N

TAKE A WALK

It is only ideas gained from walking that have any

worth.

—FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

early every afternoon the citizens of Copenhagen were treated to
the strange sight of Søren Kierkegaard walking the streets. The
cantankerous philosopher would write in the morning at a standing
desk, and then around noon would head out onto the busy streets of
the city.
He walked on the newfangled “sidewalks” that had been built for
fashionable citizens to stroll along. He walked through the city’s
parks and along the pathways of Assistens Cemetery, where he would
later be buried. On occasion, he walked out past the city’s walls and
into the countryside. Kierkegaard never seemed to walk straight—he
zigged and zagged, crossing the street without notice, trying to
always remain in the shade. When he had either worn himself out,
worked through what he was struggling with, or been struck with a
good idea, he would turn around and make for home, where he
would write for the rest of the day.
Seeing Kierkegaard out walking surprised the residents of
Copenhagen, because he seemed, at least from his writings, to be
such a high-strung individual. They weren’t wrong. Walking was how
he released the stress and frustration that his philosophical
explorations inevitably created.