2009 World Outgames – Day 4
It’s rower’s day off for most of us except Supermen like GLRF member Ray B. who raced the previous day and was getting ready for the 100m. swimming relay today. Most of us headed to the streets to see what Copenhagen looked like after three days of focused practice and competition.
The weather was nice – party cloudy with the sun making a quick celebrity appearance from time to time.
GLRF organized a pub crawl to Malmo, Sweden so most of the afternoon was spent scurrying around Copenhagen trying to find a good gay city map. Everyone said they had one but wait, no, they couldn’t find it but “we know the Men’s Shop has one” and then “well, we usually do but talk to Lars at our gay pride booth, he’ll know…” The result was lots of walking and layers and layers of maps and guides that slowly revealed all the gay bars in Malmo would be closed on Tuesday evening.
In the process, we came across the Outgames Women’s Space. If there is one event that should receive the award for the most successful event, this had to be it. Women jammed the three-tent area set up alongside the Frederiksholms Kanal in Copenhagen. A café served food, lounger chairs had chicks relaxing along the canal seawall and music purred from inside where women danced arm in arm. It was perfect and everyone was smiling. View the pics of the Womens Space .
After a quick run home to change shirts, we all met under the clock at 20:00h in the Copenhagen Central Station for the Malmo Pub Crawl. With just 2 minutes before the hour, not a soul was in sight. Walk away for a minute and suddenly 22 GLRF members and rowers were everywhere. Rowers from Hanover, Melbourne, London, Guernsey, Washington, and a couple of water polo hotties from Atlanta and Dallas showed up. Faced with the news that there wouldn’t be any gay bars to invade, the group decided to give it a go for adventure’s sake and besides, any pub would be a gay pub within seconds of our arrival.
The train ride was smooth and quick although kind of anticlimactic as the train traversed the underside of the famous suspension bridge to Sweden. The ocean electric wind farm was the big topic of discussion as it slid past our windows and then we were in Sweden. No passport punches, no surly customs officials, not even some tourist promotion booths. Just quiet, serene Malmo.
There were a few “are we there yet?” comments from the group as the crawl got underway but soon we were upon our first destination that was listed as a gay friendly pub in the Swedish QX magazine . So friendly, in fact, that it was closed! But to no avail, and off to the pub next door for food and drink and drooling over the water polo hotties. Then off to the next pub, nearby, and soon the water polo hotties and a few DC Strokes peeled off (it makes one wonder why and just what got peeled off…) but the promotion of rowing digresses … unless the water polo guys were convinced to take up rowing. Fatigue set in and we were heading back to the train station but fate played her lesbian hand … no train for at least another hour so off we went for another beer. Then home and who knows what or with whom things were peeled.
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