Copenhagen, Denmark-– Christiania, a Copenhagen neighborhood, is touted as the city’s second-largest tourism draw. The enclave of former hippies and young backpackers, was an abandoned military area when squatters took it over in the 1971 and declared it a “free state” without taxes or laws restricting marijuana use. A drug trade quickly grew, on the aptly named Pusher Street, and ramshackle huts sprouted. Many moved into abandoned buildings or camped in open spaces.
While guidebooks will tell you the Copenhagen police have shut down Pusher Street, business was booming in hashish and marijuana when we biked through last week. Hard drugs are illegal, as are weapons. Mostly young men swarmed around tables covered with samples of drugs, marijuana cigarettes in juice glasses, with prices attached. Groups lounged around parks and the lake, lighting up and drinking beers.
Nemoland Cafe offers vegetarian fare and weekly concerts, attracting Copenhagen residents and tourists alike. Chistiania Bikes–one of the best custom bicycle shops in the city–is located here, and numerous artists and musicians got their start in the town. The free state of Christiania is no longer open for new residents, but visitors are welcomed as long as they don’t take photos.
If you go, be sure to push past Pusher Street and take the path that winds around a private lake bordered by many homes. You’ll be surprised to see this lush oasis in the middle of the city.