Danish society seems perfectly engineered for a spontaneous picnic. Danes take entire months off in the summer, and when they do work it's generally a half day. They bike everywhere. There's no open alcohol container ban. The summer air is relaxed, with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees.
The key ingredient, though, is the Danish aptitude for constructing incredible parks. Sprinkled throughout busy Copenhagen are dozens of them, completely fenced off from streets, traffic and commercialism. Ørstedsparken, for example, feels a world apart from the rest of the city. When visiting, one only catches a glance of the tidy rainbow of row houses peeking through the thick treetops.
The Danes outdid themselves with Rosenborg Slot (slot = castle) and its surrounding grounds. Only yesterday after work did I finally make it to this beautiful park, with a 17th century castle tucked behind acres of manicured lawns and trees. Families, friends, couples and tourists scattered across the grounds were enjoying the sun, the breeze, their wine and their smørrebrød. I popped into a minimart, grabbed an iced tea and spent a few hours reading a book and wishing the sunset would be delayed even longer than it already is.
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