Today is day 3 in Copenhagen. What a gorgeous little city! My brother, Brian, lived in CPH for a few months while he was playing for a pro basketball team & I'm so disappointed that our paths didn't cross in this city. Unfortunately, he was here during the worst winter Denmark has experienced in over 25 years, and was anxious to return to sunny California when he had the chance. Ironically, an opportunity came my way to visit Copenhagen only about one month later. Caren Currie, my friend from high school, has been living here since January while working for an architecture firm. Even though we hadn't seen one another in a few years, she saw via Facebook (classic) that I was traveling and invited me to stay with her. Lucky for me, I'm here just in time for the sunshine! Copenhagen is currently transitioning into Spring and it couldn't be a more beautiful or bustling time to be here, from what I keep hearing. San Francisco is similar- on a sunny afternoon, the outside cafes/bars/parks are packed with people. Maybe because most of the locals live in apartments and therefore, don't have their own backyards? Maybe because it is a welcome break from the fog and an extra excuse to be social? Whatever it is, the vibe has been similar here in CPH the past few days. Plenty of people have dusted off their sunglasses, left their jackets at home and are outside, basking in the sun for the first time in months. I love it.
I have a nice little routine here in CPH. Wake up around 9am when Caren leaves for work. Check my email/read my book/leisurely get ready for the day. Around 10:30am, I have a cup of coffee and a danish (hah!) at the Beresso Cafe up the street. There is a seat by the window which I particularly love- it faces Kongens Nytorv, which is the main center square of Copenhagen. I make that one cup of (rather expensive) coffee last about an hour while I read my book and people watch and plan my day. From there, I'll either visit a museum or walk down Stroget while taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the largest shopping street in Scandinavia. Lunch has been either a traditional open faced Danish Sandwich (smorbrod), or a Doner Kebab, which I developed an obsession for while I lived in Madrid. Feels good to be reunited with my lover, the donor. Cheapest/most delicious meal in Europe, in my opinion. For the rest of the afternoon, I walk around aimlessly through the canals & windy streets of the city and stop to read my book whenever I see an empty bench with direct sunlight. =) Yesterday, I stumbled into the cutest little bookstore with a small selection of used books, in English. I talked to the owner, who offered to let me trade the three books I've already finished for three new ones. Very exciting, since the bigger Borders-style bookstore up the street was selling The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for over $20 US. No thanks. My friend Caren gets off work around 5pm, and then we grab dinner and head out for drinks and shenanigans on the town. Two thumbs up for my leisurely and budget-friendly Copenhagen schedule!
Tomorrow, Caren and I will take a bus to Berlin for the weekend. Its her favorite city in Europe and although I visited Jess when she lived in Germany a few years ago, I never made it to Berlin- also, its certainly more affordable than CPH. From there, I'll fly to London (on Ryan Air. gag.) on Monday afternoon and then to THAILAND on Tuesday. My happy place. My heaven. My home for the next few months... I'm sad to see the European portion of my zig-zag come to an end, but I'm also crazy excited to return to the land of cheap hostels & hot weather and thrilled that I can finally pull my bathing suits and flip-flops out from the bottom of my backpack!
Vi ses!
M the E
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