I was lucky enough to find myself in Copenhagen for a weekend, which just so happened to coincide with the Kulturhavn Sommerfestival. I was tipped off about it by one of the locals I met with on Friday, so I had enough time to look it up online and download the guide to my phone (even though it's written in Danish and all I could use were the maps & shuttle schedules). Which, as it turns out, wasn't necessary because there were lots of hard copies freely available.
It took about 45 minutes by shuttle boat to go from one end of the festival (Sydhavnen) to the other (Refshaleøen), and even though there was a festival ferry schedule, the ferries followed their normal one. I actually started out in the middle of the festival near Islands Brygge Nord and walked through the largely sport focused area. There's a swimming area in the harbour, which seems crazy to me that they've been able to keep the harbour clean enough to swim in.
Kids jumping into the Harbour pool
There was also a kayak polo match area, which was a more like water polo in canoes than lacrosse on boats. I think it would have been cool to see them using the paddles to pass the ball, but no such luck.
I did get to see one player flip over after really muscling the ball, so that was kinda funny but I didn't get a picture of it.
There was also a speed stacking club exhibit, which really deserves a video. Check out the kid in red, then the guy in blue. The girl on the right proves that I didn't speed this up.
Around the Sydhaven area, there were all sorts of paddleboard activities. I was seriously considering giving it a go (it was free, after all), but after looking at the sky I decided that maybe I didn't want to be out on the water when the skies opened up.
Paddleboarders
And it's just as well that I passed on paddleboarding, as it started to pour about 8 minutes later. I was already at the shuttle boat platform and was able to stay mostly dry by leaning against the paneled railing (it was raining hard enough sideways that a two foot swath of dry space was created by the railing). Being on the water in that would not have been fun.
On the 45 minute boat ride to the north end of the festival, there were all sorts of rowing clubs out on the water trying to drum up interest.
I disembarked the ferry near the Kastellet and had fish & chips for dinner while listening to a DJ play some sort of trance/ambient music while watching the harbour traffic. It was nice and sunny, but there was also a pleasant breeze keeping the temperature right near perfect.
My weekend run around the Kastellet kinda looks like a sea turtle to me.
Walking back through the city center, I got a little lost and found these great little yellow houses. On initial inspection, the windows look like they'd be really drafty. But when you get up close, you can see there's actually a second set of windows inside doing the bulk of the temperature regulation (I even saw one with a bathroom vent connecting the two window sets).
I eventually found my way to the Rosenborg castle where folks were just relaxing on the open green space. Google goggles actually identified this picture as "- København, Danmark Landmark". Good job, Goggles.
Rosenborg Castle & RRR
Just as I was leaving that area, I saw two guys riding in a rickshaw carrying a bike in front of them and smoking. Ah, such a healthy lifestyle!
And they were following a bachelorette party convoy as well
On one of the main pedestrian shopping streets, I saw a guy really hitting the bottle. Or, technically speaking, he was playing a variety of bottles and making some decent music. One couple was even dancing!
So, yeah, that was a pretty eventful day without really having any sort of plan. So far, I've ridden the Metro, the bus, the S-Tog (light rail), and the water ferry. I really want to try riding a bike like EVERYONE else here, but I have no idea where I'm going and it's hard to bike in city traffic with a map open in front of you.
Yes, she is wearing high heels on a bike
The bikes here look old school. Most have a permanently attached lock on the rear triangle that goes through the spokes to lock it down. teenage girls are looking at their phones while riding. Women and men are dressed in everything from shorts & flip-flops to business attire and high heels. And there are plenty of spots on the S-Tog and water shuttle too. I can't think of anywhere in the US that comes close to this level of transportation integration, but if you find a place, let me know.
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