Copenhagen - city of.........many things!

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Copenhagen

Tuesday 9th September (Day 15)

We had two full days in Copenhagen and had not overly planned a lot to do there. We found getting around a bit more difficult, as the Danish language really didn’t seem based on English at all, and many of the sounds they use were so different that we couldn’t pronounce anything anyway. Never mind - public transport was pretty easy so we headed into the city, stopping off first for a quick look at Tivoli Gardens (from the outside), which is a 160-year-old theme park. It was pretty quiet, so we moved on towards what seemed to be the main square (I think it was called Radhuspladsen). The rain was only just holding off so we had a bit of a dash around - to one side of the square there were all these cobblestone streets, with both high and low-end clothing stores from one end to the other, as well as restaurants and all kinds of entertainment. It looked like a shopper’s paradise - pity Denmark was so expensive. I almost decided to start madly buying all kinds of things, but managed to get myself under control. We checked out a few stores, just wandering around, as well as taking note of all the restaurants that seemed to have dinner deals - they were all very competitive. There were street performers everywhere and you could watch all kinds of shows from nice shady park benches along the sides of the cobblestone streets. It really was quite pleasant.

Much of the architecture was quite grand and old (and certainly impressive), and we soon noticed that there were also a lot of canals here too. There were also some very impressive old-fashioned ships tied up at the sides of the canals, as Denmark also has a rich maritime history. Everything seemed so old, yet so well cared for. It was quite a sight, despite the impending rain. We went on our own kind of walking tour towards Christianshavn (the Historic Quarter), and on the way we passed more canals, stopped briefly outside the Royal Library, crossed over the Inderhavnen (kind of like a massive canal that joins the ocean eventually) by bridge, and made it to Christianshavn. We stopped at the Vor Frelsers Kirke, an impressive baroque-style tower, with steps leading right up to the top spire (these steps are on the outside of the building - I doubt you could ever reach the top without falling off, but it was certainly a beautiful building). We were aware of the impending rain, but we were pleased that it looked like it might hold off enough for us to see a few sights.

We eventually made it to the Freetown of Christiania, a small, self-governing hippy commune (and not part of the EU), with it own laws and heirarchy. No cars are allowed (bikes only) in Christiania, and everything is recycled. Christiania was originally a large army barracks area, eventually abandoned and taken over by squatters, before being established as what is currently known as the Freetown of Christiania. Everyone has a job here, and the area does not just contain housing, but also some inner areas for markets, building supplies and a beer garden, among many things - the town itself is self-sufficient. Part of the property contained a lake, and there were also houses that had been built along some of the shoreline. These houses were one of the the most eccentric and interesting parts of Christiania - many were very ramshackle-looking, while others were very tidy and modern-looking, and all were usually designed and built by the owner themselves and the community. Everything was incredibly casual - there were lots of tourists (of all ages) as well as young people. There were brilliant murals everywhere, and you could easily tell the locals from the tourists. We first walked down ‘Pusher Street’ which was fascinating, although you are not allowed to take pictures there - we wandered away from the general crowd that seemed to head down Pusher Street, to the outdoor beer garden area, and made our way randomly aways from everyone else.

What we found when we walked down the side alleys was probably the best part of our trip (for me at least). Initially we could see all these old army storehouses that looked to be falling almost to ruin. They looked run down, uncared for and well, basically abandoned. There was an area outside each that was kind of a communal garden. I took a photo of the outside of one particular place, just in time to be caught out by the owner (she was coming home from somewhere). I was a bit worried that she would be offended (she was a fairly eccentric-looking older lady) but the first thing she did was ask us if we would like to come and see her garden. We were a bit hesitant but decided just to go for it. She took us past all the rubbish and graffiti, and the next thing you know, opening out before us was the most lush and well-kept garden I have ever seen. There were all kinds of things around - hammocks, bird baths, fish ponds, kites. And to go with the bird bath - so many birds just hanging out in their garden hideaway. It really was quite beautiful, and fascinating for the fact that you couldn’t see it from the outside of the property. It made me wonder what else was behind the walls of the barracks and in the gardens outside. The lady asked if we would like a coffee, to which we agreed. We sat outside for a while and then headed indoors to her ‘kitchen’ inside the storeroom area. Wow, what a sight - her storeroom was filled with all kinds of things you might imagine a gypsy to have, as well as functional everyday items. We sat with her and asked all kinds of questions and she was happy to tell us about Christiania. She was particularly proud of her garden as it was featured in the current photographic book about Christiania (which was on sale internationally). We learned that to hold a property in Christiania, you do not have to pay money, but you must be ‘voted in’ so to speak. To be considered in the first place you must have already contributed substantially to the town, such as working in the medical clinic, the restaurant, or running the communal gardens, etc - these jobs do not earn you any money, but over the years, may earn you a chance to get your own place in Christiania. Everyone works together to achieve goals set by the community, and the town continues to develop all the time. Some people may only stay a while, but you must be invited to be a guest there based on what you can offer the community - you cannot just choose to stay. The politics are simple but they work.

After a while a friend of the lady came for a visit - we were going to move on but the friend also seemed interested in talking to us. She was about our age and had grown up in Christiania (all the children are home-schooled). She was very interested in talking us, as she had actually lived in Scotland for a few years while out seeing the world, and had a decent concept of life outside of Denmark (the older lady had always lived in Denmark). The younger lady lived ‘out of town’ now (a 5-minute bike ride away), but she still came back regularly to see her friends. She wanted to know all about New Zealand. Unfortunately I was too much of a chicken to ask if I could take a photo of the young woman and the older woman, but with the interior of the storehouse in the background, any photos would have made an impressive visual aid. We must have passed at least two hours just talking, but eventually we knew we should move on, not wanting to overstay our welcome. We then visited the ramshackle old bookstore where I bought a beautiful book about Christiania, full of awesome photos and information. It is probably the book I am most proud of that I have bought on any of my travels (if you’re interested in seeing it, just ask me). From there we headed to the beer garden area for a while, just to people-watch. We sat at a BBQ table and were joined by a local couple not long afterwards. The guy had much better English than the woman, but they could both hold a decent conversation. They told us more about Christiania, and also about Denmark in general - everyone was really friendly and just so interested in us, as we were in them. It was a really pleasant experience. After a while it started getting a little cold so we decided to go for a walk around some of the lake, so that we could have a look at the ramshackle houses up close, on our way out of Christiania by one of the rear tracks. We only saw a few of the houses on our walk, but they were really interesting and I was so glad that we had taken the time to stop to talk to that first lady who had invited us to see her garden - without that, we could have easily walked around Christiana for 10 minutes and then left, gaining much less from our time there.

We headed back across the river to the main part of the city and back up some of the small cobblestone streets, past the restaurants and clothing stores, noticing that it was getting close to dinner time. We passed several restaurants that looked tempting but Vaughan couldn’t make up his mind, so he flipped a coin and we ended up at a buffet Middle Eastern restaurant, with all kinds of yummy kebabs, salads, meats and sauces. We had a couple of drinks with dinner despite the expense, and just relaxed there for a while - the food was excellent and we really enjoyed ourselves. After we were stuffed full we managed to roll ourselves back to the train so that we could head back to our B&B. On the way we noticed that the Tivoli Gardens park was now open and in full swing, and the rides looked impressive as they were illuminated by the night lights in the impending dusk. What a pleasant and fascinating day!

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Comments

[Phyllis and Gene]

Christiania
I enjoyed reading about walk thru Christiania. My husband and I are leaving Monday for Scandinavia. We have a day on our own in Copenhagen and we will definetly take a walk around Christiania and hope we get invited in to see a garden or we meet up with some interesting locals. Thanks for sharing.