Danish Psycling Adventures:: Reasons I Elsker DK #35-38

Reason # 31 (revisited): Prams! Okay, so I know that this was in my last set of reasons I love Denmark, but I have some fantastic new photos to show just why I love prams so much.

This one is perhaps my favorite. She literally could survive the apocalypse

This is my other favorite thing: when a family has an infant in a pram and another young child, there are this small rolling platforms that can be attached to the base on the pram near the handle used to push where a small child can stand to ride along. Genius! It keeps everyone moving together at the same speed (and looks like a ton of fun)

Two young girls walking themselves to the train station
where they picked up their bikes (alone!)

Reason #35: Kids are so independent! I've said it before, but finally had a picture to post it with... Danish kids are fantastically independent: all youngsters bike/walk themselves to get to school; you will see young kids buying train tickets and taking the train/buses/metro alone or with a younger sibling; elementary school kids will walk themselves from school to after-school programs; and kids routinely help to make family meals from a young age. This independence is a defining part of Danish childhood and is something I will describe in my next post (about the Danish educational system), and is also reflective of the fact that Denmark is so safe.

Reason #36: Tivoli! If you didn't get to read my last post, I would definitely recommend at least looking at the photos. Tivoli is a theme park and gardens located right in the heart of Copenhagen that really is a different world! Filled with flowers, fountains, old and new rides, fun colors and lights, games and restaurants, Tivoli definitely makes the list of reasons that I elsker Denmark!

Flower sales have skyrocketed

Reason #37: Spring time in Copenhagen! Spring has come to Denmark and has brought with it budding flowers/trees and swarms of people crowding the streets of CPH. Bikers are out in full force and the streets are filled with people walking, sitting, performing, sun bathing, eating, drinking, and shopping. I'm falling more and more in love with the city!

A sign of spring: the fountain near DIS is finally running and all of the squares are PACKED!

Here you've got Dad in front with littlest child in the cart,
slightly older child on her own bike behind him,
and Mom bringing up the rear

Reason #38: Rush hour in Copenhagen! This is another one of my all-time favorite reasons I love Denmark. Danes seem to have figured out something that is very foreign to Americans: if you live in a densely populated area and want to get somewhere quickly and cost efficiently, a bike is your best option. Danes say that their #1 reason for using bikes to get EVERYWHERE is not in fact because it is healthier or because it is better for the environment (although both of these things are important). They say that it is simply the easiest and fastest way to get around. It's true. "Rush hour" (aka 5pm on a weekday afternoon) is less congested than 10am in ANY city in the US (including downtown Bethesda, a tiny city, where I am from). "Traffic" is equivalent with having to wait through one (or at most two) light cycles to get through an intersection. I have never, ever, ever seen bumper to bumper traffic or backups anywhere in Copenhagen. However, people still need to get home, do the grocery shopping, and pick up their kids so rush-hour brings out hundreds of bikers. I get little chills when I am walking to and from the train in the morning or afternoon and see the streets filled with people on bikes. It just makes infinitely more sense and is SUCH a nice way to get around. I've snapped a few photos in the past few days to give you an idea of what it is like. If I remember, before I leave I will take a short video of one of the "busiest" streets at rush hour.