Page 249 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

Before heading back to the airport we had just
enough time to visit an entirely new country. No trains
or planes were required, just a walk across a couple
of bridges to the people’s republic of Freetown Chris-
tiania.
Christiania is an 84-acre, pot-smoking, pot-selling,
graffiti-painted, commune-ashram that, since the
1970s, has maintained a separate – if only quasi-legal
– identity from Copenhagen and even Denmark. Think
Haight-Ashbury circa 1967.
Christiania’s main drag has been called “Pusher
Street” and cannabis and related paraphernalia are
sold openly. Hard drugs are supposedly off limits and
over the years authorities have tried to curb the drug
scene and even shut down the whole “country.”
There are signs (in English) warning people not to
take photos in Christiania and one zonked-out citizen
shouted at us because we were toting a camera. We
couldn’t blame her. Folks here are probably tired of
being on exhibit, but Christiania isn’t too far behind the
Little Mermaid as one of Copenhagen’s top attrac-
tions. A number of companies offer walking tours.
It’s understandable. The kaleidoscopic murals and
wild graffiti that cover nearly every building are alone
worth a visit. And on our afternoon Christiania was
buzzing. The pot sellers where in action at open-air
markets, the yoga studios and meditation centers
were open for business, the Tibetan prayer flags
waved overhead, and the tourists were out in force.
And that sweet, herbal smell was everywhere. It
might be an exaggeration to say it followed us all the
way back to the airport, but it isn’t an exaggeration to
say the memory still lingers with us today.

Love,

John and Jody

Exuberant grafitti on a street
in Christiania.

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