Denmark! Well according to the Danes that is, and after our weekend trip to Copenhagen I can see why. The city exudes a feeling of calm and well being and life just seems simpler. Of course we do live in London so Bangkok would seem simpler sometimes. Again we took off with a crew - 7 this time for a weekend of good times. The weather forecast was predicting heavy rain all week but fortunately our good luck continued and the sun shone on us for the 2 days.
After arriving at dinner time, it seemed natural to want to sample the local delicacy of hot dogs, so straight to the street vendor we went. There was quite some debate as to which one to get as the choice was vast, so for Chris and I it ended up being 3 different varieties. Most people eat their hot dogs standing at the vendors caravan, but as we got takeaway it ended up that the ingredients were layered on top of each other and you constructed your own dog when you got home. Seeing as we didnt have cutlery it was a big mess of sauce, fried onions and oversized dogs in tiny little buns all eaten with our fingers and hands. In short a big mess, but a delicious one.
The next morning 5 of the crew had booked onto a city bike tour with Mike. Mike was a very interesting character, he had lived 10 years of his life in NZ and arrived wearing an all blacks beanie so instantly we were impressed. He led us around on a fasincinating tour of the city, giving us insight into the culture of the Danes and showing us his favourite sights for about 4 hours.
The last stop of the tour was the Freetown of Christiania. In short Christiania is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares, nicknamed "Hippietown". Christiania has established semi-legal status as an independent community, but has been a source of controversy since its creation in a squatted military area in 1971. Its open cannabis trade was tolerated by authorities until 2004. Since then, measures for normalising the legal status of the community have led to conflicts, and negotiations are ongoing.
You arrive in Christiana in a somewhat bewildered state, almost unbelieving that the main street through town "Pusher Street" sells hash and Skunk weed openly from permanent stands. There are big half gallon oil drums alight with fire and people standing around with big dogs almost patrolling the entrance. We were warned by Mike that photos were not to be taken on Pusher Street and this was reinforced by big painted murals on the buildings of cameras with a line through them. I wasnt that keen on whipping my expensive looking camera out anyway!
Despite the big dogs burning oil and no photos, the community actually seemed peaceful and well run. One thing that hippies do well is make a nice wholesome lunch so we sat around for about an hour soaking in the atmosphere eating before moving on to cycle around the rest of Copenhagen.
Being a cyclist in London I have to admit that we have a stressful time of it - well compared to Copenhagen that is. Cyclists are well respected and the facilities are top rate. You never feel vulnerable and being on bike to explore a city is bliss! We naturally made our way to see the Little Mermaid statue on the harbour, a bit over-rated, although James took quite a fancy to the young lady...
Having exhausted our cycling legs we took yet another recommendation from Mike to go to Sweden for dinner...yes Sweden. It is only a 20 min train ride to Malmo Sweden from central Copenhagen and he swung it for us by saying that food was 50% cheaper there, dont need to tell us twice! It was a very pleasant little town, made better by an absolutely delicious feed! We ate so much that by the time we got back to Copenhagen it was straight to bed.
The next day was equally as sunny so a day trip was in order. we had originally planned on visiting Tivoli which is a theme park in the middle of the city (and Denmark's No. 1 rated tourist attraction), but it hadnt opened for the year yet. instead we travelled into the countryside to the oldest theme park in Denmark Bakken.
Bakken is situated in the heart of a forest park and is also near the sea. As we arrived quite early in the morning we decided to wander along the waterfront first. It didnt take us long to realise that the Danes are not a shy nation, and apparently a nude mid winter dip is good for your health! I wasnt that keen on whipping off my kit and showing the world my pastie skin for good health, although later on that day Chris and James braved the waters of the Baltic sea and became one with nature in a more secluded private spot away from the prying eyes of the locals...
Wandering through the forest park it was plain to see that Danes are not a lazy bunch, dozens of running groups were training in the park sprinting up any hill they could find. It was also obvious that if you wanted to be run a successful business in Denmark you would make a lot of money selling lycra clothing - they love the stuff!
After our own hill ascent (walking up it not sprinting might I add) we had a little picnic before heading into the theme park we came to see. It was a very charming place, lots of old school theme park games like target shooting which Chris could not pass up. I was very proud when we won me a little teddy bear! We decided to eat a few of the theme park specialities (Danish waffle cone ice creams...) and then James and I braved the oldest rickiest roller coaster of all time. SO old that there is a guy that sits in the back carriage excellerating and braking with a big lever. I was suitably scared, probably more of the old school wooden construction with its creaking sounds than the actual ride.
Back into Copenhagen city for a last minute dinner and final walk around the city centre before catching a late flight back to London. We all felt invigorated and fantastic after our weekend, Copenhagen certainly made us pretty happy so maybe it is true? Happiest country in the world? Hmm, we will keep travelling to make sure there arent any other happier places before agreeing 100%.
