Advertisement
Published: August 23rd 2009
New Danish beginnings
Though I have been in Denmark a fair few weeks now, I have only just gotten around to updating this blog for the first time since last year when I left Chile. The story is now unfolding in Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, where I will be studying for the next year. My aunt and uncle, who live just north of the city, have graciously welcomed me into their home, which will be my home also until May 2010. I'm slowly settling in and becoming more Danish by the day; I have a bicycle, Ikea furniture, and a CPR number.
I have done so many fun things since arriving in Denmark that it is difficult to recount them all. Much of the first week or two was spent with family, whether that was celebrating my grandparents' 30th wedding anniversary on Egholm, a small island near Aalborg; sailing for 27 straight hours from Hals to Copenhagen with my father and uncle; or running 6km through the hills and forests with my aunt and uncle near my new home. My parents and brothers have returned to the USA, abandoning me to the wilds of Copenhagen. Luckily, just as they were leaving, my best friend flew in from Virginia to keep me company for 10 days before beginning her French studies in Paris. Since we only get to see each other once a year, we try to make the most of our time together. This year we figured out the perfect way to do that:
CYCLING HOLIDAY!
21 August: We set out on the first leg of our cycling holiday: approximately 30 km west and north from Birkerod (my home) to Helsingor (Hamlet's alleged home). We don't know exactly what time we left, maybe 930 ish, and we made it by noon. We took several short stops along the way, at Rungsted Havn and an anonymous beach. We lunched on trail mix, cookies, apples, and Digestives on the grounds of Kronborg Castle, where Shakespeare's Hamlet was set. We meandered through the pedestrian streets with our bikes until we decided it was time to hop on a ferry to...SWEDEN.
"Go big or go back to Denmark"
Having little to no experience with the ferry ticket machine, we stood around awkwardly until a nice Swede with limited English tried to help us. Then another Swede with better English helped us more. Having even less experience with biking onto a ferry, we decided to follow two other women on bikes. Good move on our part. We dismounted in the front of the bowels of the ferry so we would be first out. 20 minutes later, we followed those same women off the ferry and found ourselves in Helsingborg, Sweden. And then we had a problem: no map. Until this point, we had found our way using the incredible map book of Copenhagen and surrounding parts of Sjælland that my wonderfully thoughtful mother gave me. However, that does not include Sweden. After much random cycling and my pestering Amanda with "Where's your sense of adventure?", she asked a woman on the street for directions. We finally found the hotel we were looking for, checked in, were upgraded to a double at no charge, took hot showers, and prettied ourselves up for a night out. After dinner we wandered around and listened to music, watched some Swedes practice free running/parkour (there was a competition the next day), and enjoyed being in Sweden.
22 August: We woke up at 745 to take full advantage of the breakfast that was included with our room. (For the record, the hotel in Sweden only cost $8 USD more than a bed in a hostel in Denmark would have been. The Danish kroner is stronger than the Swedish.) After breakfast and Swedish- and Italian-language news and weather, we packed up and headed out. More ferry-boarding-trouble ensued, but we made it back to Denmark in one piece. Or two pieces, rather: Elisabeth and Amanda. After buying some cherries at a fruit and veggie stand on the pedestrian street, we were off to Fredensborg!
We always reach our destination by noon...always
The stretch from Helsingor to Fredensborg was hillier than my legs would have liked. They weren't sore, surprisingly enough, but my butt sure was. I don't think there's any bike seat that is comfortable for long periods of time. It's just not possible. We made good time, which means we made it by noon. Explored the gardens around the castle, said hi to the lake, lunched on trail mix, cookies, and Digestives, again. Then on to Fredericksborg Castle in Hillerod. BEAUTIFUL. Seriously. Three wedding parties were having pictures taken there. After a rest, we geared up for the final kilometers back to Birkerod. Our cycling holiday essentially took us in a triangle around northern Sjælland of just over 70 kilometers. It was fabulous!
Check back soon for more transmissions from Denmark. Pictures will follow, once the computer decides to cooperate.
For more about the cycling holiday, see Amanda's blog at www.abroad09.blogspot.com.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.341s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 10; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0389s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Beth Wong
non-member comment
Hi There!
Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for including me on your blog. I've never blogged before!!! Sounds like you've been on quite an adventure already! I agree with the bike seat comments for sure! I bought my new bike and have trouble staying on too long. Of course, too long for me and two long for you sound like two different things :) I haven't seen your mom yet but got an e-mail from her. Sounds like she is busy this week so maybe I'll catch up with her next weekend. I start classes this week. Sarah LOVES high school and has loads of new friends. Nick is just getting ready to finish this year up so he can also get out there and see the world. I hope you enjoy your time with Amanda and best of luck when your classes start. I admire your ability to adapt and your adventurous spirit. I'll brush up on my Boggle skills for next May! Love, Beth Wong