Days 51-54 Copenhagen

After a week of midterms Gail and I headed off to COPENHAGEN! The farthest North I have been (in Europe).

We took a late flight into Copenhagen, Denmark and met with Gail's best friend Joey for some drinks in Copenhagen Central. Our hostel was right in the center of town! The nightlife was very different from Rome -- well I guess everything was different from Rome. It was cold and a little rainy, the fashion was different, the language was very different, everyone spoke English which was nice for once, there was a more variety of food (Italy usually only has Italian food, which doesn't have a lot of variation), and the city was much more modern than Rome or Italy itself. We planned out our weekend tourist attack at a cute urban cafe/club and tried some authentic Copenhagen drinks. Once we got settled, Gail and I made our way back to our hostel for a good nights rest. We were surprised to find out that there were 18 people in our room! The bunk beds had 3 bed on it! I slept above an Australian guy, about our age, and Gail slept in the bed above me! It was crazy! But the hostel was very cool despite the living situation. We had a huge lounge, great breakfast, and a TV!!! (something we don't have in Rome, and it was even in ENGLISH, with most American television shows!), and fast internet!

Gail and I made our way around Copenhagen alone during the day while Joey was at school. But it was very relaxing and we just hung around town. We took our time and walked through the King's Gardens, saw the Royal Castle, went to a couple museums, and did a LOT of shopping. Because it was more modern than Italy, there were a lot of cool stores and great shopping. Danish Crones and the money system was a little less expensive than Euros so we enjoyed the price tags :)

After class, Joey met up with us and we went to a place called Christiana, which is right outside of Copenhagen. It is known as a non-tourist Amsterdam (if you know what I mean). It wasn't as beautiful as Amsterdam, but everything was painted with graffiti. It wasn't ugly gang graffiti but rather graffiti murals. There were little markets, shops, a skateboarding park, a couple restaurants, and it overlooked a small lake. The ice was finally melting but it is usually used for ice-skating in the winter and swimming in the summer. There was only a few residents in Christiana, and most of them were squatters and hippies. We hiked through the forest and just looked around, but didn't participate in any 'activities' there because it was a little sketchy, but interesting. After a certain point, people couldn't take pictures in the center because the pictures could contain 'illegal things' in them. In the forest we saw the hippies' houses, and it was incredible how they lived. Their houses were very colorful, very "eco-green," they just lived with nature.

Later that night, Joey, Gail and I went grocery shopping and made Mexican food at Joey's dorm. It was FANTASTIC! While traveling, Gail and I try to 'picnic' or cook at our hostels in order to save money. We had a great time seeing Joey's dorm and meeting his friends. After dinner, a group of us went out and enjoyed the Danish nightlife!

The next day, the 3 of us went to Malmo, Sweden. It was only an hour train ride from Copenhagen. It was a first time for all of us, so we were a little confused about the Danish/Swedish train. Then all of a sudden Joey realized the train that was currently at the station was the train that we NEEDED to be on! So we quickly shuffled to the door...Joey and I got in just fine, but poor Gail was just about to jump on but the doors started to CLOSE on her!!! Joey and I tried to pry the doors open but they shut, separating us from Gail!

(For those who are regular readers, you may remember that in London the same thing happened on the Tube, but instead Gail jumped on the Tube/Metro without telling us and I tried to pull her off the Tube, but the doors closed on us! It was our first day in Europe, and we were so scared! Luckily, Gail got off on the next stop and I jumped on the next Tube to get to the next stop as quick as possible and looked throughout the station looking for her, and were reunited with laughs and tears!)

It's obvious that public transportation for Gail and I have always been a little difficult, and it wasn't the first time that we each faced two separate sides of a metro door looking at each other with fear and trying to scream through the door telling each other what we should do! Hahah, luckily we had cell phones this time around, and Joey and I went only one more stop on the metro and then caught another back to meet Gail at the first station. It was quite funny for all of us because the same silly/terrifying situation happened again!

After that 'bump' in the road (seems like I use that phrase a lot for our traveling "mistakes") we got on correct train to Sweden. Sweden was very similar to Copenhagen. It was very quaint, modern, and everyone was blonde! We mainly stayed in the center of Malmo because Sweden was a little cheaper for shopping than the Euro and Crone. We went to the mall and all the small boutiques. The food was great and spending time in another country was extra-special! Two countries in one day!!!

On our last night, we walked the streets of Copenhagen and look in its beauty. Then we went to Joey's apartment to cook dinner and have some wine. It was a very relaxing weekend. It felt good to just 'hang around' in the city and didn't have to stress about seeing specific tourist sites.