Monday, December 5, 2011

As I mentioned before, my friend Meaghan visited Copenhagen this weekend!  Aside from the overall unpleasant weather, she picked a great time to visit the city-- everything is decked out in Christmas decorations, and she got to attend an FCK soccer game!

I'm absolutely loving Christmas in Copenhagen- decorations went up weeks ago, and while friends and family back in the US encouraged me not to forget about Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but to get into the Christmas spirit a little early.  There are lights everywhere, Christmas trees, gløgg, and Christmas markets!  Julefrokosts, or "Christmas lunches" are also huge here- DIS had one a few weeks ago, and they are basically a big holiday celebration complete with lots of hygge.  Meaghan, a huge fan of Christmas, was absolutely in heaven, and she even got to take a trip over to Malmo, Sweden, while she was here to check out their Christmas markets too!  We also went to Tivoli to see all of the festive decorations there.  I'm so glad she had a fun weekend, complete with lots of Christmas, vegetarian food (RizRaz, SoupaNatural, and PizzaSandwich!), and tasty pastries!

Christmas at Nyhavn!

Reindeer at Tivoli!

Lights at Tivoli

This year, Tivoli is Russian-themed.

Father Frost.. the nice man my parents and I got a picture with and who Amy, Meaghan and I went back to see too!


Last night, we also got to go to a real European soccer, err.. football game courtesy of my Danish Language and Culture class at DIS!  Although I'm the world's least athletic person, I enjoy going to watch games of any kind due to both the contagious energy of the fans and the delicious fried food that is usually served.  Meaghan and I bundled up, stopped to grab some soup for dinner, and headed over to Parken, which is the big stadium in Østerbro.  Although we weren't sure exactly how to get there, we ended up following some obviously enthusiastic fans in the right direction.  We met up with Sarah and her host brothers, who were so excited to be able to attend the game!  It was pretty chilly, and the score stayed 0-0 for the whole game, but it was a lot of fun!  I even caved and purchased a hot dog.. I couldn't resist.  Back home, Meaghan and I warmed up with some hot chocolate (varm kakao) and she got ready to leave for Dublin bright and early.  So glad she could visit on her last travel weekend of the semester before heading back to the US!!

And because I've been slacking again...

#13: Netflix
I subscribed to Netflix last winter when I was home for Christmas break.  I soon became obsessed with it because it gave me access to all the "Law and Order: SVU" I could ever want, as well as "Locked Up" and "Gangland" (#criminologymajorproblems).  Over the summer, I enjoyed watching a quick episode of "The Office" on my lunch break, or relaxing while watching a movie on demand.  Before leaving for Denmark, I toyed with the idea of ending my subscription because I figured that I would have better things to do in Copenhagen than watch TV, but I decided against it.  Upon my arrival, however, I soon learned that Netflix isn't licensed in Copenhagen and would therefore be useless.  Oh well, saved me some money.  Because my moral compass makes me too much of a baby to utilize illegal TV websites, and because the use of those sites/the downloading hours of TV makes the internet in my apartment stop working, I gave up TV all together.  I can't say that I don't miss watching all my quality prison-themed television; however, I've gotten over it.  Having little access to TV has enhanced my abroad experience, and it's made me appreciate little things like watching TLC at Sarah's host family's house or going out to a bar to watch a soccer game.  Furthermore, once I return home for a month, I'll have a new appreciation for the luxury that is Netflix.

#14: Little Green Man
Most other places I have been, the US included, provide "Walk" and "Don't Walk" signals at all major intersections; however, these seem to only be used as a suggestion.  Pedestrians are brave enough (or maybe its more like impatient enough) to take their lives in their hands and run across the street, whether the signal is red or green.  Because I readily answer to authority, "breaking" the rule of the street signs has always made me uncomfortable; however, I found solace in Copenhagen.  After just a few days of living here, I learned that people obey these signs, crossing only when the little green man on the sign tells them to do so, and stopping when the sign is red.  It doesn't matter whether traffic is coming or not- people wait!  Even in the early hours of the morning, when cars are no where to be seen and the sign is read, people wait.  I got used to this wonderful practice in Copenhagen, and I was in for a rude awakening during the two week travel break when Amy and I arrived in Dublin and saw people running back and forth across the street with no regard for the little green man we had come to know and love.  Each time we crossed on the red, we felt the effects of mob mentality, mindlessly following the other pedestrians and getting pretty uncomfortable in the process.  Although this violation of the law got easier, we never quite got used to it.  When we arrived back to Copenhagen, exited the Metro, and waited to see our little green man before crossing the street, all was right again in our little Danish world.  You go, Little Green Man!  I'll miss you.

1 comment:

  1. hahaha I should have followed it more- I almost got taken out by a bus early this morning since I was non-chalantly strolling when it wasn't green.. poor choice on my part!

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