It's the most wonderful time of the year - apparently.

After the stress of pending cancellations and delay, I have done  much sleeping recently.  My flight on Tuesday night only delayed by about 3/4 hours which was nice.  In my Twyford bed by 4am (5am my body time).  In the morning I got up and headed to London to see Vikki, who actually met me off my train at Paddington, without meaning to, we had timed it to perfection.  We went to the National Gallery and then had lunch in a cafe.  £6.50 for a bacon and brie toasted sandwich, fat slice of lemon cake and cup of tea, quite a lovely change from Danish prices.  We went to Brick Lane where I tried on a fetching turban and then got the Central line from Bethnal Green to North Acton (very enjoyable to sit and watch all the uncomfortable commuters.)  Dinner and wine with Vikki and Joe and then my first proper sleep in a while which was nice.  Morning of Chris Moyles on the radio and Starman in my heart and then back to Twyford.

A couple of hours later I met Ali at the station and we went to Reading but the Oakford was full and pompous, had a drink in the Purple Turtle but it was weird in there as well so finally settled in to Queen and Metallica on the jukebox at the Allied Arms.

Christmas Eve, I did some stuff I don't remember and then had a lovely evening at the Waggon and Horses with my good pals Tanya and Phoebe. Woke at 11am on Christmas Day to no presents, no tree, and it was perfect.  Massive lunch with the family and watched Inception in the evening.  On the 27th, Mother Evans and myself went to Bristol to see my Grandmother and Aunt, we had Toad in the Hole and gave presents which was nice.  The last 2 days were just going to the sales (big waste of time), haircut and small errands.  Then I woke at 4.40am on the 30th to go to Gatwick Airport (thanks for the lift Mummy!) and just slept when I got back to Copenhagen.

Cancelled, cancelled cancelled. London Gatwick CLOSED.

This has come to be my worst nightmare.  In 48 hours I should be in the air on my way back to the homeland.  BUT flights are getting cancelled all over the place (my friend Lorelei is staying two extra days in Copenhagen, that she could have spent in Paris) and even if you get to your destination, some cannot get home (this girl I know flew into Stansted instead of Gatwick yesterday morning and got home to Kent this evening - that's a journey of over 30 hours due to bus and train cancellations and the motorway blockages).

Well enough of the travel news, what will be will be.  I am practising positive thinking techniques but am still having nagging thoughts about Christmas in Copenhagen.  It's not really the Christmas part that worries me (as I'm not to big on Christmas, plus I wouldn't be alone, there are people around) but I have been in Denmark for four whole months now and have been looking forward to this brief jaunt which shall include nothing but pure enjoyment for a while now.

So I worked hard on my essay Friday and Saturday and today I had a lovely duck lunch with Lorelei and got hit on at midday on a snowy, busy street.  I really want to get the majority of my 5000 word essay done before England-time so that is my plan for the next two days, hopefully with some fun intertwined with the few people remaining in DK.

Right now I am sat cross-legged on my rug, sorting through all the bits and pieces I have accumulated over the last four months, drinking tea, the room lit by tea lights, its a little bit beautiful.

Although the temp is not going to get above -6.C here before I leave, according to the BBC no more snow is scheduled here or in the Gatwick or Reading areas before Tuesday.  So please everyone, cross your fingers for my return (as that will do as much good as praying - ie. none.) I really make myself chuckle.

Backgammon Champion

So my life has continued to consist of doing work and avoiding doing any sort of work in equal amounts.  The weather has continued to be extremely cold (gonna be -10, feels like -20, this weekend i think), snowy (snowed for about 10 hours today) and generally not as bad as it sounds.  I've got all the gear I need (bought some new lined boots on Monday, which I discovered are really good in the snow today), and can quite enjoy walking around with snow being blasted in my face.  It's really not the tragedy people make it out to be, it's just nature, the world etc.

Events of note include beating Charlie AND Alex at backgammon in Christiania on Friday afternoon, passing my oral exam for Scandinavian Political Systems with a 7 (equivalent of a B i am told) on Monday, walking around in the freezing cold with my friend Lorelei, and discussing the Bronte sisters and Good Charlotte with Matt last night.

Been planning my grand return to England as well, think I'm going to be crazy-busy, but I can't wait to see everyone!

Wow, Another Whole Week???

I have been crap at blogging. Amen.

A Whole Week????

Wow time really does fly when you lock yourself in your apartment away from the snow and (feels like) -20.C temperatures to try and read 1200 pages of political academic literature about the presence of women in Nordic politics but then procrastinate to high hell.

Last week was a mash-up of studying, not studying, eating and sleeping.  On Tuesday I had a pretty interesting class focusing on regionalism in relation to the Middle East, would serve as a great essay writing starting point if I were writing an essay on the Middle East. Haha.  After that I went to the South campus and handed in my application for the pre-semester Danish Language Course at the Department of Scandinavian Studies.

Wednesday I read for my oral exam and went for my penultimate session this year with my tuttee.  It was so good, I cannot describe how much I like the school and tutoring.  Thursday was something like a high of -4.C and a low of -17.C (plus the -10.C winds) so I think I actually stayed home all day long.  And Friday.  And Saturday. Then I got cabin-fever to the extreme and went for a mammoth walk through Copenhagen.  I walked through a snow-covered graveyard in my canvas shoes, down a backstreet where I'm pretty sure I walked right into the middle of some CPH gang activities, paused on Dronning Louises Bro (Queen Louise's Bridge) to watch the pink sun set over the pure white, frozen Peblinge So while the wind blasted my face.  Refreshing.  The snow on the frozen lake had little footprints all over it.  I then walked back to Frederiksberg and (metaphorically) locked myself in my room with my book.

All week it had been sleeting on and off everyday.  On Saturday night I went to sleep with snow, and woke on Sunday with snow.  It continued snowing all day long, the flakes getting bigger and slower as the day went on.  I met Max and Lorelai for lunch and then ice skated the central streets on Copenhagen instead of walking.  These Serbian (?) men with violins were playing some of my most melodically beautiful music I had ever heard outside FootLocker. We went to Abercrombie and Fitch and I wanted to kill myself and everyone in there.  Horrible consumerist, 'lets all own the same things', pretentious schmucks.  Not going there again.  There was a technically good-looking boy stood in the doorway with his shirt open.  Vom.  I then went over to Nyhavn, right out to the sea and watched the snow.  Then I met Matt and we went to Palads Cinema to see Harry Potter 7.  Was okay, I think my expectations were a bit too high.  Totally want a Deathly Hallows necklace for Christmas though and to call my child Xenophilius.

So far this week I have studied and I had a class this morning, but it was pretty boring, nearly fell asleep.  I only went because it is my only class that is still in session and my week needs some sort of structure.

In other news, it is exactly 2 weeks and 11 minutes until I leave Denmark for my 9 day Christmas extravaganza, taking in the wonderful surroundings of London, Twyford and Bristol.  Started making plans already. PSYCHED.

Let it Snow x3

Gosh, I have no idea what I have done for the last few days - its been snowing for 7 days here and the temperature is pretty consistently below 0.C at all times. It is occupying my mind.

On Thursday Matt came round mine and we played my guitar and listened to the White Stripes, then went for a very cold walk round the block in the snow, was pretty nice. 

Friday I went to the library for a bit and then did a spot of shopping, and the snow felt like it was clearing up a bit.  Emailed my petitum to my Climate Change lecturer Jakob and felt relieved - as it was the deadline.  Charlie came round for dinner and we went to the shop and  in this short amount of time, my normally busy road had been swept away in a flurry of snow, everything was completely covered.  And the Falkoner Alle Christmas lights had been put up, they are so pretty.  We had a huge meal and then went to Alex's house and then on to RUST where it was Hip Hop night, it was so good to hear some live music.  We walked there through the freezing night so I had to walk home through the snow-filled backstreets of Norrebro at 4am.

Slept until 12 and did some useful stuff round the apartment and chatted with Si.  In the evening I went to half-priced dinner with Matt, Lorelai, Pauline, Max and Max's visiting friend - it was good, but I hadn't eaten all day so I thought 'oh good, now i can eat loads' but found it really hard to finish my vegetable lasagne. Weird.  On leaving the restaurant, I realised how incredibly cold it is in Denmark at the moment -it was -4.C. In November!

On Sunday I slept for a crazy amount of time and emerged from my room with sleepy eyes to Simon having done loads already with his day.  Rubbish.  I got up and vacuumed the entire apartment, played guitar, read a book, etc - all the stuff I always do.  Managed to sort out my life a bit, making lists, lists, lists.  While a snowstorm brewed outside.

Today I got up early, went to the shops looking for a pair of boots.  Then I studied for a good couple of hours and tried not to slip on the compacted snow.  I have decided to do the Danish Language pre-semester course in January as I will be here anyway and I have no plans. Haha.  Also made lots of suggested changes to my petitum, ready for our final lecture of Climate Change on Thursday - it has definitely been my favourite class this semester so I will miss it.  Our lecturer works at the Ministry of Finance and is going to COP-16 in Mexico as part of the Danish team - good man!  Also got told 'of course' I was English - didn't really know what that meant.  -4.C again on my way home at 6pm and I've just seen the forecast that says that Friday night will be -12.C. DENMARK IS COLD!

PS. After class today, me and Max saw loads of bikes completely covered in actual ice and Max ripped an icicle off one of them.

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.

John Lennon knew what the deal was.

This week has been pretty stressful, because not only am I approaching university deadlines, I am sorting out summer 2011 and my volunteering at CIS as well.  I got really annoyed at myself for not being a productive and motivated person and this partial-breakdown/hissy fit has sorted me right out. So far this week has been classes, mooching and more mooching.  I am at last doing more work for my classes which is good, but sleeping less, which is bad.  Snow arrived in Kobenhavn on Tuesday and is still pretty steadily falling, the city is so beautiful, a winter wonderland and everything keeps working, unlike England.  The bike lanes are cleared and gritted before the roads get a look in.  Everyone is wrapped up in proper winter gear. And it is not over-dramatised, just accepted. 

However, it has been fricking freezing, literally, which has aided my concerted effort to study more, along with my new coffee habit/addiction. To-do lists are also helping me achieve my goals - this week, largely my BUNAC application, booking flights for February, learning backgammon (on Monday I beat a pretty seasoned player and today I beat Matt - haha!) and my Climate Change petitum and essay.

I have also realised that it was the lack of reading which was making me feel more and more stupid each day - so I am reading again.  And yesterday I helped my tutee at CIS write a short story for her English teacher and enjoyed it way more than I ever thought - I'm going to try it myself.  Last night I watched the film MILK and you should totally watch it too.

I Can Tell That We Are Going To Be Friends

There's More To See Than Can Ever Be Seen, More To Do Than Can Ever Be Done

My mumsy was here!

Tuesday - I went to the library before my 10am class again and managed to cheaply print a lot of good info for my Climate Change essay, I then made the short cycle over to Linnesgade to my class, which was as boring as ever.  I don't think I'm going to go to that one anymore.  I have chosen my exam subject and the oral exam is in 3 weeks so the classes are kind of a waste as I won't get assessed on the content.  Then I went to my 3rd world lecture where I sat next to Matt and drew pictures of birds, and tried to draw a human, it went very wrong.  Then we started writing with our left hands which was pretty funny. Haha. After class I went to Christiania with Charlie, Alex and Pauline and I played my first game of backgammon and I WON!!! Ha!  Also had an Earl Grey tea and chocolate cake.  Lunch.  I went home to find Maria, my landlady and older sister of Simon had arrived back from New York, so now I live with siblings. I really like Maria so this is all gooood.  Matt came round and I showed him some Michael McIntyre, but I think there were a few too many British references.  We cycled on down to Max's for a post-birthday gathering.  Was pretty fun but I'm pretty sure some drama kicked off - I have decided to stay well away.  Food was provided and I spent about half an hour looking for a corkscrew for my wine.

Wednesday - I sleeped. Haha.  Did a touch of studying and then went to the International School.  In terms of CIS I think I have some future prospects - another student they want me to work with, and the possibility of getting involved in actual classes, which I am really keen to do.  Was there for over 2 hours, instead of the 50 minutes it is supposed to be.  Straight from Norreport station to my mother's hotel.  So good to see the
Mummy, we had dinner at Cafe Paludan which was scrumptious, and we saw Matt, Charlie and some others going past the window.  She bought my guitar to Denmark which makes me very happy, I did not think I was this attached.  Cycled through the freezingness back home and met Marias/Simons parents who were in town for Marias ceremony on Thursday where she got to meet the Queen of Denmark because she is a brainbox.  They gave me a Danish Christmas Cookie and spoke English with me. I also really need to sort out my bike - it has a flat tyre but not through lack of air. Will ask Simon.

Thursday - I studied and then Mummy came round and met Simon!  This was a proud moment for me, he really turned on the meeting the parents charm.  We had lunch across the road at this Italian sandwich shop and then walked to Norrebro, a cool trendy area with independent shops. 

It was pretty fricking cold and windy and I ended up buying the best mittens in the entire world (handmade).

I swear they are insanely good and when your hands are inside them, you cannot feel any rain or cold or wind or anything, just the softness of the fur and the good quality leather.  About £20 but totally worth it.  That evening I went to Maxs apartment for Thanksgiving dinner (a week early) and Pauls leaving dinner, rolled into one.  It was wonderful, good food, American football, a little bit of crying.  Thats right, now people here know how emotional a person I am.  Paul has gone back to France as he could not find a job with enough hours in CPH.  He will be missed by one and all.  Cycled home on my totally flat front tyre.

The next day I met my mother at Magasin du Nord, the premier department store in CPH for some window shopping, saw the most wonderful boots ever, but way expensive and way 'no one had size 41'.  Tried on a wonderful fur hat which made me look like a Russian princess, in my lowly opinion.  Bought a red/purple sweatshirt from what I think will be my new favourite Scandinavian clothes shop.  We spent the afternoon at mine doing not much.  Got sandwiches from the Italian sandwich guy across the road again, he was loving us, talking about the morning snow and giving us free pastries.  Thats right - it snowed on Friday morning.  I was so tired, I nearly passed out.  Me and mother listened to the CD she bought me from England - Sufjan Stevens Xmas one, and read interesting Wikipedia entries on Sufjan, Slash, Lloyd Grossman and James Franco.

Sure, I didn't take this picture but in my mind it is well worth including.

Saturday - She (cat's mother) came to mine and we went into the centre, walking, window shopping, catching up etc.  We went to the Christmas Market at Nyhavn.  Had an insane lunch at Dalle Valle and then happened across a Christmas concert on Stroget and a massive poster for Harry Potter 7, which got me all excited.  Then we said goodbye and Mummy went back to England.  But today it is exactly a month until I fly back for 9 days over Christmas.

Today I have studied a bit, drank coffee a bit and filled out most of my BUNAC application.  Due to my being in Denmark it will be very hard for me to get a job in the UK for next summer so this is my new plan.  I have been thinking about it for a couple of years.  It means I will have to fly back to England for an interview in Feb probably.  Still, it will be really cool if they can offer me something, I really want to work more with children and I could do a bit of USA travelling next summer.

Happy 22nd Birthday Alison Boult!

Just got to start with a tribute to my friend Ali who celebrates the 22nd anniversary of her birth today, wish I could be there to give her birthday beats.

The weekend was wonderful.  Simons friends were staying from out of town so they were getting drunk and then lying on the sofa watching films and eating hearty stew.  I mostly, watched films, read books, baked brownies and slept and slept and slept.  I did not party at all, I went to the library for 2 hours on Saturday afternoon, I slept at least 10 hours every night, I tidied and cleaned my room, I did some yoga and stretched my body, I lay on my wood floor and stared at the ceiling, I drew a picture that I will paint later this week,  I cut my toenails, I became obsessed with a website - texts from last night, I rode my bike, I walked around parks, I talked to about 6 people all weekend.  I spent no money.  Perfection.

Today I met Charlie and his friend from England and watched them play backgammon in Christiania - totally going to learn this game and become amazing.  Then went to my Climate Change class which was kind of boring today apart from when the guy with the pencil moustache spoke.  Love that guy.  Had roast vegetables for dinner.

But Suddenly I Feel the Shining Sun, Before I Knew It This Dream Was All Gone

What a week!

Not in the good way.  This week has been very trying for many different reasons.  I think I have been majorly sleep-deprived, and not eating properly, a little unhappy and missing home.  But life goes on right?

After a pretty sleepless night, on Tuesday I realised how much work I had to do for my deadline at 12noon Thursday.  Basically, I hadn't started any of it.  So I woke up early, went to the library at 8.30am and started doing it.  I started at the Social Sciences library, then cycled round the corner to the Political Science library then cycled round another corner to my 2-hour 10am Scandinavian Political Systems class.  Stayed for the first hour then went back to the Social Sciences library, back to the Political Science library and had to stand for 30 minutes while the slowest computer in the world tried to print my work.  Raced back to the class to get the lecturer to sign my petitum, ended up having to bully him into it as it was not complete.  Horrendous.  Then raced back to campus to go to my 12noon class, but didnt get there until 12.35 so decided to skip.  Rode home for lunch planning a big afternoon of working on my synopsis, then fell asleep for over 2 hours.  Woke up with a dry mouth and a banging head.  Don't even know what I did for the rest of the day but I do know my head was a mess.

Wednesday was the day I had to write my 1000 synopsis for my oral exam in December.  Although it doesn't get graded I wanted to do it well as it is meant to introduce the exam.  So I worked for a while at home, then worked for a while in the library, then again at home and got it finished around 8.30pm.  That was a long day.  I was excited to finish so that I could go and have a beer.  Then I got invited to a party before going out on the town and it all escalated from there, I got home at 2.30am.  Having danced literally all night, occassionally with the speakers instead of real people.  Rode home swaying all the way.  Must have set my alarm when I got back because I remember turning it off at 8am even though I had to go to campus to hand in my work by 12noon.  Woke naturally at 10am and went straight to campus as I knew it would take me ages to print and photocopy all my stuff.  And I was right - I got it all handed in at 11.30ish.  I knew that I was unable to use a British photocopier so I don't know how I managed with on with instructions in Danish!

So went home and listened to some awesome songs on YOUTUBE.  Search 'jack steadman' and you're life will be greatly improved.  Decided not to nap but to go to bed early.  Cooked roast vegetables and whole chicken breasts, which I guess means my appetite is back!  Went to bed at 8.30ish after some intense Apprentice watching.  And slept for over 12 ruddy hours! Haha I WIN!  I woke up briefly when Simon got home with his friend - I had already been asleep for a good couple of hours, felt so good.  Woke earlyish and got up quick and met Simons friend who is staying this weekend then headed to the shops where I bought UK Glamour magazine and a pair of mittens.  Got a book out of my University library called 'Wars that Changed the World' which I cannot wait to read.  And here we are....  Just been listening to Daft Punk all afternoon and looking for articles for one of my essays.

Something to take with you, something my friend Katie 'van Dyke' Jones told me -

"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." ~ Oscar Wilde

You and Me Are Gonna Live Forever

So my weekend didn't go quite how I had planned it at the end of my last post.  I didn't attend the 48 hour party at all but didn't actually feel like I was missing out on too much fun.  On Thursday I stayed home, did some reading, watched some TV, drank some tea and thought about life. I'm so deep.  And on Friday I went to the Politics library.  It is directly opposite the bar on campus which by Friday afternoon stank so bad of every bad smell in the world and there were people drinking outside the doors and people stumbling around campus in fancy-dress.  This was the moment I was glad that I wasn't doing it.  Looked way too hardcore.

Anyway I swear I drank more wine than I thought I drank on my Friday night in with a film, as I woke up on Saturday with a banging headache.  Slow start - Simon left for his football game and Matt came round and we did literally nothing, it was so nice.  We started getting restless so rode down the road and took a dusky walk around the park.  Matt told me that he heard a rumour that a ducks quack is the only sound in the world that doesn't echo - which amused me greatly, but later turned out to be false.  He also told me a very disturbing story about a guy he hung out with one summer who stole two ducks from his university duck pond and took them to the woods alive in his backpack.  Kind of a weird story with a gruesome ending.
We then were still a bit restless so cycled down to Vesterbrogade and had a Vietnamese coffee.  Just chilled and hung out there for a bit, chatting about life and Denmark and our childhoods and stuff which was cool.  I then rushed home, did some personal grooming (had my first shower for 2 days - diiirty) and rode over to the Planetarium by the lakes to see Daft Punk's film Interstella 5555 at the IMAX as part of CPH:DOX, the international film festival with Chris and his cousin.  Afterwards we went to a club in the meat-packing district of Copenhagen where there are loads of little clubs and bars.  Met some French friends and danced the night away.

Was awoken at 5.30am with Simon returning very noisily from his party and he conked out on his bed with his door open - much bigger party animal than me.  Met Max for brunch on Sunday and helped him buy some lovely new shoes - this is my new talent, spending other peoples money for them. I am getting very good at it.  We met Matt and had a little park time with the ducks again.  So many parks in this city.  Got home to find Simon about to go home for the week so now I am home all alone and I don't really like it - the apartment is too big for one.

Today I worked hard all afternoon and had my Climate class at 4pm.  While bikling (new phrase coined by Matt) to class, the wind was so strong at one point I shed a tear and then I was pedaling and not moving at all.  It was the worst bike ride since I've been here.  After class, me, Charlie and Alex had a coffee and then me and Charlie had a feast at this restaurant where the food was half-price.  In the end my huge club sandwich and potato wedges cost less than a pint glass of Coke - MENTAL.  But it was my first 'proper' meal since Friday night as I have lost my appetite for an unknown reason.  I think I'm back on track now. Cycled home and it was so cold, I didn't even break a sweat (like I normally do). Haha. 

It's getting so cold here, I want to buy a new pair of gloves tomorrow that will insulate my handlebar hands better.  Still loving it though, I really feel at home here, although the last week or so has been tough in terms of missing you guys.  This week I have so much real work to do so probably won't be partying for a little while.  I need a break anyway.

Who's been stealing my bananas, butter, salami and milk?

I don't like Mondays.  No it was ok, actually did some work which was nice and tidied the apartment a bit.  Had class in the afternoon and it is now dark so early here, by 5pm.  Went home and watched lots of How I Met Your Mother in a mindless state.

On Tuesday I cycled to my 10am class and bumped into my friend Max at the exact set of traffic lights we always find each other at, completely unplanned.  It was his 20th birthday so I sang 'Happy Birthday' as we cycled up the road to campus.  My 10am class was the most boring thing I have ever endured.  I was trying to concentrate, but I just drew a goose in my notebook instead.  I then met Matt for lunch but we managed not to have lunch.  We cycled into the city centre to find somewhere to eat, not findin anywhere suitable we cycled back to campus and had a drink in Kommunen.  I then made my way down to City Hall where I went to the World Press Photography Exhibition at Politiken.  I went home for dinner and then went back to City Hall and met Max to go to his birthday drinks thingymajiggy.  Cycling up Stroget, I sang Happy Birthday again. Hahaha.  We went to The Moose and it was real fun, I met an American girl who loves Green Wing, which I was very exctied about.  And I got some of Maxs birthday cake. Yum.  It got to 1am and I had to leave, I had had a very tiring day and was utterly pooped.  Had to cycle the whole way home one-handed as I needed to hold me hood up to shelter myself from the rubbish rain.

Woke up on Wednesday with a little headache.  Not cool.  Managed to get on with some work and then went to Hellerup from my tutoring gig.  It was so good, I enjoy it immensely.  Headed home, showered and trekked out to Ordrup with Matt to have dinner at our friends house.  Ooooohh free food is always good but this was intensely yummy.  Plus wonderful company in the form of Lorelei, Paul, Max and Matt.  This is the first time I had used the Metro in weeks.  Now I have my bike and it kind of works, I never need to spend money on those driverless underground trains.

I've had quite a few late nights recently and am feeling it, so I'm trying to have a couple of lie-ins.  The builders are nearly done with our roof I think which is quite exciting but also infuriating, as I know soon I will be able to stand on the balcony and look over Copenhagen.  It's so close, but not here yet.  No letting up on the busyness coming up either.  This morning my Fredagsbar started its 48 hour Fredagsbar (10am Thursday - 10am Saturday) - there are all sorts of different activities happening from cartoon-watching, morning aerobics sessions, the unveiling of Christmas Beer and fancy-dress parties.  Even a 'How many shots can you drink?' competition.  MENTAL.  Also the COP:DOX (international film festival) starts today - I'm hoping to go and see a couple of the films, it looks awesome.

Oh and I have a deadline on Thursday!

Sleepless Nights

On Friday I was awoken at 9am by builders sat on my windowsill outside laughing and joking.  The mind boggles as to why they could not sit outside another of the 7 street-facing windows and not the one where they could see someone asleep outside.  I hit the books pretty hard as I am starting to stress slightly about the amount of work still to do before Christmas.  In the evening I met Max, Lorelaie and Paul (all Frenchies) for a drink and then we went on to FredagsBar on campus.  The theme was meant to be HALLOWEEN but the music was mainly British 80s pop-rap and Wham!  Anyway a lovely time was had by all and I met a rather dashing young man.

The Superheros (Lorelaie and Paul)

On Saturday I woke up with a banging head, drank loads of water and decided that what I needed was to ride my bike.  Rode down the road to Maxs andwe cycled down to Vesterbro to a flea market I had heard about.  It was real nice but kind of made me miss home somehow, I don't know, lots of trendy folk, it was very Brick Lane.  It had a bar serving cake, hot toddies etc, and a huge hall full of people selling their wares.  Outside there were some guys practicing Parkour and a place called Street Mecca where kids were playing basketball.

We then went to Istedgade, the top half of which is Copenhagens red light district (where I stayed when I lived in a hotel for my first week here) and the bottom half is all independent designer shops, specialist food shops, cafes and bars.  The weather was insanely nice (probably 14C, sunny, not windy), we locked up our bikes, bought lunch and went walking, just looking into shops as we went.  Basically the perfect activity with a hangover.  After a while we decided we both wanted an ice cream, so went to this place just off Vesterbrogade and the banana ice cream was one of the best thing I have ever tasted.  Went a-walking through some residential streets, played in some autumn leaves etc. 

Went home to have a nap and then went to the re-opening of Studenterhuset (Student House) which is this cafe/bar/gig venue/study hall mash-up.  It has been under renovation since I have been in CPH but I think it is going to be right up my street.  They have a darkroom, music practice rooms etc and loads of room to sit and study or stand and party.  Very cheap drinks.  We watched a band who were basically the Danish version of Pete and the Pirates - it was good but did not blow my mind. And then they played a ballad, just the keyboard player and the singer and it was insanely beautiful - I was very impressed, kind of had a Sigur Ros feeling to it.  Matt came along and then was going to this Kollegium (halls of residence) party in Norrebro.  It was pretty close to where I live so I thought why not?  Bumped into a couple of people I knew and had the cheapest beer I have ever had - 10DKK.

Slept a long time today + my extra hour.  Now this day is wasting away so I must go and study.

'Lift me off the ground and take me to the garden of paradise'

OK, I think I might say this every week but after a weekend of reflection I wanted to have a really productive week, so that's what I have been aiming for.

The week started well with a number of hours in the library on Monday reading and trying to sort out my work for my exams coming in December.  The weirdest thing happened in the library, I was just sat there reading and I heard a British voice right behind me.  Obviously I turned around to see who it was and it was Theo, a boy who has just graduated Politics at the University of Surrey who did erasmus at KU.  He is back in Denmark with his Danish girlfriend and studying his masters in Roskilde, living the dream.  Crazy small world.  I had my Climate Change class and way fewer people showed up for some reason and I decided to speak in class (the first time in this class).  It kind of got brushed away but it was a step forward, next time I will say something really poignant.  Came out of class to find darkness and rain, the Danish winter is beginning.  Cycling home I couldn't see the curb for puddles and I ran into it and fell off my bike, grazing my knee.  Bad bike experience, and very embarrassing.

On Tuesday my 10am class got moved to 8.15am as it was a tour of Parliament.  I have already been to the Danish Parliament, plus there will be other opportunities to go so I stayed in bed.  Got up to head off to my 12noon class and realised 5 minutes before I was going to leave that that class was cancelled too as the lecturer is currently in Ethiopia.  I headed out anyway and did more library things, including not getting a fine on an overdue book. Get me!  At home my computer freaked out on me and I had a freak out but then my friend KATIE JONES helped me fix it.  Thanks Katie!  After the stress of this I was gonna go to bed at like 10pm but instead went out and met Matt and some Italians for a drink in Bar7.  I can't afford any of the drinks in this place, but Matt was in my debt so I was pretty lucky.

Wednesday I had plans with my French friend Lorelaie to go swimming in Frederiksberg, but these plans somehow fell through.  I went up to Hellerup to tutor my tutee.  I am really really enjoying this volunteering (I feel like I am helping, everyone at the school speaks English all the time and the school is just fantastic, colour everywhere, hahaha AND IM STAFF!!!  I am going to ask soon whether it is possible for me too sit in on some classes in order to get a feel for the classroom aspect of the school.  The weather was horrendous and everywhere I cycled I could not see a darn thing as the water got all over my spectacles.  I had dinner plans and was going to chicken out and get the metro as it is 30 minutes cycle away and I don't really know the way.  I gathered my courage though and made it down to Marias in Amagerbro without getting lost (I had told Simon I would definitely get lost and I was so proud of myself).  Had a lovely dinner at Marias, thanks Maria! Later, I set off home with Alex/Sandy and we proceeded to get very lost in Copenhagen, but we righted ourselves and I got home in about an hour I think.  Needless to say my legs were fricking killing me.

On Thursday Lorelaie and myself went swimming at last.  It was quite an experience.  Beforehand I was apprehensive because I havent' swum since I was about 13/14 and was worried I would not float or something.  We got to the pool, bought swim caps and went to the changing rooms.  It was here that we realised that we would have to shower before and after our swim - NAKED.  At first I was the typical English prude while naked Danish ladies aged 8 - 80 walked around without a care in the world.  In the end I just imagined that none of them could see me, as I could not see them without my glasses.  So I did it, showered naked in communal showers next to other naked strangers.  I then went swimming, which was awesome, I am weak from the years of no exercise apart from walking, but I can totally see myself going swimming here.  After our swim we had to shower again but by this point the exhibitionist part of me secretly enjoyed my liberating situation.  And I had my first sauna experience, naked again. So freaking hot (not the naked women, the temperature) - hahahahaha.  Went home for left-over lasagne of Simons - yum!  And spent the afternoon watching the Apprentice and doing reading for my Climate Change essay.  I had planned to go out but I was so pooped by 6pm I just stayed in and went to bed.

Close yet far, drop me a line and tell me how the hell you are

Thursday was a pretty productive day, I food shopped, washed ALL of my clothes and slept.  My friend Matt rang me while I was sleeping and then when I woke up we met to eat, although he didn't eat, he just watched me eat.  On my way to meet him I nearly got run over by a bus but avoided such a collision.  But then the bus and I were playing stop-start all the way into town as we took over each other at lights etc.  That was kind of embarrassing.  Cycled home in the rain with an empty weekend in front of me.

It was very much my intention on Friday to go to the library and do lots of good work.  I ended up doing lots of nothing, going into the city centre and looking in over-priced shops, knowing that I had no money and basically just depressing myself, went home and watched lots of TV and baked some lemon cupcakes. 

Thats right, I arranged the cakes into my initials.

Told Simon I was going to get up early and be at the library at 10, so good luck in his football game on Saturday.

At 11am the next morning, I was still lying in my bed.  Simon had already left for his game.  I did go to the library though and did some reading and note-taking for my oral examination for Scandinavian Political Systems.  Bought a couple of bits and pieces I needed and went home to find that although Simons team had lost the game, he had scored a goal so was off out to party hard.  I stayed in and baked banana bread. 

Then I lit some candles and had a romantic evening in with the Aerosmith back-catalogue.

Today has been tres tres productive.  Woke up and vacuumed the whole apartment and dusted my room while Simon did the dishes that had been sitting in the kitchen for a whole week!  Threw out a lot of stuff in my room and re-arranged a bit.  I have done some hand-washing that has been waiting about a month to be done, written a letter to Tanya, painted my toe-nails and eaten some banana bread.  As I have said before (to my friends Joe and Vikki at least) - 'a tidy kitchen is a tidy life', and I feel that today has cleared my mind, as well as my bedroom.  I find it very useful to have these moments of clarity of purpose pretty regularly as I get side-tracked by shiny new things very easily.

Baby, It's Cold In Stockholm

At the weekend I did more of the usual, collected my bike, got talked to in Danish, lazed around.  On Sunday I bought the Observer from the shop a few doors down my road that stocks international newspapers and magazines - very convenient - and cycled down to the lakes that seperate the city centre from Frederiksberg and Norrebro.  The weather was glorious, blinding sunshine, slight chill, but perfect for biking.  I ventured further into the city to run a few errands - bought a bell for my bell-less bike, a basket for my dirty clothes and a present for Miss Tanya Moody.  Met Charlie for a millisecond and had a catch-up.  Home for dinner and a heart-to-heart with Simon - very revealing, but also personal - not for the blog.

On Monday morning I think I pretended that I was getting ready for my trip to Stockholm with Max, Maria and Lorelai, but in reality I was mooching around wasting my life away - when it was less than 3 hours until the flight was to depart, I realised that I should probably start packing.  I met the guys at Forum station at 1.30pm and we got the metro all the way to the (END OF THE LINE) Kastrup airport.  And that was it - I was on my way to Stockholm, Sweden.

We arrived into Stockholm-Arlanda Airport around 4.30pm and went straight to the Tourist Office to buy our City-Bike cards for the next few days.  We then walked through the centre of the picturesque Gamla Stan (the Old Town) to our youth hostel Gustaf af Klint, also known as we were sleeping on a boat!

After we checked out our accomodations we headed back into the city and had dinner near the Central Station, it was ok food and ok prices so it was OK.  We then hit up ICEBAR STOCKHOLM (the original) across the street.  On our way there we saw the World Trade Centre, I thought it was pretty creepy.

It was a good experience to put on one of the ice-coats and drink out of an ice-glass and generally be surrounded by ice.  However, it's one of those things where people just go to take pictures of themselves in icy conditions (which, in fairness, is what we did).  We stayed pretty much the maximum time that you are allowed to, but then it became too cold.  This is a selection of photos, there will be more on Facebook shortly I'm sure, for those who are Facebook-enabled.

We walked back to the boat/hostel and saw some of these things.

On Tuesday we woke up, had breakfast and set out for the Vasa museum on Djurgaarden.  The Vasa was a ship sunk not far from Stockholm in the 1600s and the museum documents the history of the boat and the people who were onboard.  It was pretty interesting, here are some pictures.

LONDON

KOBENHAVN

STOCKHOLM

It was very interesting, I particularly liked the skeleton remains as they were named and someone had recreated what the people onboard would have looked like and it was eerily lifelike.  Now it was lunchtime and on the way to find somewhere to eat we walked round a courtyard that seemed to house the Museum of the History of Washing, very unexpected.

In the afternoon we went to the city hall where we saw this cool horse, and I bought a keyring.

And then we just walked around and saw some of the city.

 The next photo is for all my friends that love ROCK.

We had dinner at this lovely cafe that was a little bit like a cave (in that it was underground).  It was reasonably priced and the lady who ran it was lovely.  Afterwards we walked around the area we were staying in (Sodermalm) and had a drink.  We will not dwell on the price of my glass of red wine but I will add a section about money when I complete this blog post later today.



An interrupted sleep in our cabin (bloody Pole washing his face loudly at 2.30am) was followed by Wednesday - already our last day in Sweden.  We started slowly with a cup of tea and I bought a cool bag in an international magazine shop in Sodermalm.

Then we cycled back to Djurgaarden to Skansen Museum (an open-air affair with a Scandinavian zoo).

Skansen was pretty good, I liked being in the country, in the city and seeing the elk, brown bears and wolves.  The afternoon was juts more of the walking and exploring.  In the centre we went into an H&M so now I have been in one in the founding country.  Then we went to the boat through Gamla Stan and its narrow cobbled streets again.  So pretty, especially in the rain.  Had dinner at this Mexican place that was so warm and cosy, we never wanted to leave.  Went back to the boat and messed around.  Me and Lorelai took some great Titanic pictures on the deck at midnight, so they will appear later.

Got up at 5.40am this morning, packed, got the Swedish metro (slightly better than LDN, nowhere near as good as CPH), then the train and got our flight at 8.30am.  Got home this morning and have just done some errands and sorted out my life a bit.  There are more pictures to come from the others and below is some key points I took away from Sweden.

1. SEK vs DKK - Sweden has a reputation for being very expensive, more so than Denmark.  However, Swedish kronor is more favourable to the £ than the Danish kroner so I got more for my British £s.  It was very expensive compared to England, thats for sure.
2. Swedish people are beautiful - Max said he found the Swedish girls more beautiful than Danish girls, but us girls weren't so sure about the men.  If I'm honest I was expecting a overwhelming wall of tall, blond guys but I think after some careful consideration I prefer Danish men, on a purely looks-based level.
3. BICYCLE CITY - People do cycle in Stockholm but it is not made for cycling the way CPH is.  It is slightly hilly and rained most of the time we were there.  In CPH sometimes you feel like there are more bikes on the road than cars, but this is not the case in Stockholm.
4. The Weather - I knew it would be cold. I knew it might rain. It was consistently between 0°C and 8°C which I did not enjoy.  It also rained the majority of the time we were there.
5. Window displays - A slightly strange point to make but I will make it anyway.  Avid fans of my blog will remember the shop in CPH selling glasses and having a pasta window display.  In Stockholm I found one with a wood window display and one with a LEGO display (which is weird anyway as LEGO is Danish).

Also saw this amazing window display but did not understand what the shop was selling.



So all in all, Sweden was cool, pretty etc and I would like to go back (in the summer) but I was so pleased to return to Denmark and the city that has come to be my home in just 2 months.  I do think about all you lovely people in England more and more as each day goes by, but I also fall more and more in love with this city, which doesn't always feel like a city and which I can definitely see being my home in the future, if I am lucky enough.