Today we visited 4 different parks that each had its own function in Copenhagen. The first, Ørstedparken, was formed around one lake. It had plenty of green grass and pathways. It was the smallest park we visited, but its ample shade and space to recreate made it one of the best of the day.
The second park was my favorite: Botanisk Have, or the Botanic Gardens. What made this property unique is that it is taken care of by the University of Copenhagen because it has an educational element to it- almost every single plant was labeled. The space itself was immaculately manicured and well taken care of. The greenhouse was a beautiful glass structure with separate rooms for different kinds of plants (cactus, orchid, palms; I even saw a poisonous tree). There were multiple water features within the park as well, all littered with lily pads and koi fish. Beautiful. However, my favorite aspect of it was a elevated, rocky area that you could climb up for an awesome view! There were Caroline blue irises at the top (Go Kappa!).
The third park was called Østre Analæg. In my memory, it is the "three lakes park" because all of the footpaths border three lakes/ponds. It had a recreation area for children that was pretty cool and modern. Also, a camping site where gypsies or homeless people were living and I got yelled at for trying to take a picture, oops. I am definitely going running there, it is a perfect park and the outer loop is about 8KM. In this park is also a museum (I think it was for art). They attached a super modern addition right on to the original old building, the architectural contrast was visually striking.
The final park we went to is the only remaining evidence of the historical bastions that once encircled the city of Copenhagen. Kastellet is a unique park due to its raised perimeter, once used for protection but now there are walking/running trails on top of it. It was really sunny and hot because there was little shade. There was literally a moat that went around the fortress, but it offered little in the way of aesthetic pleasure. This was my least favorite park. However, it did have some awesome views of the waterfront because of the elevation!
In a more general sense, these were historic parks in Copenhagen's city center. What makes these areas so unique and interesting for us to study is their function in the Danes's everyday life. These aren't places that one simply visits on a weekend to catch sun. These are areas that the people in Copenhagen pass through each day whether as a corridor of transit or a way to get outdoors. There were people of all ages exercising and playing in the grass- by the way, Danish kindergartners are the cutest EVER. The green spaces are a way to escape the city and have access to a more peaceful atmosphere. As with the botanical gardens, they can also be a center of education. To have this much valuable property devoted to green space shows how much of a priority the environment, citizen health, and aesthetics are to the people of Denmark.
Also- see this car? Tesla.... Awesome! And a charging station right on the street.
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