Freedom and Happiness - The theme for Day 2



I woke up this morning thinking what it would have been like to wake up in Copenhagen.  I closed my eyes and remembered the sounds and smells I was so familiar with. I could hear the traffic slowly waking up, the sounds of busses and people talking, sea gulls flying over, and … oh, the smell of fresh bread. I have so far in all my travels never experienced anything like Danish bread and pastries.


I also remembered a song my mom and I always sung together, all the way up to her last weeks (she passed last year).  It is by a Danish folk artist and, true to Danish value of simplicity, he sung about the simple things in life. In this song, he describes the happiness he finds in sitting in a simple little rowboat, floating on the water and just loving that moment. He mastered summarizing the connection between simplicity and happiness, and the choice we have to focus on what we have instead of what we do not have:

(Sorry for the rough translation but I wanted to preserve the spirit of the song instead of focusing on linguistic and style accuracy.)


“In a little boat on the water

I sit and sing about the things that add value (meaning) to life

I can’t walk on water

But I can do so many other things

I can feel free

I can feel happy”



Happiness and Freedom are key themes for our first visit today: The Freetown Christiania. While some in the past may have had some reservation about visiting this place, it is to outsiders an extraordinary social experiment and to the residents a place of freedom, empowerment, and happiness.  The history of Freetown Christiania starts in the 70s in the borough called Christianshavn.

This borough was built on artificial islands in 1639 and was part of Copenhagen’s fortification. It was intended to be a lucrative, upscale merchant’s town but soon was absorbed by Copenhagen. Yet, it remained part of the fortifications and housed the Navy all the way into the 20th century.


By 1970, the Navy had moved to one of the other artificial islands and large barracks that once housed sailors now stood empty on open, green areas. Right on the other side of the fence were the working-class neighborhoods of Christianshavn, and they were dealing with a significant need for green spaces and playground areas for their children. Every day, they saw these large, green areas lying unused while their children had to play on concrete parking lots, and yet the Navy had no plans for these beautiful areas. Long story short, a group of residents eventually broke down the barricade to the former Navy areas and, after repeated clashes with the police for about a year, the residents (now called Christianitter) declared the area their own – Freetown Christiania was born.


Needless to say, it wasn’t that simple and if I ever have the chance to share a 9 hour flight with you in the future, I will tell you more about the skirmishes and political tensions that would follow Christiania until 1989/1990 when Christiania would finally become “legal”.  In the meanwhile, the residents have worked hard on developing the area.  Daycares, stores, artist studios, and alternative housing were just some of the infra structure that the residents steadily built up.  

However, Christiania also had its dark days in the beginning.  As a “freetown”, it was naturally a haven for drugs, criminals, and gangs.  This was never the intention of the initial residents, but it took a long time to rid Christiania of these negative elements. Today, Christiania’s governing body has strict rules to secure a safe, free, and happy environment for its residents: No weapons, no hard drugs, no violence, no gang tattoos, no commercial real estate dealings.


Christiania has its own currency and its flag is a red square with three yellow circles, each representing the dot over each “i” in the name “Christiania.


Our day would have ended with a visit to the beautiful Botanical Garden. I visited this place many times as a child and it was always such a place of wonder and tranquility. It was a place to just see, enjoy, and relax. And that is a perfect place to end the day. While we today would see so many things that connect to Danes overall feeling of happiness (freedom, green areas, self-governance, religion, etc.) I think it is just as important sometimes to just enjoy the moment – don’t analyze, don’t compare, don’t worry.  Just enjoy it and let it regenerate you.


Now it is time to eat and my house has today been something like “The Great Danish Cooking Show”. In the works in my kitchen are Danish soft cheese, Danish pastries, Danish bread, and Danish Birthday Cake. Good thing I went for a 4 mile walk today, trying to follow our active itinerary in Wonderful Copenhagen.






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