We arrived at our hostel in Sydhavn late Friday night. At the same time, we pulled into the circle k parking lot adjacent to our hostel, and about 30 drunk children spilled out of a Heineken party bus. We thought “Where the hell are we,” “Are they acting weird?” “Are we weird for thinking this situation is weird?” Turns out we were the weird ones. It’s high school graduation week and every graduate is out partying in a sailor’s hat. Truly remarkable. The most polite belligerently drunk children with flawless skin and fashion senses. In a word… “Humbling”.
My theory about why young children and young adults are so polite and responsible relates back to Danish transportation systems. I think that because people are given responsibility and independence from a really early age, they learn social skills, problem-solving skills, tolerance, and patience. Traveling around Copenhagen is safe and easy. I’ve seen numerous grade school students walking around on their own, running errands and such. In the states, especially in suburbs, it is uncommon for children to move around their city without their parent’s supervision. Not just because people under the age of 16 can’t drive and our streets mostly only support cars. These streets feel welcoming to people and I couldn’t feel more safe getting around by bike, walking, and metro-ing. The entire city is so easy to navigate even without a map. You can just see a landmark that you recognize and go toward it. You don’t have to worry about which streets to use because they’re all safe. I can get miles away in a 10-minute bike ride or a train/metro trip. In America, I feel cut off from certain areas of town. I also feel cut off from the outskirts of town. Places only accessible by car. I feel like there are more opportunities to explore and so many interesting places to explore. It’s such a wonderful feeling being able to just go out and find your way anywhere cheaply, safely, and calmly. Travelling is stressful in America and I think it puts everyone on edge all of the time. We’re all just stressed out about how we’re going to get from here to there. Here in Copenhagen, traveling is such a sweet adventure.
On our first day here, we hopped the train from Sydhavn to Osterport. We walked all around the area. We visited the Kastellat, the danish ww2 resistance museum, churches, palaces, the harbor where we had a little picnic, and many other places. The train/metro system is so easy to navigate but also very smooth and timely. It’s a world of difference from the DC metro which is shakey, and loud, and you have to wonder every time you use it, “is it on fire today or will it work?”
