September 3, 2011 
After my time in London came to an end, the next destination on my itinerary was the city of chic cafes, copper spirals, buildings that bring to mind impressionistic paintings done in pastel watercolors, and enough harbor views to satisfy even the most discriminating of tastes: Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1,000-year old city still maintains much of its historic feel, though sizable chunks of the city have been rebuilt with modern architecture after repeated fires over the last few centuries have destroyed much of what once stood.
Another interesting point of note is that Copenhagen marks my departure from English-speaking countries and into the world of language barriers — Danish is the primary language here. Though this does create a few amusing situations, for the most part a simple smile and a few gestures can help the communcation process immensely. In point of fact, I’ve actually had very little issue finding folks who speak English, as it is becoming a semi-global language.
Here are few of the sites to see:
The scenic Nyhavn harbor
A view along the Inderhavnnen canal
The tower of Nykolaj Church throught the trees
The popular (but slightly undwhelming) Little Mermaid stature, which helped to inspire Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale
The entrance to Copenhagen’s largest tourist attration: the 160-year old amusement park known as Tivoli. Supposedly, Walt Disney visited to glean ideas before building his own park
Mosaic tiles outside teh Amelianborg Castle
This may seem an to be an oddly-placed picture, but it is actually an indelible part of the culture here, as bikes outnumber pedestrians by at least five-fold
I didn’t include too many city or street pictures of Copenhagen, as unfortunately, the entire city seems to be under construction at the moment (shots of historic landmarks clad in scaffolding and tarps probably aren’t the most interesting things to look at). However, another great way to see the city is to take a boat tour along the various canals and harbors. Take a look:
Nyhavn framed by ships
Looking back on the entrance to the Nyhavn
The laid-back streets and canals of the Christianshavn neighborhood
An example of the copper roofs, gables, and spires that dominate the city’s skyline
Ripples along the water
A final view from the water
If you’re planning on visiting Copenhagen, another area to check out for nothing other than the experience of stepping into an alternate time and place is what is known as Christiania — otherwise dubbed “Freetown.” This is basically a walled-in, pedestrian-only neighborhood that serves as a fully-functioning hippy commune. To get a mental image of the place, image if the 60’s free-love movement that took place in the US not only still existed, but was thriving with great intensity in one small and ultra-concentrated location (that luckily allows visitors such as myself). They prohibit any pictures from being taken inside — as much of what takes place there is less-than-legal — but take my word for it: it was still a pretty far-out place like no other that I’ve seen.
The entrance to Christiania — just disregard the scaffolding (some stoned hippie probably forgot and left it there)
One of many pyschadelic graffitti murals that cover virtually ever conceivable surface in Christiania
I’m running a bit of a back-log on posts at the moment (for example, I’m writing this post about Copenhagen while I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Berlin), but I promise I’ve got another good food and drink post coming soon, as Copenhagen was one of a handful of beer-destinations that I had chosen while planning for this whole trip. Hopefully I’ll be able to snag another free wi-fi hotspot later today, but until then, Skal!
Temporarily Lost 
I can’t believe we missed each other in Freetown last week! I was the naked guy wearing a bear head playing the mandolin… Shout out for Pappa C next time you swing by so we can catch up!
Ahhh, I saw the naked, bear-heading guy with the Mandolin! I must not have recognized you as the glare off your pasty white skin was particularly blinding.
Would you classify Freetown as Yellow Springs on steroids?
Yellow Springs on steroids may be something akin to the lot scene at a Phish or Grateful Dead show. If you then take that lot scene and put it on steroids — kicking it up yet another level — then we may be in the ballpark for what was taking place in Freetown.
That is one beautiful city. Just wow.