Political Party
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012In my last blog I mentioned that I’d write about Copenhagen. Even though a lot of time and other activities have passed, it was a cool trip that deserves at least a few lines.
I thought Copenhagen had an interesting and very different feel from other central European cities. The first thing you notice are the bikes. They are absolutely everywhere – parked on the sidewalks and being ridden through their own special traffic lanes. I’ve never seen so many and that includes in Asia.
The city is very spread out, and the subway/trains didn’t seem to get close enough to the things we wanted to see. We did what everyone else does and rented bikes. It turned out to be an amazing way to see the sights and get a good sense of how the locals get around. We saw all the recommended attractions – the Little Mermaid, the palaces, the canals and waterfront. However, our last day was May 1, so we had got to do something a little different.
May 1 is Labor Day in many countries and it’s quite a big holiday in socialist Denmark. We checked out the rally, expecting it to be a somewhat boring political affair, especially since we don’t understand Danish. It turned out to be a huge, strange festival in a large open park. Everywhere you looked there were different political groups and unions with stands handing out literature about their causes. But in between were booths selling beer & hot dogs. There were also a few big stages where politicians came out to give speeches. However, interspersed with them were popular local bands who played to thousands of cheering people having picnics on the grass. It was a weird combination of politics and tailgating, but overall a very pleasant day.
Here’s the stage where the communist band rocked out. Having grown up during the Cold War, it blew my mind.
halftime