Memories of Copenhagen
Posted on 18 April 2006 by Daniel Dessinger
Every now and then, I miss Denmark. Not the whole experience, but some of the people, the Albertslund kollegium, and downtown Copenhagen (Kobenhavn). These photos are of the main walking street in Copenhagen. It's called the "Stroget" in Danish. Good times on the Stroget. Many of my positive memories came from walking up and down Copenhagen. It was an adventure. Around every corner, a new discovery waited. Daytime was better than night, though. All the stores close around 6pm. The only places I saw open later were bars, discoteques, and Burger King, of all places. It was a morbid and lonely time to walk the streets at night... especially alone.
Another of my favorite memories was the Brondby futbol game. They played Parma, an Italian club. I've never felt such passion and ferver at a sporting event. I was on edge a few times at the stadium. It carried an atmosphere of lawlessness. Fights could break out at any minute and there wasn't sufficient crowd control or police nearby. It just felt like anything could happen. The ride home from the game was a treat. We took the train. Our cab was filled with drunk Danes, singing the "Bronby we love you!" song and jumping up and down until the entire cab teetered from end to end.
I did miss out on a wonderful fine arts opportunity because of that soccer game. I can't remember what was showing, but it must have been a musical or opera. I made my final decision based upon one criteria: to learn as much as possible about the Danish culture. That tipped the scales in favor of futbol. No contest. For anyone thinking of visiting Copenhagen, Arhus, Holstebro, Skagen, Odense, or Esbjerg, I absolutely recommend visiting in the summer or very early fall. The amount of daylight is incredible during that time of the year and the weather is as good as it gets for Denmark. Fall brings showers like no other.
It is true that Denmark has lovely Christmas traditions that last an entire month, but those don't do you any good unless you have friends or family there. All the feasting, dancing, food, and drink is shared between friends and sometimes neighbors. All things considered, take advantage of the weather, the light, and the only real cheerfulness you'll find in the country during the summer months.
I didn't have the most wonderful time in Copenhagen and Albertslund, but they are the only places in the world outside of the United States where I could visit and know where everything is. The only other place on earth like that would be Vieques - the tiny island beside Puerto Rico where Heather and I were married.
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