københavn, denmark

we arrived into Copenhagen Friday around 5oclock, and as soon as we stepped off the plane onto the Tarmac I instantly wished I hadn't sent my parka home with mom and dad. it was windy and rippin chilly - luckily not raining. we took a metro into the city, hopped on a bus and couldn't get google maps to work when we got off the bus so I took a leap of faith and asked a couple where our apartment was. they were really sweet and very helpful - almost every person in Copenhagen was especially pleasant and spoke English. I have to say the Danish language is an interesting one - it sounds absolutely nothing like it looks and it honestly sounds like jibberish. on our way to the apartment (we stayed at an air bnb) Sarah texted us and said the shower was in the backyard. Mary was instantly concerned and said, "OUTSIDE? THE SHOWER IS OUTSIDE?" which made me crack up on the metro. upon arrival sar gave us the grand tour - the toilet was down the stairs outside of the apartment, and the shower was down the stairs out the door down the back patio area and in this house hut thing. the showers were kind of like a community college dorm set up. so odd but they were decent showers so no big deal. we walked to the glass market for dinner - sar and I had a thin crust pizza at gorm's and mar had a salad. it was delectable, we were quite hungry. we snagged a few bottles of wine, went back to the apartment and played cards for hours which was really fun. Sarah's rummy strategy was basically to pick up the largest discard piles and hope for the best and it faired well for her because she kicked our butts.

Saturday morning we walked to cafe paludan, a suggestion from a friend (Courtney, living in Copenhagen for the semester) that the Danish love to brunch. this place was adorable, sort of like a library cafe with books everywhere and people just casually enjoying each other's company. we all three ordered the same thing, a plate with a variety of goodies (see photo for reference.) it was so delightful and a great way to kick off the morning - not to mention I was low key starving because a bird kindly woke me up 2 hours before my alarm was set to go off.  after brunch we made our way to the Nyhavn - the classic photo you see when Copenhagen is being shown, the colorful buildings along the canal. we decided to take a canal tour.. a great idea in theory but holy hell it was freezing. clearly the temp drops on the water but throw in a little speed and it's rippin frigid. didn't rain which was a major blessing but the sun hid behind some fluffy clouds and we needed the heat from the sun. the tour was awesome, seeing the city from a different perspective and mon pieds (my feet) we're thankful after the London walking. we saw the infamous little mermaid, and the tour guide informed us that she's been through quite a bit in her time. her head has been cut off twice, her arm went MIA and she's been dressed in countless crazy outfits. some people might see it as rude or disrespectful but I had a chuckle and silently (or not so silently) appreciated the humor & immaturity in those people. after our tour we hopped off and headed for trivoli, but stopped at a coffee shop to warm up and get some caffeine. sar lost what are the odds so she had to give the guy working her number - still laughing about that one. we decided to skip trivoli because you had to pay to get in and we were ballin on a budget. afterward we paroosed (spell check) the streets, saw some really cool performers in the circle and tried dodging the bikes. I'm not sure about Denmark as a country but Copenhagen is a bike city without a doubt. there are special sidewalk lanes for them, and they mean business. I was almost pummeled about 5 times. pedestrians do not have the right away in certain places let me tell ya.

after a while we made our way to what is called, "paper island" or Copenhagen street food and it was the coolest place ever. outside people sat on the dock or at picnic tables and chatted and drank and it was such a bubbly atmosphere. inside it was a dark warehouse with a bunch of food trucks / stands from every kind of region. Indian, Mexican, Greek, Brazilian, and other speciality stands. there were some cool drinks floating around so I went for the passion mojito - fruity and divine. after a few rounds circling the options I chose Brazilian which had really flavorful meat and it was quite tasty. mar had a falafel and Sarah had this egg crepe burrito thing (best way to describe it) and it was light and delicious. after people watching from an upper deck of seating, we started back to the apartment and went through the garden near the Rosenborg castle which was really gorgeous. sun was setting and the park was peaceful. it was really getting chilly so we got a move on because I really had to use the restroom and public restrooms are laughable in Europe (meaning they don't exist or if they do you have to buy a meal or just pay to enter altogether.) we snagged some gelato and packed it in for the night. seeing the sights on Denmark had us thinking about the movie the prince and me with Julia stiles. I brought my iPad so Mary found the movie on Netflix (WIN) and we snuggled up with some snacks in the bed and watched it together. we cracked up majority of the time, it's one of my favorites but I hadn't seen it in ages. perfect end to a great trip. we walked about 12 miles in the day and a quarter that we were in Copenhagen. in total this week we probably walked over 38 miles whoop whoop!

Sunday - the dreaded day of travel. left the apartment at 5:30 to get to the train station and then the airport. sat at Charles de Gaulle for 5 hours waiting for our train.. thrilling. 2 hour train ride to angers and I'm home home home. Denmark was beautiful, and I hope to return (when it's summer, pretty please.)

cheers, jkro