Signs from Afar

Signs are one of the things I can't help noticing, and when I'm in a new place, there are just so many that are worth remembering! Here are a few from my trip to Europe. They seem to fall into two categories: beautiful (often vintage) and funny.

First, the beautiful ones:


Antwerp.


Antwerp.


Copenhagen. I appreciate these 19th century kiosks, but I wonder why they only display old posters and placards, rather than current ones? This use relegates them to the past instead of supporting Copehagen's present-day street life.


One of the many public art displays in Freetown Christiania, Copenhagen.


Antwerp.


Antwerp (in an antique store).


A child care center in Copenhagen. How many U.S. child care centers have this much personality? (The name means Aunt Olga's Child House.)


Antwerp.

And then the funny ones:


Antwerp.


Antwerp.


Antwerp.


Antwerp.


Antwerp. (If only our beg buttons could accomplish this!)


Amsterdam.


Antwerp. (Exterminate!)

The last sign, from the Vesterbro neighborhood in Copenhagen, doesn't fit into either of my categories, though I think it's pretty well-designed. I just liked its image of a Sisyphean stick figure pushing the anarchy symbol up a hill:


The text at the bottom of the poster translates roughly as "You are stronger than you think...and they fear the day you find out."