Copenhagen is really lovely. There are not that many cars since the most people travel by bicycle, and the bicycle infrastructure is really well done. And people are pretty chill. 
The whole place has a relaxed vibe, the food is good, and the only downside is that Denmark is pretty expensive and therefore Copenhagen is too, but not out of hand at all.
I met a guy named Søren about 10 days ago while he was on his first bike tour, riding the opposite direction than me from Copenhagen to Berlin. He offered to tour guide me around Copenhagen when I got here. He’s lived here all his life, and so he knows the city like the back of his hand.
It’s cool to get all the background information about places from someone who lives here, and also be introduced to places that most tourists probably don’t go like the power plant that’s just on the outskirts of the center of Copenhagen, which has a massive climbing wall and also a snow-less ski slope as part of the structure. The ski hill was closed when we arrived for some reason, but I got to admire the climbing wall.
And after we went to an abandoned shipbuilding plant that now is a huge outdoor food court called Reffen with about a hundred food vendors, and a full-on beach scene and tons of young people. We had dinner there. 
Copenhagen also has lots of tourists, but mostly European tourists and so it doesn’t feel that annoying to me. There can be something kind of electric about being in places that have an exciting crowded atmosphere, especially as I don’t have to be in it all the time. Søren led us on the street across from the super crowded area, which is called Nyhavn, so we could see it, but not have to deal with it! He and I are cut from the same cloth in many ways.
He led me down historic streets, through parks and plazas, and we got to see things like the new opera house, which was donated to the city of Copenhagen by Mr. Maersk of the shipping company Maersk, paid for with his own money and which his company supervised its building, completing it on time and budget, something Søren remarked would never happen if it was a public project.
We also went to the counterculture hippie enclave of Christiania, which is in the process of being cleaned up since the residents, after years of avoiding authorities, saw rising crime rates and violence with outside influences coming in to control their previously unsupervised cannabis businesses. They asked the authorities for help, and came to an agreement where the residents of Christiania still did not have to pay taxes, but would receive basic services like water, sewer, and trash collection in exchange for allowing some oversight and help.
You are not supposed to take pictures inside of Christiana so I don’t have any. But it’s very interesting. It’s sort of a cross between the Wild West and a commune, with a music venue in the middle where concerts are performed free since money can only be used for certain things there. Søren said that sometimes big-time acts just show up because it’s a feather in their cap to be able to say that they “played Christiania“. Maybe it’s similar to Woodstock. 
Of course, there are many beautiful places in Copenhagen.
Of course, I went to see the iconic mermaid that everyone associates with Copenhagen. They were lots of people there, and it was easy to find the place since all you had to do was look for a line of tour buses and a big crowd. It was sort of like the crowd around the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, but outside. It’s a very lovely sculpture 
There’s a plaque near the mermaid sculpture, and this is what it says:
‘The Little Mermaid’ by Edvard Eriksen
Erected in 1913.
Presented by Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagen.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name.
Unveiled on 23 August 1913, ‘The Little Mermaid’ was a gift from Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen to the City of Copenhagen.
The sculpture is made of bronze and granite and was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about a mermaid who gives up everything to be united with a young, handsome prince on land. Every morning and evening she swims to the surface from the bottom of the sea and, perched on her rock in the water, she stares longingly towards the shore hoping to catch a glimpse of her beloved prince.
Carl Jacobsen fell in love with the character after watching a ballet performance based on the fairy tale at the Royal Danish Theatre. The brewer was so captivated by both the fairy tale and the ballet that he commissioned the sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create a sculpture of the mermaid. Eriksen’s wife, Eline Eriksen, posed for the statue.
I caught a cold a few days ago, so I’ve been not super energetic looking at everything. I’ve been taking a period of rest in the middle of the day since I get tired. My goal is to lose this nagging cough before I get on a plane. I’m not sure if it’s Covid or RSV or just a common cold, but I’ve been taking care of myself so it goes away ASAP and I am not contagious.
I’m in a small hotel near the train station, from which it will be easy to catch a train to the airport in a day to go home. There are tons of restaurants and bars in all directions, and so it would have been easy to stay within a very small radius and have a fantastic experience. All the restaurants, coffee shops and bars I visited have been within two blocks of my hotel. 
This evening I went to Tivoli Gardens, which is just on the other side of the train station. Initially, I didn’t really want to go, but Søren convinced me that it was historic and amazing and so I did. It opened in August 1843! I waited till dusk since he said the lights coming on was special.
I walked around, photographing the rides and families. The plantings are amazing everywhere, and the rides look quite fun. I’m not much for those kinds of rides to go on myself, but I really enjoyed absorbing the festive atmosphere.
After leaving Tivoli Gardens, I went to a Vietnamese restaurant and had an amazing bowl of pho. It was the best I’ve had since we were in Vietnam.
Tomorrow I will be going on a ride with Søren north of Copenhagen since he wanted to show me a scenic area and I believe a modern art museum.
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