Taking another huge jump from the Baltics back to Scandinavia, Denmark opened up a world of colour! I really dig Copenhagen...
From the time I touched base in Denmark (even in the airport), I realized it's a high-class place with plenty of opportunities... an eco-friendly city with friendly faces and perfect English... kind of reminds me of Denver (but twice the size and twice the price)...
Once we got checked into the hostel, and ready to hit the road, I overheard some people talking about the first-ever exhibition of The Brazil Series by Bob Dylan... here in Copenhagen, right now at Denmark's National Gallery: Statens Museum for Kunst. Upon further investigation, I found out that they also are running a special Picasso exhibit called Tales From the Labyrinth... I had to go... and so I did. I got there on the late side, and they weren't going to let me in... but I met the sweetest lady at the reception, and after a short chat with her, she let me view the exhibits and even gave me a comp ticket, waiving the 95 Kroner admission (about twenty bucks). I was so thankful, because the exhibition was sick. The Dylan stuff was surprisingly pretty damn cool... I had no idea he was such a prolific painter (on top of being one of the greatest songsters of our time). But, it was the Picasso exhibition that wowed me... this time, it was a collection of 100 intaglio prints of his from 1930-37... truly genius.
After the Danish Gallery, I headed back into the Kongens Nytorv area... it was bustling with bikes and people and bikes and bikes. It's a beautiful sight: from the well-to-do business folk to the tree-hugging hipsters, everyone rides bikes! Apparently, an impressive 37 percent of workers commute to their jobs by bike EVERYDAY in Copenhagen... and thus it is considered by many to be the number one bike city in the world! It consistently ranks among the top of all polls with Amsterdam, Boulder, Portland, Berlin, and Basil. The bicycle infrastructure is extensive and well-traveled, with it's own signal systems and traffic lanes. Oh, and for visitors and people waiting out repairs... Copenhagen boasts the most successful community bicycle program in the world as well... it is easy to rent (borrow, really, with a refundable deposit of 20 Kroner) a bike for free!
I ambled through town and soon wound up at this little joint called Cafe Paludan for an art opening called Black Pop. The space was beautiful and the work was impressive. I felt a bit out-of-place though, with the fancy folk chumming it up in centre city. I needed to venture a bit off the main drag to see what else Copenhagen could reveal.
I met up with Emily and Kent for some Thai food (yes, Thai, and it was delicious!) over on Nyhavn Street, the famous canal street lined with brightly coloured cafés, bars, and restaurants... beautiful.
There is one city neighborhood that is completely car-free... the notorious commune Christiania. Now, this is a special place. Kent and I went to check it out our first night in Copenhagen, and that's definitely the time to visit to catch it in full effect! The legend of Christiania, known for it's art and human diversity, is remarkable... it was founded in 1971 by a group of hippies who took over an abandoned military barracks and developed their own set of rules, completely independent of the Danish government... and somehow the people are able to keep it, as is, still today. Supposedly, this little freetown in the heart of Copenhagen is not considered part of the European Union. Unfortunately, they don't allow photos, so I wasn't able to document what I saw, but it was a trip...
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