A taste of Copenhagen

Despite the prevalence of Swedish flags in my photos, I'm still in Denmark. Copenhagen's streets have been crowded with red & white-clad Danes and blue & yellow-clad Swedes all day. There's a big soccer game between Sweden and Denmark tonight. The fans drape their country's flag across their backs like capes and break into their team's fight songs and chants any chance they get. As you can see in the photos, the Swedes have taken up residence in one of Copenhagen's city squares, claiming it as their own. It's a festive atmosphere, to say the least.

Audrey and I had to check out of our hostel at 9 this morning, ditching our backpacks at a train station locker since we were homeless (beds are hard to come by due to the soccer game). Thankfully, a different hostel still had space available and allowed us to check in this afternoon, so we do have a place to lay our heads tonight. We'll be glad for a bed after all the walking we've done today.

We spent a couple hours in the Museum of Danish Resistance, an excellent exhibit about the Nazi's occupation of Denmark and the efforts of some brave Danes to thwart them. After lunch at a Turkish buffet, we walked to Christiania - a city within the city. Years ago, some homeless people moved into some abandoned naval barracks and created their own community. Christiania governs itself, independent of the city of Copenhagen (although not officially, if I understand correctly). No cars are allowed in the city and the inhabitants decide together who will be allowed to move in when others vacate. It's basically a little community of hippies (and lots of dogs running loose) complete with a few restaurants, shops, an overgrown park - and not-so-legal drugs. It's an interesting area to walk through, but not a place I'd care to stay.