Central Square
NY Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum
Ship leaving the harbor
Stroget Street
Fountain next to harborThursday, August 5th
Today truly starts my tour of the Nordic counties. (Yesterday was more less a rest day). First off, I've already corrected myself by saying Nordic countries. This is because the term 'Scandanavia countries' is used to refer to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Whereas, the Nordic countries include these 3 along with Finland and Iceland (plus the territories of Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Aland Islands).
The largest country in population is Sweden - 9.3 million. Followed by Denmark (5.5 million), Finland (5.3 million), Norway (4.8 million), and Iceland (320,000). My knowledge of the Nordic countries is pretty poor right now. If you would have asked me to rank the 5 countires in order of population before the trip, I would not have picked this order.
I also have more of an interest in this region because I just lived in Minnesota for 7 years where many of the people have Nordic ties. This will be a cool experience to learn about the area - hang with me.
Denmark - the Danish. (I used to think they were the Dutch). Denmark is located north of Germany and has the closest geographic location to central Europe. Denmark consists of 3 main islands: Zealand, Funen, and Jutland. Zealand is the furthest east - and is where Copenhagen is located. Therefore, it's the most populous and where most of my attention will be placed. Jutland is the furthest west - with the second largest city of Arthus. Funen is located in the middle - with the third largest city of Odense. Odense is the birthplace of famed story-teller Hans Christian Anderson.
Copenhagen. I'm going to write out general thoughts about the city and my day (versus paragraph format - shaking it up a little).
- Get me a coffee and a danish. Yes, there are danishes all over the streets. You can stop in at many of the local shops and buy a pastry, donut, whatever.
- There are amazing bike trails throughout the city. The brochure states that Copenhagen is 'the world's first official Bike City' - with bikers accounting for 36% of the city's traffic. I found this to be superior to Amsterdam. I felt like the bikers knew what they were doing and kept on the clearly defined paths.
- The Little Mermaid - synonymous with Copenhagen. This statue has sat for 96 years in the harbor. This year, however, it has been temporarily moved to the 2010 World Expo in China.
-Tivoli Gardens -- opened in 1843. One of the world's oldest amusement parks and the 3rd most visited in Europe.
- The city has a number of lakes and harbors. There are 4 major rectangular-shaped lakes that divide the 'city' with the suburbs
- Stroget street is a kilometer long pedestrian-only street. This is where the mobs of people walking the city can be found going in/out shops, eating, etc.
- Interesting museums. I visited the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek. Known to be northern Europe's largest and most important repository of ancient statuary, mosaics, and artifacts. It also has a unique interior garden and cafe in the middle of the museum where people relax and rest during their visit.
- Carlsberg Beer - the brewery is located in Copenhagen.
- I walked through some of the elite areas and saw some of the fancy hotels and restaurants my book had pointed out.
Well, that's a general summary of some of my high points. I walked around the city for hours just observing. So, why is it the happiest place? Here's what I came up with. First off, with 36% of the population biking to work, this has to help. Regular exercise can lead to healthier and happier people. The train and bus system are great. People are not waiting in traffic to get places. The city is just big enough to feel like there are things to do, but you also have your space as well. An amusement park sits right smack in the middle of the city. They have a major beer brewery in the middle of town. There's a lot of blond women here.
Today truly starts my tour of the Nordic counties. (Yesterday was more less a rest day). First off, I've already corrected myself by saying Nordic countries. This is because the term 'Scandanavia countries' is used to refer to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Whereas, the Nordic countries include these 3 along with Finland and Iceland (plus the territories of Greenland, Faroe Islands, and Aland Islands).
The largest country in population is Sweden - 9.3 million. Followed by Denmark (5.5 million), Finland (5.3 million), Norway (4.8 million), and Iceland (320,000). My knowledge of the Nordic countries is pretty poor right now. If you would have asked me to rank the 5 countires in order of population before the trip, I would not have picked this order.
I also have more of an interest in this region because I just lived in Minnesota for 7 years where many of the people have Nordic ties. This will be a cool experience to learn about the area - hang with me.
Denmark - the Danish. (I used to think they were the Dutch). Denmark is located north of Germany and has the closest geographic location to central Europe. Denmark consists of 3 main islands: Zealand, Funen, and Jutland. Zealand is the furthest east - and is where Copenhagen is located. Therefore, it's the most populous and where most of my attention will be placed. Jutland is the furthest west - with the second largest city of Arthus. Funen is located in the middle - with the third largest city of Odense. Odense is the birthplace of famed story-teller Hans Christian Anderson.
Copenhagen. I'm going to write out general thoughts about the city and my day (versus paragraph format - shaking it up a little).
- Get me a coffee and a danish. Yes, there are danishes all over the streets. You can stop in at many of the local shops and buy a pastry, donut, whatever.
- There are amazing bike trails throughout the city. The brochure states that Copenhagen is 'the world's first official Bike City' - with bikers accounting for 36% of the city's traffic. I found this to be superior to Amsterdam. I felt like the bikers knew what they were doing and kept on the clearly defined paths.
- The Little Mermaid - synonymous with Copenhagen. This statue has sat for 96 years in the harbor. This year, however, it has been temporarily moved to the 2010 World Expo in China.
-Tivoli Gardens -- opened in 1843. One of the world's oldest amusement parks and the 3rd most visited in Europe.
- The city has a number of lakes and harbors. There are 4 major rectangular-shaped lakes that divide the 'city' with the suburbs
- Stroget street is a kilometer long pedestrian-only street. This is where the mobs of people walking the city can be found going in/out shops, eating, etc.
- Interesting museums. I visited the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek. Known to be northern Europe's largest and most important repository of ancient statuary, mosaics, and artifacts. It also has a unique interior garden and cafe in the middle of the museum where people relax and rest during their visit.
- Carlsberg Beer - the brewery is located in Copenhagen.
- I walked through some of the elite areas and saw some of the fancy hotels and restaurants my book had pointed out.
Well, that's a general summary of some of my high points. I walked around the city for hours just observing. So, why is it the happiest place? Here's what I came up with. First off, with 36% of the population biking to work, this has to help. Regular exercise can lead to healthier and happier people. The train and bus system are great. People are not waiting in traffic to get places. The city is just big enough to feel like there are things to do, but you also have your space as well. An amusement park sits right smack in the middle of the city. They have a major beer brewery in the middle of town. There's a lot of blond women here.
Alright, I just read this 60 minute article from 2008 addressing this 'happy' ranking. It seems that Denmark has free schooling - all the way through univeristy. They also have free health care, subsidized child care and elder care. The average work week is 37 hours and the average vacation time - 6 weeks. A middle income person does have to pay about 50 percent in taxes to make up for these benefits however. The basic jist of the story was that people in Denmark generally have lower expectations and are more content. As they stated, if you don't put the added pressure on yourself, it relieves the stress and therefore creates a more happy, healthy environment.
Oh boy - I think they've nailed it. But -----------
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