I pulled up my big girl panties all by myself!

So my last full day in Copenhagen I awoke happy and ready to take on the challenges of a foreign city all by my big bad self. I had pulled up my big girl panties the night before and decided I was ready to tackle this lonesome adventure the best way possible, with excitement in my heart. I would say a bounce in my step too, but hell no...not that. My feet were KILLING me. But that wasn't going to stop me.

I stopped at the local Irma for a banana (something I've been eating regularly here) on my way to the bus stop and what did I hear? English! Not just English, but American English. I started talking to the 3 people there and they are all from Michigan. Imagine that. A little quiet street in the immigrant neighborhood of Nørrebro and there are 3 Americans. Two were visiting, the third was an ex-pat living there now. I knew then that it would be an amazing day. I had gotten over this bout of homesickness and was excited to have most of the day to myself to just go where I wanted, sit when I wanted, drink coffee when I wanted, and just enjoy the city.

I actually figured out the bus on my own and ended up very close to where I wanted to start; the Round Tower. The Round Tower is just that...a tower that is round in the city center of Copenhagen. Really kind of interesting actually. I quite enjoyed it and the view from the top.

Round Tower climb about to begin. (Not hard at all, just very...round.)

Following the Round Tower Mak contacted me. Honestly, I was kind of hoping he'd take longer. I was actually enjoying my day alone. So I met up with him in the neighborhood of Christiania. I went to the Church of our Saviour before exploring with Mak. I did climb the steeple to the top.

The last photo is of the stairs I climbed outside. (Inside stairs were crazy too. I wish I'd gotten pictures. Tiny little steep wooden stairs.) Mak then took me to see Christiania for real; the tiny little neighborhood that is a law unto itself...the Green Light District. Unfortunately I only have photos from just outside of it. They do not allow photography at all. Otherwise you'd see photos of eclectic little houses with murals on them, cool bars, and people smoking joints EVERYWHERE. But here are the pictures I could take.

We drank some Christiania beer that you can only get in that neighborhood and walked the dirt trails through the woods, cool houses, and past the lake. Finally we got lunch back in the city center at Shawarma and got Shawarma sandwiches...wow were they fantastic! I think I'm in love with Copenhagen! Such a vibrant city.

Homesickness or Stranger in a Strange land

So June 20, 2013 was a difficult day for me. Frej was leaving to go back to Brussels and my SIM cards weren't working. I felt like all my lifelines were being cut. I spent most of the morning with Frej traveling to my amazing couchsurfing host's home. It really wasn't far, but apparently Frej, who'd worked in that neighborhood, forgot how to get around. So we took a LONG walk from the train station to the apartment when there's a bus that stops just 2 blocks away...oh well, live and learn.

(Cemetery next to the apartments) Frej and I were supposed to see the sand castles and the Round Tower...we took so long, both being emotional, that after we found the apartment that was to be my home for 2 more days, we had time for coffee and a bit of a wander...no more. He was realizing how much he loves Denmark and how he realizes he doesn't think he could live there again, and I was realizing I'm really on my own and super homesick. I finally let the tears fall...quite embarrassing really, as we were in the city center of Copenhagen. So we walked and talked and cried and laughed. It was good, therapeutic, helped us both. We took some pictures of this day.

Have I ever mentioned how I met Frej? Yeah, crazy...I once was on Yahoo personals, it was new, it was free, and some friends and I wanted to see what kind of losers hung out in online personals. We thought it was for desperate idiots and we wanted people to make fun of. (We were younger.) Well one night I get an email from this crazy Dane living in Scotland. He'd decided to search US zip codes on yahoo personals just for fun. He happened to randomly enter my zip code, saw me, thought I looked interesting, and wrote me. We have now been friends for 10-12 years now...something like that. We've never met. Until now. Meeting Frej was not like meeting someone new, it was like seeing a good friend I haven't seen in years...so that may help explain some of the feelings I was having. Frej is amazing by the way. Such a positive happy person that brings joy into everyone's lives he meets. OK, so now you know the story. After these photos were taken, I wished Frej adieu and we parted ways for now. (I will see you in Brussels in a couple of weeks Frej.) So Frej left and the person that let me crash on his couch, Mak, met me and we went for an adventure to find Bernstorff palace. After much searching we found it. There we found the rose garden that my great great grandfather worked in as a gardener for King Christian IX.

Mak made some Indian food (he's originally from India, so he understands some of my homesick feelings) and brought it with him. We had a picnic in this rose garden and it was really peaceful and nice. It's really cool to walk in an ancestor's footsteps. I found out that this garden is from the original gardens of this estate and has been maintained since then. I don't know how long roses, if cared for correctly live, but maybe there are plants there that he even tended to. I wonder if that house was his quarters...but regardless I walked where he once walked. How cool is that? Mak and I headed to his place and checked out the cemetery.

Mak and I talked into the evening after that and he seemed to love my emotions. I guess Scandinavians don't really show emotion much and he likes the openness of people. What a cool guy Mak is. So open to meeting new people, telling his story, hearing others' stories. He is such a laid back, open minded, cool person. Overall, the rough day still ended well.