Copenhagen & Christiania / Blog

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irma clausen zu The Shift:

Jørgen Hedegaard zu Never Ask for Help: Hi It's true, and even danes who move from one part of the contry to another have the problem ! Danes live and stay in one place, there "hometown", only exception is Copenhagen (people come to this town, if they have money :-( ). I have lived in different places in Denmark (and Germany), and I feel like a foreigner here myself. All Best Jørgen Hedegaard

Jørgen Hedegaard zu Never Ask for Help: The Url :

Jørgen Hedegaard zu Never Ask for Help: The Url again ... . www.FlatTV.dk

Gerd Gerhard Loeffler zu Winter Depression / Part II: If you think you look worse you probably really do? ;) That's time and gravity!

Gerd Gerhard Loeffler zu Coffee Flowers 2008: @gowing down of europe: If we consider the Hippie-idea as the strongest in the western world I do not woder why europe is going down!

Gerd Gerhard Loeffler zu Coffee Flowers 2008: @downfall of europe (again): Maybe the fact that capitalism bought the hippie-idea was the biggest mistake the hippies could ever make. They sold out their ideals, didn't they? @production: I'm not sure if production is the actual key to a society. In my opinion the eastern countries produced quite well. The stuff just worked. Try that with China's stuff...

Gerd Gerhard Loeffler zu Coffee Flowers 2008: @ ALL* the rest of what you said: Gimme some stickers!

Gerd Gerhard Loeffler zu Humour: Humor in Austria? What did u expect???

The Lost Generation

A few neighbour districts do not support Christiania anymore. Some schools and parents are annoyed that the Christiania kids take their friends into the free city to smoke.
I saw a moovie about Christiania from approximately 15 yars ago. There were so many kids here! Someone said that for kids and dogs Christiania must be paradise. Last year there was only one baby born here and XX said that one whole generation of kids have left Christiania. They denied the life style of their hippie parents, some changed their names. The parents knew that once they leave there will be no space when they come back because so many people want to moove in here. Once they leave they cannot come back.

20.11.2007, 20:32, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Become a Slave of the Pushers.

I was invited to a dinner in Christiania and we discussed a lot. People get older here and with it comes less tolerance for noise and trouble etc. A lot of people here simply do not want conflicts anymore. 30 years of conflicts make you strong but as well tired.
In july 2008 now people here have to decide whether they want to work with this Real Danubia Fund or whether not. It belongs to one of the richest men of Denmark who has donated the opera house. This seems to be a good ground for conspiracy theories, espcially in Christiania. Well, that does not surprise me.
To me people here really seem to be overwhelmed by the sociologists, tourists and the politics ofcourse. Janusch is living in Christiania now since a few weeks and also has difficulties getting in contact with Christianians. He told me that when he tried to introduce himself to one of his neighbours and asked what his name was the man said that he forgot his name. XX said if she would be the good fairy she would give a surplus of energy to Christiania so people would be capable of handling more, especially what comes from outside.
XX said a main problem ist he pushers: They are not interested in a change. The ‚consensus decisionmaking is a pest’ and makes the pushers survive. She said: ‚Slowly we are becoming the slaves of the pushers.’

I did not take that photo myself. It is not allowed to take photos of pusher street and today somebody told me that they occasionally beat photographers up.

20.11.2007, 20:27, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Forget your Name

To me people here really seem to be overwhelmed by the sociologists, tourists and the politics ofcourse. J. is living in Christiania now since a few weeks and also has difficulties getting in contact with Christianians. He told me that when he tried to introduce himself to one of his neighbours and asked what his name was the man said that he forgot his name. XX said if she would be the good fairy she would give a surplus of energy to Christiania so people would be capable of handling more, especially what comes from outside.

20.11.2007, 19:06, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Post Catastrophy

When I think of Christiania right now it seems dark and emotional to me. No lights. Like a dark hole when you enter. Start to enjoy walking at night on Pusher Street with this weird ‚sometime in the past or future’ – athmosphere. Kristine said yesterday it has a kind of post-catastrophy feeling. It reminds me a bit of moovies like Blade Runner. And all the hooded guys also make me think of monks in some medieval times... standing around barrels with fire... really start getting into it.

20.11.2007, 00:17, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Permeability

Ada said that the Christiania community has become more open. Years ago when she wanted to buy constructing material from the local store she had to pay more than Christianians since she was not living here. That has changed and many Christianias have jobs outside or people from outside come to work here.

19.11.2007, 18:12, Comment here hier kommentieren

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The Story of Loss or: We are what we are not.

Jan and Tomas agreed upon that the Danish monarchy at one point had been extremely militant and bureaucratic, maybe even more Preussian than Preussia itself and that this mentality still is present today to a certain degree. But there also seems to be a story of loss and defeat in Denmarks history and I wonder how the country deals with that. This following information Jan and Tomas told me at Bobi-Bar, I have not checked upon this- but they say: In the 17th century Sweden almost destroyed Denmark completely except for Copenhagen. Between 1660 and 1720 Denmark tried to conquer what they had lost. 1807 England bombarded Copenhagen until they got the whole royal fleet. Denmark lost Norway to Sweden, Schleswig Holstein and the south of Jutland to Germany. We compared the history of loss in Denmark with the downfall of the Habsburg monarchy and effects on the countries’ mentality. There was apparently a time when the Danes defined themselves more in opposition to the Germans. Since worldwar II there has been a lot stability. The mentality apperently has changed especialy since 10 years and both, Jan and Tomas do not experience it as being open any more. Jan said: We are what we are not because we do not know what we are. - ? -Tomas and Jan were talking about Denmark maybe becoming more militaristic again. Tomas said that recently he heard someone saying ‚The German eagle will rise again in Denmark’ which I thought was a really strange comment.

18.11.2007, 23:09, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Closed Hearts?

I am still, well, not shocked, but quite surprised and maybe a little bit pissed off that there has been no private invitation from the people who invited me to come here. It does not make any sense to me why you would invite people if you do not want to deal with them. Also when I meet Danes here I did not know before it is obvious that I am a visitor and am looking for contact. They are friendly in a formal and professional way but make it quite clear – so far - that there is absolutely no interest in further exchange. In Vienna or Canada immediately people made dinner parties and excursions and wanted to connect me with lots of people. Except for Kristine who I know since a few years and who is wonderful this has not happened here. Isn’t that what you do to make people feel welcome and show your country in a good light? Sorry to say this but so far it almost seems as if the Danes want to keep foreigners out of their circles. Talking with Jan about my observation he said he thinks it is correct and that since a few years there exists the expression: the open Danish society has to be closed to protect the openness. That is wicked! And so immigrant are kept outside. He said that usually the international people have international friends and do not mix with the Danish circles. Danes would choose their friends according to being being exceptional, free and independant which everybody wants to be and - alike. Is that true? Is it an Island mentality? Nicoletta says she has no real friends here and is travelling a lot. Tomorrow Irma Clausen invited me to a film evening here in Christiania. That was hard work to get that far. She is German if I understand that correctly.

18.11.2007, 20:53, Comment here hier kommentieren

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The Moon has the Color it is Supposed to Have

Jan said the Danes think the know things are supposed to be, how one should live ones live. It seems important not to argue about the order or about how things are suppposed to be. Threatening consensus = un-Danish. There is an old Danish play in which a lady is being asked what color he moon has and she says „the moon has the color it is supposed to have“.

18.11.2007, 20:09, Comment here hier kommentieren

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My Joni!

Nis helped me fix my photoshop, great! Then we listened to Klaus Nomi and Joni Mitchell. Nis is a huge Joni Mitchell fan, he talks tenderly about „my Joni“. When she performed the only time in Copenhagen he sat in the front row and watched her being upset with her husband, the bass player. He said if eyes could kill her husband would have died a couple of times. I would have loved to see Nis in the front row. He showed me a moovie about her birthday party. We drank a glass of rose wine.

18.11.2007, 18:54, Comment here hier kommentieren

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Those Wicked Belgians

At the badehuset a young and very nice Belgium woman, Inge, came up to me and talked to me about my project. She said she comes to Christiania only for work and if she lived here permanently she probably would clean all the time... She said there are a lot of good things happening at Christiania but there are also a lot of negative energies. A lot of people numb themselvs with different drugs. Especially now after the elections the energy has dropped and people fear that next summer will happen something bad. It seemed that she was not informed about the fund. She said there is a circle of people who make blessings on pusher street once a week. She wanted to show me a great yoga place and when I came to cancel our appointment a day later she was cleaning the badehuset – completely naked. When I asked her why she was cleaning naked she said ‚it’s a sauna’. Die spinnen die Belgier! (quote from Asterix, something like ‚Those wicked Belgians!’)

18.11.2007, 18:47, Comment here hier kommentieren

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