1) Before checking out the Statens Museum for Kunst I decided to have a snack. I finished off the last of my paprika crackers and ate some mackerel, which Kaitlin tells me is the Danish tuna equivalent of the US. (Thank you Jessica/Budapest for introducing me to paprika.) 

2) No story needed. It’s the exterior.

3) I just liked this painting. It reminds me of all my pregnant cousins: Ruby, Marisol, and Daisy. And who knows who else I’m missing! I think I’d like a painting like this one day, but that is a really long time from now hopefully.

4) They should put this on the harbor of Copenhagen instead of that other little mermaid statue.

5) Isn’t it lovely? I could see this in a garden slightly shrouded by branches and leaves.

6) I didn’t have high expectations for this museum when I first came in but I left having some new favorites. I needed to get back to apt dinner with Jessica and Kaitlin otherwise I probably could have spent another hour in the museum. I particularly liked this artist. Danish art, you have a new fan.

The rest of my time in Copenhagen was spent having another wonderful home-cooked meal with Kaitlin and Jessica. I walked Jessica to the metro station the next day and I was disappointed to say goodbye. I wasn’t sad though because when it comes to friends like Jessica I just know it won’t be long till I see her again.

I didn’t get to see Tommy again :( but I did grab drinks with Bryce, another NU friend. I have loved seeing friends from back home while abroad. It just seems so funny that the last time I had seen them we were on NU’s campus back in the states and now we’re in a foreign country surrounded by people speaking a different language. We talked a bit about how damn beautiful Europeans are. They are fit, they dress well, and their average beauty is a lot higher than in the US. Oh yeah, and they are multi-lingual.

The people of Copenhagen was the most interesting aspect of the city. I read that it isn’t uncommon to see families waving Denmark flags when welcoming family from the airport. I thought the authors were exaggerating—I saw at least four. Back in the US, I think the only people who would carry a miniature US flag would be military families.

The second interesting thing I noticed was the pervasive use of tights by girls. I have two theories as to why 1) they have pale skin and don’t want to show their white legs or the more likely reason #2) tights make riding bikes easier and less risque.

The variety of people on bicycles was impressive. I saw businessmen, old people, moms, dads, teens, and little kids. SO MANY PEOPLE RIDE BIKES. Kaitlin says that a few years ago the Denmark government foresaw a shortage of oil in the future and the decision was made to promote bike usage by building a road infrastructure that could support walking, biking, and driving. Almost everywhere there were bike roads (keyword: roads). Jessica and I used the virtually free public bicycles to get around the city. I enjoyed the added security of knowing that a car wasn’t going to whiz by too close to me. The cars drive on the roads, the bikes drive on an elevated sidewalk, and the people walk on the interior sidewalk. Genius.

Copenhagen has inspired me to look into riding a bicycle to the base while in Pensacola. I also think that one day I’ll outfit a bike with a little cart in front so I can bike my kids around. In the US people run with strollers but I don’t want to do that. Pushing a stroller while jogging leads to bad running form but the extra weight on a bike would just give a better workout while exposing my kids to the outdoors.