Believe it or not, it’s possible…
Although our apartment is furnished, there were quite a few things we needed and searches within walking distance – hardware stores, home goods stores, flea markets – were unsuccessful. So off to IKEA we went. All 4 of us, because we knew Dad could not get everything on the shopping list home by himself.
The nearest IKEA to Rochester (where we’ve lived since summer 2013) is Toronto, an almost 3 hour drive that does not include wait times at the border. There is nothing from Ikea we’ve needed in Rochester worth that trip.
The last time we’d been to an IKEA was around 2011 when we lived in New Haven, CT.
We do not have a car here (and do not plan on getting one) so to get to the IKEA in Copenhagen was a short bike ride to the 150S bus stop, 3 stops, then walking about 8 minutes underneath an interstate and across a 4 lane road.
About a 25 minute trip one way.
All made safe and easy because there is ample bike parking, buying bus passes does not require speaking Danish, you can buy multiple bus tickets at one time (cash only, though), and there are bike and pedestrian lanes, crosswalks, bike and pedestrian signals e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. And bikers/pedestrians follow them.
Obey the signals. Do not jaywalk. Do not turn right on red.
So we arrive and immediately I realize why I don’t go to IKEA. It’s huge and confusing and absolutely designed to make you buy more stuff, the vast majority of which you don’t need. And finding what you DO need takes forever.
I think we were there about 2 hours and filled one shopping basket with laundry baskets, pillows, towels (we have a few, but visitors are coming and while Europeans, Danes especially, believe in less -is-more, sharing towels would be going a bit too far), shelving, waste baskets, food scale, coat hangers, picture frames and a few more things I’ve forgotten already.
Then we had to get it all home. We’d brought back packs, Wegmans bags, bike bags and splitting it up among the 4 of us worked like a charm. We didn’t even need a single Wegman’s bag.
The youngest (really into hiking and backpacking) insisted on carrying all 3 laundry baskets. She tied them to her book bag.
This whole time I was thinking “biking is not compatible with those laundry baskets.” I was wrong.
