After 6 days without my luggage, I was finally reunited.

I took an Uber to the Airport, where I checked in to my flight. I went down to the basement to the Lost and Found, and finally met up with my backpack. I had all but given up on ever seeing it again— my precious Aer Travel Pack filled with the clothes, swim-trunks, sandals, umbrella, and bathroom supplies that would have been so useful in Croatia, but were either replaced, or done without.

A big stupid smile on my face, I returned to the security gate, and eventually, passport control, that would guide me to the gate, and eventually, my flight. This flight brought me to Copenhagen, where I took the train into town, and walked to my hostel.

This hostel seemed very familiar. I have yet to confirm this, but I am pretty sure that this is the same hostel that I stayed in back in 2010. After settling in and swapping back my Danish SIM card, I joined a walking tour that took us around Christianshavn.

Christiansavn is a neighborhood built on top of several artificial islands, which has gone through numerous phases throughout the years. More recently, a disused military barracks gave way to Christiania, a collectivist community that has claimed autonomy from the Danish government. The Danes consider Christiania a tolerated social experiment, and the Christianites consider themselves autonomous, even declaring independence from the E.U.

Denmark is not very tolerant of drug use, but has historically let Christiania get away with it. Christiania’s government has outlawed harder drugs, but taking one look around pusher street and it becomes obvious that they are not opposed to marijuana usage. They have regular raids from the Danish police, but they have become experts at closing up shops in seconds and avoiding detention. But this community is much less about drugs than it is about creativity, with street art on display everywhere, vendors, shops, and restaurants. Families live here, and children grow up here. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind city-in-a-city.

On my tour, I made friends with a Londoner. After the tour, we wandered Christiania for a bit, and decided to go for a drink and the nearby Eiffel pub. There, our conversation was interrupted by a regular, an older woman who had already had a few drinks. The bartender, a twenty-something who had studied in the states, quickly joined us and made sure that all of the translations went smoothly.

The rest of the night I spent wandering my neighborhood, getting my introvert time in before I had to go back to the hostel and face my loud roommates.