Miss Tilde & My Weekend Until Now

Right this very moment, my roommates daughter is running circles 'round the apartment with one of her friends from "børnehave" pronounced boor nih haoowa (in English - day care center). They are playing force-the-cats-to-chase-us-until-someone-stubs-their-toe! Actually it is quite cute, and I am thoroughly enjoying watching and listening to them. I spoke to her a little in Danish, and she responded so I know she understood me! She is just learning English now, and I think we can really benefit from each other!

Friday was a big day! I took the oral final for the introductory Danish course, partook our class party (I brought these really fantastic caramelized oat cookies with dark chocolate filling, yumm!), then headed for Kastrup with the intention of boarding my flight at 16.25. Unfortunately, due to weather delays, the flight didn't leave the ground until about 18.00! The flight was short and sweet and I made my way through Heathrow, past customs, past passport check, down to "the tube" and off on the Piccadilly line towards South Kensington Station.

It's funny being in an English speaking country again. No more being timid while ordering -- I can speak my mother tongue freely! In fact, my brother and I went to a kebab kiosk and I was so awkward while I was ordering. I kept wanting to say "Ja, og, eller, tak skal du have, tak i lige måde, jeg har en spørgsmål", etc...

Today (July 25th) was a really rewarding day. I loved being able to go with my family to the places in the UK that I have been to before, namely Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the absolutely picturesque village of Bath. I proudly ordered bangers and mash* for lunch and shared a traditional pasty** with my mom later. My mom seems to have taken a fondness to the architecture, bustle, and lifestyle of London -- I wouldn't be surprised if she and my dad move here within the next 4-5 years. Just sayin'.

Today was quite long, tomorrow will be long as well, I am going to take the advice of a great friend and explore some of the wonderful sites here in London. Tate Modern, Royal Academy, Royal Opera House, and Convent Gardens are high on my list!

Monday morning we all fly to Copenhagen!

Until again,

A. Taylor

*Bangers & Mash is a traditional dish from the UK: Sausages on top of mashed potatoes with onion gravy, scrumptious!

**Traditional Pasty is another traditional dish, more for on-the-go eating: Think of one handed pot pie! Superb as well.













Pictures:
1) My mom hated Stonehenge... JK! Isn't she pretty with that umbrella there?
2) Is this a real castle? My family w/out dad. Gosh I just love my calves...
3) Look at all the umbrellas. I need to fool around with the umbrella shots, some of them will be really cool I think!

To Start

I have been living in Copenhagen now for exactly one month. I live on the 4th floor of a lovely apartment in the center of the city, extremely close to clubs, stores, bars, museums, amusement parks, the main train station is literally 1 block away, the longest pedestrian street in Europe is just a 5 minute walk! To say the least, it is an ideal place.

It's such a good feeling when you are walking down a street that isn't familiar to you, and then at the end, it makes perfect sense how this street fits into the map of the city. And then you have made a new connection! This is what I feel almost everyday now. I have explored many parts of the city - finding many fun and fascinating nooks and crannies - and everyday some more of the map is burned into my mind.

Copenhagen is such a beautiful city, I think the weather has been truly ideal since I have arrived. However this past weekend, I decided to take my first vacation here in Europe, I went to Berlin!

This was such a trip! I went with the night bus from Copenhagen to the south of Sjælland and then the bus drove onto an enormous ship and sailed across the water to Germany. I had been nodding in and out of sleep for several hours by the time we reached the ship, so boarding the ship was sort of surreal - I hadn't expected to be taking a ship - but I guess that is what you get for living in a country with over 400 islands!

I met a lovely friend of mine in Berlin for breakfast and we took a long walk all around the city. It was also nice to be able to use euro's in Germany (I think they have a better conversion factor with the American dollar than the Danish Kroner!). I was so excited to see some of the really interesting pieces of contemporary architecture that I had recently studied.

We traveled to her hometown of Leipzig that afternoon with a program called Mitfahrgelegenheit (something like carpooling or car sharing program). We were smashed into the back of a small green geo or something (very very small) and made our way down the unruly autobahn! Only nearly crashing 4-5 times. Leipzig was a beautiful city, full of beautiful and memorable people. I cannot wait to go back!

The trip back home was equally as entertaining as the journey there. I will paraphrase it here: Mitfahrgelegenheit again, Uzbeck driver, Lot's of German, Confusion, Lost, Late, Which Train Do I Take?, Thank You Kind Stranger - Stefanie!, Running, Panic, Sprechen Sie Englisch?, Bus Finally, Ship Again, Copenhagen Again, 4th Floor Again, Sleep Finally!

I have a final this Friday that I shall cram for soon, but for now - some light classical music and perhaps responding to a few e-mails. All is peaceful. All is calm here in Copenhagen. Cannot wait to see my family in London on Friday night! These next couple of weeks are going to be spectacular!

All the best,
Adam