Archives for 2010

Danish style.

After my canal tour, I scurried back over to Christiania for a guided tour. Communes have always been fascinating to me so there was no way I was going to miss getting a peak inside this one.

Quick background info: In the 1970s citizens of Copenhagen broke into the old military barracks in Copenhagen and declared it a free state. The citizens of Christiania established their own rules and run the commune via a consensus system. Although the inhabitants are technically living there illegally, they pay double taxes to the state. First they pay as a citizen of Denmark, then they pay as the community of Christiania. Christiania even has it’s own postal system.

I highly recommend learning more about their living experiment.

While Christiania has historically been famous for selling hash, its other industries are receiving attention as well. For example, Christiania bikes are gaining popularity all over the world.

In addition to living in the old military barracks, some of the early residents built their own homes. Building is no longer allowed inside Christiania in and effort to protect the natural environment.

The weather during the tour was a bit rainy. Fortunately, it cleared up for this shot near the lake:

As you leave Christiania, you’ll notice this sign:

I chuckled.

At this point, my transit pass had expired so I decided to head back to the hostel. I muddled through the instructions at the laundromat across the street in pursuit of clean clothes and spent the rest of the evening in. I was the only person in my hostel that night so it was a good opportunity to rest before heading to Sweden the next morning.

xo, jill

Watch your head.

While researching Copenhagen I wrote down “canal tour” on my list of activities. However, after spending a few fairly expensive days in town (compared to other travel destinations), I wasn’t so sure. But when my new travel friends all raved about their tours, I figured I might as well go for it.

After spending the morning at the Dansk Design Center (wow, those Danes are talented), I skipped up to Nyhavn to catch a canal tour.

The tour took us down the canals and under multiple low bridges.

The white house is where Hans Christian Andersen lived for a time…

The opera house was surprisingly modern…

The famous mermaid statue was off visiting Shanghai. But don’t worry… you can still catch a satellite feed of her on the other side of this screen.

The inventor of Excel’s little weekend skiff…

Beautiful old warehouses…

A pretty little scene…

A new (wishful) investment…

A lighthouse ship…

I enjoyed seeing the city from a gorgeous new perspective. I’m glad I took the advice of my fellow travelers.

xo, jill

… always be fun to say.

My second full day in Copenhagen I took a quick train ride out to Roskilde, a town on the edge of the Roskilde fijord. Because it was a Monday, the main street looked like this:

A quiet day in town, for sure.

Unfortunately the rain began to pour as I stepped off the train. My miracle shoes, recently defeated by cobblestones, didn’t hold up long in the puddles. The first stop of my sightseeing was inside a supermarket. I needed a pair of galoshes!

With my feet nice and dry, I was ready to explore the area. I stopped by the local museum to get a feel for the town. Roskilde was the medieval capital of Denmark and is now famous for an annual rock festival.

The cathedral in town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so I made sure to stop in for a look.

My intentions were to have a nice picnic lunch near the water by the viking ships. The combination of a long walk, my sore feet, and the drizzly rain left me pretty tuckered out by the time I reached the water. I took a quick look at a viking ship before catching the bus back to the train station.

Back in Copenhagen I wandered back over to Christiana. A friend had recommended a good vegetarian restaurant in the area. Luckily I stumbled upon the place without trying too hard to locate it. It was there that I had another bowl of delicious delicious very good (and expensive) soup.

Most attractions close early in Copenhagen but I didn’t want to waste any time in the city. Having bought a Copenhagen Card, I was determined to get my money’s worth by visiting as many of the supported attractions as possible. When the only place open in the evening happened to be The Wonderful World of Hans Christian Andersen, I thought it might be worth a look. The minute I entered, I felt… silly. I was the only visitor in the showroom that was certainly set up for children with very cheesy reenactments of fairy tales. When I came to the scene from The Emperor Has No Clothes, I just had to take a picture. Of course as soon as I did a family walked up behind me. What a perv, Jill.

xo, jill

“…I’m afraid of heights!”

Later that day I continued my walk about Copenhagen. It was a very long walk to find Amalienborg, the winter residence of the Danish royal family.

The palace just happened to be located near this beautiful church I was admiring.

More walking around town led me past a canal… full of swimmers! There was some sort of race taking place.

After a bit of searching, I found Christianborg Palace, the seat of Danish parliament.

Underneath the palace is the site of castle ruins dating back to 1167 AD. While the Danes were building the current palace (a few burned down over the years), the ruins were discovered in the early 1900s. It was decided to preserve the ruins and allow visitors to see the stones.

Returning to my hostel I met, Tarek, an American living in London who was visiting Copenhagen for the weekend. We decided to go check out Christiania. We didn’t quite make it to Christiania… but we did end up climbing this:

See the brown part at the top? That’s where you start climbing outside with only a measly handrail to save you.

At this point I thought “maaaaaybe I should tell him I’m scared of heights…” As soon as I blurted out my secret, Tarek shared that he’s actually scared of heights too! What a pair. I went up as high as I could before it felt too crowded, then descended to wait on a bench. I had a little chuckle over the Mexican women who came down after me triumphantly declaring, “VIVE MEXICO!”

After happening upon a street festival and eating the best pea soup of my life, we found a Greek restaurant so we could eat a little more. Having filled our bellies we sought adventure at Tivoli Gardens.

Tivoli is an amusement park in central Copenhagen that opened in 1843. Inside, Tivoli is filled with rides, restaurants, theaters, a garden, and much more. Despite being an exciting place, you feel the charm of 19th century Copenhagen.

In keeping with our fear of heights… we decided to ride the scariest ride possible, Himmelskibet.

After you’ve checked all of your personal belongings into a locker, you sit in a swing that is hoisted high above the park. While you spin around you can see amazing views of the park and Copenhagen at night.

(you can’t see the swings, but they’re there quite high up)

I was nervous in the fun and exciting way… until Tarek pointed out that the chains we were attached too looked like something he’d walk his dog on. In other words, not thick. Luckily we were soon lowered down.

That was enough excitement for one night.

xo, jill