Jordon: What do you want as your blog title? Mike: I don't care. Surprise me.

Jordan, Ryan, and Mike at Christiania.

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Sunday was our first full day in Denmark.  We spent it exploring an outlaying town called Køge.  There, we had an opportunity to walk about the town before meeting with Per and Eva.  While walking around town, Jordon, Ryan, and myself found a open, community pharmacy. 

The store was very neat, clean and bright.  Working behind the counter was a pharmacist and a technician.  The technician was quite friendly, spoke excellent English, and answered a few questions that I had about Danish pharmacy practice. 

In researching Denmark's healthcare/pharmacy practices, I had read that Danes consumed far less pharmaceutical products than their other Western European counter-parts and the USA.  The technician eluded that the reason for this is the high out-of-pocket expense for which the patient is responsible.  Danes do not have extra expense for access to general medical care; but, that luxury is not extended to pharmaceuticals. 

Thanks for the heads up!

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I also commented that I was surprised how quickly I found an open pharmacy on a Sunday afternoon.  The technician explained that the government requires that certain pharmacies remain open, even on Sundays, to ensure access of pharmacy services to all Danes.  This fits with what I had read earlier regarding access to pharmacy services; that the roughly 320 community pharmacies are strategically located around Denmark and exist in a sort of profit-sharing network.  This is done to ensure that all pharmacies remain viable and can provide adequate access for all.

Monday was a free day for us, where we all had a chance to go out and explore the city of Copenhagen.  Lucky for us, it was a beautiful, sunny day, which made walking tours of the city enjoyable.  Popular destinations of many included Christiania (an interesting section of town that is made of communal living and very liberal social practices), the Round Tower (a famous old church and observatory that served as a center of the sciences in the 1600's), and Churchill Park (which contains the famed Little Mermaid statue).  Others took canal boat tours of the city or enjoyed getting lost in the many side streets, laden with small shops and restaurants.  In all, Copenhagen is a very beautiful city.  Many pictures were taken and memories made that will last last a life-time.

A shot from along the canals.

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Mike Satterness