It's here! The part of the trip I have been looking forward to the most, and this will be my third time visiting the wonderful city of Copenhagen, or København as the locals call it. What makes this place so great? Well, architecturally speaking the city is almost like an amusement park of fascinating, creative, and playful creations from artistic/architectural installations to the buildings that adorn the city. I could probably spend over 2 weeks in Copenhagen and maybe fill up 1/10 of an album with pictures of buildings that I have either seen in magazines, or in course and guest lectures, featured in design competitions, etc. Simply put, there's a lot of cool stuff going on here, and not to mention I have a lot of offices to visit while I am in town.
The urban planners of the city have done a phenomenal job of promoting a bike culture as one of the preferred methods of getting around. Now, bikes are not an exclusive means of transportation, there are still buses, metro trains, walking paths and of course roads for cars. If one would want to argue that Amsterdam is the biking capital of the world, that is fine, but in Amsterdam the amount of bikes piled up throughout the city is almost a joke and an eyesore - with many of bikes rusting away or tossed into the canals. In Copenhagen the biking culture is more... how do I put this.... tastefully integrated into the city and it is a more charming experience to cycle through very generous and safe bike lanes. If you're out for a casual stroll for sightseeing or if you're in a hurry to get to the bakery for the morning's freshest danishes and pastries (yum!) - there's plenty of room for all paces, and even the most novice of bike people will have no problem renting a bike, safely navigating through the city, saving money and saving the environment.
Here are some additional fun-facts about why I like this place. LEGO's were invented in Denmark, need I say more? Okay, I will. One of the architecture firms we visited were even using LEGO's for making their sketch models. Can I be in charge of the office's LEGO department? Yes Please! Also, there's a town within the city, which I can only describe as a functional hippie commune and it's called Freetown Christiania, you can read up on its history HERE. Christiania is a very artistic, laid back community and it's a completely safe and family-friendly place to visit. Take a stroll through their gardens, check out all of the hand-made items, the funky architecture, have a very (tasty) cheap beer, return the bottle cap and you'll even get a partial refund, take your mind off things with some of the local grass... if you know what I mean... it's perfectly legal.
I have a very large sampling of photos for the preview, but do not worry if you're thinking I am revealing too much and that there won't be new stuff to share after my latest visit. As I mentioned above, this only scratches the surface and I may or may not go to these same places, but I guarantee I will be visiting many new places to satisfy my architecture addiction.
Gallery 1
Gallery 2
