Atlantica - 01.11.2001, Page 30

28 A T L A N T I C A
What’s the world’s oldest nation-
al flag in use today? One
guess. You’re reading an arti-
cle on Copenhagen. That’s right, it’s the
Danish national flag, or Dannebrog.
I’m informed of this factoid by a high-
ranking member of the honour guard as
we stand in the courtyard of Kastellet,
the old Danish army base. It’s raining,
and I’ve just come from taking a look at
the Little Mermaid (still wondering
what’s the big deal) when I bump into
this officer who’s dressed in his green
uniform, medallions pinned to his chest.
We begin chatting because he seems a
bit curious as to why my rental car is
parked in the courtyard, which is made
up of rows of brick-red terraces that still
house troops, when there’s a sign pro-
hibiting traffic on the base.
The officer is a world of information.
After a brief WWII lesson, he tells me
that the Dannebrog floated down from
the heavens on 15 June, 1219 to the
Danish King Valdemar II during his cru-
sade to Estonia, leading the king to vic-
tory.
The officer also says that a portion of
the military budget supports the free-
love, everything-legal hippie commune
known as the Free State of Christiania, a
small, enclosed community within
Copenhagen that’s immune from the
city’s laws. From the States, I have to
chuckle at the thought of military money
going to boost the “alternative lifestyle”
of a reefer commune. Suddenly, the
city’s cheesy slogan, ‘Wonderful
Copenhagen’, takes on an entirely differ-
ent meaning.
The Free State of Christiania.
Tempting. But before I join the herds of
tourists that get a buzz from checking
out the “seedy” side of life, I head for
Strøget, Copenhagen’s never-ending
pedestrian street.
THE WALKING STREET
This street is long. Sometimes called the
“walking street”, Strøget (actually made
up of five connecting streets) is one mile
in length, cuts through the centre of
downtown Copenhagen, and is full of just
about everything a shopper could possi-
bly want.
I enter from Rådhuspladsen square on
the west, and after jibing, weaving and
darting in and out of foot traffic, I veer to
the right and spill off in front of Nikolaj
Church, on Nikolaj Square. Nikolaj
Church is said to have been consecrated
in 1261. Today, with it’s Renaissance
spire, it houses Copenhagen’s Contem-
porary Art Centre and is no longer used
for services. If contemporary art makes
you yawn, the church itself is worth a
look, especially when you wind up the
stairs towards the tower.
If pop culture is more your beat, and
you absolutely need to know small snip-
pets of information like the world’s
longest limousine is fitted with a heli-
copter landing pad, then there’s always
the tacky Guiness World Records
Museum with that really tall wax guy
standing outside. It’s further up the street.
Strøget is like a freeway of bumper
Strøget, Europe’s longest pedestrian street
COPENHAGEN
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