The Silence of the City

Do you hear that? No, not the cars whizzing by the hostel. Not the young teenagers chatting out in the lobby. Not the sound of bicycle bells ringing to warn people that if they do not move they will be plowed over, nor the sound of me shouting every time I see a dog (this happens quite frequently). I am talking about the silence. Now your first thought is probably, “you can’t hear silence.” That may be true, but if you listen closely, you can notice the lack of certain familiar sounds.

Often times, large metropolitan cities like Washington D.C. or New York City “never sleep” because they constantly produce a variety of sounds. One of the most common sounds heard in these urban cities are police sirens.

Whenever I visit Washington D.C., it seems as though police sirens are the city’s soundtrack. Sometimes the sirens are merely ten feet away, other times they are ten blocks away. Either way, there is always a constant droning of sirens echoing throughout the city. The sirens are so common, that often times they become “white noise” to me. After only a few hours in the city, I hardly notice their distinct wailing anymore.

However, this is not the case here in Copenhagen. I notice every single police siren as the emergency vehicles zip down the street. So, why do I pay more attention to the sirens here in Copenhagen rather than drown them out like I do in D.C.? Because I have realized that here in Copenhagen, sirens are a rarity.

“But Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark, how can there not be any sirens?” Great question person reading this, allow me to explain.

I was lying in bed yesterday morning and felt like something was missing. I was not sure what, but something just felt “off”. However, as I was getting ready for the day, I heard a police siren whiz past our hostel, heading towards downtown. Instantly, I knew that was what I was missing: the constant sound of police sirens.

Keep in mind, our hostel is in a prime location; downtown is only a five-minute walk from the heart of downtown Copenhagen. The police station is a mere three blocks away.

Nevertheless, in the three days I have been here, I have heard a total of 10 police sirens. Granted, I may have missed two or three while I was asleep or eating in a restaurant, but while I have been awake, I have only heard 10 sirens. To me, that is insane. How amazing is it that in 72 hours, I have only heard 10 sirens? That is about one siren every seven hours.

The thing that really stuck with me was that I actually noticed the lack of sirens. It seems so natural to hear police sirens everywhere in urban US cities, that one normally thinks nothing of it. Yet here in Copenhagen, I find it odd whenever I hear a siren, simply because of the scarcity of the sounds. It makes me wonder, is Copenhagen that much safer than D.C. and other US urban cities?

I know other people have touched on the safety of Copenhagen in their blog posts, and I would second/third that point. I understand it is still critical to be vigilant and aware of one’s surroundings while abroad, however I cannot help but feel a unique sense of safety in Copenhagen.

Back in a Familiar City?

Although I’ve been to Copenhagen before, I by no means consider myself a local. However, I do believe that I have travelled enough and am independent enough to perform basic functions in a city. Furthermore, I expected to be somewhat familiar with locations around Copenhagen. Apparently not.

Shortly after arriving, I made a quick trip to the grocery store, Fakta, to pick up some toiletries and snacks. Walking into the shop reminded me of my first experience at Walmart in the US, where I felt so lost and intimidated. I ended up pay much more for a plastic bag, because I grabbed the thermal ones. I thought I was copying the actions of the Dane in front of my, but I was clearly wrong. However, the most embarrassing part was at checkout, where I held up the check out line not once, but twice. The first time was because my debit card kept being rejected and the cashier kept telling me to try again. The second time, I returned to explain that I had come back to pay for the groceries I couldn’t pay for earlier. This was a completely unexpected sequence of events that led me to feel somewhat frustrated. How could I be so unprepared? I would expect this on my first visit to a city, but definitely not on a second extended visit!

Another aspect that surprised me was how unfamiliar I am with the city. Of course, there are landmarks that I remember, such as Danhostel, Tivoli, Andersen Bakery and Strøget. However, locations like Paper Island are new and I could not remember the way to Nyhavn. Luckily, as we walked around Copenhagen today, I began recalling some of the familiar locations and random facts I remembered about the city. This included the rediscovery of the trampolines on the sidewalk (one of my favorite things about the city) and the location of a company we visited two years ago.

While I hope to begin recalling how to get places and the addresses or names of locations, I am finding myself coming to new realizations about the city. An early morning run took us to Fisketorvet Copenhagen Mall, which is definitely closer than I remembered from last time. We also travelled to Humlebæk today and I never realized that the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art was in that area. Furthermore, there is certainly more of Copenhagen and its surrounding region to discover. While travelling for class earlier today to Humlebæk, we ventured quite far outside of Copenhagen by train and bus. The scenery looked so different to the clustered city center that I was used to and there were definitely places to explore between our ‘homebase’ in Danhostel, the area of Humlebæk and beyond. I know that we will be busy with our project work, but I am excited to get to know Copenhagen and its surrounding areas better and hopefully permanently!

Feeling a Little like a Local

Last year, I attended the Business 180 spring term class that spends two weeks in Copenhagen. After the first few days, I felt like I was at least reasonably competent in my abilities to traverse the city. Like Cassidy mentioned in her blog post “Maybe change isn’t that bad,” I also felt strangely calm when I arrived in Copenhagen for the first time. At every opportunity, my classmates and I ventured into the streets to find food, visit museums and churches, or even just to “do as the Danish do.”

Well, if you are trying to “do as the Danish do,” at least two things will probably happen: first, you’ll start to wear A LOT of black; and second, you’ll walk or ride a bike almost everywhere you go. The walking and bike paths in Copenhagen make it extremely easy to get around the city, even if you, like me, are directionally challenged. The architecture also helps.

Copenhagen boasts an interesting variety of architectural styles. The ancient structures of days gone by stand right next to impressive modern buildings like the Black Diamond Library and Royal Danish Theater. Because many of the buildings are so unique, I find it easier to figure out where I am in relation to where I am trying to go. The buildings also make it easier for me to pick a path to take.

Today, on the way to dinner at Paper Island, I knew that if I could either cross the bridge next to Danhostel and follow the waterway until I reached a footbridge that crosses to the food service area, or I could walk past City Hall onto the main pedestrian street, follow the street until it essentially ends in front of Nyhavn, and then cross the newly built bridge that connects Nyhavn to Paper Island. I honestly have no idea what any of these streets are called or whether I’m walking north, south, east or west, but I do know that walking next to the harbor is a bit colder because there is nothing standing between you and the chilling wind, but it takes less time than following the pedestrian street.

After dinner, I left Paper Island and decided to walk back on the other side of the harbor which is now a viable option because of the new bridge. I was almost to the part of the sidewalk where there are trampolines when a young girl split off from her family and walked over to stand directly in my path. She asked me if I knew where “the building full of food trucks” (aka Paper Island) was located. Her father followed her and looked at me hopefully.

I happily gave them directions and then finished walking home. I cannot believe that I know the streets of Copenhagen well enough to give strangers directions. I almost felt like a local taking short cuts and wearing black from head to toe with simple, comfy walking shoes. I can’t wait to spend the next four weeks getting to know Copenhagen even better.

Maybe change isn’t that bad

I have never liked change. When I say never, I mean since I was a little kid, I have detested even the smallest changes in my life. I have distinct memories of bursting into tears upon seeing my mom after she got a hair cut because I didn’t like the “newness” of it. As I grew up, I stopped crying when faced with new places or big changes, but always had that horrible gut feeling like something wasn’t quite right.

Now this “off” feeling normally happens every single time I travel, whether it is for a two day stay in a hotel during a meet or for a fun vacation. My expectation going into this trip was that I would feel the same way for the first few days; I would be anxious, clam up around others, hesitate to go exploring, and maybe even wish that I was home. Honestly, I was getting nervous about being nervous there, and as the trip grew closer my nerves only increased.But then I arrived in Copenhagen, and instead of feeling anxious, I felt strangely calm.

As I was making my way from the airport to the hostel via train and walking, I kept waiting for the panic to set in. But upon each length of this 20 minute journey, I just felt more and more relaxed. When I finally reached the hostel (after getting momentarily lost in the street) instead of hiding out in my room, my roommate and I went off exploring the city.

I believe our excursion lasted around 4 hours and we estimate that we walked close to 12 miles overall, but never once during our walk did we actually have a destination in mind. Instead, we just went where we felt like-we wondered down Strøget, stopped off for lunch, walked along the harbor, found Nyhavn, and even decided to wander over to Paper Island for coffee.

Exploring the streets of Copenhagen only made me feel more safe and secure here. Maybe it was the wide walkable streets, the impeccable architecture or just the friendly people that we met along the way, but I can’t recall the last time I felt so at home in a place that wasn’t actually my home.

Overall, my first impression of Copenhagen was that this was a place unlike any that I had been to before. While I still have yet to experience most of what this city has to offer, I’m actually looking forward to all these new experiences. And yes, I’m even excited for the new changes and surprises that are bound to happen in this next month. So here’s to learning embrace new experiences and finally realizing that maybe change isn’t that bad after all. Skål!

Giving up Four Wheels for Two

Copenhagen is a city of cyclists. Those visiting for the first time are often taken aback by the volume of bicycles on the streets and the number of bikes in the racks around various metro stops and other high traffic areas. I’ve seen statistics that suggest 40-60% of Copenhageners cycle to and from work daily.

I grew up in Houston, which is a city of solitary drivers. “If it can be done on two wheels, why not do in on four?” seems to be the attitude of Houstonians. “Even better if a 5-8 passenger vehicle can carry only a lone driver,” one might conclude from the number of cars and SUVs with a solitary person behind the wheel sitting in Houston rush hour traffic.

There are certainly plenty of other cities that exhibit cycling propensities similar to Copenhagen and many urban centers the more closely resemble Houston. Why is this? What accounts for the differing preferences for cars vs. bikes?

Allow me to get a few of the more obvious similarities and differences out of the way quickly. While both Houston and Copenhagen are coastal and relatively flat, the climate varies greatly. Copenhagen has a temperate climate, with average summer high temperatures in the high 60s and low 70s according to Wikipedia. That’s typical of Houston too . . . in February. While average winter lows obviously vary too (just below freezing in Copenhagen to mid-40s in Houston), most would say you can dress for the Copenhagen chill easier than for the Houston heat and humidity. Beyond climate, the cities exist on an entirely different geographic scale. Municipal Copenhagen is roughly 33 square miles, while Houston covers 667 square miles. Account for suburbs and the difference grows. There is, however, another key reason for the difference that mirrors one of the big differences between the broad commitment to sustainability of Denmark vs. the US. The respective governments have committed to divergent paths, in this case related to sustainable transportation.

For my entire lifetime, Houston has been investing in expansion of its freeway system to handle the large population and the propensity to drive. Sure, there have been initiatives designed to introduce alternatives, but they have been half-hearted at best. A high occupancy vehicle lane here. A new bus route there. We notice them as we sit in our SUVs twice a day during morning and evening rush hour(s).

Copenhagen, on the other hand, has made and continues to make significant investments in infrastructure to encourage more sustainable transport. We could complain about the metro expansion and the disruption it has caused around the city for several years, but it is likely to make a good mass transit system even better. Let’s get back to the bikes.

City planners in Copenhagen have taken steps for some time to nudge people out of their cars and on to their bikes. Many years ago the city introduced what amounted to free loaner bikes. This ensured that there was always a two-wheeled option available. Next? Turn the city’s parking lots in to parks and green spaces or plazas full of cafes, kiosks, and places to relax with a meal or drink. While improving the aesthetics of the city, these public spaces also made it a bigger hassle to park a car, thereby nudging folks to the bike racks. Ample bike lanes and bike traffic signals make navigating on two wheels much easier (just learn the rules of the road before you hop on a bike).

As I was walking to my favorite bakery (Andersen’s, if you must know) this morning, watching the wave of bikes build for the morning commute, I wondered . . . How many other cities could follow Copenhagen’s lead? I’m not sure that a 15 mile commute from Houston’s suburbs to the central business district in 98 degree summer heat will ever be feasible on a bike, but I suspect that there are other decisions that might at least increase willingness to consider other more sustainable alternatives than hopping in that SUV by oneself. I’m not holding my breath.

Welcome to #wlucsr 2017

Eight students. Two projects. Four weeks. Far more questions than answers (at least for the time being).

That is the 2017 version of BUS 391 in a nutshell. The students, sophomores and juniors, will be working in four-person groups, each group asigned to one of the two projects. The first group will be working with one of the municipalities in the greater Copenhagen area. The other will be working for a multinational medical device manufacturer. Both projects will involve substantive sustainability initiatives of the two clients.

This blog is a space for these students to reflect on their work, their broader experiences in Copenhagen, and the many questions and observations that will arise over the next four weeks. If the past iterations of this course and the associated blogs are any indicator, the growth and confidence the posts will exhibit in week four will be well beyond posts made by the same students in week one.

So, off we go . . .