June 1 . Holiday in CPH

What an adventure. Today we rented bicycles at a store that has been in the bicycle business since the late 1800’s. We were fortunate to find any bicycle rental shop open since today was a holiday that the Danish celebrate called Pinse. It was the perfect day for bicycling, however, as the entire city was sleeping in after a long night of celebration. Most businesses were closed but as you can see (Photo, Right), everyone was enjoying themselves at one of the local parks or along the waterfront all afternoon.

The parks here in Copenhagen have been absolutely beautiful. Often you find yourself surprised to find one when you where you wouldn’t even expect. They utilize greenspace very well! Even the “common areas” of a gorgeous cemetery called Assistans Kierkegard in Copenhagen were filled with people strolling, exercising and people picnicking. (Photo, Right - trying to find a better one)

We traversed several neighborhoods in Copenhagen by bicycle including The Latin Quarter, Strøget, Norrebro, Norreport, Frederiksberg, Christianshavn, as well as a newly built neighborhood on the site of a former industrial complex. One of my favorite places that we biked to was Fredericksberg Have which is a very large and busy park that has a castle as one of its centerpieces (Trying to get a Photo... Camera ran out of battery this day--sadface). We also found this park in Norrebro and did some monkeying around on the children’s playground. Check out this neat play equipment! (Photo, Right)


Biking in Denmark
It was interesting to be a bicyclist in this city because I noticed many differences between Denmark and the United States. I noticed that most of the cyclists do not wear helmets as they push for in the United States. This probably has something to do with how most of the infrastructure is separated from the automobile lanes (Photo, Right) as well as the fact that Danes bicycle at a more casual pace. The photo taken here is of a street that was recently converted to bus and bicycle traffic only.

I rarely saw anyone in a big hurry. Some of the children wear helmets but most adults do not. I’m sure during work hours things are done at a more rapid pace but in general, it was relatively relaxed. Also, most adults bicycle in everyday attire. Women will wear skirts, heels, as well as other flowing fashions and men will wear slacks and nice shoes. Many of the bicycles have skirt guards (PICTURE soon) and I’m pretty sure that would be a welcome accessory to my bike! There are very few persons in ‘cycling clothes’ and most bikes are positioned up-right with cushioned-seats so they probably feel very comfortable in these outfits. Here in Denmark, all the fancy ‘gear’ is not necessary! I appreciated the simplicity as well as the fact that cycling is extremely common for both sexes.

It is not uncommon for parents to carry their children on bicycle to destinations in various sorts of carriages, seats, and contraptions. (Photo, Right) In Denmark, the kids are simply brought along to many daily activities. It seems like raising kids in Denmark would be amazing. Families are everywhere, here! It is a very child – friendly city. Families are very active and have a large presence in the social fabric here in Denmark, not just in Copenhagen. Awesome.

Cars yield to cyclists and cyclists yield to pedestrians. As far as I can tell, this works well in Copenhagen. Cars have slowed for me and waved me across at numerous intersections and as a pedestrian, bikes have been generally respective, but not as much as cars. Most pedestrians do not cross against the lights unless the intersection has been cleared. Some bicyclists do run lights when traffic isn’t coming and they don’t always look out for pedestrians. I think this respect and hierarchy makes things work well here along with the infrastructure with each mode having its own separate tier on many streets (Photo, Right), however, it is very easy to get around without a vehicle. I honestly can’t imagine driving a car here, it seems like it would be very confusing. Cycling and bicycle infrastructure are taken very seriously here in Copenhagen.


The Chaos Method
There were numerous places we cycled through that used chaos as a means of creating modal balance. It might be hard to explain. You enter a large plaza from a bike lane, sidewalk, or street and suddenly your “markings” disappear or fade into the plaza. All of the modes are allowed to go through the area but no one mode dominates and there are no signs or markings that create the idea that one mode is supposed to be there more than another. Since all modes are forced to share this area and everyone is slightly confused, everyone slows down.

I also saw this chaotic method used in an “alley” situation (Photo, Right). Cars, bikes, and pedestrians are all allowed to enter an area but eventually the lane narrows into a shared residential space between housing. The neighborhood allows modes to pass through this area but it is also used by the immediate neighbors for common space. We saw picnic tables set up, small makeshift playgrounds, and children playing in these areas. Because the neighborhood uses this as shared space, cars only come through when absolutely necessary – probably most often to park in some of the areas. It is generally understood not to drive through.

I must say, the photos do not do this place justice. Biking here is great.

The following is a sweet video that Joe made of us bicycling across the new pedestrian bridge that connects several greenways in Copenhagen!





And here is a photo of planners doing what they do best .... planning :)