Noticing Copenhagen

I haven’t been in Copenhagen long, just a whirlwind twenty-four hours so far, but I’ve already been delighted by so much. Walking around, one can’t help but notice little things and how they speak to the ethos of a culture. Here’s a running list. ¹

• Cars get a yellow light before both a green and red light. That is, on a red light, there will be an additional yellow light a second or two before it turns green.
• Pedestrian walk signs are red and green. The majority of crosswalks have no warning that the walk sign is about to turn red. That’s been tricky.
• If a crosswalk does have a countdown, it’s obvious. The green walk sign remains green alongside the numbers. Then, when it turns red, there is a countdown for when the walk sign will turn on next.
• Copenhagen residents typically do not jaywalk. Even on a quiet morning with almost no cars in sight, four runners came to a dead stop at a red crosswalk.
• Biking is the primary mode of transportation. They have traffic signals (that bicyclists actually obey). Cars are second-class vehicles.
• Pedestrians are third-class, so crossing any street requires paying attention to both the generously wide bicycle lane² and the road itself.
• I’ve noticed exactly one bike that was locked up. They are, by and large, parked without tethers among throngs of other bikes without worry.
• Outside of cardamom rolls/buns, I have no clue whether traditional Danish cuisine is represented in the restaurant scene.³ But every restaurant and café I’ve been to has been fantastic, with surpassingly friendly service.
• Harbor swimming is a huge summer activity, at all hours of the day. There are little piers dotting the length of water where swimming is either explicitly allowed or essentially tolerated. Because it’s a harbor, there’s no beach. You jump in the water, tread or swim around a bit, climb out, then repeat.
• Sidewalks have a loose “lane” organization, where concrete walkways are split by thin cobblestone lines. Unlike most other cities, there are no gaggles of people walking four abreast, clogging up any opportunity to pass them in their brainless ambling. Walking has been a treat.
• Copenhagen is remarkably flat. The only terrain for pedestrians or bikes are bridges.
• There are a few modern buildings and hotels, some castles and church spires that form a scattered skyline. However, walking around Copenhagen mainly presents dense, old, multicolored five-story buildings. It reminds me of San Francisco, with its vertical regularity that encourages unique expressions at street-level.