Gratitude for my first few days in Copenhagen

 Day 3 (Dec 4)

Before I start forgetting all the things I am doing, thought it best to quickly pen down my experiences so far.

Before travel: 

I knew very little about the city (or the country, for that matter) before... I think I used to be quite confused between Denmark and Holland- Danish and Dutch are a bit similar-sounding. Then, when I realised they were different, also realised that everything I know about this region is either based on stories about Holland, Sweden, or Iceland (the last, thanks to a brilliant romance novel called Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown). What are Danes known for? Not like the enthu-pataki Dutch, Danes are not particularly known for humanitarian efforts, science, emigration (though, did I maybe confuse Danish researchers at Pitt for Dutch? No... I feel fairly certain those guys were Dutch) or cricket. What do Danes do? 

I asked my uncle, who had worked at Danida, the Danish embassy in India. He had been their lead strategist and researcher in something related to water and agriculture. He didn't have much to say about them, other than the fact that they were rather quiet (work-wise) compared to the Dutch or the Swedes. I asked my cousin Audi, who has traveled extensively in Europe, and no, he hadn't made a stop in Denmark ever. While chatting with Rk, we recalled Hans Christian Andersen (Danish! Not Dutch!) and I recalled a story about a kid who sticks a finger in a dyke to stop the water from a sea to enter a village (but this was based out of a village in Holland, not Denmark... jeez...also untrue) . 

RK found a book called "Copenhagen Tales" to gift me, which had some interesting stories, mostly about winter and problems with immigrants, which are both depressing topics. 

A few days before leaving for Cph, I was second guessing the whole trip. There were so many seminars, conferences and other interesting events happening in Bangalore during that time! Then in a fit of wisdom, birthed from too much work, and incessant work at that, realised this trip would be a godsend to me to recuperate from overwork. I thought I would check out the Uni of Cph's library and spend some time reading, walking, cycling and just relaxing. This was enormously cheering and so when I boarded the plane in Bangalore, I was quite happy again.

Durga and Ani asked me what I would get them. I offered them cheese, which is a Danish speciality from what I can tell online. Durga didn't seem too excited though. Ah well.

Day 1:

Landed in Cph on the evening of the 1st. I had packed rather well- had pushed all the thick winter clothes into a small backpack which had been checked in, so I wasn't lugging around unnecessary weight everywhere. So as soon as I landed, checked up how to get to the hotel (I dislike taxis and was hoping for public transport, which I got!), got my baggage, wore all my winter things and boarded the metro, whose ticket I bought from an online app- no money changing, thank God. Reached my little capsule hotel in good time. My hosts in Denmark, at the Uni of Cph, will take care of my hotel when the workshop starts next week, but this week is on me, and I think I hit the jackpot with CityHub, a capsule hotel which provides more privacy than a hostel/ dorm, but manages to be congenial and provides more opportunities for interactions than regular hotels. Plus, capsule hotels! Who wouldn't want to try out something like that!

Entrance to my capsule

My capsule is very cute. I was quite concerned about noise- what if my speaking on the phone would disturb the ppl above me, what if they (a fairly young couple I had glimpsed while getting into mine) decided to have sex, what if I farted, and so on and so forth... My mind was buzzing with questions related to noise. In most of the hotels in India that I have stayed in, walls and doors are thin and people are noisy.

But it was silent as a tomb... I was the noisiest, despite my efforts to be absolutely silent, with my steel dabba (in true Indian maami style, I had packed some laddus and mixture in case I got peckish) dropping on the floor and making that tan-tan-tan-tatatan- sound of all steel dabbas hitting the ground. Made me wonder- are people in Europe extremely quiet? Or was it just Denmark - like Japan, do they also have a culture of exceeding reservation and silence? Or was it some kind of engineering marvel- this place had young people, for crying out loud! Young people everywhere make noise!

[found out later- it is an engineering marvel: they have noise and vibration canceling materials making up the hubs]

Day 2:

Woke up at 5:30am local time and checked out the bathrooms- ultra clean. Tiny, but really well-designed. Didn't hit my elbows or shoulders against the walls at any point of time, as I thought I might while looking at it from outside. Also, they provide moisturising lotion right next to the soap. A relief, because this place is dry!

I peeked at the communal kitchen- has a sandwich grill, microwaves, fridges for people to keep their food inside boxes labeled with their names and room numbers, and a load of knives, and cardboard cutlery. One lesson from my Frankfurt trip last year: supermarkets have great food, so instead of rushing to a restaurant first thing in the morning, one should just plan things out a bit and save a load on food. 

I had been desperate to get some birdwatching and nature-time in Bangalore during the last month, to absolutely no avail. So the first thing I did was to find out the address of the nearest park (1.2km) away and headed there with my binos. I ended up there a bit too early- got there by 7, whereas sunrise wasn't until 8. But, on my way, had the rather awe-inspiring sight of dozens and dozens of people cycling to work- young people, old people, people with large things to carry in prams or little trucks in front of their bikes, parents with older kids, younger kids, babies, you name it. And a rather impressive number of runners. I don't think I have ever seen that many cyclists on a road as part of daily life, not just because of a special event like a cycle-marathon or something.

As expected, most trees do not have leaves, but I had forgotten about the stark beauty of a bare tree trunk with its twiggy limbs. 

I think this might be Gingko

People at the entrance of the park were making an ice-skating rink ready.  And once I entered, lots and lots of people with babies or dogs, runners, lots of elderly people briskly walking and hailing each other. Quite a nice feeling. People aren't immediately friendly, unlike Americans, who go around greeting everyone. But perfectly willing to engage in conversation. Not seeing too many non-Caucasians. 

Readying an iceskating rink 

Birds seen (which I could identify... some which I haven't yet been able to)

1. Great tit

2. Jackdaws

3. Magpies

4. Mallards

5. Treecreeper

6. Gulls

7. Feral doves

8. Raven

Treecreeper

Came back to the hub feeling like I should plan for breakfast, but not willing to eat yet. Decided to go shopping and found a supermarket about a km away. Long story short, check out my breakfast:

Granola with yoghurt and fresh fruits

Grilled rye bread with havarti cheese

Amazing or what? I spent the same amount for at least 5 breakfasts as I would have in one sitting had I gone out!

Apparently Mondays are holidays for most public attractions in Cph. So, I went out to explore the city. Am amazed at how historical this place is.

Amalienborg, the seat of the Danish royal family

 

Marmokirken church in the distance

People like to sit outside and hang out and eat and drink- despite the cold!

 

Came across a number of Christmas markets- open air marts outside at street corners by vendors selling home-made or small scale industry products. Lovely, but rather on the expensive side. Might get some unusual gifting ideas though, so will check out later.

Day 3: Inspired by the number of people running on the streets, I did too! Covered over 4km in about 33m. Felt incredibly proud of myself. Wanted to try out the sauna at the Hub right after, but alas, couldn't figure it out. 

Have found 2 special places to meditate and relax in the afternoons- yesterday, I accidentally found the Marmokirken Church: it looked big and imposing and warm. 

A quiet place where one could just sit down and stare into space. I did so, had a lovely little nap- one of those refreshing ones where your brain goes blank but you aren't really asleep. 

Another place I found today was at the Botanical Gardens, under a giant tree, right after a massive sequoia.

The Botanical Gardens are not a great place for birds, but have been designed such that you can go on unexpected stairs, steps and mossy pathways and find yourself a nice bench and stare at trees and plants.

At the end of one such slope, I found a bench facing this utter beauty of a tree trunk:

The tree itself is massive, goes up many feet above. By resting my neck on the back of the bench, I could see all the way up. I stayed like that for many minutes, staring at the sheer magnificence of this creature. And entered that close-but-not-really-napping headspace. And felt deep peace. A niggling headache that had been troubling me since the previous night disappeared and I just sat. 

I have to say, my opinion of Cph is rapidly improving and I am beginning to appreciate its tranquility. 

Today is day 4. I've not really gone out yet. Woke up for an early morning meeting with folks in India and have been at the laptop since then. I think that's ok though... will figure out what I feel like doing in a bit.