Freetown of Christiania

After a few meters of going through unpaved path, herd of bicycles not visible, and sound vehicles rolling down streets not heard. People walked by with a smile, and cats stretched and slept carelessly next to a wooden swing set.

The utopia in the center of København, known as Freetown of Christiania, is a commune built on a former army ground by people sought for freedom in late 1960's. The government, which abandoned the historical ground due to chemical contamination, allowed young people to take over to build a community of peace as an experiment. The historical site, originally used as a base for army since the 17th century, became a place for the generation of hippies to build houses, family, laws, and a self-sufficient society. The name Christiania was the original name of the base, named after Christian IV, and three yellow circles on their red flag represent each dot of the letter "i".

In this community, no one owns anything, and no one is a ruler. Things such as welcoming of new comers are decided in the perfect democracy, but there are three rules that exist; no hard-drugs, no violence, and no cars. Of 500 residents there are artists, inventors, as well as people with jobs in the outside society. Although the crack-down has made soft drugs less common, there still remains the remains of time when it was commonly sold and used, and many young people and tourists gather to hang out at bars and cafe to inhale the atmosphere of good old days.

Although Christiania is enlisted on guidebooks and so is well known among travelers, the most common area is in the center where the bars are, but the actual soul of this area seem to lay along the lake-surrounding path where people have built houses with colorful exterior and grow vegetables in the yard. We were certainly fortunate to have a local guide to take us on a hike-tour of it to see it in a full scale.

We have also learned about how the government has just won the trial against Freetown of Christiania, on either getting this prime real estate back or to have the community pay for what was given to them 40 years ago. The commune well accepted by the people of Denmark, some even considers it to be a pride of the country is now on a verge to be stripped away from people who has protected it. I sincerely hope that they can find a way to save this community,  so it can be passed on to generations to come.

A danish is not called danish here.

Over thirty hours of involuntarily rocking and swaying on a 36,000 ton ferry, we arrive Hirshals port located at the northern tip of Denmark. Awkwardly with our backpack strapped to our bodies we reach for the passpot in the pocket hoping to get it stamped for once, but following the sign "nothing to declare" lead us to an immediate exit. Again, trying to get a proof of  visiting a new country was not successful, and will likely to remain that way until we leave Europe.

The first impression of the country, viewed from the train window, is that the land is very flat with what appears to be farm fields, compared to previously visited countries. With a few train transfers we arrive Århus, the second largest city after København. The claimed center of the Danish culture, Århus is located in the middle of Jutland, the peninsula connected to Germany. After spending the afternoon walking around and visiting a museum, we got back on the train and headed to the capital city three hours away. The image I have of Danish people, hard-working and being precise can be seen in places such as how streets are kept clean, trains run on time, bricks on buildings stacked up to perfection, and color of the cityscape well-schemed. As all education and public welfare are paid for by the government, it seem to me that the country appears to be very supportive of it's people, however, a local resident told us that people who does not take advantage of these possibilities are often viewed as failures of the society. I can certainly see similarities in between Danmark and Japan with such behavior of intolerance to those that are considered below average.

Next day we were fortunate to borrow over-sized bikes from a local guy we met (well, it's like a couple of hobbits borrowing swords from men), and wandered around. It is amazing how, we are from two of the busiest, stressful cities in the world; Tokyo and New York, and yet feel overwhelmed by people, bikers, and cars all moving rapidly in all directions because we have been away from it for four weeks. We were amazed about how the city is built around bicycles, with not only special bike lanes and stop lights, but also with passing lanes and rules. Paying attention to traffic and pedaling giant bikes we were exhausted by the time we got to the center, but certainly was a nice way to experience and view the city.

Beer in Denmark

Carlsberg, ##%, Copenhagen, Denmark

Ægte Fynsk Ale No. 16, 5.7%, Fyn, Denmark
Kærlifhed, 5.0%, Fyn, Denmark

Tuborg  Grøn, pilsner, 4.6%, Copenhagen, Denmark

Økologisk Christiania, Thy pilsner, 4.6%, Jutland, Denmark