There’s been a lot going on in the past weeks, mostly travel. I’ll try to make an abridged version, but some stories are just too good to pass…
2 Weekends Ago: Malmo, Sweden. Only a 30-minute train ride away, Malmo promised a new area to explore and—importantly—cheap shopping (I know, priorities). Several friends and I decided to make a day of it, and we happened to go on a beautifully sunny day. Malmo was indeed beautiful and the exchange rate was in our favor, so it was a great day overall, if a little cold. A minor snafu came when ALL trains back to Copenhagen were cancelled from central station…One awful bus ride, train (finally!), and THREE HOURS later, we were home! It was an adventure to say the least!
Last Weekend: Berlin, Germany. Several of us were starting to get the travel itch, and booked a bus to Berlin. It was a very promising trip as we had all heard great things about the city and the bus (including ferry) was very fast and inexpensive. And then…it came to the trip itself…
As it turns out, everything bad that ever happened in Berlin for the past 100 years or so has happened on November 9th. That should have been an omen, as the 9th is my birthday. Let me just list the things that went wrong:
-Woke up late, no time to shower/eat breakfast. Out the door in 5 minutes at 5:00 am (those who know me well understand that this is NOT my strong suit…so I was feeling very blahhh on the way there)
-Left my boarding pass at home, had to RUN to DIS to print out a new one. Thank God for 24h. computers and printers
-At a bar/café the first night, I left my wallet…including EVERY form of ID, including passport, and around 50 Euro.
-Didn’t realize I had lost said wallet until noon the following day, thanks to some spare cash in my coat. FREAKED OUT when I realized where I had left it and had no way of getting to it until 5:00 that evening. (**Eventually, I DID get it back. Thank you, Gypsy Bar**).
-Was accosted by a very high, very drunk German man in the subway circa 10am. He looked exactly like Todd (the creepy brother) from “Wedding Crashers,” and we had a very interesting conversation while he kept his hand on my leg. He asked for my water and I obliged, then we helped him find the right train. Most terrifying/amusing 10 minutes of my life.
-“Light snow” was the weather forecast, and it must have been just a figure of speech. With only one pair of leather boots as shoes, my feet were freezing and soaked by the end of our travels.
Ok, all that aside, I really did have a good (if stressful) time in Berlin. I didn’t enjoy the city so much; it’s HUGE with not much of a city center. We were able to see most of the highlights via a wonderful guided walking tour with an Aussie tour guide! Sites included: The Brandenburg Gate, The Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and several other major attractions. We also stumbled across the MECCA of chocolate stores and did some…shopping and taste testing. Delish. The exchange rate for the Euro is so much better than the Danish Krone and Germany itself is cheap, so we enjoyed traditional German fare (including Weiner schnitzel and bratwurst!), amazing Spanish tapas, and excellent beer. It was nice to eat out and not have to worry too much about the menu price!
Another cool attraction: EGYPT! When I was younger I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt, and we went into a museum housing an amazing collection of Egyptian artifacts—including the very famous bust of Queen Nefertiti (!!!). We also visited the Berliner Dom Cathedral. It was a spectacular structure and beautifully decorated. I’m reading “The Pillars of the Earth” right now, and it makes for an interesting connection to what I’ve seen in Europe.
Though it was an adventure and a very valuable (literally) learning experience, I have to say that Berlin in itself is definitely not my city. It was way, WAY bigger than it seems and lacks the medieval, historical charm of Copenhagen. Getting back on our clean and reliable S-Tog in CPH and knowing we were finally home was a huge sigh of relief. The S-Tog ride alone made me realize how different the two cities are: Berlin is a very diverse city—rich, poor, and multiethnic. Copenhagen is extremely homogenous. It feels like most of the people you are surrounded by are middle-upper class, comfortable, and “Nordic” looking. It just makes me wonder what spring break will be like!
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