Entering Copenhagen’s Christiania is a bit like entering a taboo fairyland.  If you’re not familiar with it, according to Wikipedia, “Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood of about 850 residents, covering 84 acres.  Civic authorities in Copenhagen regard Christiania as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989, which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state”.  I visited on my second and final day in Copenhagen before taking a train to Stockholm.  I was on a rental bicycle, in the rain, with the lady whose flight was delayed by a day.  On the way to Christiania, she fell off of her bicycle and luckily was only bruised.

Let me back up for a moment.  I asked the other two Tour participants if they would accompany me to the Airport to meet this participant (even though that took a few hours out of our meager time allotted for Copenhagen) because I knew she wouldn’t be able to find her way without us.  So, the three of us met her at the Airport and she was very relieved to see us!  After getting her checked in, I rented the bicycles for all of us to tour around on and we ended up splitting off from the other two because they didn’t want to ride any more.

Now…we’re back in Christiania…

I chatted with this lady for a couple of minutes and was surprised to hear that she’s been working there for 30 years!  Just beyond her on the path there was a sign that said “no photographs” and she explained, “That’s the area where they smoke marijuana”.

I had read before visiting Copenhagen that Christiana had some unusual and interesting architecture, but the rain began to come down in buckets, so we had to ride back to our Hostel.  I was able to get a few photos of creative murals or buildings….

I didn’t have enough time in Copenhagen to discover all of its hidden gems, but perhaps some day I will return!

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