Sorry Friends. I've gotten lazy in the past week with my updates.
BUT myself and J Fern did take in Malmö and Stockholm during this time so I've been busy! Malmö was a fantastic little city (second largest in Sweden right after Stockholm) just 35 mins away by train from Copenhagen. We spent just 5 hours there in the city centre taking in the main city sights like the Malmöhus Castle, the Turning Torso building and Lilla Torg Square. It was funny because as we were strolling down this square I heard some background noise like big drums playing and I was like, man that sounds like a lion dance! But since this is Sweden, it must be something else. Except then it came closer and got louder and as things turn out, it WAS a lion dance on the street! I had totally forgotten it was October 1, the day of China's national holiday. Glad to know the Swedish Chinese population celebrates even from so far away.
Next we hopped on another train, this time for 5 hours, and headed on to Stockholm, Scandinavia's crown jewel. I had heard that this was a city of architecture, fashion, open water and clean air and it definitely was all those things. Perhaps it was the combination of all those things and more that it rendered me speechless in awe at its quiet beauty many times during my visit. I know these words sound hollow and really I am not doing it justice trying to describe it to you here. There just isn't one thing, or several things even, that you can pinpoint and say that's why Stockholm is so awesome. It just was that awesome altogether as a package.
We walked all through Gamla Stan ('The Old Town'), The Royal Palace (Europe's largest palace still used for its original purpose), an up and coming neighborhood called Sodermalm, visited the Vasa Museum (a museum based on the largest sunken ship ever recovered and reconstructed) and went atop the Ericsson Globe (the largest spherical building in the world). And in between it all we ate plenty of treats like this one to keep us walking! I think I might return home twice my size as a result of these treats, but it will be so so worth it!
And in just 3 days, we already found that Swedish people are much friendlier than the Danish, or at least more openly friendly. Volunteering to translate menus and to give other general advice to travelers was commonplace in Sweden and even more common was super creepy old men forcing their way into our conversations. Me and J Fern would be sitting and enjoying a perfectly stimulating conversation between the two of us and some drunken old guy would come and force himself into our booth. After I told him I was from Canada he started spouting off everything he knew about China. Then another old dude came over and told me he thought I was his long lost philipino friend named Yan. Yah. Twice in two nights is pretty gross.
But, on the up side, we also met some random Italian dudes from Milan, in town for a birthday party and they were pretty cool. In fact, they were friends with a native Stockholmer (is that even what they're called? Not sure) who is dating a girl from Beijing and she took us to this restaurant called 'China!' for dinner. O.M.G. That food was so delicious. I had at least 4 bowls of rice and tons more stuff to go with. Although I haven't had a serious craving for chinese food since I left home this meal totally hit the spot and as a bonus, this girl also worked in CPH for the past 2 years and told me she would hook me up with all the good chinese food places here in CPH! What a total win-win for Jen!
We then took a night train back to Malmö and slept on triple decker bunks! The Italians we met told us a horror story about how he found a man under his bed on the first and last night train he ever took. So good thing we were on the top bunk and there were only women who also had sleeper car train tickets who slept under my bed. Lol.
In other CPH news, the weather was fantastic up until last week. We had a week of beautiful sunshine where it must have been mid-twenties range in the afternoons with sunny blue skies. I love CPH so much more in the sun! Take a look at our picnic in the park complete with a trip for ice cream!
I should start a daily column on bike ranting because here it is again. Sigh. I just can't seem to get the cycling thing right. The other day at the grocery store I knocked over 2 bikes, not including my own, trying to get Max out of my parking spot. Good thing Cecilie, the super-awesome roomie, was there to save me that time. But then the next morning I wasn't so lucky. I was in a hurry to get to class and managed to knock down 4 other bikes in my building bicycle parking area while trying to get Max out. THEN, on the way to school some dude pulled to a screeching halt when a bus pulled over and people started getting off. I slammed on my brakes and being that Max only has brakes on one side of the tire, I stopped alright, but then Max fell over to the side. I managed to keep from falling over but I must've looked totally frazzled because even those very reserved Danes stopped and asked me if I was ok. Me and Max were physically ok but my ego was definitely a bit bruised. Needless to say I got to class late and in a sour mood. But after having a tiramisu latte at break time, I felt much better. =)
To end on a better note, did I already mention how great me and my roomie are getting on? We even have a 'usual spot' for our mid-afternoon coffee rendevous after either of our classes. This is us taking in the sunshine at our 'usual place' cafe.
And get this people: she even took to buying me chopsticks after I kept complaining how I can't cook without them!!! (ahem, what she doesn't know is that I can't cook with them either....oops)
BUT myself and J Fern did take in Malmö and Stockholm during this time so I've been busy! Malmö was a fantastic little city (second largest in Sweden right after Stockholm) just 35 mins away by train from Copenhagen. We spent just 5 hours there in the city centre taking in the main city sights like the Malmöhus Castle, the Turning Torso building and Lilla Torg Square. It was funny because as we were strolling down this square I heard some background noise like big drums playing and I was like, man that sounds like a lion dance! But since this is Sweden, it must be something else. Except then it came closer and got louder and as things turn out, it WAS a lion dance on the street! I had totally forgotten it was October 1, the day of China's national holiday. Glad to know the Swedish Chinese population celebrates even from so far away.
We walked all through Gamla Stan ('The Old Town'), The Royal Palace (Europe's largest palace still used for its original purpose), an up and coming neighborhood called Sodermalm, visited the Vasa Museum (a museum based on the largest sunken ship ever recovered and reconstructed) and went atop the Ericsson Globe (the largest spherical building in the world). And in between it all we ate plenty of treats like this one to keep us walking! I think I might return home twice my size as a result of these treats, but it will be so so worth it!And in just 3 days, we already found that Swedish people are much friendlier than the Danish, or at least more openly friendly. Volunteering to translate menus and to give other general advice to travelers was commonplace in Sweden and even more common was super creepy old men forcing their way into our conversations. Me and J Fern would be sitting and enjoying a perfectly stimulating conversation between the two of us and some drunken old guy would come and force himself into our booth. After I told him I was from Canada he started spouting off everything he knew about China. Then another old dude came over and told me he thought I was his long lost philipino friend named Yan. Yah. Twice in two nights is pretty gross.
But, on the up side, we also met some random Italian dudes from Milan, in town for a birthday party and they were pretty cool. In fact, they were friends with a native Stockholmer (is that even what they're called? Not sure) who is dating a girl from Beijing and she took us to this restaurant called 'China!' for dinner. O.M.G. That food was so delicious. I had at least 4 bowls of rice and tons more stuff to go with. Although I haven't had a serious craving for chinese food since I left home this meal totally hit the spot and as a bonus, this girl also worked in CPH for the past 2 years and told me she would hook me up with all the good chinese food places here in CPH! What a total win-win for Jen! We then took a night train back to Malmö and slept on triple decker bunks! The Italians we met told us a horror story about how he found a man under his bed on the first and last night train he ever took. So good thing we were on the top bunk and there were only women who also had sleeper car train tickets who slept under my bed. Lol.
In other CPH news, the weather was fantastic up until last week. We had a week of beautiful sunshine where it must have been mid-twenties range in the afternoons with sunny blue skies. I love CPH so much more in the sun! Take a look at our picnic in the park complete with a trip for ice cream!
I should start a daily column on bike ranting because here it is again. Sigh. I just can't seem to get the cycling thing right. The other day at the grocery store I knocked over 2 bikes, not including my own, trying to get Max out of my parking spot. Good thing Cecilie, the super-awesome roomie, was there to save me that time. But then the next morning I wasn't so lucky. I was in a hurry to get to class and managed to knock down 4 other bikes in my building bicycle parking area while trying to get Max out. THEN, on the way to school some dude pulled to a screeching halt when a bus pulled over and people started getting off. I slammed on my brakes and being that Max only has brakes on one side of the tire, I stopped alright, but then Max fell over to the side. I managed to keep from falling over but I must've looked totally frazzled because even those very reserved Danes stopped and asked me if I was ok. Me and Max were physically ok but my ego was definitely a bit bruised. Needless to say I got to class late and in a sour mood. But after having a tiramisu latte at break time, I felt much better. =)
To end on a better note, did I already mention how great me and my roomie are getting on? We even have a 'usual spot' for our mid-afternoon coffee rendevous after either of our classes. This is us taking in the sunshine at our 'usual place' cafe.
And get this people: she even took to buying me chopsticks after I kept complaining how I can't cook without them!!! (ahem, what she doesn't know is that I can't cook with them either....oops)
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