Copenhagen: the future of equality, women’s rights, and never locking the door

Welcome to the future, where the people are quiet, litter is nonexistent, houses are made of glass, and daily items are exorbitantly expensive. Exiting the plane at Copenhagen’s airport, I waited for an hour behind hundreds of soldiers returning home from Afghanistan (Denmark is involved in Afghanistan?!)- and was immediately introduced to Danish hospitality as officers passed around Carlsberg beer to everyone waiting in line. We were couch surfing in the center of the city, partly to save money and partly to get to know some local Danes. We knocked on Thomas’s door, no answer, but no problem because these people NEVER LOCK THE DOOR- so we just walked in to blasting techno music, airborne pot smoke, and Thomas waving to us from on the couch. He gave us a set of keys, said “Sorry I’m a lame f*** but I’m tired and going to bed”...and that was the most interaction we had with him all weekend. He left the next day for an all night techno rave in the forest four hours north of the city. SO Danish. Copenhagen is chic. The locals will admit that there’s not a whole lot to do-- canal tours, a few museums, the royal library, some palaces. But really, the city’s charm is in the streets. The gorgeous giant people walk around with trendy purses and speak better English than we do. I highly recommend the canal tour actually, because most of Copenhagen is on the water and the story of landmarks often start “well this used to be a naval ship/ship yard/dock/etc but then...” Denmark has a shocking amount of naval ships for such a relatively peaceful country, and apparently the majority have been shut down due to misfires. One accidental missile fire demolished five summer homes in the north. Oops. The sightseeing locale I very much recommend is the National Museum, if only for the shock value. It’s the museum of Danish history, and the section entitled “The Story of Modern Danes” could have easily been called “Drugs, Sexuality, and Women’s Lib.” It’s an entire museum floor regaling the country’s super progressive history, like: Denmark was the first country to recognize same sex civil partnerships. Women were given the vote in 1908. 1908!! In the 70s, Danish people moved away from the nuclear family, recognizing the nuclear structure as oppressive to women. So, they started setting up collectives of free love, women’s choice, and gender benders. The hippie collective in the middle of Copenhagen, Christiana, continues to operate today. Hundreds of people live in this totally alive and vibrant community with graffiti on the walls, a communal kitchen where anyone can give and take food, and weed being thrown around like it’s worthless gum wrappers. Denmark is sexuality and gender-friendly in every way. It’s just a place bursting with equal rights and developed goodness, but a brief warning: this place is expensive. A two minute bus ride costs $8. That was painful. - - - A.F.