A few weeks ago, when the stock exchange in Copenhagen went up in flames, the city didn't just lose one of its most famous landmarks — it also erased a piece of history. With over 400 years of history, the building, with its distinctive spire in the shape of four intertwined dragons, was one of the oldest structures in the port city.

The fire at the stock exchange was as shocking for the proud and tradition-conscious Copenhageners as the Notre Dame fire was for Parisians. Even several weeks after the tragedy, the feeling lingers in the city when standing before the ruins, which are currently being cleared away. When the fire broke out, city residents rushed into the burning building without hesitation, to save the artworks exhibited there. They managed to rescue 99% of the art from the flames.

They love their city, and are now deciding how to proceed with the restoration efforts. Will they rebuild the old stock exchange — or will something entirely new emerge in its place? But In it will turn out well regardless. Few cities blend tradition and modernity as symbiotically as Copenhagen. Remnants of the old monarchy coexist here with the most modern architecture and infrastructure.

Traveling from Frankfurt to Copenhagen for a weekend, one realises just how much investment Germany has missed out on in the past ten to fifteen years. Compared to Copenhagen's digital infrastructure, Frankfurt seems like a third world city. For example, while Frankfurt has only recently had the bright idea to paint a few bike lanes onto its main streets in the city center, giving cyclists have a fair chance against aggressively honking motorists, bike riders in Copenhagen have for years been speeding along their own lanes. In the center of Copenhagen, every second person travels by bicycle.

And the remainder of the population either walks or opts for the train. There are hardly any cars in the city center. Not because they are banned everywhere, simply because there are better alternatives. Copenhageners can leave their cars behind because their trains run. Every few minutes. And reliably so. The metro from the center to the Vanløse terminus operates at intervals of two to three minutes.

The S4 from Frankfurt to the Kronberg terminus runs every half hour — God willing and if it's not too hot, too cold, or too windy, if no other train is running ahead, if there are no people on the tracks, and only if the overhead lines are functioning, there are no signal or switch malfunctions, and the train drivers are not on strike. The metro in Copenhagen has long been driverless. But hey, Germany has subsidised electric cars on a large scale without first investing in the necessary charging infrastructure. Take that, sustainable Copenhagen!