Ramble On...: Copenhagen: Challenges and Sublimities

It is difficult for me to apply highly positive superlatives to any "great" city - I have lived in and next to a few lauded as amazing and was not so consistently moved. And I have visited many on several continents (Here is a partial list... Portland Oregon, Los Angeles, Denver, Dakar, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Mexico City, Athens, Paris)... But in the case of Copenhagen, I am finding it slightly easier to see the positive. There are many things to charm one newly anchored here, but it does require a bit of searching and perseverance. I will take a moment verbally and visually to reflect on the challenges and the positives as I experience them. And I should mention my amazing wife that has been my guide for much of these realizations - She continues to illuminate this new geography and eased immeasurably the needed fluency in crossing the many borders that naturally exist when one lands in a New/Old world.

Challenges/Positives:

1. Broken Glass and Bike Lanes- The fallout from football fans at the local stadium and weekend debaucheries in general is keg cups of half drunk beer and broken glass ornamenting the streets. What really sucks is the glass in bicycle lanes which have accounted for three flats in one month. If Copenhagen were a liver and Sunday morning from the bike lane was your opportunity to assess its health, you might conclude that it was quite jaundiced. The good news: Other than uber-fit Danes overtaking by bicycle in the 6 foot wide lanes (this is nearly all of the hundreds I encounter during a commute session- young, old, male, female, a mother on a Christiania bike with her 4 year old son and the father nestled into the covered carrier - I blame it on my mountain bike geared for a landscape that actually has an incline) I have NEVER worried much about cars because bicycles are considered royalty here and treated with great respect by the internal combustion hangers-on, as it should be.

2. Information- The challenge often comes at a doctors office, the pharmacy, the climbing gym etc. I am often spoken to in Danish. When I cannot respond the burden is on me to be extremely clear, calm and direct or I leave with very spotty information. I could blame it on the reserved nature of Danes. The good news: As a foreigner and immigrant I am extremely lucky that I speak English as 99.9% of the population in CPH speaks my native language better than I do. Danish is ridiculously difficult in pronunciation and spelling and it seems even Danes complain about it and prefer speaking English. I am sure there written grammar is better than mine to. Precision seems to be appreciated in this society in general. So now I am learning to be dialed in with my questions and the result is dialed in.

3. Wilderness VS urbanization- For centuries the landscape here has been used and manicured so finding raw earth, mountains, forests doesn't really happen. The good news: A bit of exploration has yielded that there are quite a few free things to engage in that allow for flights of fancy into a colorful and rich heritage of architecture, art, royalty. Many museums have free days like the Glyptotek on Tuesday, the Kastellet and the Royal Artillery Museum every day, many churches and cemeteries, centuries old towers. History is alive and well and as accessible as it is enriching.

4. Health and wellness- Coming from Boulder Colorado I was convinced I had already found the healthiest city in the world. It still may be true in terms of altitude training and wilderness opportunities. There is no easy access to mountains or trails like there are with the Rockies out the back door. This was a bit crippling at first. The good news: CPH however gets ranked as the world's healthiest city - and the friendliest city for bikes... Connection here? Eating locally is not super expensive. Lots of great root vegetables and seeds are cheap and quite a bit of eko (organic) products. Blocs-and Walls has five leadable cracks with fingers to bigger than fist and they might be fiberglass but they are my new five best friends. Did I mention how clean this city is? Except for the broken glass on the weekend there are lots of eco-groovy windmills and it is very well-kept in terms of trash with recycling, garbage service, attention to neatness of streets, buildings. The Lakes are five reservoirs with swans, mallards, ringed with cafes and historic buildings and scores of runners at all hours of the day and night in circumambulation. Security is mandatory to maintain a healthy sense of exercise freedom and I have always felt safe here, running, riding or walking the streets on photo tours at all hours. I don't miss my car at all.