Great Danes.

The Danish are an interesting and wonderful group of people. I've spent the last 3 days in Copenhagen, and have just now arrived in the small town of Odense, the hometown of Hans Christen Anderson (author of fairy tales like Thumbelina and The Ugly Duckling). The SCONES group is pretty fried: we're clocking in at day 18, and really needing this time of relaxation and respite. Now that I have internet again, I wanted to share my thoughts about Copenhagen and the first parts of my Danish experience.

I first became interested in Copenhagen when I learned that they were hosting the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15). This summit was held to discuss the framework for international climate change mitigation and policy for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. After reading about the United States' lackluster initiative and commitment at the summit, I began counting down the days until I would get to go to the city where it was held. I can 100% say that the city did not disappoint.

During our stay, we enjoyed many guest lecturers about Danish history, culture and architectural design of the city. Having such a deep-rooted history embedded in the days of the vikings has given Denmark a long time to redefine their city and the different elements of its urban fabric. On a personal level, my favorite element was the prevailing bike culture that the city embodies. Living in Davis has exposed me to the possibilities of commuting by bicycle, but Copenhagen's vibrant culture of bikers in such an urban and undeniably metropolitan area is nothing short of incredible. An astounding 85% of Copenhagen's population owns a bike, and nearly 36,000 people will ride them on a daily basis, regardless of weather. Biking is viewed as efficient, affordable, and enjoyable transportation. On any given street corner, at any time of the day, I saw a smattering of all sorts of people biking. Age, gender, race, whatever: biking is embraced by all walks of life here. And fortunately, the city is actively working to promote biking by making it feel safer for cyclists. Bike lanes are often removed from the main street and isolated between another curb and the main road. Intersections are painted bright blue to alert drivers of the bikers. Separate street lights moderate traffic flow for cyclists. And (I have mixed feelings about this), intersections where there has been a biking fatality are marked on the ground with a red cross to remind cyclists and drivers alike to be careful there. Indeed, the city is working to increase the bikability of the city.

We then tested the bikability of Copenhagen. After another wonderful street picnic (these are becoming a sine qua non on this trip), the 30 Americans hopped on our bikes and cranked out a 7 hour bike ride of the city. Copenhagen by bike: it's the only way to do it. We went down to the water front, around the city, through the universities, into parks, around housing developments, everywhere.

We also visited the Freetown of Christiania, which what I'd call a "granola anarchist" neighborhood in Copenhagen. Originally a site for military barracks, squatters took over the area, became a large commune, and established itself free from the municipality of Copenhagen. Christiania, as a result, operates under special law and as a free town. It has become a haven for artists, musicians, hippies, broke backpackers looking to save some money, and also druggies. The community is filled with public art, gardens, shops, food, houses, a skatepark, and basically anything else the community wants. Walking around and exploring the area was very interesting from an urban planner's perspective because Christiania challenges most conventions of what we consider to be the pillars of city planning.

We also visited the very first co-housing communities of Denmark. It was an amazing day. We traveled out of Copenhagen into the countryside, where we were greeted by the community and treated to a conventional Danish lunch. Everything they prepared for us was organic and locally grown. We had pickled herring open faced sandwiches, pasta, beets, eggs, shrimp, meatballs, vegetables, and the most delicious and dense bread ever. I have never eaten such amazing food. We were then spoiled with homemade beer from a resident's microbrewery. And then, after giving us a tour of their facilities, we helped with the communal chores: composting, feeding the pigs, sorting their trash and recycling, weeded their garden and fetched water. To celebrate the end of our labors, we then snacked on Buttermilk Koldskål: a Danish delicacy that is like melty Greek yogurt with crumbled cookies. Between the beautiful weather, delicious foods, strong feeling of collaboration and kinship between us SCONES and the residents, I think I speak for everyone when I say we felt very content and satisfied. To top it off, we then spent our last night in Copenhagen at Tivoli-- a miniature Disneyland with fireworks, music, rides and games.

In short: I absolutely love Denmark. I've had some magical moments here in Copenhagen, and am sad that our stay here was so short. William Shakespeare may have written in Hamlet that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark", but I'd have to disagree. Denmark is absolutely amazing.