Welcome To Copenhagen!
Time to visit one of the most beautiful cities on earth!
Copenhagen, Denmark is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities – in an area that is probably not on many people’s radar – this area of Europe is further north than the hot spots of the French Riviera, Spain and Italy – but it is a gorgeous part of the world!
I was lucky enough to be asked to speak at the Danish TV/Film Institute – and I did a presentation on non-fiction programming styles in the US – I was asked to stay and do the presentation again, so I had several days to explore this amazing city!
I love exploring new places, so I spent my time wandering – I like to walk as much as possible – and it was fascinating to see so many unique aspects of the city…
The Origin Of Copenhagen!
I was unfamiliar with this part of the world, so I looked up a bunch of info on the city and country. Nearly a thousand years old, Copenhagen began as a simple fishing village and a commerce center.
Today, Copenhagen is the most visited city in Scandinavia – the waterfront area is always packed with people – and let me say, I have NEVER been to a city where the people were friendlier than they were here…
I was there in the summer, when the weather was warm – and as a result, people were hanging out and enjoying the city – and everyone was friendly, open and generous…
The Danish capital draws more than a million visitors each year. Copenhagen, as you can see from some of the pictures, has a lot of waterfront, canals, and shopping areas to explore, so it never felt too crowded, although there were always crowds around…
The city is full of shopping areas, pedestrian zones, and plenty of places to eat and drink…
And “Hold” The Corruption!
Denmark is a very clean, and incredibly honest country. The World Audit ranks Denmark as the world’s most democratic and least corrupted country in 2008. I never felt concerned for my safety – and although every city has its share of areas to avoid, I never came across one here…
The Little Mermaid!
And Copenhagen is home to the world’s “original” Little Mermaid!
The Little Mermaid statue is Copenhagen’s most famous landmark. In 1837, Danish author Hans Christian Andersen published a fairy tale about a little mermaid. Yes, Hans Christian Anderson was Danish, and they celebrate the Author everywhere!
About 70 years later, a Danish brewer attended the “Little Mermaid” ballet and commissioned the waterfront statue. As you can see, it is one of the city’s most popular destinations…
Mermaids Everywhere!
The image of Mermaids permeate life in Copenhagen…
You see mermaids everywhere in the city, on buildings and statues…
Hello Hippies!
And here is a look at the most unique aspect of Copenhagen – time to visit the world’s largest hippie community – which happens to be located within Copenhagen’s city limits!
Behold The Hippie Community of “Christiania”!
This is an overview picture of a section of Copenhagen that is home to the world’s largest hippie community!
“Christiania” is one of the most successful communal experiments that emerged from 70′s hippie culture. It is a “city within a city”, located in the heart of Copenhagen, but existing in its own unique way…
In the early 70′s, a group of hippies took over what was, up to then a military base – it began as a protest, and over the years, it has grown into a strong self-sustained, self-governed and well organized community.
Here is how an official tourist website describes it: “After four decades, its existence is the result of Danish concepts of equality and freedom on the one hand and a sense of responsibility and determination of the Christianites on the other.”
“Christiania” operates as its own government. Crucial decisions for the community need to be discussed and approved by a committee formed of chosen inhabitants from each of the 14 parts of Christiania.
There have been skirmishes with the government, and threats of closure, but Christiania lives on. I went inside to explore this amazing hippie community, which is open to everyone…
An Open Drug Trade!
One of the most controversial aspects of Christiania is that is has an open drug trade. I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures inside the community, as there were open drug flea markets…but here are some pictures of Christiania that I found online…
These stands sell a variety of items, including drugs like pot and hash…it’s an open air drug market, and while the government has threatened to shut these down, they still exist…
it was a strange feeling wandering through the “market”, but the community is so much more – this is a unique “City within a city”, with all buildings hand made or renovated military buildings, and the community is full of unique art as well…
It is certainly a “must see” when you are in Copenhagen…a testament to a truly unique government that allows this…now, back to Copenhagen: there is another “must see”: and it is something you see, frankly, EVERYWHERE:
Blondes On Bikes!
Copenhagen is world famous for its biking culture and was named officially the first “Bike City” in the World. Last year, it was also voted the ‘Best city for cyclists’ and the ‘World’s most liveable city’.
The Danes are well known for their love of cycling and cities all around the world are now looking at ways to copy this phenomenon. And, it was soon apparent to me that there were blondes on bikes everywhere!
It really is biking heaven for the cyclist in Copenhagen with over 390 kilometres of designated bike lanes.
On every street in town, there were bikers – and since more than 60% of the country is blonde, there were blondes on bikes everywhere you looked – leading to my photo essay on the subject…
Blondes, Blondes Everywhere!
No matter where you looked, you saw blondes…even the blondes were looking for them…
When I was in Japan, I noted that it was the most homogenous country on earth – but when you are in a city like Copenhagen, where so many people are blonde – it’s noticeable!
As I continued to wander through the city, I noticed there were blondes, blondes and more blondes everywhere you look!
After walking the city, I was hungry, so it was time to enjoy some of Denmark’s local specialties:
That’s right, I found a place to sit along one of Copenhagen’s canals, and I had Tuborg beer and some pickled herring…
Speaking of Tuborg beer, I loved that buildings in Copenhagen were covered with company logos…
And later, I came across another fascinating sight: the city had turned one of their rivers into a swimming pool!
As I said, I was there when the weather was nice, and I saw these “instant swimming pools” everywhere, and they were packed with swimmers:
Next to the pool was a food kiosk:
And I got myself a Danish hot dog – a long sausage as well as a bacon-wrapped hot dog, as well as ketchup and mustard:
Tivoli Gardens!
Copenhagen also has a great entertainment park called “Tivoli Gardens”, where I went to dinner with the guys who ran the “MTV Of Denmark:”
Copenhagen’s Go Go Bars!
Another thing I noticed were several “go go” bars along the waterfront…
One of them had a very American influence. As you can see, a little bit of Beverly Hills showed up…
It was just another unique aspect of a fascinating city – I loved visiting Copenhagen, loved the people and the food, and look forward to going back!
