Wonderful Copenhagen

ok so i have found an extra couple of minutes to come back and edit this fast post from Copenhagen. My experiences in Copenhagen were "wonderful" and i can agree with what seems to be the slogan of the town. It was not as big as i had imagined but there was still so much to see and do that i think i still missed out on a great deal of what Copenhagen had to offer. As I mentioned, the 8 hours of sunlight means my days started early and ended early too. After 5 o'clock everyday the stars were out and the city starts to shutdown. A lot of the city becomes desolate from the hours of 5-7 or 8. Then the partying starts up again, and despite the cold weather and baring the snow i managed to go out every night. One of the highlights was catching a jazz show at the Copenhagen jazz house, which is apparently a famous spot for jazz in Europe. the jazz was really awesome and I later learned, from a nice danish man, that the guy had played with Miles Davis earlier in his life.

As for the architecture of Copenhagen. Much of the new building is going on along the waterfront, which the city addresses nicely (opposed to Valencia). One of the buildings is the city's new opera house that is right on the water and almost has the Bilbaoesque feel to it, although on a much smaller scale of course. Arriving on a weekend I was unable to explore the inside like i would have liked to, but the outside and the look through the glass were enough to show the grandeur of it. I also got to the Zaha museum extension, outside of the city. The collection of the museum is very small and if it weren't for the temporary Piet Mondrian exhibit, the art would not have been worth paying for. The extension, contrary to the art inside was very interesting. the folds of the building exterior mimic the surrounding landscape while creating a unique art viewing experience inside as well. the experiences you get as you turn each corner were one of a kind and i loved the way she created these through the forms of the concrete floors and ceilings.

But by far the most interesting part of Copenhagen was the area of Christiania. This is the area of Copenhagen, that in the 1960's was taken over by hippies!! I know its hard to imagine hippies taking over anything, but that is exactly what they did. They boarded off the area and created an area where, and i am quoting one of them "everyone owns everything, and you can build whatever wherever." They built an entire community within the city with their bare hands. It is interesting to see now because the land is prime land right on the waterfront, and you see normal business men and women riding their bikes to work through what is not the best run neighborhood. The city is trying to normalize the community but they are protesting it and fighting very hard for their independence. I was unable to take photos in this unique area except for the entrance sign that on one side said "Christiania" and the other side, as you leave the area, "you are now entering the EU" which i found comical. Bevar Chritiania!!!

But as for final notes on Copenhagen: It is expensive but worth it, Denmark is incredible and I cant wait to go back one day.