I am back and it has been so long, I should re introduce myself. I am a born and raised Californian with a passion for travel, yoga, and food. I love the sunshine, the beach, gardening and hole in the wall sushi bars. I started this blog 2 years ago after being so inspired by the happiest people of earth- the Danes. I lived in Denmark for a while and loved the people and the culture there. Although amazed that they could be so happy and peaceful without the sun for half the year, I did appreciate their amazing pastries, bicycles, coffee houses, family and hygge- that cozy warm friendly feeling.
Fast forward 2 years and I have graduated college, become a yoga instructor and have once again found inspiration to write as I prepare to embark on the journey of a lifetime. I have a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia with plans to visit Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and India. I have my Manduka mat in-hand and am setting out to experience the world. My mat keeps me grounded and my practice inspires me to move with intention, breathe with awareness, and fill every moment with compassion, joy, and gratitude.
So this is officially the first blog posting of my trip. Grace: I am grateful for my good health, I want to thank Stacey Z. (instructor from yogasouce, Los Gatos) for being such an inspiration to my practice , and I can work on… refraining from spending my whole pay check at Whole Foods.
Copenhagen has initiated a new project offering a new storage system for family transpiration bicycles. These three of four wheelers are difficult to part on the street and need larger areas for storage. The city strives to promote the usage of such vehicles among families, reducing carbon emissions and pollution caused by cars. Currently up to 6% of families living in Copenhagen. This means that on any given day there are 15,000 large cargo bikes on the road with no storage space. The new system offers fun and convenient fiberglass cars to store the bikes in throughout the city. The storage units will even be powered by solar energy, providing light during the night. Each fiberglass cargo space fits the size of the carrier bikes. There are two prototype cargo spaces on the market now, which will be placed throughout the city for trial use. The deputies in charge of the tech and environment departments of government were enthusiastic about the new plan and expressed great interest in developing the plan further in the following years.
TUI Nordic fly is now one of the three airlines offering green certified flights. The company has flights from airports in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Sweden and has been awarded the charter industry’s first ISO14001 certificate designating environmental efficiency. The international organization of Standardization has awarded the airlines low-polluting fuel and innovative design techniques. The TUI has invested 40 million Kroner into the new fuel efficiency programming and is spearheading the movement internationally. Companies in Brazil and Montreal have put forth similar efforts to build smaller, more fuel efficient planes.
I love that Denmark is so riddled with tradition. By celebrating every little thing gives the Danes a reason to be happy through the cold dark months of winter. Tuborg julebryg is a strong winter beer enjoyed around the holidays. Julebryg’s brewery releases tons of free samples of the beer each year on a day commonly known as J-Day. In Denmark, J-day is a rowdy night of partying where young Danes sport blue costumes with traditional white beards.
This year J-day launched on 30 Oct at 8.59 pm at bars all over Danish cities.
I ran across this picture of one of my favorite little bars, the Moose Bar, located downtown Copenhagen. The walls are always covered with graffiti seen below, but here we see that it is all decorated for j-day with blue tinsel.
I love finding one of the thousands of inspiring Danish organizations sprouting up and taking force within the community. My teacher of a class called Creative Industries was the head of the Creative forum in Copenhagen.
This group develops different ideas for activities that can strengthen the creative industries in Copenhagen. by doing so, this group hopes to bolster Copenhagen’s international appeal and support creativity within the city. Some of their recent efforts have focused on
establishing pilot projects encouraging international cooperation such as a design laboratory for sustainable fashion, a project about method of exchange for hiring artists as consultants in traditional companies and the exchange of international interns. The sustainable fashion project is really exciting and something I would love to see more of here in the us
Denmark has some of the the most rigid food regulations than any other country in the world. Denmark dedicates 6% of their agriculture to organic food, the U.S allocates merely 1%. Danes are also very resistant to GMOed food, pesticides, food additives and colorings. Danes eat very healthy and value sustainable agriculture. They are soon hosting a “Dirt Cafe” conference to discuss the implications of feeding a city now and into the future. The “Dirt Cafe” started in London in 2004, during these sessions a diverse grouping of designers, scientists, sociologists, economists get together to find solutions to problems of our world today.
Carolyn Steel, an author and activist in the area of sustainable living, argues that changing our attitude toward food is crucial for the survival of our world. Activists in America, like Alice Waters and others, have dedicated their lives to promoting slow food and seasonal eating.
Alice Waters from California has created programs, charities and restaurants to return human’s relationship with food to a more natural place. One of the programs she has started is called “Edible Schoolyard”, where children apply their expereinces in the garden to their schoolwork. building awareness of the importance of food and the magic of growing food. The Edible Schoolyard teaches children the basics of science, team building and responsibility. As Carolyn Steel mentioned, Americans throw 1/2 of our food away becuase we have lost value for our food.
It looks like the The US, more than any other nation, needs to conduct a Dirt Cafe of our own. Carolyn Steel argues that food should be used to design infrastructures of our local communities, and cities as a whole.
Good luck Copenhagen, I am sure we will be following in your footsteps.
Alice waters and the Edible School Yard
The day in the life of a typical Dane is quite different than that of the typical American. Some of the most dominant differences are those surrounding transportation norms. Together residents of Copenhagen bike an average of 1.1 million km each day. The city hopes to increase the amount of bike commuters in the population from 37% to 50 % by 2012. Considering the harsh weather of Scandinavia, this is a pretty remarkable figure. In effort to create an efficient and enjoyable bicycle experience, the city has developed a system of interconnected bike lanes and convenient bike racks throughout the city. Residents of Copenhagen and surrounding areas can easily bike from one end of the city to the other on well-maintained bike routes, and have the option of combing biking with one of the many modes of public transportation including the train, metro and extensive bus systems.
We must ask ourselves why America is so resistant to commuting by bike. After only briefly observing American culture, it is easy to conclude that cars an integral part of the American lifestyle. The way our cities are designed, with sprawling suburban areas, giant superstores and zero public transport, forces Americans to drive cars everywhere. We are conditioned to walking no more than a couple hundred yards in any given situation. Furthermore, the majority of Americans view biking as a way to exercise, not as a mechanism of transportation.
Though many Americans deny the effects of global warming and vote for idiots like Sarah Palin, there are a number of intelligent and forward-thinking people who are finding innovative solutions to our nation’s problems, including issues concerning global warming, pollution, obesity, and the economical crisis. We must rely on them for changing our world for the better. One company, B-cycle, based out of Boulder, Colorado is solving each one of the problems addressed above with an ingenious bike-sharing system. These systems will facilitate convenient ways for citizens to commute by bike. By installing loading stations throughout the city, people can pick up and drop off bikes as they please, paying only for the time they ride.
How simple right? Why doesn’t every American city have this, is the question I asked after discovering B-cycle. And the answer is culture. Our culture must change for these needed systems to take place. Changing culture is not impossible- we have a black president and my 85 year old grandmother recycles. I believe we can.
How will American culture embrace programs like B-cycle? The answer is serious governmental support paired with smart marketing efforts. It is about people letting go of their old habits and adopting new ones, something that will never happen without a little nudge from government and societal groups. Today, more than ever, people rely on peer acceptance and are willing to make an effort to be part of their social tribe. We see more and more community members investing in local artists, farmers and supporting small businesses. There are countless examples of how communities shape each other. Fat people have fat friends. Another fascinating example of group behavior is supported by a company that makes available the amount of off-the-grid energy produced by solar panels on each household in a particular community. This stimulates intrinsic motivation for community members to perform, because by nature we are a tribe species. Transparency gives community members incentive to change, to fit in with the others that are making a difference. Nudges are important and change is contagious.
Take it from the Danes. Denmark is a visionary country and has a lot to offer in the way of eco-friendly advice. Having conquered their first task of creating world class public transpiration systems and one of the most bike accessible cities in the world, Denmark has recently announced that a company called Better Place and DONG energy will establish a 103 million Euro project of a Danish electric car network scheduled to launch in 2011. DONG energy is a governmentally funded energy company who will utilize excess wind energy to power electric cars throughout the city. This plan is brilliant and will allow Copenhagen to harness wind energy during the night, typically a time of power waste.
www.bcycle.
Did you know that the band Aqua, with their sing their hit song “I Am A Barbie Girl, In A Barbie World”, is actually a Danish band? After visiting Denmark and witnessing the beautiful blond men and woman, the Barbie song starts to make a little more sense. Not only are the Danes the happiest people on earth, they are arguably the most attractive too.
Most Danish Rock and pop songs are sung in English and have strong American or British influence. Their top ten lists follow that of the United States quite closely. After moving there last year I watched artists like lady Gaga and Taylor swift explode in popularity a few short weeks after the released in the US.
Although many Danes enjoy American and British tunes, they also having a thriving music community of their own.
Here is a video of the Danish music awards, featuring the new face of Danish tune.
Kashmir, another popular Danish rock band, is named after a Led Zepplin song. Kashmir’s latest album features David Bowie and Lou Reed. Indie rock dominates the current Rock scene in Denver with bands such as The Raveonettes, The Kissaway Trail and Mew. Another surprising fact is that rockstar Lars Ulruch, the drummer and co-founder of Metallica, is also a Dane.
The current musical movement are primarily with rooted in rap and pop.
The Danish Rap scene is on the rise and is gaining popularity among the youth.
Ja confetti is an up and coming pop band
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n5r_iVclpc&feature=PlayList&p=1E0A96CA01068B2B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3
Denmark is not only known for their world class rock musicians, the country also hosts the second largest music festivals in all of Europe each summer. The Roaskilde Festival draws many A-list musicians such as Nirvana, Guns N’ Roses, U2, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and Green Day, and thousands more.
I love finding one of the thousands of inspiring Danish organizations sprouting up and taking force within the community. My teacher of a class called Creative Industries was the head of the Creative forum in Copenhagen. 
