Danish odyssey

My leg of the odyssey began in the airport with the calling of passengers "Jensen" and "Benson"--hilarious--continued on the eight-hour flight--during which I managed a five-minute nap--and nearly ended when, upon exiting the metro station, I ran into a wall of sketchy people floating sketchily before a wall of construction. I discovered later that when I was instructed to turn left, what the lady really meant was right, then left, then (I think) left again. Regardless, after a bit of frantic circling within a small perimeter and discovering that Danish streets wind and curve in a way that, perhaps, cannot be captured on any map, I arrived at the hotel and promptly passed out. 

Four beautiful days in beautiful Copenhagen resulted in one amazing thin-crust sourdough pizza, fantastic pad Thai and green curry, incredible tapas of all sorts, and splendid (organic) breakfasts at the hotel--but alas, no real Danish food aside from (admittedly, excellent) fish because the Danes don't quite understand vegetarians. 

When I finally got over the fact that I was to be in the same vicinity as ABBA without actually having the pleasure of hearing them I managed to thoroughly enjoy the gorgeous architecture, the bike-friendly atmosphere (despite the shockingly aggressive attitude of the bikers themselves), and our two trips outside the city to see Kronborg castle and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. What impressed us must of all, perhaps, was the efficient, timely, and easy-to-use transportation system (which, embarrassingly, is still a serious issue for Torontonians). Least impressive was the jumbled and seemingly disorganized Arab Contemporary exhibit, which was stuffed into a basement-type space and swarmed with a cacophony of voices. Whether intentional or not, the "bazaar-like" effect felt almost racist. The grounds were stunning, though, and we thoroughly enjoyed the sculpture garden.

Also noteworthy was the preponderance of Russians, which was surprising until I remembered that, aside from geographic and culinary proximity, my compatriots have a very serious affinity for trashy pop. And Eurovision was only three days, twenty-one hours, forty minutes, and thirty-four seconds away (I have the countdown to prove it).

Our observations, in general, ranged from the lovely to the bizarre:

- masses of enormous tulips, everywhere
- equal masses of (unlocked) bikes in every corner of the city
- baguette, loaves of bread, and pastries... all fresh, fresh, fresh (even in fast food)
- the total lack of skyscrapers
- loads of windows on every building
- the lack of CAUTION signs
- restaurant staff in sneakers
- a fellow Canadian working as a server while studying for an MBA
- the near-instant changing of traffic lights from green to red--often mid-cross!
- as Farzaneh put it, the "sizeism" we experienced--inexplicably--being just slightly below eye-level
- in a country of perfect English, traffic signs stating "Stop for blink"
- strip clubs found in the most unusual public places (even I thought this was strange, and I'm totally in support of the liberal European attitude re: sex)

All in all... it was marvelous. And we had a wonderful time. And I'm looking forward to next year :)

Photos here!