Ben Wierschem: AU CADC – Environmental Design Program in Copenhagen, Denmark Summer 2022
When we were in Copenhagen, the housing we stayed at was Danhostel which was a hostel close to the city center right next to one of the main canals through the city. One of the amazing benefits of this was that the canals in Copenhagen are so clean that whenever the weather is warm enough people will actually jump into the canal and swim in it. It was usually not warm enough to go into the canal, but we had a few days where the weather was so nice we took the opportunity to go swimming.
A great thing about Copenhagen is that they prioritize public space over buildings so they try to keep the area surrounding the canal for public use rather than for buildings. Some areas like where we were staying had taken up some of that space and so Copenhagen wanted to re-incorporate that public space so they created cool metal struggles that weaves up and down the canal allowing for people to just off high platforms, layout in the sun, and just relax during the day with some food and drinks.
Me along with a lot of other Auburn students on our abroad program went to these platforms on a hot day in Copenhagen standards which was in the low 70s with the UV index being 1. Since the weather was so nice there were food carts all along the canal to provide different types of food and drinks while people enjoyed sunbathing and jumping into the canal. We all went to a cart that had crepes and I got to fill up on a strawberry, banana, and nutella crepe. We all sat along the canal and dangled feet over the edge of the platform just hanging out and talking for a while.
After a bit we all decided to jump into the water and swim around for a bit. We were a bit surprised by the temperature of the water. It was one of the coldest bodies of water I had ever swam in. The craziest part was you could see your entire body in the water because of how clear it was. Some of us decided to swim all the way across the canal and back while others just hung out floating in the water until we were too cold and had to get out and lay in the sun again. This was one of the best days abroad because it was just such a unique experience that you really don’t get the opportunity to do in the United States.