Halfway Through...
Hi everybody,
Woah... I'm halfway through the semester! I took a couple of midterm exams and turned in some projects, and once that was through, some of my family came to visit!
My mom, dad, Aunt Amy, and Grandma Breeden arrived at the airport on Sunday, March 4th, at the beginning of my week-long study break. Isabel's parents were incredibly generous in letting us stay at their apartment in the middle of the city. The following is a chronicle of our adventures! Maybe future DIS students will get some ideas from this?
Sunday:
Isabel and I picked up my people at the airport in the afternoon. We got settled into the apartment and met Rose for dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street. Pretty low-key, since five of us were exhausted -- four from a 7-hour journey, and one (Rose) from rehearsing for a play :)
Monday:
Conquering jet lag proved difficult for some (not naming any names, Grandma :) But I'll let her off the hook; she was getting over a bit of a cold and still came to see me!)... We started the day at 1pm and rode the train to Roskilde, which is about 40 minutes from Copenhagen. Aunt Amy was excited because she hadn't been on a train before. It was a nice, smooth ride. I don't think I've mentioned this in previous posts, but public transportation in Denmark is really clean!
We ate at a shawarma place; I accidentally ordered meat (I thought all samosas were vegetarian, haha), and by the time we were finished with our meal, the Vikingeskibsmuseum (Viking ship museum) was closed. Oops! So we walked around town for a while, popping into some of the shops, and stopped by Roskilde Domkirke to look at the old architecture. On our way back to the station, we bought several pastries from the Espresso House; as far as I can tell, it's like the Starbucks of Scandinavia (or at least of Denmark and Sweden). We split cookies, cake, and meusli bars, and saved most of it for later.
Tuesday:
I didn't realize how accustomed I'd become to walking everywhere until I ACCIDENTALLY MADE MY FAMILY WALK SEVEN MILES IN ONE DAY.
I was in charge of Tuesday's itinerary since Isabel was at work, so I decided we should go to Christiansborg Palace (the parliament building) and Nationalmuseet (the National Museum), since they are right across the street from one another. We rode a bus from the apartment and spent an hour or so looking at the ruins under the palace (Christiansborg burned down a number of times, and some of the remains of the previous palaces have been excavated under the present building). Then we toured the queen's (fully intact, still-in-use) reception rooms; there were beautiful chandeliers and colorful tapestries everywhere! We had to wear little plastic booties to avoid scratching the floors.
For lunch, we ate across the harbor at Krog's Fiskerestaurant. The menu consists of traditional Danish food, including pickled herring, fiskefrikadeller (fish meatballs), and smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches).
In the afternoon, we went to Nationalmuseet; Isabel told us that the things we absolutely needed to see were the sun wagon and the golden horns. Both artifacts are from the Viking ages and were neat to see up close!
Later in the evening, we met Isabel, Sara, Rose, and Torben for dinner at a restaurant called Bash19. They took us through the central square of Amalienborg (the queen's palace) before we headed back to the apartment for the night.
So between walking to each site, wandering through the palace and the museum, and walking to/from each bus stop, we trekked seven miles!!!
Thanks for still loving me after the torture I put you through, Mom/Dad/Grandma/Aunt Amy :)
Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we had Isabel with us, so travel was much more efficient :) We bundled up and headed to Rosenborg Castle, which used to be the Danish king's rural "summer home" way back in the day. Now it's right in the middle of Copenhagen. I was amazed by how intricate the ceilings, chandeliers, paintings, and other decorations were for how long ago they were created. The walls were covered in painstakingly detailed tapestries, and even the furniture looked like art. In the basement/"treasury" we saw weapons, games, and other equipment from centuries ago. The last room held the original crown jewels, which were so polished they looked like they had never been worn.
For lunch we went to another traditional Danish restaurant and had more smørrebrød. Mom and Dad tried Snaps (sp?) with their lunches. It was so strong that it made Dad cough, but he said the taste grew on him after a couple more sips.
We spent the afternoon exploring the workers' museum above the restaurant, and my little socialist heart was happy when we came across a room full of Marx literature in various languages. Aside from the Marx room, the museum was formatted as a sort of tour through various old apartments, reminiscent of those that existed during the industrial revolution. We learned about unionization, the continued evolution of working conditions in Denmark, women's movements in relation to work, and technological innovation. Grandma was excited because she recognized a lot of items from the 1950s-era exhibits; it was interesting to see how various fashions, tools, and movements paralleled one another around the world!
That evening, Isabel took us to the Round Tower (which is connected to Trinitatis Kirke, a church I wrote about in a previous post). We walked up the winding ramp (thank goodness it wasn't a staircase!) and looked out over the city as it snowed. The lights of Copenhagen are really pretty at night!
We finished the day by trying pølser (hot dogs/sausage) from a street vendor. I'm a killjoy and don't eat meat, so I had my Bash19 leftovers back at the apartment -- but the pølser have a seal of approval from Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Aunt Amy!
***Oh, also - Isabel had each of us try "medium" licorice (i.e., not the super strong kind, because it scares Americans like us, haha); I was able to stomach it for a bit, but Isabel's "medium" was definitely my "way too strong"! Mom, Dad, and Aunt Amy were in the same boat. Grandma really liked it, though! So she's basically a Dane now, munching on licorice with Isabel :)
Thursday:
Thursday was spent at the modern art museum called Arken. We saw exhibits by several contemporary Danish artists, as well as an exhibition celebrating the Chinese zodiac animals, and a tribute to Mucha's art nouveau.
Before calling it a day, we went to see the Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid) statue -- built and named after the story by Danish fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen -- and watched a documentary at the planetarium.
It might sound like we didn't do much on Thursday, but there was a lot to see at Arken, plus some walking between each destination!
Friday:
On Friday morning, we went to Design Museum Danmark. I learned more about Danish chairs than I ever thought was possible :) In all seriousness, it was really interesting, though! I feel like I gained perspective on aspects of everyday life that tend to stay in my periphery. We also visited the marble church, the zoological museum, Helsingør Castle (Elsinor/Hamlet's castle), the National Maritime Museum, and Louisiana before heading to Isabel's house for dinner.
Dinner was very lively! There were nine of us -- me and my family, plus Isabel, Sara, Silke, and Torben (Rose had a theater performance, which we will be seeing later this week). Everybody pitched in to make butter chicken (and butter-chicken-no-chicken, of course), a "fish dish" (we didn't know what to call it, but it was seasoned cod over cold noodles), and salad. The cats were excited about the fish and kept jumping up onto the counter until Isabel put a plate on the floor for them. Silly kitties :)
Sara loves playing games, so she taught us how to play Partners after dinner. It's similar to Sorry, but you work with the person across from you to get all of your pieces into their safe zone. We paired up as the Sara(h)s (Mom and Sara), the Mary Amandas (me and Aunt Amy), and Dad/Isabel. I don't remember who won, but somebody will probably jump into the comments to remind me :)
When our game was finished, Isabel had us try rødgrød med fløde, the Danish dessert that is notorious for being impossible to pronounce (impossible for non-Danes, at least). It is traditionally made from all sorts of red berries, potato starch, and sugar with cream; Isabel's recipe was comprised mainly of strawberries. I could have eaten bowls of it; it was sooooo goooood!
After dessert, our day drew to a close. The food was delicious and a good time was had by all!
Saturday:
Our week was almost over, but there was still so much to do! We spent the morning on a boat tour through Copenhagen's various waterways, munching on kanelsnegler from 7-11 and feeling thankful that we were wearing a million layers of clothing. The chilly temperatures were worth it, though; the ice in the harbor was beautiful, and we got some great pictures of Nyhavn (that famous colorful string of buildings). My family had finally started to get their bearings, so we were also pointing out buildings we recognized to one another.
After our freezing adventure, we decided we needed some hot chocolate. We found a cozy pub, explored some of the souvenir shops, and wandered around until dinner time.
Which proved to be interesting, because most places near the apartment require reservations in the evening. We eventually found Dag H, and I think we were all pretty satisfied! I had fried brussels sprouts with pumpkin meat and some sort of butter sauce. Yum!
We decided to retire early that night, because the next day we were heading to...
Sunday:
....Sweden!
Our amazing chauffeur (thank you so, so much, Isabel!), drove us to Lund, where we explored churches, squares, and the University of Lund. Flowers were starting to peek out from under the snow and ice; maybe spring is finally around the corner?
Not many places were open, so Isabel decided to show us one of her favorite places a bit farther north, called Kullabergs Naturreservat. She said her friends told her it would be too cold to take us there, but I'm so glad we ended up going! The drive there was beautiful, with the snow blanketing the fields and all the cute Swedish houses along the road. But the real view came after we drove onto the nature reserve and climbed a bit of a hill; when we got to the top, we were looking down over a rocky cliff and across the ocean. Words don't really do it justice, so I have pictures in the gallery :)
And finally, back in Denmark, we had our farewell dinner. We ate at an Italian restaurant overlooking the harbor and out toward Sweden. The rest of the night was half relaxation, half packing, and I thought about how lucky I was to have had some of my favorite people come to spend time with me in Copenhagen on my week off!
And that was our week; whew! My family left for home on Monday, March 12th, as I headed back to class. I miss them already, but was so happy to have them here for a bit!
Thanks for reading; until next week!
