copenhagen

april 2, eno was gone all night & wasn't back in the morning. so, i had to leave my rent payment w/ a note stating i'd be gone for two weeks. then headed to the airport. since i don't have any average sized luggage bags, only huge & small, i had to pack three of my small bags (including backpack) w/ clothes, food, toiletries, camera, etc., which is rather cumbersome. everything went smoothly at the airport & i was actually the first one to board the plane (another first for me).

upon arrival, i got my one checked bag, found out where the info booth was & got myself a 72hr cph card (allows free transportation & entrance into many museums & attractions as well as discounts at several restaurants & shopping). i left my luggage in "left luggage", which is considerably more expensive than a locker, but that is the locker system in the copenhagen airport. after which, i sat down outside to look @ my cph book & figure out where i wanted to go. i turned on my gps so it could acquire satellites & i switched out the sim cards in my phone hoping that the one i rented through national geographic would work (my dna sim only works in finland), which had stopped working. it still didn't work, so i was w/o a phone - very inconvenient. since it was such a nice day (& 6 degrees!), i didn't really want to spend it inside & tried to find out how to get to the little mermaid statue. there was no information about it or where it was in the book that i could find. tired of flipping through the book, i decided to just pick one place i wanted to see & go there & decided on the amalienborg palace museum. it's train station was where i was to go to meet my cs host, thomas, as well. i found my way to the trains under the airport & went down to the wrong track - it took me a while to figure that out. so, i headed back up to the airport & found the entrance to the other track. on the train, i listened to another american guy talk to a dane about his experience @ the munich aiport (having to go through security check again & how that made him miss his connecting flight...) & how after 9/11, he had a beard & was searched every time he flew because they were profiling. and i thought, well, how do you explain how i, a little, blonde white girl, was also searched just about every time i flew after that as well....he talked a lot....i also noticed there was a lot of graffiti on the walls enclosing the rails....

emerging from the train station @ østerport, i was met w/ a "sea" of bicycles. holy crap!...and i thought portland was a bike friendly city....off in the near distance, i noticed a very palatial looking dome & decided to walk to it instead of trying to find the amalienborg. along the way, i noticed a nice little park & decided that was where i was going to eat my lunch (not yet, it was still only around 11am). i kept walking towards the dome, but got distracted by other buildings & veered from my path; i didn't go back to my path since i figured i'd still find the building one block away. however, streets are not straight in scandenavia (other than a few exceptions) & the streets actually veered away from each other & the buildings were too high for me to see the dome over them. instead of finding that building, i found my way to a center square w/ a statue of what looks like a king getting trampled by a horse & rider & the rider looks roman. i was getting hungry, so i decided to turn back & go to the park & eat. on the way back, i came across that domed building i had originally sought out to see. it turned out to be the frederiks church/the marble church. after walking around it - it's quite small as far as old, grandiose churches go - i went to the park & ate. there were quite a few birds in the park & one of them decided to hang around me & beg for food. i obliged, a wee bit. then, i wandered around the park taking pictures of the birds (including a heron & geese - at least they looked very goose-like). i noticed an old-fashioned wind mill up on a hill on the other side of the stream & went looking for a way to get a closer look. this lead me to the entrance of kastellet, which is an old fort, but still in use by the danish military. because of those to descriptions, people are allowed to wander around the streets to an extent & there's a path up on the grassy fortress walls where people can walk, run, etc. however, you are not allowed to walk or stand on the grass bordering the path. i walked around the entire path (not that there was any option to do different other than turn back), which gives some very nice views of the city & the port....i found the windmill up there as well.

by this time, it was about time for when i could meet up w/ thomas, so i headed back to the airport, but got on the wrong train...it isn't all that easy to figure out which train goes where since not all of them are labeled. thank goodness for my gps, which indicated that i was going away from the airport after a couple of stops. i got off & caught the next train in the opposite direction w/ plans on getting off at another station closer to the center, & then trying to figure out which train went to the airport. the next train happened to be going to the airport & i didn't end up needing to do that - yay. as i got off the train in østerport, a danish lady was running to catch the same train, but just missed it. she excitedly told me her story about missing the train in danish & i "said" (i.e. in my mind), kay, i'm gonna go, 'cause i have no idea what you just said.... i walked down to where thomas lives & called him from the deli/restaurant next door. then i waited for him & his friend to get back from the park. he's a very nice guy; a smoker. although, i knew that since he mentioned it on his profile. and it was the only reason why i passed him up on the first couple of times i went looking for a host in copenhagen. but then, i thought that since i've been dealing w/ eno's smoking all this time, i can handle thomas' smoking for a couple days & besides, he seems like a much more pleasant person (an understatement!), so i sent him a request & am glad i did - & not just because he's the only one to respond w/ a "yea". oddly enough, what he smokes isn't as pungent as what i'm used to, so it wasn't all that noticeable.

this was the first time i had watched actual t.v. since getting here & the show that was on happened to be america's next top model....woohoo! (that's sarcastic, by the way). they wanted something to eat from a little italian eatery & thomas commented as he looked at the menu: "we need to find something vegetarian - that's going to be hard". i assured him that since it's italian food, it isn't - besides, there's always pizza. he found a 4-cheese pizza & we walked to the place, he ordered & paid for it! quite nice of him....we watched "quantum of solace" (the only 007 movie i've ever seen) while we ate & after it ended thomas' friend left & i pulled out my cph book to figure out what i wanted to do the next day. on the last map in the book, i noticed an image of the little mermaid, that i hadn't noticed earlier. it was very close to kastellet, so at least now i knew where it was & basically how to get there (i wouldn't have been able to figure that part out earlier anyways since i didn't know where kastellet was, i just happened upon it). thomas went to bed, i got online & then went to bed. his couch is quite comfortable; it's a little short, but since i sleep curled up in a ball most of the time anyways, it wasn't really an issue.

unfortunately, i got a late start the next morning. thomas left around 6:30; he's very quiet in the morning & i only noticed because i was "awake" - i was in my wake up, fall asleep, wake up, fall back asleep mode. i finally got up around 9 & it was around 11 by the time i actually headed out (i had to get dressed to go out & get something for breakfast & then come back & eat first). i headed straight for the little mermaid, but it took me a while to actually get there (what w/ my easily distracted self & all). honestly, it wasn't that impressive & it's hard to believe that she is the most popular tourist attraction in denmark & one of the most photographed statues in the world. every year on her birthday (she'll be 96 this year), a crowd of women jump into the water around her to celebrate her - you too, could become a mermaid for a day, just contact the appropriate person (the celebrations will be televised worldwide & will include a hans christian anderson fairytale parade). hans wrote the story, another dane carved the statue in her honor, & thanks to disney we all have the same image of her. the statue itself is rather small, but i wasn't expecting it to be big. i was expecting the setting to be nicer. you can't tell from any pictures of her (& not really from mine - except you can see the scum in the water in one), but she is in a very industrial section of the coastline, not in a pretty beach or cove. the "beach" itself is only about ten feet or so of rocks between the path & water until the path "juts" out into the water right next to the statue w/ bars preventing you from falling in the water (about 4' down). there's a little plaque on the beach side of this walkway stating it's hans' little mermaid & the name of the sculptor edvard eriksen (it was commissioned by brewer carl jacobsen). there was a small crowd of tourists wanting to get pictures of her including a couple who went right down next to her, touching her, & getting their picture taken w/ her....i felt like saying dude, step away from the statue. i don't know you, i don't want you in my picture. nor do i want sit around & wait for you to be done.

after a few min. & pictures, i kept wandering around to look at the other sculptures in the area & was wondering where i wanted to go next. i decided on the rosenborg slot (castle) since it was the only place i figured i could get to before it closed (everything pretty much closes around 4pm & it was close to 3). rosenborg was also in "walking" distance. i got there w/ 20min. to spare (to see the palace, the treasury was open for an additional hour) & the lady @ the cashier was very helpful in getting me out as soon as possible so i didn't miss it. i had to put my bag in a locker (a 20dek deposit) & had to purchase a photographer's pass in order to take pictures (another 20dek). although i didn't have enough, she took all the remaining crowns i had & gave me the pass anyways. w/ only 20min. to go through all 3 or 4 floors (i can't remember), i didn't spend much time lingering in any of the rooms. the battery in my camera was almost dead as well, so i was also reserved w/ my pictures. rosenborg seems rather small as palaces go, but since it was built as a private country palace (for christian iv), that makes sense. it is furnished & decorated "as it would have been during the reigns of the various kings" - well, to an extant. some of the rooms seem over crowded w/ furniture & of course there are the glass cases on the peripherals containing the smaller, pilferable items & those w/ intricate parts like the ornamate clocks & ivory model ships. plus, some of the side rooms are decked out w/ similar items such as porcelain, gold, etc. the most impressive room was the riddersalen (great hall) w/ an intricately carved ceiling, amazing large, hand woven tapestries on the walls, two impressive thrones & three large silver lions. this is the top viewable floor, the stairs go up from this, but they are off limits. it wasn't quite 4, but since each floor was closing down & i was basically done, i headed to the treasury. i swapped out my camera batteries & my spare was nearly dead, too! dammit, it was supposed be charged; i have always charged my battery the night after it died, why did it not happen this time?!! alright, so i wasn't able to take many pictures here either. there were displays of weapons, ivory, blown glass, & more; & further down in the basement, the crown jewels (a small collection). i over heard one guy telling a tourist that there used to be more, but the danish kingdom went bankrupt back in .... & the crown jewels had to be sold (or something). according to my book, the exhibition continues at amalienborg. so, even though there aren't very many in skatkammeret (the royal treasury) & even though there was a royal bankruptcy, there are still more crown jewels in possession.

with both batteries dead, my stomach empty, & feet tired, i decided to go back to thomas' to charge the batteries, eat, & rest my feet. everything else was closed by now or closing soon anyways. i took the bus back (2) since i now knew exactly where i wanted to go & knew i wouldn't get on the wrong bus going the wrong direction. thomas came back just after i had finished eating & we talked about our days. he says it's a gift how quiet he is in the mornings. he went to work & then had breakfast w/ his coworkers (he's an electrician), then they worked for a little bit, then had a big easter meal even though easter was still more than a week away (easter is huge in scandenavia, i don't know how it is in the rest of europe, but it's big here), then worked a little bit more (right now, there isn't a whole lot of work to do).... he was going to meet a friend at his favorite park & he invited me to go w/ him. as we were walking across the park to meet his friend, we ran into his brother & a couple of friends. i thought it was kinda funny, 'cause i would never randomly run into jason in portland; it just wouldn't happen. i was offered a beer & thomas was quick to tell them i don't drink - not necessary, but it was kinda nice (greg used to do that) - he had actually commented in our previous correspondance that i was probably going to be the healthiest surfer he's had stop by.... one of his brother's friends asked why i came to denmark if i don't drink. a few min. later, thomas' friends showed up - i can't remember any of these guys' names. after a while, thomas had to leave to get his hair cut & he asked me if i was going to stay...i said i could or i could wander around some more. his friend said: "you should stay." "alright, i'll stay." they kept talking in danish; the brother's friends would get up & kick around their soccer ball from time to time between beers & cigarettes (thomas' friend joked that all those two do is talk about football & play football). i was asked once if i understood any of what they were saying (by the same guy who asked why i came to denmark); i didn't, but mentioned that i was thinking i should learn all the scandic languages since danes assume i speak danish, finns assume i speak finnish - he interrupted & said "no body understands finnish! i don't think finns even understand it. all they do is just add in a bunch of 'ay's. they say 'ay' all the time." it's actually "ei" & it means "no", which i didn't think to mention at the time 'cause i was laughing @ his description. thomas came back & after a bit told me they were too lazy to speak in english & asked if i was getting any of it. since they had been talking about movies, i was actually getting some of it, but not much more than "film", the movie titles, & actors' names. we then all got up & went our separate ways. the brother & his friends went off & thomas, his friends, & i went walking around the park to find the live music they heard was going be happening (i did not know this until later). i ended up walking & talking w/ one of the friends while the other two walked up ahead. we came across "obama" graffitied on a cement barrier (i had to take a picture), which was apparently done long before the election. i mentioned that there was a lot of graffiti in copenhagen & he got excited & said: "isn't it great!?" thomas & his friends are into graffiti & i'm assuming are artists themselves. since they couldn't find the supposed live music nor even hear it, they decided to head back to thomas' apt. (this is when i found out that they weren't just walking around the park to walk around it). the park itself is very large, flat, & basically just grass w/ a few trees. there's also a pond w/ a fountain (that was actually on) at one end.

back at thomas', the two friends were talking about going to a party, but thomas wasn't going (he had a birthday party the next night where he knew he was going to get really drunk, so he didn't want to go out this night too). i decided not to go as well & watched t.v. & visited w/ thomas instead. after declining coffee & tea & telling him that i don't really like hot drinks except for hot chocolate every now & then, he asked me if i wanted hot chocolate. even though i didn't really, i said sure. he threw up his arms in "victory", very happy that he was able to get me something; he also made toast & put danish cheese on it so i could try it...we had discussed earlier that the only reason why i'm not vegan is because i can't give up my cheese & icecream. which, he thought, at first, that i combined them...no, i don't eat them together, i just can't give up either....(he loves chocolate & fruit - especially grapes.) he showed me his danish-designed cheese slicer & asked if i had seen anything like it - not exactly, but similar, yeah (using a wire instead of a blade). also, he thought that i was leaving copenhagen on sun., & was saddened that i only had one more day there. we ended up watching "spies like us" & we both fell asleep. he went to bed & took over the couch & so concluded my 2nd day there.

the next day, i decided to go to the viking museum & since i needed to get on the ferry by 5pm, that was the only thing i would have time to do. i had to take the train to roskilde & then i could take a bus to the museum. however, i exited the station on the wrong side & didn't see any bus # that i remembered would get me to the museum, so i walked. it was a nice, quaint walk that took about a half hour. on the way, i passed a market that looked kind of like a flea market & an sda church. as i was approaching the church, i was thinking it was a very modern church (i've gotten used to seeing huge, old churches) & even thought it looked like an sda church. that suspicion was confirmed as i passed it & saw the sign. it was about 12:30pm, so services were over, but there were some people still on the grounds. i wished them a happy Sabbath (not literally) & headed on to the museum (time was of the essence). the museum itself is located in the roskilde fjord next to a large marina. there are quite a few exhibits outside: the wood shop, carving area, etc. they have made replicas of viking ships & in the summer months, you can go on rides in them around the fjord. i wandered around here for a while thinking the museum was actually closed 'cause i hadn't seen the actual building yet & there wasn't anyone around other than people eating at a cafe & a couple others wandering around the viking harbor. then, i finally saw the actual museum, but i waited to go in so i could watch the launching of a new viking ship. it was a slow process, but still pretty cool. outside the museum, there were some more replicas in various states of completion. there isn't much in the museum itself other than the 5 ships that they had found "scuttled" (purposely sunk) in the fjord. i don't know what it is about me & these museums, but i went through this one backwards as well (even though there was an arrow indicating the direction to the exhibits). although i saw the arrow, i first looked over the balcony @ all the ships & then noticed a narrative on the wall in the opposite direction & i decided to read them first. it includes the description of an actual viking burial - not very nice, including gang rape of a slave girl whose limbs were then tied w/ ropes & a rope put around her neck while she lay in a bed next to the dead viking on the ship; these ropes were pulled while a woman termed the "angel of death" stabbed her multiple times in the chest; as well as horses & dogs cut in half & placed in the ship; after all this, the ship was burned....then, i noticed stairs going to a small exhibit where you can walk between two partial replicas of ships & up to a loom & a rack of viking-style clothing. from there, i went into the room where all the boats are displayed. each boat is a different style from a trading ship to a long boat war ship (the replica of this made a trip to dublin, which was founded by the vikings, in '07 & then sailed back to roskilde in '08 - there's a video regarding this voyage (not the return) playing @ regular intervals, but i didn't have time to watch it). the next exhibit was the depiction of a fictional norwegian attack on roskilde, which was the capital of denmark during the viking period. there is evidence that the brother's of the danish king took refuge w/ the norwegian king & plotted an attack against their brother, but no evidence as to it actually happening. the reason why boats were scuttled were to create a defensive barrier in the fjord...i went downstairs, but there was just another multi-media thing that i didn't have time for, so i went to the gift shop to see what they had.

i was pushing my luck w/ time & so i asked which bus i needed to get back to the train since walking would take too much time. it still took me over a half hour to get back to østerport & to thomas' & i only had about 20min. to get to the ferry before it left. unfortunately, i didn't know exactly how to get there nor the best way to get there (only partially). i took the bus as close as i knew to (the bus appeared to be turning around, but it wasn't - dammit!). i walked the rest of the way in a round about sort of way (remember, i am carrying three cumbersome bags - well, two cumbersome & one backpack). my gps was trying to send me to where dfds does their canal tours, but i knew that wasn't where i needed to go. when i had only 5 more min., i finally saw my ship & it was still about a quarter mile away; shit. then, the next time i saw it, it was sailing away..... :( i kept going to the terminal, so i could get my ticket changed & just stay there overnight. however, the terminal closed @ 5pm. *whimpering* i'm hot, sweaty, tired...i do not want to carry my bags any further. i sat outside the terminal for a while until i started getting cold from the wind blowing on my sweat soaked shirt. i put my coat back on, picked up my bags & headed back to thomas'.

thankfully, thomas was gracious enough to host me another day. he asked me what happened & i told him i just didn't get there on time & i had actually watched it leaving....after he took a shower, i took a shower & then got online to find out when the next ship to oslo was. i thought it would be in the morning, but there is only one dfds ship to oslo a day, so i had one more day in copenhagen (thomas thought this was pretty cool). thomas left for his party while i was still online figuring out what i would do on my additional day & to message my host in oslo to let him know that i would not be there overnight anymore. since i wasn't really in the mood to just stay @ thomas' & watch t.v., i decided to wander around copenhagen to see & take pictures of it @ night. first, i went to a lake i had been to before & then i went to thomas' favorite park to see if the fountain was still on - it wasn't. there were some people around a "camp" fire, though. then, i headed back towards the center. i continued passed the the horse & rider trampling statue & happened upon strøget, "the world's longest pedestrian street for shoppers of all taste." all the shops were closed (it was after 11pm), but there were still bars open & quite a few drunk danes in the streets. i passed one street musician who was singing "hallelujah" (i forget who sings this) & there was a group of drunks singing along rather loudly. during my wanderings, i also came across a book store devoted solely to l. ron hubbard books in a myriad of languages (for those of you who don't know him, he's the founder of scientology), the national museum, tivoli, & a couple other attractions in my book. since i wanted to take night pictures of the water, i headed back to the bay & towards the little mermaid again. by the time i was done taking a few more pictures of her when there was no one else around, it was after 3am & i had been wandering for about 4 hrs....i headed back to thomas'. he was already back from his party & in bed.

the next day, i thought about going to cafe petersborg, which serves traditional danish food, but it's closed on sun. (say this very snottily). i also thought about going to the round tower, which offers stunning views of the city (so i've read). however, my cph card would expire @ 1pm & since i ran the risk of lingering & missing my ship again, i decided to just hang out @ thomas' & watch t.v. considering all the walking i had been doing, it was probably a good thing i take a break anyways. at about 3:30pm, i left thomas' & headed back to the ferry terminal. i caught the last shuttle to the terminal & i got there just in time to board. my ticket from the day before was transferred w/o any additional costs or fees - nice!

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shit...you have no idea how long this has taken me to write....