According to some København locals, a club called Rust used to be the de facto center of nightlife in the city. A year or two ago, the club was the site of a fatal shooting (which reportedly stemmed from gang violence), and the reputation and atmosphere of Rust never quite recovered.
Two months ago, a fire ravaged the inside of the building, closing the club. (I couldn't find out the circumstances of the fire but I don't think it's assumed to be foul play.)
A group of us from the hostel had been planning to hit the town last night. I'd heard that the area around Rust was an energetic part of town, and it's very close to the hostel; we decided to check it out. As our small group was leaving the building, three hostelers ran up to us brimming with excitement. "Come to Sankt Hans Torv," they yelled, "there's a massive street party!" We hadn't heard about the party yet, but that's where we were planning to go. We joined our messengers and booked it toward the square.
Despite its charred interior, Rust is working hard to get back on the scene. Last night, the club blasted music outside of its defunct building from 8pm to midnight, and passed out an enormous supply of free beer! (Drinking on the street is legit in København.) Unfortunately we arrived after the last can had been distributed, but the people and the music remained. I'd estimate there were a couple thousand twenty-somethings crowding the wide street, milling about and dancing and yelling.
Since there were no more free drinks, we headed to a 7-Eleven on the corner to stock up. The refrigerators had been absolutely raided; there wasn't a drop of beer left in the store, and the shopkeeper looked overwhelmed at all of the foot traffic. We bought an overpriced bottle of rum and climbed atop some sort of dumpster to join the party.
From our vantage point we could see the whole scene: hundreds and hundreds of people swaying to inaudible music, broken glass and 6-pack rings everywhere, a vibrant buzz in the air. It reminded me of the snow day in Ithaca last year, when everybody junked their plans for the day and went sledding in the streets. (This time instead of snow falling from the sky it was beer.)
The music died at midnight, but the crowd stayed for at least an hour after that. We stuck around and chatted up the locals, and unearthed some valuable pieces of København lore. For example: the neighborhood in which both our hostel and the club are located is called Nørrebro, but young residents of the city call it "Nørre-Bronx" because of the amount of gang activity. (We heard this word a few times throughout the night, always in different groups of people, so I guess it's legitimate.) We heard the story of the Rust club and Københaven's cultural fixation with riots, both of which explain the scene at this particular street party. Still, it seems like these kinds of parties are rare enough that they're special events when they come together.
The night went on from there, but this was the cool part.
edit: If you're interested in the riots, Wikipedia has some nice info.
Two months ago, a fire ravaged the inside of the building, closing the club. (I couldn't find out the circumstances of the fire but I don't think it's assumed to be foul play.)
A group of us from the hostel had been planning to hit the town last night. I'd heard that the area around Rust was an energetic part of town, and it's very close to the hostel; we decided to check it out. As our small group was leaving the building, three hostelers ran up to us brimming with excitement. "Come to Sankt Hans Torv," they yelled, "there's a massive street party!" We hadn't heard about the party yet, but that's where we were planning to go. We joined our messengers and booked it toward the square.
Despite its charred interior, Rust is working hard to get back on the scene. Last night, the club blasted music outside of its defunct building from 8pm to midnight, and passed out an enormous supply of free beer! (Drinking on the street is legit in København.) Unfortunately we arrived after the last can had been distributed, but the people and the music remained. I'd estimate there were a couple thousand twenty-somethings crowding the wide street, milling about and dancing and yelling.
Since there were no more free drinks, we headed to a 7-Eleven on the corner to stock up. The refrigerators had been absolutely raided; there wasn't a drop of beer left in the store, and the shopkeeper looked overwhelmed at all of the foot traffic. We bought an overpriced bottle of rum and climbed atop some sort of dumpster to join the party.
From our vantage point we could see the whole scene: hundreds and hundreds of people swaying to inaudible music, broken glass and 6-pack rings everywhere, a vibrant buzz in the air. It reminded me of the snow day in Ithaca last year, when everybody junked their plans for the day and went sledding in the streets. (This time instead of snow falling from the sky it was beer.)
The music died at midnight, but the crowd stayed for at least an hour after that. We stuck around and chatted up the locals, and unearthed some valuable pieces of København lore. For example: the neighborhood in which both our hostel and the club are located is called Nørrebro, but young residents of the city call it "Nørre-Bronx" because of the amount of gang activity. (We heard this word a few times throughout the night, always in different groups of people, so I guess it's legitimate.) We heard the story of the Rust club and Københaven's cultural fixation with riots, both of which explain the scene at this particular street party. Still, it seems like these kinds of parties are rare enough that they're special events when they come together.
The night went on from there, but this was the cool part.
edit: If you're interested in the riots, Wikipedia has some nice info.
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