i'm in copenhagen!
holy crap it's so strange here. everything is the same. except completely different.
there are basically more bikes than there are cars. and it's awesome. and totally weird.
i don't even know where to begin... so i thought i'd just post some pics instead.
my flight was pretty uneventful. nobody cared about the spelling mistake on my ticket.... actually nobody even noticed. so that was pretty sweet. then my mentor (a danish student that the KU international office set me up with) met me at the airport and navigated the metro with me to show me how to get to campus because there was a meeting for international anthropology students. it was pretty funny, me showing up at the meeting with my huge giant backpack and my overstuffed little backpack and my bursting purse. i'm glad that i went though, despite the lack of sleep and showering, because everybody was really nice and we got a tour of our campus.
then i headed back to the metro alone (with all my stuff) and had a very interesting encounter with the ticket machine.
you see, that is the weirdest thing about this place: everybody speaks english but all of the signs and instructions and buttons and machines are all in danish. and HOLY CRAP. wtf. danish is so weird. so i basically just pushed a bunch of buttons till it said something that looked like "insert kort", so i put in my credit card and got a ticket. yeeeah.
then i found my house. the place that i am living in is pretty cool. right now, everybody hasn't arrived yet, so its pretty quiet (the semester doesn't start until monday). basically it is just a huge giant house. and half of it belongs to Tor (and i assume that he lives there with his family), my super friendly danish landlord, and then the back half has a windy twisty staircase that leads up to a floor with four rooms (including mine) and then further up to a floor with 6 rooms and a kitchen and bathroom. i've only met a couple of the other people who live here (the rest either haven't moved in, or are elusive and mysterious), but so far everybody seems really nice. we're all equally confused and bewildered by the danish.
yesterday and today i spent mostly on my own, exploring the city and taking care of necessities like getting a phone (which i have now! awesome!... cept i have only a limited idea of how to use it cause it's all in danish... poopey) and a converter to plug in my computer (kinda freaked out a bit when i realized that i'd forgotten that) and some groceries and a kettle and getting my classes sorted out. it is neat to wander around the city. it's pretty cold (but not nearly as bad as kingston) and dreary (but not nearly as dreary as victoria) but it hasn't rained yet, and it's comfordable. basically i just walk and walk and walk all day. i took some pictures yesterday (which i am posting) and also a picture of my room! the first two nights i was in a different room, and then this morning i moved into this room and it's sooo sweet! i have a sink and mirror and a swivel wheely chair and A BALCONY! and the walls are yellow. also the guy who was here before left behind some maps and decorations (including a bumble bee craft made out of a popsicle stick and pipe cleaner... he was clearly very talented).
so yeah.
anyways.
i am compiling a list of strange/interesting things i see here in copenhagen...
1. getting onto the plane from london to copenhagen, i noticed an extremely large number of wide brimmed hats. of all different varieties. some looked like the australian outback hats, one was wicker and some were like tilley hats. all worn by boys and men who looked very danish. big wide brimmed hats. i kid you not. like 30 of them. .... ????
2. everybody here rides bikes (like. actually. more bikes than cars. at least downtown) but instead of using regular bike locks, they have these little key locks on their back tires. so they just kickstand their bike up anywhere, lock the back tire (so that it can't spin) and go into the shop, or whatnot. it's pretty cool. beside the main train/metro/bus station downtown there is just a SEA of bikes. bikes everywhere. i am excited for the day when i see somebody sketchily speed walking along with a bike, holding up the back tire. THEIF, i will yell. THEIF!
3. strollers. everywhere. so many strollers. and i can't figure out if there are this many strollers at home but i am only just noticing them here because they look different (in fact, they look more like "buggies" here... very oldfashioned and classy). but yeah. everybody has a baby. buggies everywhere.
ok... i'm sure there's lots more but i can't think of it now. plus i will stop babbling (so much for "i will just post some pics instead", eh?). here are pictures! enjoy! thanks for the comments!
my yellow room! the door on the right leads to my balcony (ooohhhh aaahhhh) and my closet and sink is on my left, where i was standing taking the picture
i took this tonight as it was getting dark and i was walking home. it's looking back towards downtown, accross "the lakes" (these weird and, i think, human-made lakes... they are all very rectangular)
looking down at a portion of strøget (i think that's what it's called!), the main pedestrian street... it's pretty neat. it goes on forever and it's all different shops and cafes and bikes everywhere! I took this picture from the window of a coffee shop that was on the second floor of a bookstore (nicole - it sorta reminded me of borders in auckland... thus it is my new favourit place)
the bridge and the entrance to Nyhavn (this canal street thinger), going up to let a boat pass
the dude in charge of the bridge raising. the whole process was pretty ghetto. they just put out their hands to stop the cars, then raise the bridge. this guy has it all under control.
looking down Nyhavn... a pretty classic tourist guide book photo spot.... it's pretty dead this time of year though. in the summer it is all restaurant patios and touristness... but yesterday it was just me and some seagulls (and the bridge dude).
another shot of Nyhavn.... ooooh aaaahhh
hahahaha ... hahah.... haha...........heh?
