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JUNE 01, 2008
Christiania
By Jesper K
The first time I got stoned was in Christiania. And I know I can't have been the only one to feel like the kids in "Half Baked," with giant candy bars and whatnot. I was really fucking stoned and food - any food - never tasted so good.
Back then, Christiania had survived two years of attempts to stop the hash-trade. It was the best place ever.
Every strain of red-eye
We get some pre-rolls from a guy down Pusher Street, sit on a fence near the entrance and get really high. This dude rolls up and joins us. He tells us about his habits (coke and amphetamines) and his trade (guns). At this point, we are
terrified.
My buddy roasts a cigarette for him. It's a Danish tradition, at least I haven't seen it done elsewhere. Only, he can't do it (how innocent we were!). The guy goes mental and yells at us for fucking up his mix, because the tobacco isn't roasted enough. We get shit-pants-scared, some old Christianite sits next to us, calms the guy down, rolls a joint and we split in the interim. It was great.
For two years at that point, the government, then ruled by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and sorta kinda center-left, tried to stop the hash trade in Christiania. Even though Christiania as such was also under siege and threat of eviction. After two years of riots, tear gas, smoke, fires and blood, they finally called it quits and left Christiania alone. The police were exposed for their brutality and for pocketing the smoke themselves, though no-one seemed to care all that much.
But what a place! All the flavours and colours you'd ever imagine, neatly laid out for you, with price tags and descriptions to go with it. Picture a shopping street with stalls and such, vendors displaying their goods in the hope of attracting customers. The selection was extraordinary and it seemed like every conceivable strain of the good plant was available right there in the smack-center of Copenhagen. Good times, high times.
Freetown under siege
Now, though, a second attempt to shut down Christiania has been more successful. The old familiar place today resembles a sloppy, drunken photograph of itself. The stalls were torn down by none others than the dealers themselves, the market has gotten rougher. More money, but more problems. The carefree days are gone. People get beaten and put away for possession and dealing. To top it all off, the government wants the area returned in the state it was when first squatted - in 1971. That would mean the demolition of an estimated 70 houses as well as a number of buildings that were in fact condemned, but fixed by the squatters who built up the Freetown with their own hands.
Of course, the sale of hash and magic mushrooms has always divided people into pro and con. In 1978 the Christianities kicked out heroin (and the junkies with it) during the infamous 'Junk blockade'. Since then it has been forbidden to sell hard drugs, meaning anything other than pot and skunk, hash and shrooms. At least the dealers didn't peddle their other goods publicly any more, though they were most certainly around.
In the 80's, bikers and their turf wars poisoned the Freetown, before they were evicted by force by the Christianities themselves. Most people realize that, naturally, the bike gangs and their partners are running the drugs still, but it is an unspoken truth. If nothing else, a day in the sun outside the Moonfisher Cafe should persuade you that Christiania is an idea and ideal well worth standing up for.
Then again, Christiania was always about more than just smoking (even though being a big part of it). It was an ideal, an alternative to the surrounding urbanity. A self-contained village in the middle of the city. A thriving place for cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. Birthplace of the world famous christiania bikes, popular around the globe, oft-imitated - never matched. Like most other ideals, Christiania wouldn't stand close scrutiny. But that's ideals for you.
Gentrification rears its ugly head, and now Christiania is fighting for its life. The irony: an abandoned army base, of interest to no-one in the old days, is suddenly a hot political topic, because of the value of the land. Under the guise of 'normalization' (the Horror!) the citizens of Christiania will be evicted. The land will be flattened and made ready for housing projects, the spirit will be crushed under thousands of marching boots and coffeeshops with free Wi-fi.
Which brings us back to the rioting.
Since Anders Fogh took office in a coalition with a nationalist party, Christiania has been more or less occupied by police. Sisyphus-like, they are trying to put an end to the trade. It has not been very successful, however more so than under predecessor Poul Nyrup's attempts. Gone are the chilled days in the sun. Today it feels like Big Brother is watching constantly. The police stop people at random and search them in the streets. They move through Christiania in riot gear. And every once in a while now, locals and guests resist.
In the meantime, Downtown is a blizzard of cocaine, pushing the hypocrisy of the war on drugs (and Christiania) to the limit.
"Jesper K. is sound asleep at the wheel and enjoys xkcd. He still visits the Moonfisher Cafe when the sun is out".
Links
JESPER K
MOONFISHER CAFE
CHRISTIANIA BIKES
CHRISTIANIA
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Christianias flag
The entrance
Moonfisher Cafe
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