In a word: Køpenhavn.

My time here in Oslo has been one fabulous ride so far. I've learned a lot about Norwegian culture simply by being here and immersing into it. I thought that this theme of cognizance of a distinct "Scandinavian" culture would be the operating one for this post. A week ago a bunch of friends and I took a little trip to our Nordic neighbor south of the fjordic waters and went to a nice spot called Køpenhavn, or as we say in English, Copenhagen. All I knew about Køpenhavn was that it is the capital of Denmark and that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland make up the Nordic region. So I assumed that there would be some semblance of cultural continuity between them(or at least something similar to my experience with Oslo). But it is true what they say about European capitals: each has their own flavor, feel, and charm. Køpenhavn is no different. It is definitely one of those older cities with beautiful buildings that echo a long history of monarchic rule and still manages to incorporate various amenities of its modern existence as a major metropolis. But the history lesson can be saved for PBS; we will move on the fun we had :) We left Oslo at 10pm on Thursday and took an overnight bus there. As painful as it sounds I can assure you it felt about as bad: it was not a pleasant ride. However, we did make several stops in Sweden which is absolutely breathtaking. We arrived at Køpenhavn where we were dropped off at this random stop downtown and made our way drudgingly and tired to the Sleep-In Green hostel aided by our one map. We got there but were told that we could not be shown our beds until 4pm that afternoon. So we set off to see the city. After our much needed coffee, we went to the Universitet Køpenhavn Library. This is what all libraries should be like; old, rosewood tables, rows and rows of books, and even those tall rolling ladders for high literary access. We took more scenic tours around the city and saw many more buildings. If it sounds like I am being vague in my description it is because I am doing it on purpose; I do not really remember (or knew) what 

most of the places we went to were called but take my word it was all very stunning ;) The things I do remember were the Rosenborg Palace, the Winter Palace, a big cathedral where we climbed to the top and saw all of the city, the famous cemetery (where we saw the graves of Søren Kirkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen), the Statens Museet for Kunst (the State Museum for Art: my FAVORITE sight; the sculpture to the left is "Samson"), and the Little Mermaid 

Statue by the harbor. Good memory huh?

All this walking and of course, I let my mind wander and make the observations that pervade my life. The one thing I noticed was the salience of an obvious bicycle culture. It is very similar to the image of bike-ridden Amsterdam with a kind of that old, european capital, very Parisian-like rankness. However, infused with a upbeat, cosmopolitan, London-esque underpinning. It was all very amalgamated in my mind and I was just mesmerized by the whizz and whirl of the passing bikes. Oh, and the very attractive people on them! Boy, are there lookers in Køpenhavn! 

Of course no trip involving bright, young, college stars is complete without the obligatory nightlife. The first night we were there we went to a Chinese restaurant where the food was kind of iffy. Then we completed the night at a bar called The Vikings Pub. It was a student pub that had the cheapest alcohol we had ever laid our poor, Norwegian price-traumatized eyes on. So we went in and enjoyed the night. The next day was filled with more sight-seeing and walking. After we went to the cemetery, we thought it would be a nice 

idea to have a picnic in

 the park nearby. So we went to the grocery store and bought some bread, cheese, meat, apples and wine and popped squats in a wonderful Danish public park. The life of a true European is rife with wine and cheese park afternoons, I am sure ;) After more sightseeing, we headed back to take a break for that night. We started the night by going to Christiania, the self-proclaimed hippie commune slash alternative lifestyle neighborhood. We had some Mexican food (complete with the Tequila Sunrises and Margaritas) and went to this hole in the wall bar where live music was being played. It was awesome. You remember that scene in Rent where they all break out in song in the bar and sing "La vie Boheme"? If my life was a musical, that would be where that scene was recreated. 

It was such a non-mainstream, indie-rock, alternative space and atmoshere. I loved it! After that we went to a club called Vertigo where we finished the night. The drinks were cheap and the music was good so of course I pulled the peeps I was with out onto the dancefloor. It was funny that not many people were dancing...(I am sure it is because they saw our bitchin talent and felt intimidated). They were some crazy characters and lots of laughs but we called it a night after a couple liters of dancesweat and a couple liters of mixers. The ride home was...well, I cannot really tell you much, seeing as I slept the entire way back! Arriving in our lovely Oslo, we had a nice bookend meal of falafel og pita and went to our warm beds. 

If there is one thing I found on this little stint in Danmark, it is that while one city can have a whole history of similarity with a whole other region, something still makes it unique. Danish and Norwegian are similar languages (although I think Danish sounds like a hybrid between Norwegian, Dutch and German) and yet it was hard to understand it. One thing is for sure, the city of Køpenhavn is definitely one that you should put on your list of cities to visit for that next vacation in Europe. You know, where the History is. ;)

 

Until next time, ha det bra!