In the fall of 1971 a group of young locals climb through the fences overtaking an abandoned military site and proclaimed it the Free Town of Christiania in protest against the acute housing shortage in Copenhagen. Christiania is in that sense a product of the sixties revolutionary youth and squatter movement. The government was somewhat baffled about the whole situation, but in 1973 Christiania was labeled a ‘social experiment’. During the years Christiania has been an arena of contest between supporters and opponents, but somehow it has managed to survive for more than 30 years, in no small part because of a wide support from the public.

Christiania 

Photo by Morteno

Written by Ulla Sauerberg, editor of the book The CPH Guide

For two years I worked as a tourist guide showing visitors all the splendors that Copenhagen has to offer. The blockbuster of the tour was never The Little Mermaid or New Harbour, but Christiania: A place (in)famous for being a social experiment of alternative lifestyle but especially for its main attraction, Pusher Street, due to the hundreds of stalls openly selling hash.

Photo by Morteno

Nowadays Pusher Street no longer exists. The hash stands were torn down in January 2004, and Pusher Street has been sarcastically renamed Copper Street because of the many raids and the number of police men present. That’s not to say that you can’t buy cannabis, the market has just become much less open.

Although the character of its main street has completely changed, Christiania is still well worth a visit because it is - and always has been - so much more than Pusher Street.

Photo by Ulla Sauerberg

In Christiania you’ll find everything from the minimal wooden shack to circus wagons built together and even a house built like a UFO. Unsurprisingly you can buy several books on Christiania’s alternative architecture, its “shabby chic” interior design and plenty of information on its long and colorful history.

Photo by Ulla Sauerberg

When going to Christiania, just remember that it isn’t Disneyland. It wasn’t built to satisfy tourists. This is a place where people actually live and work. On my guided tours I’ve experienced visitors complaining that the locals are unfriendly and unaccommodating. But it’s important to understand that sometimes the locals get slightly annoyed with tourists invading their private space or taking their pictures as if they were animals in a zoo.

Photo by Ulla Sauerberg

Please don’t take photographs in Christiania, at least not around the main streets or of the people without at least having the common decency to ask for permission. As one Christianite put it, it’s not so terribly fun coming out of the communal showers only to find 15 tourists taking pictures through the windows …

Is it safe? That’s a question I’ve been asked a lot. Yes, in my humble opinion. At least I’ve never experienced any unpleasantness as long as you respect the given boundaries. If anything, people are just stoned and thereby pretty harmless.

Photo by Morteno

It is important to stress that Christiania has always been highly controversial. To the supporters the community is a symbol of social latitude, creativity, openness and an alternative way of life. To the opponents Christiania mocks the rules of society (and many are perhaps displeased with the fact that it sits on such a prime piece of Copenhagen real estate?).

Photo by Ulla Sauerberg

In the spring 2004 the Danish Parliament passed a bill stating that Christiania should be “normalized”, which among other things means that many of the odd self-built houses on the embankments are to be torn down. The negotiations between Christiania and the state have been going on for more than four years now, and nobody knows exactly what the future will bring and how many houses are to be cleared.

Photo by Morteno

One thing is for sure though: If you want to experience Christiania before it becomes too ‘normalized’, then take a day off to explore the area.

There is an official guided tour every Sat-Sun at 3pm, daily in the summer period, that leave from the main entrance. The tour costs 30 DKK (approx.4 EUR) and is mostly concentrated around down-town Christiania.

www.christiania.org 

Extract from the book The CPH Guide edited by Ulla Sauerberg and published by Nyt Nordisk Forlag. 

The exposition that gave us the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Atomium in Brussels hits the north eastern Spanish town of Zaragoza June 14. We are of course talking about Expo (also known as World’s Fair), which today is the third largest event in the world in terms of economic and cultural impact, after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Zaragoza has never been a favorite among foreign tourists, but just like Frank Gehry’s already iconic Guggenheim Museum has put Bilbao on the world map, the Expo 2008 will be a major boost to Zaragoza’s tourism industry and the organizers expect that the event will attract more than 5 million visitors.

The theme of Expo Zaragoza 2008 is as hot and contemporary as it can get: 'Water and sustainable development'! To stick to the topic the event is being placed next to the River Ebro, where the exhibition’s most emblematic buildings will be the Water Tower, a 76-metre-high transparent building designed to evoke a drop of water (don’t miss the 720 square meters panoramic bar at the upper floor), Zaha Hadid's Bridge Pavilion, a 270-metre-long covered bridge crossing the river and the River Aquarium, which will be the biggest freshwater aquarium in Europe.

To further emphasize the focus on water and sustainable development the organizers has hooked up with Bob Dylan, who has written a new version of his song “A hard rain’s a-gonna fall” for the occasion.

In total, Expo Zaragoza 2008 has 140 pavilions and 3.400 shows and cultural events are planned. The exposition will be held from June 14 to September 14.

Author David Rich Momondo

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Brussels invites you back to 1958 

Photo by Gillesklein 

“Where in Paris can I find the highest concentration of braless women?” I have never before asked myself this question (honestly!), but a French senior political advisor has, and he gives the answer in his book ‘Guide des Jolies Femmes De Paris’ or ‘Guide to pretty women in Paris’.

In the 190-page book, which for sure won’t win him many fans among feminists, Pierre-Louis Colin - a speech-writer for the French foreign minister - lists the best places to ogle women in Paris.

"Just as every region has its gastronomy, every quartier has its feminine speciality," as Colin poetically puts it.

According to Colin good spots are the Madeleine neighborhood, where the women are noted for their ‘sublime legs’ and rue Montorgueil where "trendy youth notable for their G-strings and the near disappearance of the bra", are to be found. But the top spot on Colin's list is the Menilmontant district in the 20. arr, where you'll find: "perfectly shameless cleavages, radiant breasts often uncluttered by a bra."

In the book, Colin generously shares his insider tips and he writes that in the Café Louis-Phillipe in the 4. arr guests can look up women’s skirts as they ascend a spiral staircase. Charming!

While many of my female friends would probably call the book a creepy pervert’s guide to Paris, monsieur Colin insists on viewing the subject of braless women in a larger context by arguing that the freedom to contemplate the beauty of women is a key part of French culture and by stating that his book is a rebellion against Anglo-Saxon culture and political correctness. Remember this excuse the next time you’re told off for telling dirty jokes!

Writer David Rich Momondo

Picture from Inhabitat

A new sort of gigantic lilies could soon be floating on Glasgow’s River Clyde. The lilies belong to the solar family meaning they are actually solar pads designed to float in the river and soak up the sun’s rays and send electricity to the city’s grid.

The solar lily pads are designed by Scottish ZM Architecture and are one of the latest examples on new and spectacular technology that harvest green energy.
According to Peter Richardson from ZM Architecture the ‘lilies’ will also revitalize Glasgow’s urban waterfront and stimulate urban riverfront activity.

The solar lily pads are designed to be moved and dismantled easily as they are simply tethered to the river bed, with integrated motors used to rotate the discs for maximum exposure to sunlight throughout the day. Sounds like a very useful function considering that one often has to look around for the sunny spots in Glasgow!

Picture from Inhabitat

The floating solar pads have recently won 1st Prize in the International Design Awards (IDA) Land and Sea Competition and now Glasgow’s City Council is considering testing a small pilot project in conjunction with the Glasgow Science Centre.

Not only will the lily pads (hopefully) contribute with lots of green energy and make an old river look futuristic, they will also give Glasgow an innovate and eco-friendly image that can be difficult for other cities to subdue.
 

Written by David Rich Momondo 

Photo by Jim's World

Poor Brussels! Recently the Belgian capital was announced the most boring city in Europe in a survey conducted by TripAdvisor. At Momondo we don't get it. We think Brussels is cool and fun and we've decided that the city should have a chance to defend itself. Therefore we contacted the local tourist authorities (Brussels International) and asked them to come up with 7 reasons why Brussels isn’t the most boring city in Europe.

Cityscape

Photo by John & Mel Kots

The thing to see in Brussels right now is according to Brussels International the Cityscape, which is a gigantic (and anything but boring) sculpture of tangled wood made by Belgian artist Arne Quinze.

The sculpture, that is 40 metres long, 25 metres wide and 18 metres high, will stand for a year on Avenue de la Toison d’Or. 

Bruxelles les Bains

Bring your speedos or bikini with you to Brussels. Each summer a stretch of Brussels' canal is converted into Bruxelles les Bains - a mini 'Copacabana ' where city dwellers can experience the joys of beachlife in the middle of the city.

Get drunk while discussing EU-policies

Place du Luxembourg

Multicultural celebrations take place in Brussels every Wednesday and Thursday night when the young professionals from the EU institutions meet for after work drinks.

On Wednesdays after the market the cosy Place du Châtelain fills up with hundreds of beer drinking youngsters. On Thursdays they head for Place du Luxembourg in front of the parliament, where especially Ralph’s Bar is a hotspot or they head for the @7club.

The capital of comic strips

 
Blake and Mortimer, Rue du Houblon

Brussels is not only the capital of Europe and Belgium, but also the capital of comic strips and the city has brought up prominent characters such as Tintin and the Smurfs.

They really take their comic strips serious in Brussels, where you in addition to several comic strip shops and galleries can find a comic strip museum, a comic strip house and not the least a comic strip trail involving 30 city-walls covered with famous comic strip characters.

2009 has been announced comic strip year and this year there will be even more exhibitions and events on comic strips in Brussels.

Rue Antoine Dansaert

15 years ago Rue Antoine Dansaert was in a state of decay and neglect, then designers moved in (haven’t we heard stories like this before!) and today the street is buzzing and stylish and the cornerstone in Brussels’ fashion district. Most famous shop on Rue Antoine Dansaert is Stijl, which opened back in 1984. Here you can purchase men’s and women’s clothing by Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Xavier Delcour and other notables.

Find out more about design and shopping in Brussels here and here.

On Rue Antoine Dansaert you will also find the legendary art deco bar and jazzclub Archiduc.

Art nouveau

Maison Cauchie, Rue des Francs

Though Archiduc is very art deco Brussels big architectural heritage belongs to art nouveau. If you are into this design-style from the turn of the 20th century you should visit the house of Victor Horta, the Musical Instruments Museum, Hotel Hannon and the comic strip museum, which is in a Victor Horta building.

Find out more on art nouveau in Brussels here.

Gastronomy

If you think eating and drinking is fun you definitely have come to the right city. Brussels is a gastronomical powerhouse and the city has more than 1,800 restaurants ranging from the best Greek restaurant outside of Greece and Michelin-starred Italian restaurants to simple but brilliant frite stalls. The area around Rue Antoine Dansaert is packed with great restaurant such as: Vismet, Le Fourneau, Bonsoir Clara just to name a few.

Brussels is also a Mecca for chocolate lovers who would go giddy if they enter Marcolini or Wittamer and not the least Brussels is a beer-drinkers paradise. Try for example Delirium Café or Bier Circus.

If the 7 above recommendation haven’t convinced you about the joys of Brussels click here and you will find 151 reasons to visit Brussels.