As I mentioned in Part 1 (yesterday) of my pictorial post on Copenhagen, I got a sense that the Danes were less harried than us Americans, and certainly us New Yorkers. In addition, they looked generally healthier, or at the very least, more comfortable in their own skin. A function of the Northern air? Or, could it have something to do with the bicycle culture? Nearly 50% of Danes own and ride bikes as a means of transportation. Bike traffic in Copenhagen was prevalent everywhere I walked. The Danes were an orderly bunch on their bikes, too, sticking to bike lanes and following the traffic signals. Very few wore helmets (though I did notice high heels as the foot-wear choice of some bikers.)
This slide show is “biker-less” but it still conveys the bicycle culture of Copenhagen.
For a fun video showing more of the Danish bicycle culture, click here.
WOW! No locks. That would never work here.
Hi Martha,
I thought the same thing initially; however, upon closer investigation I noticed that each bike has a sort of brake-looking clamp above the back wheel. I think these are actually locks. But, even so, most of the bikes I saw weren’t locked to anything…just maybe to themselves.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in such a trusting culture?
🙂 Joana