Hello from Denmark, well technically I am in Sweden today. I am at this moment riding the train from Copenhagen to Falkenberg, Sweden to visit my sister-in-law and her family. I am sorry I haven’t been writing like I promised but the holiday season in Denmark is packed with holiday commitments. It has also been difficult to find a place with wi-fi. I need to work on finding a good place to log on and write. As you can see I posted a few things today about my first week in Denmark. Stayed tuned for adventures in bike riding and my first traditional Danish Christmas!!!
On Sunday my friend Peter came to me from Esbjerg, a city located on the west coast of Denmark. It was good to see him and we had a great day walking around Copenhagen being tourists. Peter used to be what the Danes call a life guard (a soldier who guards the Queen) and it was interesting to walk around Amalienborg (the Queen’s residence) and learn about his duties as a guard. On my last trip to Copenhagen I neglected to see the little mermaid and Peter insisted this time I needed to meet her. I have to say it was cool to see the Lille Havfrue (Danish for little mermaid) in person but it was so dark by the time we made it there it was difficult to see her in all her glory.
But I thought it was very sweet Peter made such an effort to make sure I made the visit. Peter also made good on his promise to take me to Tivoli, a small amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen. It’s usually open only during the summer however during Christmas it is lit up with millions of lights and X-Mas decorations. As you walk around there are stalls to buy various Christmas presents such as Nisse (elves or gnomes), funny hats, decorations, etc… and of course plenty of food stalls selling traditional holiday food. It was really lovely to walk around the grounds and soak up the holiday spirit. And even though we didn’t ride any rides (Peter and I share the same affinity for observing instead of riding) we both had a great time just spending time together.
We enjoyed a nice hot meal at Tivoli and later visited the Nisse Village (a really cute village with animatronic elves) where I ate my first bowl of risengrød, a warm rice dish kind of like porridge they set out for the Nisse (elves) during Christmas.
After a busy day of walking, eating and Nisse visiting, Peter and I decide to go back to his hotel and watch The Godfather 3. Peter had never seen it and I had fun telling him the whole back story. I think he liked it! It was sad to say goodbye to him the next day but I know I will see him soon and I look forward to visiting him in his hometown.
Well let me sum up my first couple days:
I arrived late Friday afternoon in Copenhagen after a short delay in London. It was nice to spend a few hours in Heathrow browsing all the shops. I didn’t sleep on the flight from New York even though my plan was to have a short nap. Instead I stayed awake and watched an English movie called “The Duchess”. It was ok, basically a time killer. I did have a short one hour nap from London to Copenhagen which I think helped enormously. After Camilla picked me up we headed to her flat in Fredriksberg. She has a sweet cozy place on the 6th floor (which is higher than most Danish apartments so we can see pretty far) which would be called a studio in America. Once I was settled we decided to take a long walk around the lakes. Copenhagen lakes are home to many birds but by far my favorite is the swan. I don’t think I have ever see so many swans in one place in my entire life. They are beautiful elegant creatures and it is a special treat just to watch them. Danish people however are very used to seeing them and I think Camilla got a good giggle at seeing my reaction to them. Even though it was quite cold out I think the exercise was just what I needed to conquer my jet lag. I went to sleep the first night with no problems, I woke up a couple times but went right back to sleep.
Sunrise over Copenhagen!
Saturday some of Camilla’s girlfriends came for a visit and we listened to some music and enjoyed a few drinks. Later that night we all rode our bikes to a nightclub called Vega. It was fairly empty at first but really started to fill up around 1a.m. Although I feel Danish people can be friendly once you get to know them (especially if you are American) they aren’t exactly eager to talk to people at first. While at the bar I asked Melina and Louisa (Camilla’s friends) if they wanted to chat up some fellas. They looked at me completely horrified at the thought of going up to people we did not know and speaking to them. However after some prodding by myself Melina and I went up to a few guys and introduced ourselves. Once I broke the ice, people were very eager to talk to me and once Melina and Louisa saw it was an effective way of meeting people they dragged me around to every good looking guy they wanted to meet and said ” Hi, my friend is American and she wanted to meet you.” I didn’t mind I was happy to help out. After the night was over we had to bike about 3km back to Camilla’s flat. Now biking sober is not so hard but when you are a bit drunk you really need to focus (I will write more about my bike riding experience in Copenhagen later). Needless to say I made it home safely and we spent the next couple days relaxing (well Camilla had to work a few days) and preparing for the holiday.
I cannot believe I am leaving today for Denmark! I know I have been talking about nothing but leaving for the last 8 weeks but now the time has finally come. Last night I had a lovely dinner with my good friend Leo, whom I haven’t seen in a while. Leo and I have had a lot of adventures and whenever we get together we talk about what new things we can try. Leo wants to climb Mount Everest! I don’t know. I suggested maybe a smaller climb first. But that is what I like about Leo, he is like me: a big thinker! Later we met up with my good friends Ben, George, Frances and my (gorgeous wedding dress designer) friend Mika at Lolita in the lower east side. After a few drinks George and Frances headed home and the rest of us went to Congee Village, a super tacky but totally authentic Chinese restaurant. The food was good but my stomach was killing all night long. Probably a combination of eating too late and nerves. Well I got to get packin’. Cars pickingme up at 5:00pm. Wow tomorrow I will be in Copenhagen! So hard to believe. I will really miss my friends and family but it’s also exciting to think about what lies ahead. Bye NYC, hello Denmark!
It’s been snowing most of the day and night here in NYC. At first, big, fluffy flakes that melted when they hit the cement but as the evening has progressed the snow seems to be sticking. Everyone who knows me, knows I love snow. Not the nasty cold weather that comes with it even though I do prefer a cooler climate to a very warm one. But there is something fun and magical about snow. I can think of anything I like doing more than watching a gentle snow storm at night. The way the snow blankets the city’s streets and buildings; giving everything a clean, fresh look, makes me feel all happy inside. It’s like walking in a strange new land! And I could spend hours molding snow into various art projects (mostly graphic in nature- evidence below). Yes, snow rules. I am so glad I got to see one New York snowstorm before I leave.
I have been staying with my friend Ben in Brooklyn (Boerum Hill) for about a week now. It’s a great neighborhood with plenty of shops and nice “Cosby Style” brownstones. Over the last couple days I have been brushing up on my bike riding skills by taking Ben’s bike out for a ride everyday. It’s a great bike and I have really been enjoyed cruising the streets of Brooklyn on it. Today I went to Trader Joe’s (way bigger than the Manhattan store) and picked up a few things for the party Ben and I are hosting tomorrow night. You can see the bag full of goodies in the picture. I just tucked the bag into the nifty little basket there and zoomed back to Ben’s place. Since bikes are the primary source of transportation in Denmark, I thought it best to get in some practice before I leave. I can’t wait to get a bike and ride around Copenhagen!
It’s been raining most of the day in NYC but I still managed to bicycle over to Flight 101 to pick up my new computer bag. I have discovered biking in the rain-sucks! I am definitely putting a rain suit on my list of things I need to bring with me to DK. But isn’t my new bag cute? :>
Ha ha I couldn’t help posting this photo from Lol Cats.
Worleygig posted the cutest photo on their blog. Post Snow Ghosts! But not just any old ghosts, don’t these guys resemble the ghosts in Pacman?
I have been trying to learn the Danish Language on and off for about two years now. There are two things I can tell you about the language, 1. nothing sounds the way you think it should 2. it’s hard a freakin’ language to learn. In spite of that, I continue my studies so that I might be able to speak like a foreigner speaking Danish one day.And it’s not just us ex-pats who think the language is difficult, check out this hilarious skit from a Norwegian television show, apparently Danish is difficult even for Danes.
