To bliver hyggelige

Our final day in Copenhagen began with a hearty breakfast at our beloved Grød, and then back to the flat to pack and enjoy a bit of down time before our flight home. We realised that we’d barely got any pictures of us both together this week, so an impromptu photo session ensued!

For lunch we finished up the odd bits and bobs of food we had left in the fridge and then I popped down the road for a quick wander around Christiania, the infamous ‘hippie’ enclave/anarchist community/Freetown, established in 1971 on the site of a former military base, which is probably best known for the cannabis stalls along Pusher Street.

I’ve no doubt that many positive things go on in Christiania (including, for instance, support for the Greenlanders who appear to constitute the majority of Copenhagen’s homeless population) and I’m very much in favour of alternative ways of living - where they encourage living lightly on the earth and consuming less - however, my overwhelming feeling about the place is that it’s become a sort of hippie theme park where tourists can buy not only cannabis but all the stereotypical t-shirts, beads and paraphernalia that denote ‘far out-ness’ and opposition to ‘the man’, whilst feeding a very capitalist/entrepreneurial business model. There was a sad and shabby feel about the whole place which made me feel that for all my opposition to so much of what’s happening in the world today (and in the UK specifically), I’d rather try to tackle it from within than to opt out of it more or less completely. But perhaps that’s a very simplistic and naive assessment based on a very brief visit!

Photography is not encouraged in Christiania and is banned outright on Pusher Street (a rule which I feel rather goes against the anarchist spirit of the place, although I understand the reasons for it!) so I didn’t take pictures except at the main entrance/exit (see Extras).

After that brief foray, it was time to head to the airport. We were both very sad to say goodbye to our flat, and to Copenhagen, but we hope to be back one day. For now, though, we’re on our way home.

Here are The Beatles with ‘Two of Us’ https://youtube.com/watch?v=YQSr2GY1YX8