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Published: December 4th 2007
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The Little Mermaid
Martine (Quebec), Brenda (Mexico) and me by Hans Christian Anderson's famous fairytale character, the little mermaid So what happens when you travel with a crazy Mexican girlfriend to Denmark? You end up in Sweden.
Now that may be a surprise to you but after knowing Brenda (the crazy Mexican I mentioned previously) for more than 2 months I’ve quickly realized that anything is possible. You see, I have a tendency to verbalize wild ideas. This is normally not a problem as most friends, family members or strangers either; ignore me, think I’m joking & laugh at me or take me seriously & consider me crazy. Brenda is the first person I have ever met to take my wild ideas seriously. So when I voiced my wild idea of visiting Sweden for some Swedish meatballs after being in Denmark for less than an hour I thought it would fall on deaf ears. To my absolute surprise (& pleasure) Brenda calmly turned around, commented on what a brilliant idea it was and agreed to go to Sweden. Thus travelling with Brenda generally means trouble (but a lot of fun) since my wild ideas usually turn into reality. We’ve also come to realise that we are uncannily alike (twins separated at birth perhaps- hey, I can pass off as
Mexican!) which is also quite hazardous. She’s working on turning some of my wild ideas into a reality at the moment but I cannot reveal them for fear of the ‘parentals’ finding out & sabotaging our plan. So when we eventually turn these wild ideas into a reality, I’ll let you know. Watch this Space.
So before we went to Sweden we visited Kronborg Castle (also known as Elsinore) in Helsingor- the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I was so excited I was quoting Hamlet all day! This was undoubtedly NOT a good idea as all that talk & questioning of death, revenge, suicide, poison, ghosts and murder left our imaginations running wild as we stumbled into the darkness of the Kronborg Castle dungeon/casemates. I have honestly only been scared (like heart pumping-hands sweating-breathing heavily-teeth clenching-going to faint any minute now-scared) twice in my life- this was the second time. We couldn’t see more than half a metre in front of us as the only source of light was scattered candles on every third column. After ten minutes of screaming and holding onto Brenda’s arm I heard a couple behind me. To save myself from insanity I was hot on
Kronberg Castle
Hamlet's castle their heels (nearly breathing down their neck) the whole way to the exit! We also saw the famous statue of Ogier the Dane, who according to legend slumbers in the dungeon until Denmark is in grave danger, at which time he will arise and save the nation. After visiting Hamlet’s castle we travelled by ferry over to Sweden. During WWII when Germany occupied Denmark, the Danes secretly shipped hundreds of Jews over to Sweden to save them from death. We took that same route.
When in Sweden we visited Helsingborg and Malmo. In Helsingborg we walked over 600 steps to get to Karnan- a medieval tower that was important during the Danish and Swedish war. And in Malmo we took pleasure in Swedish meatballs (kottbullar) potato and Ligonberry jam. It was to die for. Three other notable mentions about Sweden have to be firstly, the amount of alcohol people were carrying around (people were walking around with crates on their shoulders) secondly, the naked drunk guy at the train station in Helsingborg & thirdly, the look of confusion on Swedish faces when either Brenda or I spoke English.
And no I didn’t go to Denmark to go to Sweden. We discovered Copenhagen’s beauty by walking around the city. We visited Amalienborg Palace (the winter residence of the Royal family including Prince Frederick and Princess Mary) the Copenhagen Opera House, the Marble Church-Marmokirken (which cemented the idea of getting married in a European church! Which reminds me, so far I’m getting my wedding dress made in France, having my church wedding in Denmark & having the reception in an Irish castle- I’ll keep you posted on the wedding date and any other plans) Christiansborg Palace, Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn (a beautiful boardwalk filled with cafés & shops) & of course the Little Mermaid (which was really overrated!) We also visited the Danish Resistance Museum and one of the most outrageous places I have ever been to, the Freetown of Christiania. Basically back in the 1970’s many people- mainly hippie’s- took over abandoned military barracks in Christiania and created a town that was based on communal living and freedom. It’s a shanty town with people living in everything from little cottages overlooking a lake to little huts and make-shift homes. They have communal pubs, eating areas & live spots. I even saw an Optometrist! The town is covered in graffiti & contemporary art & anti-authoritarian slogans and posters. What amused me the most is that Christiania- a random suburb in the middle of a big city- has established a semi-legal status as an independent community. Maybe they can give some advice to the many Separatist movements of the world!
We stayed with a friend of a friend at a student residence and we were made to feel like it was home. We were pleasantly surprised to find Danish food awaiting us, a night filled with new Danish drinking games to learn, a pub with live Danish rock music & a Danish club filled with people from all over Europe. Copenhagen has an impressive nightlife.
Another thing worth mentioning is the fact that I have absolutely no concept of time. Normally this is ok but it becomes a problem when the person you’re travelling with also doesn’t have any concept of time & when you have to catch a plane. Imagine a girl- 5”2 & 49kgs carrying a backpack that weighs her down with 9kgs, holding a handbag and a plastic bag running after a Mexican who is asking questions, sweating & stressing out around Copenhagen station and Copenhagen airport. We were hungry as hell, tired & paranoid. Needless to say we got to the airport merely ten minutes before they were closing check in. It was a hectic afternoon but we got home quickly and safely.
Thanks for the emails guys. Keep them coming through.
Love Natalia, xox.
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