A Weekend of Danes and Swedes

I should really change the title of my blog to "Copenhagen is the greatest place on Earth"... because it's true. Having now been to ten different countries in my life, I think Denmark might be my favorite. (Sorry Italy!) Here's a summary of my past few days, and maybe you'll see why:

Duck

FRIDAY: I had my first class. It was good. School is school. But afterwards a bunch of us went to the Glass Market for lunch and it was amazing! We tried samples of cheeses, breads, meats, and tea, among other things, and I had a duck sandwich for lunch. Yes. Duck. Delicious. And on Friday night my floor went out and had a blast together! Great start to my weekend.

Swedish seafood

SATURDAY: Two floormates and I took a day trip to Malmo, Sweden. Malmo is a coastal town just 30 minutes away by train from Copenhagen, and it was a great day for it. After arriving, we went on a 45-minute wild goose chase for a restaurant we heard was great, ending in us finally finding the restaurant and seeing that it was closed. So we walked back into town and had delicious seafood outside at a little cafe - win-win since we still got good food and also got our daily dose of cardio. We shopped around Malmo, which is apparently where all the Danes go to shop because the Swedish exchange rate is better, so everything was a tad cheaper there than in Denmark. One more country off my checklist!

Rainy day in Copetown

SUNDAY: Rain rain rain. Seems to be something Copenhagen likes to do often. Unfortunately. Despite the rain, a few of us decided to walk to the National Museum of Denmark, which was FREE (my new favorite word). After, we looked for the Royal Library, which was sadly closed, but ended up wandering around the city and taking some great pictures. Even the rain couldn't stop us from having fun.

Little Mermaid

MONDAY: Weather forecast said rain all day, and yet there wasn't a cloud in the sky today. After class, we went to the amazing sandwich shop Smagsloget and finally got sandwiches, which were in fact amazing! So happy. We strolled into the Rosenborg gardens and ate our sandwiches, then continued our walk down to Kastellet, an old military barrack area with streams and green grass and old cannons and a church and ducks and so much beautiful nature. 70% chance of thunderstorms my butt, it was perfectly sunny! We moseyed on over to the Little Mermaid statue, which is known for being a huge tourist attraction but also very anticlimactic, and it was just that. But we had to take a picture of it and say that we saw it, of course. After a lovely (and hot!) walk back to the dorm, we took our books and class work out to the Rosenborg gardens once more and laid in the grass, soaking in the beautiful weather and a little bit of academics, too.

Kastellet

All in all, it's been a fabulous weekend, and I have so many more things I want to see and do! Copenhagen, you treat me too well.

I'm in Love, I'm in Love, and I Don't Care Who Knows It!

Well, it's official. I am in love with Copenhagen. Yes, I know I've only been here for two days, but after walking around today, I've realized how perfect it is. DIS orientation made us go to the main sights of the city, and these were my adventures of the day:

1. Nyhavl: Translates to "New Harbor" and it's the picturesque scene on most Copenhagen postcards. Breathtaking! Definitely want to go back and eat dinner on the water one night.
2. Christiansborg Palace: It's where Parliament currently resides. And we saw the most adorable Danish children on a field trip there and I died of happiness. So many tiny blondes.

3. Rosenborg Palace and Gardens: Gorgeous!! Absolutely beautiful. I took a tour of the palace which was quaint and artistic, but the gardens themselves are just so wonderful. I'll definitely be studying and chilling out on the lawns as it gets warmer out.

4. More of Stroget, the main shopping pedestrian street: It rocks. It has so many restaurants and shops and bends and curves and is adorable.
5. Amelianborg Castle: Where the Royal family currently resides. Gotta go back to see the changing of the guard, and maybe the queen if I'm lucky!













6. Marble Church:
Randomly wandered into it and it was gorgeous and FREE! (My new favorite word, as everything here is beyond expensive. Wahhh.) Apparently on weekends you can climb to the top of the dome and see great views of the city, so that's on the to-do list as well.

Many more adventures to come! Can't wait!

Day 0: Arrival

HEJ, KOBENHAVN!
I'm here! Wow! Things I've learned on my journey over:

1. A "small" suitcase in my book is not "small" in Lufthansa Airlines' book.
2. Credit cards are glorious when they work, and frustrating as hell when they don't. Especially when you're in a foreign country with no Danish kroner and can't take any out.
3. The Danish soccer team flies on Scandinavian Airlines and all wear matching blue blazers and have matching white suitcases. And sat three rows behind me. And were gorgeous.
4. Jet lag is real.
5. After wandering the inner city, I realized how close everything is and how centrally located my dorm and classes are. Thanks, DIS!
6. All Danish food looks yummy. And expensive.
7. I cannot pronounce a single Danish word correctly. (Yet...)
8. I'm so excited for my adventures in Cope (yes, I will abbreviate Copenhagen to Cope from here on out) that lie ahead!

Courtyard outside my dorm

Canal view