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The Little Mermaid
And she is little - the same size as a real mermaid. Being an experienced and worldly traveller is very useful. The experience I have gained means that I know now how important it is to check for local events when arriving late in a new city, and if necessary prebook accommodation. But being an idiot I don't follow my own advice and just turn up. The Roskilde festival is one of the biggest in Europe, rivalling Glastonbury. I arrived in Copenhagen the same day as most of the festival goers departed Roskilde and made their way back to various countries all over Europe. There was no where to stay. Ok that's an exaggeration, there was one hostel with beds, the "Sleep Inn" a school gymnasium that is converted into a two hundred bed hall in the summer, complete with communal showers. I was lucky to have found it - made my way there with two Icelandic guys who had spent their vacation at Roskilde. Sounded so good! Wish I had been there.
Day two - the festival goers mostly left. Copenhagen returned to normal, and the hostel was a lot quieter. I met Ciara and Lucia - two Irish girls the first night in the hostel and hung out with them
in Copenhagen for a day or two. So places of note:
Newhaven: Beautiful stretch of colourful houses with bars and cafes along side the canal.
The Little Mermaid: Don't know the significance of this statue - I'm travelling blind this time, no guidebook 😊 But it was little, and surrounded by many tourists. Eventually got a nice photo.
The Palace: The Dane's have a Queen just like ours. She is apparently very nice and deserves her palace. Who am I to argue with tradition? Didn't see the changing of the guards - which I should have because one of the Danish friends I was to visit - Anders - used to do that job. Really impressive building though.
Christiana: At the other end of the scale is Christiana. Apparently in the 60's or 70's some hippies claimed some derelict land on the edge of the city centre and set up a commune, made their own laws and lived happily. The laws of Christiana include; no photos, freedom to grow and smoke marijuana and no taking photos. The last law is a shame because it was a really pretty place - especially away from all the smoking
Mural Near Christiana
It's very similar in Christiana. cafes. I took a photo of a building just outside the commune and I think it shows something of the spirit of the place. I heard rumours that the police or government want to close it down. It would be a real shame, I can't understand why marijuana is illegal in most places when alcohol isn't subject to the same restrictions, being no more harmful healthwise and less conducive to violent behaviour. Could it possibly be due to it being easy to grow and difficult therefore to impose huge taxes on?
Went out to the Dubliners (Irish Pub) with Ciara and Lucia, saw an Irish guitar player entertain a pub full of assembled nationalities with the usual mix of popular Irish and Oasis hits. Ciara is looking for a job in an Irish pub - if any Irish pub managers in Copenhagen ever read this please give Ciara a job... or feel bad for not giving her one if it's after October 2003. Bought my most expensive ever pint, 440kr - £4!!! for a pint. Nothing special not Hoegarden or anything fancy. Only had three due to the enormous cost - a weaker man might have got in serious
Newhaven
I have better ones for another blog soon. debt on a night out in Copenhagen.
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Anna
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marijuana
Marijuana is a form of cannabis and has recently been proven to cause minor brain damage leading to early memory loss and dementia. Just thought you might want to know before supporting everyone's right to smoke it.