Morning Commute!

My mornings begin like this:
Wake up! I have been having very lucid dreams lately, lots of water in them! Who knows about dreams? What does that mean? The world is going to flood, yes I know! It is still dark out once I wake around 6:30am and then still dark once I leave the house at 8:00am. Coffee! Stretch! Turn the lights on and wake up the husband!

My point is that I wish to share the morning commute on bike. This is the aspect of the morning that I find actually very relaxing! I am not behind the wheel of a car but rather I am propelling myself on two wheels. I go to basement, put my bike lights on for it is a law along with safe cruising. All this occurs about 8ish, so imagine it still being very dark at this hour of the morning! You begin wondering why you are leaving the house so early when in actuality I am usually running late! I make sure everything is zipped tight, gloves on..... Proceed to open the door towards the blistery cold, well not really but it is cold to the unwoken mind! The journey begins............I go thru the side streets to get to Amagerborgade (yes all the street names in DK land are this long!!) the main street and this is where the wave of cyclists begin. I wait at the bike light making sure it is clear, hop upon our own lane unobstructed by the Filth of Cars! I cruise at a steady pace but you have to be aware of all your actions! There is such a thing as a fast and slow lane on the bike path, if you stay in the fast lane too long you piss off others. You will get Dinged at, the ringing of the bike bell! I have never enjoyed using a bike bell as much as now!! And if only I could truly describe the amount of people on bikes, it entertains my brain each and every morning! I look about noticing the different type of folk on bikes, notice the swarm of bikers from all directions as we are all trying to get to our destination. So as I bike further into the city this is where the real bike Jams begin! The cyclists also have to follow the basic rule of stopping at lights not only lights but the bike lights which are seperate from the car lights! We are a very special breed here! So here while waiting at my bike light is where I look inward and begin to think more about my foreign journey in DK land! I would say a cluster of about 30 cyclist are waiting for the light to turn green! And once the light changes it is a mad dash to get to the front, some people are a bit more aggresive than others. Depending on my mood or how late I am relates my position in this pack because I know that I can blow most of them out of their saddles if I really wanted too!! Or I will just sit back and enjoy the infusion of massive bikes intertwining wondering where the hell are you going?? But the joy of this ride every morning on my way to Danish lessons is that I am able to have a bit of physical exercise,fresh air, entertainment and introspection into the vast difference of cultures! You would never see this in America! That is why I write this to you trying to explain a typical Danish morning commute!!

Firework Bandit Part 2

WoW!!What a remarkable sky line! I have never been in the midst of quite a chaotic firing of fireworks. It all started at a friends small, cozy house. The clock was getting closer to striking a new year. The buzz of fireworks began increasing! We decided to get our coats on, head outside to the parking lot for the unit of houses. As we walked we stumbled upon used firworks littered all over the trail, then suddenly we walked into the firing zone!! At the end of the trail the parking lot opened up and dozens of people, kids, dogs, fireworks beginning to buzz right above us! I ducked, cringed and ran across to a safe zone quickly. People yelling Godtnytår, passing champange around and cookies, hugging! And then the kids took peoples cigarettes and lit thier fireworks. In this small area we stood while fireworks launched from every angle of the parking lot. We had a 360 degree view in which you could view more and more fireworks coming from all over the city. It was a bit overwhelming, especially when you had to keep your eyes open for the launching around you just in case something went wrong! A few times some sparks hit the crowd too early, or an explosion went off to early! Everyone was fine and firing resumed quickly! I enjoyed the atmosphere as all the neighbors came out and greeted one another. It was very cozy (as Danes love using this word - hyggeligt) This display of fireworks lasted 1 hour! Do you realize how much money just exploded in the night sky??

Firework Bizarre!

What does the general public think of Fireworks?

Denmark has a very low tolerance level concerning them. Since the firework factory explosion a few years back, people say that the laws have become stricter. I ask myself what is your definition of stricter? I do not see any restrictions towards these flying torpedos within the sky! People are allowed to set them off within the city limits which I find very unusual for the close proximity within this cramped city. But no worries to your neighbor they still go off constantly! Coming from American cities, where you set them off in a small street of Golden, CO the police will show up at your door within minutes. So being able to shuffle mind frames and accept that you are allowed to set them off has been hard to accept. But I do know that Joshua Montgomery would love being in København to celebrate the new year!! For the month of December the sky lights up continuously, bangs, bangs more Banging. But I find it rather amusing that everyone goes crazy setting them off! You will find them going off at all times of the day also. I was cruising home from work on a friday at 15:45 and BanG already going up in the sky (for it is dark at 16:00!) And as the night continues on more and more light up the sky in every direction. It is just as common as buying milk from the grocery store! So I better go and buy lots for this new years Eve! (and save some for summer Josh) But so far the most amazing, spectacular firework show has been at Tivoli Gardens. For 4 consecutive nights they are putting on a international firework show. For 10 minutes you get to see the real thing, the real pyrotechnicans displaying true firework phenomenon! They dazzle, they linger, they explode all for our pleasure. What unusual creatures we are! Have you ever thought of that?

Copenhagen Riot!

On my way to school today I biked into a police road block and quickly discovered that it was RIOT POLICE handling a 'demonstration' or 'rally' of young people in Copenhagen. There is a house here that has been inhabitated by squatters for the last couple months, following intense protests in December... and this morning the police raided the youth house, and the fight was taken to the streets.I didn't see much, mostly just alot of screaming and sirens. However, the police vans filled with riot cops would drive through the mass of people fairly quickly. I wouldn't really call it a riot, but I wouldn't be surprised if it escalates in the next couple days. Back in December this issue escalated and there were many accounts of these kids flipping over and burning cars, and using jackhammers to loosen stone to throw at the cops... so they're pretty serious.These kids are protesting because at one point this house was owned by the government and used as a youth house. This concept is completely Danish! It is rather wise, give the kids a place to have as there own. And they do use them wisely, all sorts of activities took place: concerts, rooms for band practice, debates, political groups, various other clubs, culture stuff and many others.... Well the government sold the house because it was going to cost too much to fix up and now have asked the youth to leave! They dont want to leave! They were promised that it would never be sold and well can we always trust what the govenment will say?? The government has lobbied extensively with them to reach an agreement of some sort. But they're obviously very passionate about them selling this house that they would not compromise! So now they are protesting by squatting and have recently announced that they are getting other youth from other countries to join them! Helicopters flew in over the house, dropping officers ontop of the building so they could get in safely and firetrucks came in and blasted the place with water in order to get them out!

Last night thursday after I rode pass the area in the morning, demonstrations excalated with about 1000 youth causing great destruction..... (More updates in another note!)I think they have a right to protest! Their promise was broken!

Blizzard 07

The Blizzard of '07

Blizzard? I have been hearing about the intense winter weather the US has been having and have been wondering if ever I was going to see some here in Northern Europe. Last week we finally got to experience what happens when a city is completely unprepared for a snow storm. We had a "blizzard" hit Copenhagen yesterday. I'd say it dropped a solid 3 inches; however that combined with some pretty gnarly gusts of wind created some pretty good snow drifts. Anyways, chaos ensued.-I allowed for an extra half an hour to make my usual 20 minute commute, and I was 20 minutes late for class.-Denmark's S-trains, which is their main commuter rail, was apparently designed by Italians... you know those people that live in a generally snow free Mediterranean climate... So these S-trains barely function in ice and snow. Next thing you know the system that is meticulously efficient and planned out to a tee just falls apart.-I spent 30 minutes standing at a bus station that I usually never have to wait more than 3 minutes for, all the while watching busses and cars skid all over the road.-None of the restaurants or shops in the city are clearing the snow from their sidewalks, so you can barely traverse the slush/snow/ice stuff without boots on. Now I've seen towns and cities get bogged down by snow before... but this was 24 hours after a storm which couldn't have dropped even 5 inches of good snow.