Curious in Copenhagen

I now understand the true size of Denmark's largest capital city after walking miles (approximately 12 miles) through Copenhagen. This day was designed specifically for our independent research to prepare for our teaching lesson. My initial idea of lessons revolved around making inferences about a culture using pictures and videos through technology. However, after spending hours in Copenhagen, I am sure this plan will change due to the numerous information I obtained today.

We started our morning walking to the eastern part of the city in another area called Christianhaven. We explored Christiania (you tube video), which has been a so-called free town since 1971. There are around 1,000 people who live in this area, who have a very liberal view on laws, especially concerning the use of drugs. The town was founded by a group of hippies in the 1970's and the Danish Parliament legalized the city in 1989 and exempted these citizens from the heritage and environment conservation. The Christianans live in a "free zone" meaning there are no cars along with maintaining their own schools and ways of living. People may visit this area, but no photographs are allowed due to the government constraints. I felt somewhat uncomfortable walking through this "village", but it was very quiet during the early morning hours. It became an unforgettable learning experiences for these NC educators.

We briskly walked to our next stop in the heart of the city and probably the most famous tourist attraction in Denmark-The Little Mermaid Statue located in Langelinie Pier. Hans Christian Andersen wrote a fairy tale about her, while Disney created a movie about her, and she has become the most photographed statue in the world. HC Andersen published the story in 1837 about little mermaid who saves the life of a shipwrecked prince and sets off on a quest to win his love. The price she would pay is dear because she would have to sacrifice her voice and her beautiful mermaid tail in order to become human. If he decides to marry another, she would turn to sea foam and disappear forever. Her statue looks as if she is waiting and searching for her prince.

Another popular statue was the Gefion Fountain, which is the largest monument in Copenhagen. the goodess, Gefion, is the main figure of this "wishing well."

After these sightseeing endeavors, we ventured to the Danish Resistance Museum. This included artifacts that focused on the Danes' reaction to the Germans occupation during World War II. The resistance was created for the Danish to work secretly against the Nazi takeover. It is very similar to the concepts of the Underground Railroad or the American colonists' plan for revolution from Great Britain. Sonya, who teaches US History in Edenton, gave me the idea of using Lois Lowry's Newberry Award Winning novel, Number the Stars, with my fifth graders.

After Hitler's declaration to deport Danish Jews, many Danes offered support to find hiding places for the Jews. The Danes felt that the persecution of minorities was not acceptable in their culture, so they took immediate action against it. After walking through this museum, I left with somber emotions of how the world treated a race so terribly.

More information about Danish Resistance

We walked quickly to the Queen's Church to watch the changing of the guards, which occurred each day at noon. Prior to this event, we had enough time to view the beautiful St. Frederik's Church. The churches in this city are amazing!

This ceremony reminded me of the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, DC. These soldiers reminded me of toy soldiers with their march and their bear fur hats.

Being in the Queen's Square encouraged me to learn more about the royalty in Denmark. After hearing bystanders talk about the Queen, it was obvious she was highly respected and admired. From my understanding, their monarchy is similar to Britain because the Queen has no official power (she does sign the Parliament Bills) in the government. It was recently voted that the first born of the royal family an be king or queen since the queen was the eldest of three sisters. The Royal Family can be found everywhere---post cards, magazines, books, and even huge billboards. I learned more in the gift shop about the royal family than anywhere else!

I guess we were so inspired by the royal family that we decided to take a tour of the Rosenborg Castle. This is a beautiful historic building that has some of the Denmark's greatest treasures, including the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the palace, but I was one again left speechless after entering each room full of history from hundreds of years ago. I did notice that the precious gem, amber, was used in chandeliers and jewelry by the kings and queens. Therefore, I purchased an amber charm for Beth as a Denmark keepsake.

By this time, we had been so busy we had forgotten to eat lunch and it was already 4:00. Instead of ruining our dinner, we decided to find the corner pastry shop. Denmark is known for their delicious sweets, so I would not have been experiencing culture without my delicious cinnamon roll.

I think after an exhausting day, most of us looked for something familiar from home. So what better place than the mall? The hometown girls (Cindi, RuthAnn, and myself) walked along the canal to find the mall less than a mile from our hotel. The mall wasn't much different from the ones found in the United States. We ate at an Italian restaurant with a buffet and we were served by a Lebanese waiter with Danish customs (not tipping at restaurants is expected in Denmark). That was a multicultural experience, say the least. We were all somewhat anxious about tomorrow since we would be spending the night with our host families in Odense.

Lesson Learned:

There is nothing better than a cinnamon roll after touring the entire city of Copenhagen.