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Published: September 20th 2009
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On the way up the tower. I would now like to introduce a new section of the blog called TINADAD - Things I've Noticed about Denmark and Danes. (You should pronounce the acronym like Trinidad but without the
r.)
TINADAD 1: Gas here costs about 9,71 kr/liter. After some simple arithmetic I've discovered that gas costs about 7.25 USD/gallon. Apparently though, the cars are much more fuel-efficient. The other day I read an article in one of the free Danish-language newspapers that I pick up every morning at the S-tog station (the train I take to school,
tog meaning train in Danish) about how to maximize the fuel economy of your car, like keeping the windows up and shifting gears at the appropriate times. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it said.
TINADAD 2: Many Danish women wear leggings/tight pants/tights under their long shirts/big sweaters/skirts/dresses. I've noticed this on previous visits as well, and until very recently I assumed that it was just fashionable. However, I now know from personal experience that it is of absolute practicality and necessity because of the biking culture here. I had this revelation as I was unsuccessfully trying to pedal with my knees together and hold my skirt
From the top
Me at the tippy-top of the spiral looking over Copenhagen. down with one hand, no doubt looking completely ridiculous. The Danes are so smart.
Stairs. On 16-9-09 I climbed so many stairs. I never have class on Wednesday, but sometimes I do have field trips with one of my classes. This Wednesday, however, was totally non-academic. My classmate Alex and I met up to explore Christianshavn and Christiania.
Christiania is a neighbor that was established in 1971 when hippies and squatters occupied abandoned army barracks and declared it a free town. You can't take pictures there, which is unfortunate because it's beautiful and colorful and full of life and music. One reason you can't take pictures is because you can use drugs in Christiania, mostly marijuana. It's illegal in Denmark of course, but it's "legal" in Christiania, which is to say it's still illegal but it happens regularly. There are also vendor stands where they sell clothes and jewelry and music and souvenirs.
After passing under an archway that says "You are now entering the EU" we were "back" in Denmark. This is really where the stairs come in. We decided to climb
Vor Frelsers Kirke or Our Savior's Church. There are over 400 stairs going up
Vor Frelsers Kirke
I showed that spire who's boss. something like 80 meters. Every time you think you're close to the end, there are more stairs - both ways. 2/3 to 3/4 of the climb is inside, but for the last bit you climb up an staircase that spirals up the outside of the tower. The stairs get narrower and narrower until they just stop - there's not a platform to look forward to or anything. But the view is absolutely
spectacular!
Sails. Saturday I woke up at 9, forgot to get out of bed before I fell asleep, work up again at 10, and by 1030 I was in a car on my way to the harbor with my uncle Søren and cousin Kristina to go sailing! It was sunny and warm and there was a light breeze - all together very pleasant for a day's sail. We det off with some friends of my uncle, bringing the total to 5. We sailed for a little over an hour to the Swedish island of Ven. There we ate ice cream, rented bikes, ate goat cheese, visited the Tycho Brahe Museum, and enjoyed the weather and the view. I can't believe this is mid-September in Denmark. My uncle
Captain
The cap'n of our fine vessel said it would be "blasphemous" to waste this kind of weather by not sailing, and quite frankly I agree. The sail home took longer, as we were putting in at a harbor further south, but it was very relaxing to watch the sky change colors and the other ships. The wind eventually died down quite a bit so we resorted to the motor to make it in before dark, but the motor kept dying too. As Kristina and I climbed forward to hoist the jib again, the motor would come to life again! Once when it died I yelled "We're hoisting the jib!" and the motor started. So fickle. This day receives five stars out of five.
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