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LAND OF THE VIXENS
Carl Jakobsen, a well-known businessman in Copenhagen, son of the famous Carlsbergs, goes to a theater where Andersen's famous fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" is being performed. After the end of the theater, he was very moved and gave the actors a standing ovation with tears in his eyes. He decided on the spot that a statue of the little mermaid should be made in memory of Andersen. It is 1913 and the sculptor Edvar Eriksen is commissioned. The leading actress playing the little mermaid refused to allow herself to be sculpted nude. So his face and head are used, while the sculptor uses his wife's body as a model. 1.25 meters tall and weighing 175 kg, the Little Mermaid made of bronze was attacked many times, her head was lost in 1964 and replaced with a new one. It has been bombed, painted and damaged in every way, but it is still Copenhagen's greatest icon.
The little mermaid, who lives with her sisters in the deepest depths of the sea, falls in love with a dying prince the moment she saves him from the sea. The mermaid, who gives her voice to the sea witch in exchange for having legs, will forever turn into sea foam if the prince doesn't fall in love with her and then kill her. And so it happens...
Greetings from Denmark, the land of the Vikings. The cold country where warm people live. From the city of the match girl, the little mermaid and Andersen.
Now that I will be finishing Europe completely, I came to Denmark, the first leg of my 15-day Scandinavian tour, with my backpack weighing no more than 5 kilos. But this time I am carrying a backpack almost as heavy as my suitcase. I am wearing 2-3 layers of woolen sweaters, my Norwegian fishing coat, the woolen coat on the outermost layer and the trio of beanie, scarf and gloves with me every second. Don't mind that I am dressed like this, the cold is cold for us. The streets are full of Copenhageners walking barefoot, in flip flops, shorts and suspenders. Being in the northernmost part of the world cannot be described, only experienced. It is unbelievably cold here right now, and it is cold every season of the year. This is what it must be like to be at the bottom of the cold, even when I go inside I can't feel my fingertips and nose for minutes.
Denmark, which has about 406 islands big and small, also owns Greenland and Faroe Islands. Copenhagen, the capital city, is home to about a third of Denmark's 5 million inhabitants. With its canals and lively streets closed to traffic, it is one of the coldest but most prosperous cities in the world. It is one of the countries with the highest national income per capita. But a small loaf of bread costs 30 Danish kroner, that is 18 Lira. Even a small Mc Donalds menu is 30 liras. It is a more expensive country than the whole of Europe. You know, expensive.
About 79 percent of the country's population is Lutheran and a member of the Danish national church, but all the churches are very different from what I have seen in all of Europe and are very simply designed. There is almost no ornamentation at all.
The buildings and construction are incredibly spacious and aesthetic. Copenhagen is a mixture of Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, Dublin, the capital of Ireland and London. I can say it is a bit like St. Petersburg.
Canals, bridges, small little islands, tall buildings made of red brick or stone, towers, palaces, castles, the famous opera house and Stroget Street with famous brands and world famous restaurants. The world's longest pedestrianized street is about 3 km long and filled with street musicians, dance performances and magicians on every corner. Lego, Denmark's world-renowned toy brand, has a big store on this street and if you stumble in, you can't get out easily, there are toys beyond imagination inside.
The colorful rows of houses along the canal in Nyhan and the cafes and restaurants underneath are lively all year round. This is the most famous place in Copenhagen and the boat cranes start from here. At night, it gets even brighter and more colorful. Closed during the day, the small wooden tavern is full of kiosks selling homemade food and drink and freshly baked sweets and cookies.
Christianshavn, designed by King Christian IV in 1617 as a merchant town, was established as an autonomous district in 1960 by a group of hippies. While it is forbidden for public officials to enter the area, where photography is forbidden, and it is forbidden to use and sell drugs, you will see many illegal things being sold at street stalls.
Copenhagen's open-air museum, which shows how the people of the Nordic countries lived between 1650 and 1940, is an amazing place. It is impossible to describe the naturalness of Frilandsmuseet, where there are about 50 farmhouses and windmills.
Denmark is famous for its open sandwiches called Smorrrebrod. These sandwiches are delicious sandwiches that are presented in a visual style that sometimes turns into art with the material used and its decoration. The sandwiches come with vegetarian, meat, seafood, seafood and various mixtures and cost around 69 kroner, which is around 42 TL.
Almost everyone uses bicycles here. Despite all the cold, 70 percent of the traffic is made up of cyclists. Each one of them obeys the rules one by one and waits at red lights for minutes. There are bicycle lanes on all streets, alleys and bridges. Those with babies have baby seats with seat belts on the back of their bicycles or baskets in front to carry their belongings. It is very ecological and sporty, beyond the fact that a single person traveling by car increases traffic. You are both doing sports and contributing to the world ecology.
I saved the most interesting thing for last. Amelienborg Palace consists of 4 separate palaces where the Danish royal family still resides today. Although one of them is the palace where Prince Joachim and Princess Benedikte live, and another one is the palace where the Queen and Prince Consort live, you can enter right up to the bottom of the door. Queens, princes and princesses living in the middle of the city in the middle of the people seemed very different to me. There is no garden, no wall, no police or guards. Just for show, except for the changing of the guard ceremony at 12:30 every day and the soldiers performing the ceremony.
Christianborg palace used to be a palace where kings and queens used to live, but now it is right in the middle of the city and is the Parliament building of Denmark. You can walk in with a wave of your hand...
After seeing a country where democracy is at its peak and so internalized, I don't know how there can be more democracy and freedom.
Mukaddes Pekin Başdil
Researcher-Author