Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark

Once again I've stopped over a couple of nights to look around Copenhagen, the biggest city in Scandinavia, and some city it is too. 

There are locals everywhere enjoying themselves; walking, lazing, bbqing and drinking. I've never been anywhere where drinking alcohol socially on the streets is both so acceptable and so common. Everyone seems to be on it, though not in a lairy way. On a dirtier level because companies give money back for recycling, you see poor folks rooting through bins collecting bottles etc to earn a crust, which doesn't really fit with such a stylish modern place.

Apart from a bit of touristy stuff, and an Danish architectural centre where the only exhibit was ironically British (Zaha Hadid), I went to a district called Christiana which is by definition an 'Anarchist Community'. Basically back in the 70s a load of hippies took over an derelict area and declared it their own, and it now has special status allowing them to rule themselves. This rule includes no cars, no taxes and open sale of cannabis. There were literally street stalls everywhere selling all the different varieties, like greengrocers in a market! The area was pretty run down though as you might expect from a bunch of stoners; safe, but no utopia.

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Copenhagen is bike mad - everyone cycles and there's more bike congestion than car. I'm convinced there's more bikes here than both Amsterdam and Beijing; it's crazy. After getting tired of walking, I decided to dust the old bike off and joined them for a cruise about the city and eventually found myself at the Carlsberg brewery (it being Danish after all).  

Once there, I could hear loud music and followed the sound until I got to a wooded park. 'They're playing De La Soul' I thought, until I got closer and realised it actually was the US hip hop legends themselves playing live! Turns out it was a music festival so I cycled round the perimeter fence until I got beside the stage. I could hear but not quite see, until they finished their set and I got a load of paparazzi-style photos over the fence of them walking off into the backstage area. Totally unexpected!

Last day of the cycle tomorrow - heading over the water to Sweden.