Written by Elissa Ebersold on August 17, 2014

Denmark Diaries: Copenhagen

Hej!

So this entry will be about my experience in Copenhagen, which was a great one.

I was up bright and early at 4:30 for a 6:15am train. It was my first time in a [large] northern European city, and a city with street names I simply can’t pronounce (no I’m not forgetting about Reykjavik, it was a -little- smaller). There were butterflies flitting about in the bottom of my gut. While I was nervous about being in CPH, the nerves weren’t about the city. I was meeting a friend for the first time.

As a product of the digital age, I’ve made many-a-friend whom I’ve never met. Ten years ago, I made the acquaintance of a lovely Italian girl named Giada. We corresponded frequently (yes, mom and dad, I would like to point out you lectured me once about contacting this girl…). When previous attempt at meet did not happen, because we were far from where the other one was going to be (I, in Italy, she in the Ukraine) we had to wait for the next time one of us traveled either to New York, or to someplace close in Europe.

But when I found out that I might going to Denmark, I contacted her. I knew she lived in Germany and since they (Denmark and Germany) were neighbors, it could be possible if I went. For a couple of months, the idea was bounced around. She said she knew she was going to Denmark at some point, but didn’t know when, and I didn’t know if I was going at all. When I finally found out, I asked her if she knew, and she said yes, she would be flying into Copenhagen on the 15th of August.

Flashforward to my week here. I had obtained permission to visit her, both from my family and the Rotary Club, and I was finally on the train heading to CPH as the sun is rising. I’m wringing my wrists, watching turbines spin silhouetted in the sunrise, and I’m deep in thought. Ten years has led to this moment. What if I am not as she expected, or vice versa? What if we can’t talk with each other like we do online? Or my worst nightmare, what if I simply can’t find her in this foreign city? After all, I have a cell phone that can’t really dial out because it thinks everything is in the US and adds a +1 to every number, and she happened to have been locked out of her phone.

I thought the latter issue was really going to be a reality. She told me to meet her at the shopping center, and I couldn’t find a shopping center outside of Central Station in Copenhagen. After promptly connecting to the Starbucks Wi-Fi, I asked her where to find her… she told me that she was in Frederiksberg. I walked my way to Frederiksberg, which took a lot longer than I hoped because it took me quite a while to figure out where the street signs were and I got lost a couple, or six, times. I stopped only once to take a picture (a near-impossible task for me, mind you >>see photo to the left) and found the cafe we were going to meet at for brunch, but not the shopping center. I wandered around some more, asking directions left and right, but finally, I found the train station, and the shopping center…and there she was.

Conversation was easy and effortless and natural, and my worries dissipated as the day went on. We ate brunch, laughing and chatting about the things that brought us together in the first place. We walked around with no destination in mind, taking in the sights and killing time. Around noon, we hopped a subway to the airport to retrieve her boyfriend Benoit, and after picking him up we headed back into Frederiksberg to drop their stuff and his friends’ house/flat/apartment. From there, we knew we wanted to do the boat tour, so we made our way towards Nyhavn to do so.

As we stopped to look at the map trying to establish our location, I saw a Ferrari and turned to take a picture. Benoit, perhaps a little bit in an amused tone, told me to turn around. With a quick swivel, I heard the roar of a line of perhaps fifteen or twenty Ferraris making their ostentatious approach. After the conga line of revving engines had faded, we continued. Instead of winding up at Nyhavn for our boat tour, we found another service, right near Børsen, the Stock Exchange, that even went up to the Little Mermaid Statue which was something the other company wouldn’t have done. I rather enjoyed seeing the city from the water (that seems to be a common remark, doesn’t it?). I think I got a much better vantage point, and since I had/have the biggest blister I have ever had on my foot, I didn’t have to walk around to see them. Disadvantage: Couldn’t frame the pictures as well as I wanted to, and there were people’s heads in the way.

Nyhavn

On this boat ride, I saw things like Christiania, the hippie government-free (reservation?) where marijuana was legal up until last year, nude beaches are a thing, and whatever else it is you do on a hippie reservation. We saw the Royal Library, and it’s extension called the Black Diamond. I saw where the Danish Royal Family boards their yacht/schooner. We viewed the Queen’s palace, the Opera House, and a canal made to look like the canals of Amsterdam. We did float past Nyhavn, with its beautiful ships docked along its pilings. We cruised past Trekroner Søfort, an old military fort, the home of Eurovision, and some place (that I can’t remember the name of) that had a Danish Coast Guard Ship and a giant black submarine on display. And of course, we saw a number of churches that I wished I could have gone inside, but one can’t see everything in just one (and perhaps the only) day in Copenhagen.

Anyway, the weather was great, the sights were beautiful, and it was a really enjoyable experience. We sounded like the beginning of a joke. An Italian, a Frenchman, and an American are walking through Copenhagen…

After the boat rides, we meandered back in the direction of Central Station. We were meeting Alex and Cecile, Benoit’s friends for dinner not far from H (the station). They picked out a restaurant that, I was informed, was sort of located in the red light district of Copenhagen. Even if he hadn’t told me that, I could have figured that out from the sort of shops and establishments we walked past on the way to eat. The restaurant was a great closing to an amazing day. While my comrades got some hamburgers, I opted for something less American (I went more Italian, since I couldn’t find anything more Danish on the menu). We toasted our Danish beers to new experiences and new friends, and I was sad to have to leave. Of course, I told Giada that she could visit me any time in the States, and she said she would when she finally made it over there. She travels a lot, that one, so I look forward to the day I can show her around my country.

Now, my overall observations of Copenhagen are a lot like my observations of Rome (which I didn’t blog about back when I was there, but I’ll write about it anyway). It didn’t have a whole lot of charm to it, really. It was beautiful, certainly, but perhaps I just don’t like big cities. I much rather enjoy the environment of where I’m staying now in Middelfart. But interestingly enough, pertaining to the reservation I commented on in my last post, I thought people in Copenhagen were much more receptive of strangers than those in Middelfart. People actually stopped to ask me if I was lost or needed help on a number of occasions without being prompted or asked. Here in Middelfart, people are less likely to return a smile if you smile at them.

Everything was expensive in CPH, but that was expected. What I didn’t expect was the number of 7-Elevens (albeit fake 7-Elevens since they didn’t even have Big Gulps), and how early everything seemed to close in the train station on a Saturday night. Cecile and Alex surprised me when they said that they avoid public transportation (the surprise) and bike everywhere (not surprise). Let’s see, what else…I already mentioned the street signs being very difficult to find (how does anyone see them in those tiny point sizes…for display type I mean?)

Other than that, nothing truly stood out to me as being so remarkable culturally about Copenhagen. While I understand Copenhagen as a city is much older, I kept thinking to myself that Albany would have resembled Copenhagen in a way if the late Baroque-era architecture had not been torn down (late 16th century, early 17th for those not educated in art history).

I do believe that’s about it for my thoughts, if I think of anything else, I’ll add it in. For now, have some pictures.

Until next time,
E