Christiania was first set up over 40 years ago when a bunch of people squatted a military property. From there, things grew and the place is now a communally-run town, home to around 1,000 people. While its relationship with the Danish authorities is not an easy one, for the moment Christiania is self-governing and has its own set of rules - no parking, no photos, no hard drugs.
It's a bit of a tourist attraction in Copenhagen, and the bars and places to eat are open to non-residents and residents alike.
When me and my other half were in Copenhagen on holiday, we stayed just round the corner from Christiania. We went one day for a look around and, when we saw the freetown had its own veggie restaurant, we came back the next day for dinner.
The restaurant, Morgenstedet, is run by locals, is tiny but warm (a virtue not to be underestimated in Denmark), and has a changing menu of just a few dishes every day.
There was soft drinks on sale but no beer - although the place next door would be happy to step in and fill the gap.
When we were there, the food menu offered vegan green pea soup with bread, Ethiopian aubergine stew and a gratin dish, as well as a big salad bar.
Alas, that's what it promised, not what it delivered - by the time we got there at 7pm (it shuts at 9pm) everything had just sold out, bar the salads. Luckily, the lovely lady behind the counter told us, all the salads were vegan and for 90 krone, we could have a big plate of them. Sold!
Here's what 90 krone will buy you:
(90 krone may sound like a lot, but it's quite cheap on the Danish scale of dinner prices!)
We got five salads - something leafy, something carroty, something with pears in, something pasta-y and some beans.
Mr Flicking the Vs is a salad-phobe, but he was swayed by the big plate in front of him. The carrots had a lovely chill warmth, the pears had arranged a hot date with some crunchy nuts, and the leaves were, well, just doing what leaves do.
The pasta and beans were the stars of the show, though - the pasta had rocked up with peas, red peppers and a pesto-type sauce with sesame instead of cheese, while the beans had done similarly. It may not have been the most complex cooking, but it was hearty and well flavoured and we scarfed it down happily.
Christiania seemed a bit grim in the day time, but in the night on the way to Morgenstedet, the rougher edges got lost in the dark and all we found was a cosy restaurant selling some not half bad food, for some not half bad prices.
They didn't even mind when I broke Christiania's rules to take a picture of my dinner...
Morgenstedet
Somewhere in Christiania
Copenhagen
Denmark
Love the concept of Christiana...and love that you took a photo, hee-hee. That's a pretty big dinner, well rounded, too!
ReplyDelete