We were all loaded into the shuttle van when my dad asked his typical, dopey question "So do you have you tickets and passports!" Well, I very much did NOT. I might be making a mistake by publicizing how ridiculous I was but OH WELL. We spent 20 minutes looking for it around the house, the cars, the bags - anywhere - and then my dad called Bartell drugs and they had it (Dad I´ll never call you dopey again). the shuttle man swung by Bartell`s, muttering curses upon my soul and the lives of my children´s children all the way. We only got our boarding passes printed by a fluke - we were ten minutes too late but the system messed up and let us through... we also almost missed our flight in Amsterdam because the plane was late due to Icelandic volcanic activity. Obviously. I had to promise my mom that this isn´t how I always travel. (oh and the airline also lost my bag but it´ll show up in a couple days)
First day in Denmark! Copenhagen - or København as it is called in Danish - or CPH or KPH for abbreviation - is splendid. Itøs just overflowing in cute coblestone walk ways - pedestrian only - and adorably dressed people biking around for their commute to save the environment and get exercise. I can REALLY understand why Scandanavians flock to the Pacific Northwest. I mean - on our boat tour of the canals and harbor we motored past a guy who popped out of his houseboat and into a kayak for an afternoon paddle. (Hello Lake Union!) Except they´re much better dressed than us Northwesterners. Not an inch of fleece to be seen and lots of trench coats, nice pants, smartly dressed men... things that would seen eerily out of place in Wallingford, for instance.
I´m blond. I have the chance to travel a great deal. Up until now by blond hair has always been this pulsating beacon of otherness, visible for miles in all directions. NOW it gets me Danish greetings on the regular. I am actually part Danish from my Grandpa Hughøs side - and another part from far northern German - so the Danes are not total looners. I´m planning learning enough basic phrases to get by as a socially demented Dane. If you can call that "getting by".
I´m so so excited for my program to start after having seen Copenhagen - it is definitely a place I will be thrilled to spend five more weeks exploring! For now, though, mom and I are having a great time sight-seeing together and trying to decifer Danish. (Yesterday I could have sworn the lady biking by said "I´ll plaster ém - I ate my perfume!" The jury is out.)
More soon!
-Alice
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