What I'm Looking Forward To! (June 16)

Today is day three of studying abroad and biking through Copenhagen. So far, I am impressed by the bike culture, the dedication to people in the city design, and the amount of parks for children. I am not so impressed by the prices of food and drinks.

On day one we got our bikes and individually followed a random Danish person on their bike to get accustomed to the bike rules and flow of traffic. It was an adjustment to learn how to bike here, but after thirty minutes I started to get the hang of it. I noticed there are no protected bike lanes. The bike lanes are in between cars and the sidewalk as they are in the US. However, in some areas bike lanes are elevated. So cars, bikes, and pedestrians are on different elevations. Bikes are respected here because drivers share the perspective of cyclists since most people bike. There are still a lot of cars on the road. Bikes and cars are pretty much on equal footing and pedestrians fall below them on the transportation hierarchy. Signaling to turn is different here. Instead of raising your arm you lower your arm to signal left or right and you raise your hand to signal that you are stopping; similar to the signal for turning right in the US.

On day two we went on scavenger hunt. We found Mexico’s embassy, a grocery store, and a Danish pastry among other things. I took a picture in someone’s cargo bike. I noticed a lot of men riding cargo bikes with their wife and child in the front. We went to the famous Nyhavn where I spent ten dollars on an iced coffee. After the scavenger hunt we went on a three hour bike tour with Bike Mike. In the evening we went to the Reffen for dinner and went back to Nyhavn to watch the bonfires for Midsummer. Today I went to a few stores, thrifted, and got food from a nearby grocery store.

I admire the consideration of children in the city design. There are so many playgrounds and parks for children especially near residential areas. It made me wonder if Denmark has a higher birth rate because it is a nicer place to raise children. I looked it up and Denmark has one of the higher birth rates in Europe. When we were on the bike tour Bike Mike brought us to the royal palace. Anyone can enter the plaza where the queen lives. I noticed that there weren’t any trees or seating in the plaza which to my consideration makes the plaza a semi-private space. While it is open to the public there is no encouragement or incentive to stay in the space. Overall, I am enjoying experiencing the city by bike and look forward to what comes next.