There are some things I have been meaning to blog about. Here goes.
1. I love that there are swans here. I get to walk by swans nearly every day. I am not sure why this thrills me so much, but I suspect it has to do with reading Make Way For Ducklings when I was a little girl and being enthralled by the idea of the swan boats in Boston, which led to being enthralled by the idea of real swans. I have never lived somewhere with swans before and I an enjoying it now. Sometimes it really is the little things that brighten a day or can make you feel happy where you live.
2. Christiania - This probably warrants its own blog post, but I'm clumping it in to the things I have been meaning to blog about post. Within Copenhagen, and very near to our apartment, there is a massive hippie commune called Christiania. It is truly one of the most bizarre places I have ever heard of. Let me try to explain. In 1971 a bunch of hippies squatted in an old military barracks and claimed a big chunk of prime real estate along Copenhagen's coast. At some point Danish law began to recognize the area as a self-governing town. Recently, laws have been passed to try to take some of the power away from the Christiania residents.
It's the place to go to purchase pot and it used to also have a strong hard drug trade, but that's frowned upon now.
Neil, Riley and I have gone for a couple of walks in Christiania. We went early in the morning on a weekend when nothing was open, just to see what the place is about. It's basically a shanty town made up of a bunch of odd hand-made structures that are not built to any building codes and seem to be mostly made of found materials. There are playgrounds and schools and many homes as well as some cafes, shops and a concert venue. It's really a fascinating place, but it still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Read the Wikipedia article I linked to above and you'll see what I mean. It's totally bizarre. The Christiania residents range from normal looking to hippie-from-the-woods-in-Madrid,-New-Mexico-looking. I am not entirely sure what they stand for. But here's their original mission statement:
The objective of Christiania is to create a self-governing society whereby each and every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. Our society is to be economically self-sustaining and, as such, our aspiration is to be steadfast in our conviction that psychological and physical destitution can be averted.
Hmm.
Currently, there is a battle for power going on between the Denmark government and the Christiania residents. The Christianians have posted campaign signs around town that give a good picture of what the residents look like.
It baffles me that the government ever let the plot of land be taken over, but it's also fascinating that the little society within a society formed.
In an "I'm so American" side note, whenever I see someone who looks like they are straight off the Santa Fe Plaza of my youth I am always so surprised to hear them speaking languages other than English. Apparently slacker stoner style is universal.
3. News - I saw this window display recently and wanted to share:
1. I love that there are swans here. I get to walk by swans nearly every day. I am not sure why this thrills me so much, but I suspect it has to do with reading Make Way For Ducklings when I was a little girl and being enthralled by the idea of the swan boats in Boston, which led to being enthralled by the idea of real swans. I have never lived somewhere with swans before and I an enjoying it now. Sometimes it really is the little things that brighten a day or can make you feel happy where you live.
2. Christiania - This probably warrants its own blog post, but I'm clumping it in to the things I have been meaning to blog about post. Within Copenhagen, and very near to our apartment, there is a massive hippie commune called Christiania. It is truly one of the most bizarre places I have ever heard of. Let me try to explain. In 1971 a bunch of hippies squatted in an old military barracks and claimed a big chunk of prime real estate along Copenhagen's coast. At some point Danish law began to recognize the area as a self-governing town. Recently, laws have been passed to try to take some of the power away from the Christiania residents.
It's the place to go to purchase pot and it used to also have a strong hard drug trade, but that's frowned upon now.
Neil, Riley and I have gone for a couple of walks in Christiania. We went early in the morning on a weekend when nothing was open, just to see what the place is about. It's basically a shanty town made up of a bunch of odd hand-made structures that are not built to any building codes and seem to be mostly made of found materials. There are playgrounds and schools and many homes as well as some cafes, shops and a concert venue. It's really a fascinating place, but it still doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Read the Wikipedia article I linked to above and you'll see what I mean. It's totally bizarre. The Christiania residents range from normal looking to hippie-from-the-woods-in-Madrid,-New-Mexico-looking. I am not entirely sure what they stand for. But here's their original mission statement:
The objective of Christiania is to create a self-governing society whereby each and every individual holds themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the entire community. Our society is to be economically self-sustaining and, as such, our aspiration is to be steadfast in our conviction that psychological and physical destitution can be averted.
Hmm.
Currently, there is a battle for power going on between the Denmark government and the Christiania residents. The Christianians have posted campaign signs around town that give a good picture of what the residents look like.
It baffles me that the government ever let the plot of land be taken over, but it's also fascinating that the little society within a society formed.
In an "I'm so American" side note, whenever I see someone who looks like they are straight off the Santa Fe Plaza of my youth I am always so surprised to hear them speaking languages other than English. Apparently slacker stoner style is universal.
3. News - I saw this window display recently and wanted to share:
That's my grandson. I guess sloppy eating sometimes skips a generation. For those neat freaks among you, please understand that it's his special way of expressing gusto for the finer things in life.
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