GGF Young Professionals

Buns of steel and guys in fur hats

The people in this town must have buns of steel and thighs of aggregated diamond nanorods judging by the way they ride their bicycles. I had a chance to ride with them this morning having rented my own from the hostel. All day long, there were girls in high heels and old people racing by effortlessly. It's like they did this everyday.

Anyway, the damage to the ego was not grave. Bicycling in København was too much fun.

This is a town that's done darn near everything it can to accomodate bicyclists. Nearly every street has a bike lane so there's riders need not dodge pedestrians nor fear cars. There are bike racks everywhere. On the stairs leading up from an underpass to the bridge above, I even found a little ramp on the side to make it easier for bicyclists to walk their bike up.

Here, bicycles are not simply some sort of recreational vehicle for which there are few traffic rules. Cars and trucks in København recognize bicycles as a normal part of the traffic flow. On the other hand, this radical equality means bicycles and cars are equal so cars don't automatically yield. This equality also extends to traffic rules. Here, turning on a red is illegal, even for bicycles. I'm assuming that's the case anyway because nearly all the riders I saw waited for a green to turn. Still, like other big city denizens, some riders skirted or broke the law when it proved convenient and safe, such as riding the wrong way down a one way alley.

Anyway, having a bicycle was infinitely better than waiting for the bus or walking. I managed to get to the train station to make a reservation, consult the tourism bureau, check out a couple of churches, stop at the Danish Design Center, see the changing of the guard at the queen's residence, visit the little mermaid, check out København's star fort, hang out on the Nyhavn docks with a beer in one hand and a pop in another and have dinner in the old town — all in one day.

The changing of the guard was an amusing event, mostly because the guards were so serious and the tourists kept threatening to ruin their little show.

The Danish guards looked a little like the Queen of England's bearskin wearing guards, except they dress in navy jackets, sky-blue pants and what appears to be fully-loaded M-16s or M-14s (I don't know much about guns but the ammo clip was in the guns) but they weren't as stoic as the Brits. I always thought they were supposed to ignore tourists but they kept having to stop and yell at dumbass tourists. (I was one of them, trying to park my bike by the palace wall.)

Anyway, this was before the cops came out. I think this is a regular thing for these guys because the mob of tourists inevitably get in the way of the guards who walk a complicated route to relieve their colleagues at four different wings of the palace. There were so many tourists milling about that I bet we could've rushed the guards and taken the palace if we wanted. But all we wanted were pictures of guys wearing fur hats in 65 degree weather.

posted by Tuey @ 12:45 PM