Day 17- Copenhagen

I had no idea what to expect from Copenhagen- last time I was here was in 1993, and I was 13. My parents and I had taken the ferry from Sweden over on our way to Spain on Eurorail. All I really saw was a bunch of drunk dudes in front of the ferry terminal. 

Sixteen years later, the drunk dudes are still plentiful, but I was totally flabberghasted by how completely beautiful and awesome Copenhagen was! I owe major thanks to Ditte, my most awesome host and fellow vegan, who showed me around her beautiful city in grand style. 

We started with a walk towards the downtown from her new apartment, near the legendary old Ungdomshuset, a long-lasting squat, punk house, political education center for young people, and venue for punk shows that was sadly evicted a few years ago. Ditte used to live there and was actively involved in the fight to save it! Sadly, the government sold the house to a Christian sect. The new Ungdomshuset it outside of the city in an isolated area, but Ditte predicts that at the rate of Copenhagen's expansion, it will be central within ten years, just like the old Ungdomshuset.

Ditte is still involved in worthy causes, such as the plight of some 70-odd Iraqi asylum seekers who are facing deportation. They have taken shelter in the basement of a nearby church and Ditte volunteers with them. With the upcoming EU elections, I have seen a couple of ads from the train and the bus of some guy and the slogan "Give us Denmark back." Ditte confirmed my suspicions that it is the slogan of the ultra-right wing party with racist intentions. In retaliation, the supporters of these Iraqi asylum seekers have posted look-alike posters of some of the asylum seekers and the same slogan- "give us Denmark back." It's great! Here is one of them, featuring Bisian, who is only 14 years old and has spent ten years of her life in an asylum-seekers camp in Denmark. I got to meet her later on.

Copenhagen, like the parts of The Netherlands that I've seen, is filled with beautiful canals and bays!

Denmark has very strict food laws! As a result, you see a lot more healthy snacks around, such as these fruit cups delivered by bicycle!

The old stock exchange, which features a very cool tower made up of the tails of four dragons.

We took a boat tour for only DEK 30! Here's Ditte enjoying the beautiful sunshine:

The "new harbor," which is actually quite old. Hans Christian Andersen used to live on this street, but his old house was under renovation and covered with plastic. But here's another pretty photo, you get the idea!

Copenhagen's new Opera House, which looks remarkably like the Hong Kong Convention Centre.

These were built in the early 19th century to hide the Danish fleet from the British, who stole the previous fleet. Those dastardly limeys! Now they are fancy schmancy apartments.

The royal yacht! Ooh la la. There are two sailors whose job it is to just stand around on the yacht and wave to tourists.

Havfruen, aka The Little Mermaid! The real story is much more dark and depressing than the Disney version- she dies of a broken heart, for example. The sculptor was inspired by the lead dancer of the ballet by the same name, with whom he fell in love. She refused to be his model, however, so he had to settle for his wife instead. Life's tough.

According to the tour guide, Havfruen has had a tough life- she's been decapitated twice, blown up into the air, and had a bikini painted on her. She's taking a year-long vacation to China next year as part of a cultural exchange. 

Lots of cool houseboats in Copenhagen- like this one!

The spire of a church- the architect envisioned the staircase going counter-clockwise so you could hold the railing with your left hand and hold your sword with your right. The builders did it the other way around, however. A rumor started that he was so distraught that he climbed to the top and jumped to his death, but this is a legend only- he went on to build later buildings in Copenhagen.

Some of the bridges we passed under were quite low!

Another cute little street.

the "Black Diamond," a new addition to the library.

This is a hotel! I want to stay there! The boat behind it is a famous restaurant.

Check out my new home! This boat is for sale. 

BLAAAARGH!

Woo Scandinavia!

Look at this cute old house! It no longer has any right angles!

After the boat tour, we walked through Christiania, the most awesome neighborhood in the world. It used to be a naval compound, which fell into disuse, until 1971, when a bunch of hippies squatted the land and built their own houses. Today, Christiania boasts 900 people, its own flag, and a long waiting list of would-be residents. It is a totally autonomous entity with collective decision-making and DIY housing. It's beautiful and awesome, and a wonderful example of what our societies could be! Sadly, Christiania just lost a court decision and evictions have been ordered. They won't go without a fight, though!

Without any cars, it's difficult to believe that Chrisitiania is pretty much in the center of Denmark's biggest city.

We stopped at a vegetarian restaurant where Ditte used to work and loaded up on fuel! It has a beautiful garden and the sun was shining. Yum yum!

OMG! Baby horses! In the middle of the city! There were two mamas and two babies. This is just so damn awesome I can't believe it.

There's a beautiful canal that ends in a pond. A few of Christiania's luckiest residents have built unique but subtle homes on the shore. 

The tower of the Radisson and the sight of cars rushing by in the distance is the only reminder that you're in the middle of Copenhagen.

A common garden snail in Denmark- but unique to me!

I was sad to leave Christiania and re-enter normal society! But there is some cool stuff in central Copenhagen too, I GUESS.

On the way back we swung by Ditte's work, a vocational and alternative high school for at-risk youth. She occasionally fills in for the cooking teacher and gets the kids interested in vegan food! Here she is in her 'office.'

The school, which also hosts a hostel and teaches hospitality industry skills to the kids, has an ecological focus. Here the kids have come up with slogans to promote environmentalism. It's so cool!

The art students have been allowed to decorate the staircase- some of them are really talented!

Sadly, this is the sight that greeted us in Ditte's neighborhood when we got back. There are a lot of middle-eastern immigrants in her neighborhood, and the local Hell's Angels members often come to this street and randomly shoot anyone middle-eastern looking, the stupid assholes. This time they shot two men in an internet cafe- the third time they've struck at that business. Bunch of stupid fuckwads!

I can't believe what a fantastic day it's been- I definitely want to come back again and spend more than a day here! Ditte's been a remarkable host and it's been really fun to finally meet her! Tomorrow I head to Berlin, and on to the last leg of my journey. I'm excited to see Berlin, and also happy that my travels are nearly over- it's been a great couple of weeks, but I'm ready to be at home with my boyfriend and my dog again!