Today started as any day in Copenhagen should – with coffee and pastries and your loved ones. As anyone who has read about Denmark knows, this place is known for pastries, pastries, pastries! And we would be so remiss to not try all of them. So off we went to Andersen & Malliard, a bakery Gaby had been wanting to try. Feast your eyes on below: John had almond croissant (he out ordered us!), Gaby had a croissant cube with pistachio filling (DELICIOUS especially once you got to the filling), and I had a chocolate croissant (decidedly less impressive than the others but did have a chocolate ganache filling). We sat and had coffee and conversation and lovely baked goods to fill our bellies for a full day ahead.
We mounted the donkeys and headed for Superkilen which is one of so many urban parks in this city. This one is north of the city in a neighborhood called Nørrebro. It was created to support art and cultural diversity and one entire city block within the park is painted in different pink hues. Instead of the city coming up with the park design, immigrants were asked to suggest objects they missed from their home countries. These were then used within the park. You can find exercise gear from the California beaches, sewage drains from Israel, palm trees from China, neon signs from Russia, and a bull from Spain. We played on some of the park features and walked around a couple of city blocks to get the feel of the place.
We headed southwest to Sondermarken Park in the Frederiksberg neighborhood. Another stunning park – this one with less toys and a lot more beautiful, peaceful greenspace. There were lots of runners and mothers pushing prams and families hanging out on the lawn. This park is also the home to Cisternerne which is a subterranean venue for art exhibitions in the former cisterns. The cisterns are an old water reservoir and is the only dripstone cave in Denmark. Each year, the Frederiksberg Museums invites an artist to create an exhibit for the site. The current one called Weaving the Light.
What an amazing venue and the current exhibition is perfect in the space. It’s by a South Korean artist, Kimsooja, and uses light which is projected onto transparent canvases and creates an ethereal feel. The rainbow effects which transform when you move from one space to the next, coupled with the slow drip of the water into the cave, create the feeling of being transported to another world.
Back onto our donkeys for a trip to the trendy, eclectic meatpacking district of Copenhagen. Gaby had been here on an evening night where apparently the place was really hopping. It was quite tame when we were there which was just fine! But hip and trendy with old warehouses being transformed into cute pastry shops, bars and restaurants. We stopped at Mother for their sourdough-crust pizza – this was a must-eat for me. A prosciutto pizza and a pepperoni & pepperoni pizza – both were delicious.
Gaby had to head to class so John and I made our way to Christiania. Honestly, this is one of the places I really wanted to see in Copenhagen. Those of you who know me will realize why. Freetown Christiania is a hippie commune of sorts in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen. It is a former military base where hippies began squatting in the early 1970s. Now the area has it’s own “government” that is independent of the city of Copenhagen and the country of Denmark. For example, marijuana is legal in Christiania, but absolutely NOT legal in Denmark. Another couple of laws – no violence, no firearms and no hard drugs.
What a fascinating place! Honestly it’s a lot to take it. So colorful – there’s color and art and graffiti everywhere. And a lot of trash as well. But as they say, “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”. The streets are green and lush and filled with art that may be considered controversial and perhaps offensive depending on your beliefs. That doesn’t bother me of course. And there is a famous street within the area called Pusher Street which is an open market for marijuana. The rules of Pusher Street – no photos and no running (as people will think there’s a raid).
If you’d read any of my blogs you know that I love a free walking tour of a city. Most of the time these are conducted by students but any tour leader is a lover of their city and does these tours for “free”. You just tip at the end of the tour. John and I had reserved this tour quite a while ago and were looking forward to it. We met near the steps of city hall and were taken on a 3-hour tour of the city. We stopped many times to hear stories and information about the city and to stop and see the sights. It really was interesting. The guide discussed tourism including where to go and where to eat, as well as politics and history. I always learn quite a bit during these tours. Some things I learned:
*Denmark was the first country to allow same-sex couples to register in legal unions in 1989.
*The queen has a 82-92% approval rate.
*Denmark has the top spot in sustainability with a commitment to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030.
Denmark gets “free” education and health care but can be taxed up to 44%.
Denmark gets 52 weeks paid parental care!
70% of Copenhageners use a bike as their primary mode of transportation.
The taxes on a car are exorbitant!
I decided to leave Gaby and John for some father-daughter time while I went to the hotel to…do this! We’d meet later for the highlight of the evening – Tivoli Gardens and Macklemore. If you’re cocking your head and have a confused look on your face, I don’t blame you!
Tivoli is an absolute must-do in Copenhagen. It is a historic amusement park that’s seemingly dropped right in the center of a big city. It is fantastic! I feel like’s it’s more of an adult playground but I’m sure kids enjoy it too. Gaby had suggested we all get tickets to Friday Rock which includes tickets to the park as well as admission to see the highlighted concert. Well, lucky for us it was Macklemore! Hopefully you all know I’m being sarcastic. But at least we’d know a song – maybe two?
We arrived just an hour or so before the music was set to start. Wow – crazy amounts of people. But it was so fun! Twinkle lights everywhere and the venue had an Asian feel to it. There were food and drink stalls and of course a few rides for the little ones. We had a small bite and left Gaby to find her friends. John and I made our way to a French bistro for an adult beverage and an area to enjoy the music without being mowed down by drunk teenagers.
He did play one of his well-known songs first – Popping Tags – which got John dancing in his seat and the crowd fired up. We decided to chance it by getting into the mess of people. What fun! I haven’t done this type of thing in ages. We were literally touching people we didn’t know and couldn’t see anything that was happening onstage but I really really enjoyed it. The only downsides were way to much talking and not playing “Can’t Hold Us”.
It was a really, really, really fantastic day!