A Zonie in the Danes Land Part II ; Strøget and other sites

By Damien Franczek

Copenhagen is host to many sites and attractions. Having Europe’s oldest Monarchy in place, you can imagine the history that surrounds this country. In the streets of Copenhagen, places like the Royal Palace and the Marble Church make its history well known. Every day, as I have been told by a tour-boat guide, they fire cannons off into the sea to signify the end of the day, as well, of course, to symbolize Denmark’s willingness to defend its harbour from those who might wish to overtake it.

Inward towards the middle of the city, Strøget looms. This pedestrian street plays host to many shops, restaurants, clubs and bars. A typical day wandering up and down Strøget may include taking in a tour at the Guinness Museum, where facts and oddities from the World’s Authority on the most, the greatest, the longest and just about every other “-est” you could imagine, is on display. Then you might decide to get a bite at one of the many cafes or bars along the way, with adequate seating outside to continue watching the others wander. On a quick side note, I will mention one particular type of food that seems quite common and that is Shawarma. This type of meat, which resembles Gyro meat you might munch on in the states, that is a huge cylinder of pressed, shaven meat that is consumed on everything from bread to pizza to hamburger buns. I have taken in more of this type of food in the last three weeks than I have in my entire life. All of which has been delicious, though unexpected to be sure. Shawarma is much of a mainstay here, clearly driven by Denmark’s large Middle Eastern population. Further on down, Strøget might take you by some of the street musicians or performers that come to display their talents. One interesting character was obviously inhibited by alcohol, though not enough to be able to belch out a song in Danish that my wife laughingly told me was directed at Denmark’s political system, and more directly, a member of its governing party. Another act worth mentioning is a group of South American musicians that play in one of Copenhagen’s town squares, this group is very good at what they do, so good in fact that they always draw crowds and is the first, if not only group the government has allowed to perform there. The other interesting part of all of this is I recognized the music, upon viewing a CD they had for sale, I immediately identified it as a band I have heard before playing in an Eco-Archaeological park in Cancun, Mexico called Xcaret in 1996! It was truly amazing to hear them here in Northern Europe . All in all, Strøget is a wonderful place to visit, observe, dine, drink and wander. There is a terrific melding of European society here that a stateside visitor like myself can get a good view on how life is different here.

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