the south.

\In late spring,

this tiny island shines
like a nugget of gold in the Baltic

as fields of rapeseed glow in the sun.

But just a few weeks later,
it undergoes further change,

turning a deep golden brown,
signaling the start of the harvest season.

Bornholm is the nation's
sunniest location.

And that makes it the perfect place to
grow Denmark's highest quality rapeseed.

For farmer Jens Koefoed,

the sight of this golden horizon

is something he waits all year to see.

\The busiest time of the year

\is usually when we harvest.

Harvest time is the working time.

Rapeseed is a distant
relative of cabbage.

When crushed, its seeds release an oil
that is used in cooking.

The oil, made on sun drenched Bornholm,

is Denmark's finest, prized by
the nation's gourmet restaurants.

But to get the best oil, the crop must be
harvested at just the right moment.

And today is the day for Jens.

He uses a state-of-the-art
combine harvester

to make sure his rapeseed
is delivered in perfect condition.

This giant machine
uses four internal rotating drums

to gently separate the tiny,
millimeter sized black rapeseeds

from a golden seed pod.

When you harvest,
you have to wait for the sun to get up.

And the moisture
has to disappear from the plant.

Usually, we started around
nine o'clock in the morning

and we go to around ten,
11 in the evening.

Jens invites
local rapeseed oil producer,

Henrik, to inspect his crop.

Henrik pays top dollar for gourmet seeds,

but the seeds must meet
his exacting standards.

\We are producing quality
only because you can get a lot of...

\lot of rapeseed oil
across Europe, actually.

That is the only way
we are able to survive

because we have a superior product.

The seeds are perfect and Jens
delivers them to Henrik's factory.

In just two weeks,
Henrik will take delivery

of approximately 15 percent
of Bornholm's entire rapeseed crop.

His plant works flat out to clean
and process the deluge of seeds

before they are stored
in four giant silos on site

to be pressed throughout the year.

Jens harvests the last of his rapeseed

before any storms arrive
to damage his crop.

He's harvested almost 250 tons of seeds.

A success for both him and Henrik.

As the weather heats up, the city's
workers fill Copenhagen's waterfronts.

Tourists flock to Nyhavn harbor
and it's dockside restaurants.

Locals line the harbor sides
making the most of the sun's arrival.

Summer is here.

During the warmer months,
many city-dwellers enjoy the good weather

at a simple second home
known as a summer house.

Often situated in one of the numerous
small coastal towns that dot the country.

This summer escape is made easier
by the huge network of bridges

that crisscross Denmark.

From above, the scale of the vast
18 kilometer great belt bridge

between the islands of Zealand
and Funen is revealed.

A bridge even joins Denmark
with its neighbor, Sweden.

The famous Oresund Bridge.

But there is one international connection
that is yet to be made.

Engineers are gearing up
to build a road and rail line

to link the nation's capital, Copenhagen,

\with Hamburg in Germany.

\This ambitious shortcut
includes a pioneering mega structure.

The longest submerged tunnel in the world.

A 40-meter wide monster

with room for four lanes of traffic
and two train lines.

To build a tunnel this large,

the Danes will have to do
something extraordinary.

They will have to re-shape
their national border here

in Lolland by six square kilometers,

to make a home for all the spoil

that will be dug from the sea bed
during the project.

The spoil will create new wetland
nature reserves and beaches.

It's the responsibility of Patrick Braam

to oversee the creation
of Denmark's new frontier.

This project
is the largest civil project

in Europe at the moment.

\This is a project where people will

\talk about in 20 years' time.

It's really nice to be part of it.

Today, Patrick's team

are dropping in the first rocks
of crushed granite,

that will form the new coastal outline.

These stone walls
will absorb the rough waves

that hit this coast every winter,
protecting the new land

that will be built up behind them.

When we started the project,
there was nothing.

It was only sea with the first
installment of the rock works,

you could see the contour lines coming in,
that was really a nice moment

because you can physically
see the progress of the work.

After 12 months,
the wall is complete.

And the offshore team can now start work
on excavating the tunnel

and dumping their spoil here
to create the new land.

The team use a giant digger to finally
begin work on the tunnel trench.

It holds 34 cubic meters of seabed
to the surface with every scoop

and dumps it on to a barge.

When the barges are full,

they sail to Patrick's
newly finished enclosure

and the sand and gravel
slowly builds up the new land.

Several months after the wall is finished,
our aerial cameras

reveal the emerging contours
of Denmark's new south coast.

Patrick's massive construction
has taken 2.2 million tons

of rock to complete.

And is proving a success,

allowing the dumper, trucks and diggers
to drive on Denmark's new dredged land.

Work will continue on this massive
engineering project until 2029,

when the new tunnel is complete
and the first cars and trains

will cross from Denmark to Germany.

Once the project is finished,
it will feel like a big achievement.

Building such a large project

that you can see from
from satellite images

is really nice.

You're basically reshaping
a part of the world.

In summer,
Copenhagen's streets swell with partygoers

during the annual
Distortion Music festival.

And Denmark's
top tourist attraction

outside of the capital,
Legoland, fills with visitors.

Since 1968, this iconic theme park
in Billund has allowed visitors

to take an aerial tour
of the nation in miniature.

Sites include the Gothic inspired
water tower of Esbjerg.

The 17th century Schackenborg castle.

Nyhavn, Copenhagen's historic harbor

and the Queen's Palace, Amalienborg.

North of Legoland,

one of Denmark's industrial hubs

has also become an unlikely
tourist destination.

\Jutland
is the only part of Denmark

\connected to continental Europe.

\Its most northerly city Aalborg

has been Denmark's main industrial port
through the 20th century.

And something extraordinary
is hidden within the city streets.

Mega-scale urban art.

Our bird's eye view reveals giant murals
that tower over the streets below,

transforming the city
into a living art gallery.

These vibrant artworks are the initiative
of gallery owner, Lene Kirk.

It's hard to think
of anything else but new walls

when you walk around the city.

\And in the back of my head,

\there's always a little detective
looking for empty walls.

She has helped to create
more than 70 murals across Aalborg.

From the surreal to the abstract.

Today, Lene is meeting
Croatian artist Lonac,

who is tasked with painting
this four-story-high empty wall.

I am afraid of heights.

To being on a cherry picker
very high sometimes can be scary,

\but you're not supposed to look down.

\You mostly have to watch the wall,
and then it's okay.

First, Lonac lays down
a dark undercoat.

Then he does something surprising.

He covers his blank canvas
with random doodles.

These forms aren't his artwork.

They are drawn as reference marks to help
Lonac navigate his huge canvas.

Once the wall is covered in scribbles,

he takes a photo and uses a tablet

to overlay the outline of his new artwork.

To get the proportions
right on a big scale

can be challenging,
but there are also tricks.

After three weeks of painting,
Lonac's hard work has paid off.

Our aerial camera reveals the spectacular
transformation of this once barren wall.

Being the capital
of street art in Denmark

has had a different impact
on how people look at the city,

and people come from far away
just to see the murals.

As the weather starts to cool,

Denmark's forests transform into a sea
of burnt yellows and golden-browns.

The tree-lined paths to the island Church
of Horsholm put on a spectacular display.

As autumn comes to Denmark.

Denmark is a nation of islands.

The two largest, Zealand and Funen

are home to nearly half of all Danes.

Zooming in reveals hundreds
of further islands scattered around them.

One island, barely eight kilometers wide,
is called Aero.

This picturesque place
is home to just 6,000 people,

including cattle farmer
Peter Harald Jorgensen.

He keeps alive the centuries old tradition

of summer grazing his animals

on the tiny remote islands
that surround Aero.

\Having cattle and horses on the grass here

\is something that has been going on
for several hundreds of years.

I think the cows are happy,

they don't have much to complain about.

Today,
Peter and a small army of helpers

are traveling to the tiny island of Deiro

to bring his herd back to the warmth
of a barn on the main island for winter.

In the past, farmers would make
their cows swim.

The first time I had my cows
on Deiro was probably 40 years ago.

They swam after a half a meter
long rope of a dingy

and tried to get to the closest coast.
It was crazy.

Today, Peter's cows
have the luxury of their very own ferry.

The Yrsa assists farmers
throughout this archipelago

to move their animals
around the remote islands to graze.

This flat-bottomed boat
is ideal for landing on beaches,

but can become unstable in any rough seas.

Bad weather is forecast.

Peter and the team circle the herd,

quickly rounding them up
before any crossing becomes impossible.

Safely in the pen,

the team can take the cows
one by one on to the Yrsa.

Although one cow doesn't seem so keen

for its summer holidays to come to an end.

With all the cows
safely on board,

Peter sets sail for Aero,

just as the bad weather closes in.

Getting the cows back in the barn
is absolutely the start of winter.

And then, when you bring them
back out again,

summer begins, and it's a rhythm.

That's what we really like.

Denmark is perhaps most famous
as the heartland of the Vikings

in the ninth century.

Their violent rule only
lasted for 250 years,

but it left a lasting mark

on the nation's aerial landscape.

At Lindholm Hoje, hundreds of boat-shaped
burials form a vast Viking cemetery.

And at Trelleborg,
the astonishing ringed fortress,

one of a network across Denmark,

can only be fully appreciated from above.

The Vikings established Denmark's
legacy of control of the seas.

A control that lasted
for hundreds of years

into the golden age of European sea trade.

The islands of Denmark
form the historic gateway

to the wealthy seaports of the Baltic,

\such as Saint Petersburg,
Gdansk and Stockholm.

The fastest sea lane for trade ships
was the Oresund Strait.

A closer look at its narrowest point today
reveals an unusual aerial site.

Battlements in the form
of concentric starships

and at their center, a lavish castle.

This is Kronborg Castle.

This imposing structure
has dominated the thin

four-kilometer-wide stretch
of water since 1585.

But surprisingly,
it wasn't just built for war.

It was a money making machine.

No ship could pass without paying a fee.

And this lucrative venture
needed a defensive mega-structure

that would withstand the envious eyes
of neighboring powers.

Its reputation was so notorious,

William Shakespeare, living in England,

made it the setting
for his acclaimed play Hamlet.

It's the job of architect, Trine Neble,

to preserve
this 400-year-old national monument.

\You couldn't really go anywhere
without people knowing Kronborg,

\fearing it.

You couldn't defeat it.

It was really undefeatable.

It's very seldom for a castle
to have this reputation.

The cooling weather
brings a drop in visitors.

It's the perfect opportunity,
for Trine to undertake

a survey of the castle's
aging exterior from the sky.

She's working with a drone operator
to give her a bird's eye view

of areas of the castle she cannot reach.

From above,

this aerial perspective reveals the extent
of the castle's defensive bastions,

built in the 16th century.

The star shaped outline of the wall

gave the castle's guns 360 degree
coverage to defend the castle.

And to ensure no ship could pass
without paying its taxes.

Today, Trine needs to survey
the ornate 62-metre-tall Trumpeters tower

that is impossible
to study from the ground.

But with a drone,
she can get the close-up view she needs.

Our aerial cameras captured
this unique survey in action.

Trina can see the copper plating
is beginning to deteriorate.

It means the team will continue
to have their work cut out

protecting this Danish monument.

Kronborg used to face the threat of war,

and I think nowadays it's not as scary,
but it's just as threatening.

It's an ever on-going job.

I don't think it's ever gonna stop.

As the weather cools,
the star shaped outline of Kronborg

becomes coated in a dusting of snow.

And the extraordinary circular
clusters of holiday homes

at Brondby Haveby turn white.

As winter descends on Denmark.

The nation has been
a constitutional monarchy since 1849.

The crown still retains the support

of more than three-quarters
of the population.

Today, power is held by the Danish
government and parliament,

based at Christiansborg Palace
in the heart of the capital, Copenhagen.

Queen Margrethe II

currently sits on the throne
and can trace her ancestors back

to the Viking Kings of the tenth century.

A legacy of the Danish
royal family's long reign

are the numerous grand historical palaces
that still remain in Denmark.

In the center of Copenhagen,
one royal palace appears

to occupy an entire block of the city.

This is Amalienborg.

Built in the mid-1700s,
this Grand Rococo complex

is the main Copenhagen residence
for Queen Margrethe and her family.

The family arrive every year in December,
signaling to Copenhageners,

Christmas will soon be here.

During their stay,
an elite regiment of the Danish army

are tasked with protecting
the royal family.

At 12 o'clock, exactly every day,
a fresh set of soldiers arrives

to relieve those on guard at the palace.

It's the responsibility

of Commanding Officer
Hans-Christian Rorvang

that today's changing of the guard
takes place without a hitch.

\We have kept guard
for the Royal Majesty since 1658.

\It's impossible not to be proud of that.

I have a duty to make sure

the guards execute the maneuvers
at the right moments.

Today's precise changing
of the guard ceremony

at the Queen's Palace,

a tradition more than 100 years old

is being performed by brand new recruits.

They must make the grade or be replaced
by substitutes waiting in the wings.

Before they can leave the barracks,

Hans-Christian must ensure
his soldiers uniforms

meet the regiment's exacting standards.

We try to do everything
as well as we possibly can.

\A lot of time is spent
on pressing the trousers,

\polishing the boots on and so forth,
and we practice a lot,

including the operative side
of actually protecting the palace.

This is not just for show.

The troop is ready.

They head out of the barracks
at 11:27 on the dot

on the two kilometer march to Amalienborg.

The 38 soldiers must stay
in perfect formation,

accompanied by the regiment's drummers.

The troop will march out of the barracks
into Copenhagen's Old Town.

Through the capital's central square,
Kongens Nytorv

before the final few turns

bring them to the royal
palace of Amalienborg.

The guards march past the city's shops
filled with Christmas shoppers

on one of Europe's longest
pedestrianized streets, Stroget,

before stopping the traffic
on Kongens Nytorv.

And continuing past the iconic,
colorful buildings of Nyhavn,

once the home of the famous fairy tale
author and creator

of The Little Mermaid,
Hans-Christian Andersen.

Perfectly on time,

they march into the octagonal plaza
of Amalienborg.

The troop heads
towards the Queen's Palace,

where Hans-Christian has his soldiers
fall into a line 18 wide,

as a show of strength for the monarch.

They now receive the flag,
indicating their responsibility

for guarding the queen.

The arriving soldiers finally relieve
the previous watch of their posts,

successfully completing the ceremony.

It's not stressful
because we've practiced,

but the pulse is up
and there's a slight sense of butterflies.

The royal family
is very important for Denmark.

It signals a point of unity.

Denmark is a hub
for architecture.

It has the third most architects
per capita in Europe.

Eye-catching contemporary buildings
dot the country like the Utzon Center,

a cultural hub built by the Danish
architect of the Sydney Opera House.

The harbor front of Aarhus is filled
with striking new apartment blocks,

including the Isbjerget
inspired by floating icebergs.

In the far north of the country,

this architectural innovation
has surprisingly early roots.

The island of Laeso is located

\20 kilometer off the coast of Jutland.

\From above, unusual houses
can be seen with roofs

like giant haystacks.

Buildings that are found
nowhere else on Earth.

These are the astonishing
seaweed houses of Laeso.

For 300 years, the residents here
have been making these incredible

three-meter-thick thatched roofs
from an aquatic plant

called eelgrass.

Eelgrass thrives in the shallow sandy seas

found all around Denmark.

During early autumn,

it washes up on beaches in huge quantities

where workers collect it,

and dry it on nearby fields,

much like hay for farm animals.

Laeso's traditional roofing craft
was lost to time for nearly 90 years,

until Master Thatcher Henning Johansen
resurrected the unique skills in 2012.

\When you're born on Laeso,
you can walk around

\and touch a new grass roof,
which is 300 years old,

and know that one's great,
great, great, relative has made it.

With Laeso
in the midst of winter's grip,

Henning's been called
to repair a leaky roof

on one of his neighbor's homes.

He is joined by daughter, Kirsten,
and two apprentices.

Heading on to the roof,

they begin by removing
the damaged and old eelgrass.

It insulates as well
as modern insulation,

and sometimes the roofs will go
all the way down to the ground,

so you just had to cut holes
for the doors and windows.

That meant that nobody
was ever cold on Laeso.

Henning and the team must now prepare
the new eelgrass to fix the leak.

They create long ropes of eelgrass
by twisting eelgrass together,

much like spinning wool into yarn.

Today, Henning has created
his own machine to do the job.

Utilizing a modified hand drill
to speed up the spinning of the eelgrass.

Traditionally, it would have taken up
to 50 island woman

to do the same work whilst
the men were out at sea.

Henning is keen these resurrected skills
continue to survive

and is teaching the next generation.

\I learned how to make
the eelgrass roofs from my father.

He's not an old man,
but he will become an old man soon.

So, I'm very proud that I can be a part of
making sure that the craft will survive.

The team now carefully
weaves the eelgrass ropes

around the wooden eaves of the house,

leaving a thick untwisted end
to form the bulk of the roof.

The substantial layers of material
this technique produces

keep out the rain and snow
that hit the island in winter.

They work to complete the repair
before the next snowstorm strikes,

helping to preserve one more
of these distinctive homes

and a craft unique to Denmark.

Denmark's state religion is Christianity.

King Harald Bluetooth converted
this Viking nation from paganism

more than 1,000 years ago.

Iconic white chapel's
of the Lutheran church

dominate the countryside.

Today, only three percent of Danes
regularly attend worship within them.

But on Christmas Eve, over a third
of the nation will fill the pews.

And this enthusiasm for Christmas
is also embraced by a Copenhagen landmark.

Denmark's capital,
is home to a quarter of all Danes.

At its center is a warren of narrow,
historic streets.

From above,

there is one patch of green that
stands out from the gray urban landscape.

This is the historic theme park
of Tivoli Gardens,

the world's third oldest theme park.

Since 1843, six generations
of Copenhageners

have grown up with
the enticing view of the park,

that today is dominated by
the 18-meter-tall Star Flyer ride

visible across the city.

Christmas at Tivoli
is part of the DNA of the capital.

And it's Neringa Janusevicute's job

to make sure the park
lives up to expectations.

When we start decorating
Tivoli for Christmas,

\I think a lot of people noticing
that decorations coming up,

\Christmas lights coming up,
I think it signalizes, in a way

\that Christmas is around the corner.

The park is a hive of activity

as the Christmas preparations
hit full swing.

Today, Neringa has some
of the most important jobs

to complete for Tivoli's facelift.

She and her team need to decorate

the 12-meter tall
centerpiece Christmas tree.

This giant tree will be covered in
two-and-a-half kilometers of lights,

along with hundreds of baubles.

Young children,
smaller ones especially,

whenever they come enter the Tivoli,

I think I could see
amazement in their eyes.

So, that's really, really nice.

I love it.

Tivoli's tree
is almost complete.

Neringa's team places
the final baubles at the very top.

After two weeks of work,
the park is finally ready.

It bustles with families enjoying
the winter fairy tale of twinkling lights.

Parents leave children
onto rides they enjoyed as kids.

As this city center icon opens its doors
to a million locals and visitors.

I can't imagine Copenhagen without Tivoli.

I see it as a heart of Copenhagen.

\Denmark, a historic nation
shaped by the seas

\that swirl around it,

\a place rich in tradition,

\but whose people are boldly
embracing the future.

\A country at the forefront
of the dynamic Europe of today.