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!

spring is that magical time when both gas and electricity bills hover around the "low" mark...

i can't believe i'm finally here. wherever you are feels like home.

also, holy christ: i'm in the same city that ABBA is in.

i guess what happened is you left and i stopped sleeping altogether..

4 hours last night, i think; god knows why

perhaps the rather unique circumstances of our meeting are what make us act and feel like "newlyweds"--even six years on. perhaps we're still deeply aware of our luck...

Eurydice

one simply cannot find the words
RIP gabriel garcia marquez

therapy is poetry and a hot bath...

too frightened and uneasy to read the news..

this is just to write something. anything.

dear friends,

if anyone knows anyone in toronto who may be interested in seeing a production of Easter by august strindberg put on by my brother-in-law, please follow the link for details about the show as well as an indiegogo fundraising campaign

* poster designed by Beata Rasitsan

...and so begins the season of incessant rain

i love how in the short amount of time since we started this, the birthday treat sign-up sheet has gone from specifics (lemon loaf, lavender brownies, vanilla cupcakes) to abstractions (something baked, redemption for last time, cookies)

let 2014 be remembered as the year of cancer. the year of layoffs. the year i saw senior colleagues weep at losing those they've worked with for 20 years. the year i saw emma decimated by illness. the year i was truly ashamed to call myself russian. the year i strained my throat trying not to cry in front of friends facing the last session of chemotherapy. the year i seriously considered what would happen to my loved ones if i were to get sick.

the year i decided i would never let them see it.
the year OUP Canada was "reorganized".

but also:

the year i finally got over my fear of driving. the year of your magical jes-clap, which will go down in history among f's cutest things of all time. the year we go to copenhagen.

more will happen. we will see.

my mother was shocked to discover that i do not support russia's actions in crimea. she has now sent me several articles to read

... i think we're each quite disturbed by the other's position; the news exchange may go on for some time

سال نو مبارک

عزیزان من

wishing you all a warm and lovely year

друзья, мы с вами

as we slept, putin gave a press conference, quietly, confidently, divided a nation, and demonstrated that most russian of all characteristics: arrogance. we worry about the minorities, about impending violence, about what this all means for the new ukrainian government...

as i wrote this, shots were fired at a military base--someone was killed, another injured; a young tatar was found murdered; sanctions were imposed; the rhetoric escalated..

and because i feel a strong personal involvement in all this, the knot in my stomach tightens and tightens

... tired of seeing Putin's stupid, self-satisfied face everywhere; can't he crawl back into whatever ignorant, obnoxious, maniacal hole he crawled out of?

the first day of spring is next week

the view outside our home yesterday

...i'm not sure canada knows that

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