august 8th: checking out cophenhagen

Meeting our friend stefan

To start the day, we met up with our friend Stefan at the main station. Matt and I hadn't seen him in 3 years. It had been way too long. As we caught up while walking around New Harbour and the Queen's Jewels or Royal Jewels, Stefan suggested we both rent bikes for the two full days we would be in Copenhagen. All three of us biked our way to lunch at a Thai restaurant. It turns out the restaurant, Cafe Loppen, was extremely delicious and one of the more popular places to get SE Asian food in the city. I had beef mince with basil, veggies and rice. I was blown away by the spices and texture. It was so good... 

Guards protecting the entrance to the Royal Jewels of Denmark

Early morning sightseeing. We are in front of the Parliament building in downtown Copenhagen.

Walking down the main harbor in Copenhagen

Matt with his Danish hot dog before lunch and Stefan photo bombing the photo

Denmark is the second largest biking country in the world. The first is The Netherlands.

Our next stop on the tour by Stefan was Christania or Freetown Christiania. Freetown Christiania is a green and emissions free neighborhood in Copenhagen. It is widely known for its different way of life. It was created in 1971 by a group of "hippies" who occupied the abandoned military base on the land in that area. There, the group set up their own rules and regulation. It is completely independent from the Copenhagen government. Christiania only existed under special conditions that has lasted for 40 years but not without constant conflicts and clashes between the locals and the Danish government. After many years of tiresome uncertainty and troubles between the two parties, an agreement was created in 2011. On July 1st, 2012, the Foundation Freetown Christiania was founded. The foundation now owns the land that Christiania is on. All the buildings, homes and structures are owned by the private foundation to maintain the culture of the society. 

Christiania consists of homemade houses, workshops, art galleries, music venues, cheap and organic eateries, and beautiful nature. If an individual wanted to buy a house in Christiania it would be impossible. They'd have to apply for it, and if successful, it'd given to that individual. The area is open to the public with guided to tours by locals. Any one can roam around the area. 

Christiania is known for its hippie vibe, which includes hash and marijuana sales and consumption. Marijuana is illegal in Denmark. I still don't know how Christiania is allowed to sell and consume with the rest of Copenhagen having it banned. The whole area was a crazy experience. 

Below are photos of the whole area.

The entrance to Christiania

Some art work in Christiania

A random skatepark

Houses, locals and marijuana in Christiania 

The clouds rolling over at dusk in Christiania

Panorama of the lake

Matt, Stefan and I sitting next to the lake in Christiania

The photo is a little blurry, but as we left the sign read "You are now entering the EU." Christiania doesn't consider itself art of the European Union like Denmark and other countries. 

After the craziness yet soothing aspects of Christiania, the three of us split up for the next few hours. Matt and I checked out some cool artwork that was being painted on walls surrounding construction sites. Stefan headed back home. He'd meet up with us later in the night to bar hop. 

A girl in the process of creating her masterpiece as Matt looks on

I learned how to play the REAL billiards at a bar in central Copenhagen

To end the night, the three of us met up with some of Stefan's friends. We played billiards and drank beer all night long. It was a great way to end the night.