Christiania (Copenhagen)

What drew me to Copenhagen was a part of it I wanted to see called Christiania. At some point, a Danish king created a military fort along the shore here, which had been abandoned until some time in the late 1960's or early 1970's when some hippies and political activists broke in and began squatting in the buildings. They've stayed long enough for squatter laws to now apply to them. There they created a sort of hippie commune, which they consider to be their own territory. Up until last year, the main "street" (path), called Pusher street, openly sold marijuana and, I think, other drugs. But a police raid last year shut that activity down. In walking down the street today, I, nonetheless, got no less than four offers to be sold some hash.

Strangely, though, I felt a little uneasy walking through the area. Where with every city, there are a certain set of basic rules on which I can rely, I wasn't sure if those applied here. More than that I wasn't sure if the rules I live by would make me unacceptable here. Walking around for awhile, though, the people here seemed to look at me with the same insecurity, as if I found them unacceptable. Is it the same everywhere? Are we afraid that other people won't accept how we choose to live?