I spent a semester in Copenhagen, and can honestly say it's the greatest city I've ever been to. This doesn't so much have to do with actually living in Copenhagen as it does with me making it look like my study abroad experience was drastically better than your study abroad experience. And while that statement is certainly true, I urge you not to be jealous--my life has most certainly peaked, and I currently have this weird and annoying scab on my earlobe.
That said, I don't think I've ever been to a city that truly has its shit together as well as CPH does. It's aesthetically pleasing and efficient, quality of life high, it's not overindulgent, and the nightlife is hella dope. But most importantly, it's pragmatic.
Via the Copenhagen Post, the city has been testing out a urination system that would enable men (and women) to urinate on Strøget (Copenhagen's famed "walking street")...without penalty:
White plastic portable urinals resembling giant mutant lilies are Copenhagen's latest weapon against men peeing in doorways, on benches, in corners and, well, pretty much everywhere else after a night of drinking.
Last weekend, the City Council tested the mobile urinal on the street. The unit, nothing more than a large plastic funnel, can be placed just above a city sewer so that the urine is washed away, rather than left to mellow on a city bench for an unsuspecting tourist to plop down in on Sunday morning.
"It's something we developed for the Distortion music festival to create an easy, simple solution to an urban problem that can be set up and taken down easily," Claus Robl who heads up the Center for Renhold, the part of the city’s Technical and Environmental Department responsible for the daily cleaning of the city’s public areas, told Politiken newspaper.
The plastic potties were apparently a success during Distortion.
Not just awesome for awesome's sake, but awesome with an actual purpose. A lot of countries could really take a leaf out of Copenhagen's book.
[H/T: Copenhagen Post]
passed out drunk dude via shutterstock
