I had just landed at Lufthavn, and I was struggling with my luggage.  As I finally got my carry-on under control, my purse slipped and fell onto the floor, and my belongings spilled out everywhere.  I was on my hands and knees trying to pick everything up when a man walked up and said, “This is Denmark.  No one will help you.”

Great.

I panicked.  Had I made a mistake?  I’d heard such wonderful things about this country:  how intelligent and open-minded they were, how beautiful the architecture is, how almost every native speaks English as well as they speak Danish, how goddamn HAPPY they are…

But would they reject me?  Sweet, loving, innocent little ‘ole me?  I COME IN PEACE!

I’d waited all my life for this trip.  Would I be denied all help and kindness?  Would I enjoy myself?  What would happen to me in the kingdom of…

DENMARK

The land of Legos, The Little Mermaid, Carlsberg beer, and smorrebrod (more on that later – and my keyboard won’t let me put the / through the O’s of smorrebrod…ugh).

  I’d finally arrived…

Copenhagen Airport.  They are watching you.  Even their statues are watching you.

SUSPICIOUSLY.

After my initial panic, I had my first ride on the Copenhagen Metro — which is driverless and quite excellent, by the way.

But during the ride, I noticed that no one was talking or making eye contact…at all.  I learned fast:  do not look these people in the eyes, and for the love of God, no matter what, DO NOT SMILE DIRECTLY AT THEM.  REPEAT – DO NOT SMILE DIRECTLY AT THEM.

They will look at you like you have three heads.

Even the local birds wouldn’t look at me.  They buried their heads in the water.

Okay, I’m joking a bit.

Well…kind of.

I’d heard about the famous Danish “aloofness” — that they can seem cold and distant, even RUDE.  But I think it’s just a matter of minding their own business.  I later watched many of them interacting with each other in the city, and they are clearly VERY warm and loving people…within their already established “inner circles”.  That’s the key.  If they don’t know you, they don’t want to “bother” you.  The Danes seem to be very private people.  Simply put:  they don’t want their space invaded (without good reason), and they don’t want to be rude and invade yours.

I dig it.  I wish people here in the south (of the U.S.) would be less nosy and invasive…they try to get ALL UP in your business, even when they don’t know you.  Ugh.

I’m actually cool with the Danish attitude, even though my first few encounters did seem daunting.  But really…y’all COULD smile if someone accidentally looks at you.  It wouldn’t kill you.  *wink*   🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Note:  there was ONE shocking (and gorgeous) smile, right after I got off the metro at my hotel stop (Oresund).  I was sitting at a little food truck, stuffing my face (I was starving…I hadn’t eaten for a day/night), and looking like crap (I hadn’t slept for almost two days), when this really handsome man with graying hair walked by.  He made eye contact with me as I was making some crazy chewing face, and I must have been looking HAGGARD from travel and exhaustion…but he grinned at me.  A warm, beautiful grin.  Oh, he was lovely.  And goodness knows I needed that grin right about then.

JUST KILLING TIME – MY FIRST GLIMPSE OF EUROPE

There I was, a stranger in a strange land (with luggage in tow), waiting for my hotel check-in time.  So I just looked around…

INSPIRATION

And yes, they are here.

Everywhere.

You’ve heard about them.  You know what I’m talking about.

THE BIKES.

We’ve all heard that Denmark is a bike-loving nation, but holy hot mess…this is incredible.

It seems unbelievable because I come from a town that has no bike lanes, and — in many places — not even SIDEWALKS for pedestrians to walk on.

I know.  HOW INSANE IS THAT?

It is a danger to move about on a bike.  Everyone drives their car, even when they don’t NEED to (for extremely short distances) — it’s so lazy and wasteful.  I’m one of the only Arkansans I know that wishes we had sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transportation available throughout the state (and country).

We have so much to learn from Denmark.

I found it invigorating to move through Copenhagen and flow with the foot & bike traffic.  It seemed that the entire population was outdoors…walking, jogging, biking, getting fresh air, staying healthy, saving fuel, bustling about, forming one giant moving – yet connected – community.

This is exactly the kind of city/community I’ve always wanted to be a part of.  I already do a lot of jogging/walking around my home town (even though I get a lot of crazy looks), but I’ll be biking around a lot more now instead of driving.  The lazy, nut-job people in my home state will just have to deal with it.  Funny how they think I’M the weird one, when living a more eco-friendly, healthy lifestyle is the ONLY thing that actually makes sense.  Thank you for re-awakening the desire that has always lived within me, Danes.  🙂

THE ACCOMODATIONS

 

Finally, I could check in at my rental.  I stayed at the fabulous CPH Studio Hotel, close to the lovely Amagerstrand Park and a great beach area.

Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Beautiful interior, amazing staff, awesome food & drinks, and my room was minimal/efficient.  This seems to be a way of life for the Danes —> aesthetically pleasing + efficiency/functionality/practicality = a winning formula.  I think this is a part of why their lives may seem so “happy” or content…so pleasing.  I don’t always love the super-modern look in my own day-to-day life, but I’m definitely a fan of “less is more”.

I loved my room.

And the view.

Good morning, Denmark 🙂 The next day, after some Danish news and weather reports (seriously, have you ever listened to this language…I love it!),  it was time to get dressed and get out.  I spent all day EVERY day just devouring the large AND small details of this city…

RANDOM MOMENTS – JUST TAKING IT ALL IN

My mood, when I’m in Arkansas.  I feel you, girl.  I feel you.

I spent about 30% of each day anxiously looking for one of THESE signs.  I drink a lot of water, okay?

OOPS!  Someone lost their bike.

Pedestrians, you can walk here.  Or, you can bend your mate over and have buck wild sex.

Denmark, you make me proud. ❤ #Polaroids #forever

Lots of locks.  Lots of love.

Groups of people taking their canned beers to the canals and just enjoying good company when the weather is nice.  That’s a very hyggelig thing.  Hygge is often defined as “cozy”,  and now it’s becoming a trendy, over-marketed thing further west…just like everything else. *eyeroll*  But I think there’s a lot more to the concept of hygge than coziness and candles (though those could be involved).  I feel that it’s a state of… “chilling”?  Just feeling safe, content, relaxed, and at ease —  alone, or especially with those you love or care for.  I think I’m Danish, y’all.  Which is funny — because I’m an outsider, therefore I can’t penetrate their “inner circles”, therefore they’ll never know that I’m quite like them in many ways.  Ha!  What a conundrum.

 I demand an answer:  who killed this rabbit?  Cold-blooded murder!  And right outside the church!

Be still, my heart! ❤  So many beautiful fashion houses represented on the pedestrian street they call Stroget.

Dansk bird on a high wire, wishing he had some smorrebrod.  Or something.

My first evening in Denmark.  It was sunny and beautiful.  I put a lasso around the sun and dragged it with me across the ocean, bringing lovely weather and some of Arkansas’ warmth for you, Danes.  You’re welcome.  xxx

Danish candy is…interesting.  A few of the chocolates are divine, but the hard candies?…hit or miss.  I liked a few of them.  And oh goodness, you guys…they like LICORICE!

 You bet your ass it is.  STILL.

Fact:  every time you light a candle, a Danish person has an orgasm.

Trinitatis Church.

Sneakers, lights,

Metro, night.

Seeing sights.

Feelin’ right.

High fives and living statues.

Sad and beautiful statues.

Historic churches and peek-a-boo views.

Annnnnd….a giant circle in the middle of a square.  The Earth!  I’m not sure what was transpiring here, but let it be known:  Denmark is at the top of list when it comes to being eco-friendly and working to prevent climate change.  Like I said earlier — WE HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM DENMARK.

Tivoli!  Also known as Tivoli Gardens, this amusement park is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the entire world.  (The oldest, Dyrehavsbakken, is also in Denmark).  Tivoli, in operation since August 1843, also inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland/Disney World.

Spires, spires everywhere.  This is one of the most recognizable, due to the intertwined tails of four giant dragons.  They sit atop the Stock Exchange building, completed in 1640.

I’m getting tired.  I need a drink.  Let’s move on to…

MY AKVAVIT EXPERIENCE

 

Akvavit is a centuries-old Nordic drink.  It gets its flavor mainly from spices and herbs (typically caraway or dill, as I understand it?), and there’s no avoiding it if you’re headed to Denmark (or any Scandinavian country, for that matter).  It is often called the “Danish Schnapps”, and it is typically served in a shot glass.

And I had a couple of them.

I was at an outdoor café in Nyhavn, and I asked the VERY young waiter (he looked like a teenager) which one he would recommend, as I have NO clue.  He said that his personal favorite was VERY strong, and I was like, “Bring it on.  I’m not scared.”  So a few moments later, he brought out my shot glass, and my experiment began…then it continued when I had a second one.

Now listen:  funny things happen when you barely weigh 100 pounds, and you have two big shots of this stuff on a (mostly) empty stomach while sitting in the sunshine.

I could see the future.  I’m pretty sure I time-traveled.  I think I had a conversation with Hans Christian Andersen.  I might have thought that I WAS The Little Mermaid for a moment, and I wanted to rip my clothes off and jump into the harbor.

Akvavit:  the magical drink of merriment and mischief that will tank a midget such as myself.

Skål!

Okay, there is so much information and there are SO many photos that I will have to break this down into a couple of blogs.  So let’s wrap up Part 1.

Would the Danes warm up to me?  Would I have a crying jag?  Would I ever get the currency exchange and customs down pat?  More of Copenhagen to come…

And this (below) is how I greeted the city each morning from my hotel window.  If any Danes had glanced upward during one of my semi-nude interludes, would they have been more likely to SMILE at me?

Until next time,

xo,

Jenn