Kun For Mig

August 13, 2010

On Friday morning, Eva walked to the center of town in her suburb for breakfast. I think she was semi horrified at my choice of strawberry donut and cupcake for breakfast, but I thought those tasted rather refreshing.

Once again, the bus and train ride into Copenhagen was lengthy, but I think we entertained ourselves well enough with chit chat. My memory isn't so sharp on this but I think it was around 2 by the time we were on the train, and there were already teenagers on there drinking beer and being rowdy. Activities for the day:

1) Took a very good suggestion and visited the Mikkeller Brewery in Vestbro, ranked by some as the best brewery in Denmark. Despite it being the bartender's first day, he was extremely helpful for me in picking out delicious (although strong -- 9 %? Really?!) beers. Eva does not drink beer. When he gave her a sample of a kriek (sweet cherry beer) I was sure she was going to like it, but no, you should have seen the look on her face when she tasted it, like she had just had a sip of bleach! She ordered an apple juice instead, which though I didn't try it, looked good. Highly recommend this place, including the cold sausages they sell. We walked through the former red light district to get there. Not SOOO seedy.

2) Tivoli. Most famous amusement park in Denmark, second oldest musement park in the world, very popular for the tourists, across the street from the main train station. I decided to skip the rides, since I didn't feel like throwing up Belgian beer and sausage and pickle and donut, but they looked like fun. We also bought ice cream and looked at fish in the lake. Very happening spot. We also bought tickets for the Medina concert that night to be held in Tivoli.

3) Walked down Strøget, the longest pedestrian street in the world (shopping street, but we didn't buy anything). Once again noticed that everyone was eating ice cream and that all the girls were pregnant, even more so than they are in Iceland.

4) Boat tour of the city starting in Nyhavn (a harbor tucked into the city that allows boats to get closer to the city center). Was very impressed by the tour guide's ability to conduct the tour in Danish, English and German. And amused by the big group of very drunk Danes (aged 40-50) in the back of the boat. We went past the Opera House, some very nice apartments, a family of 4 that was swimming completely naked in the harbor, Hans Christian Anderson's old apartment, many military ships and the location where the Little Mermaid statue once stood (but is now on loan in Shanghai). Particularly hilarious was when a drunk Danish guy got kicked off the boat for urinating off the back.

5) Walked back to Tivoli for the Medina concert. Medina is one of the biggest stars in Denmark, and has been referred to as the "Danish Lady Gaga". Very pop style music, danceable, great stage presence. The crowd was packed tightly, and everyone seemed to know all the words. We ate burgers at a restaurant in Tivoli (Valhalla Borgen) beforehand.

6) Walked back to the Irish Rover. Not a lot happening, but there was an Irish guy playing guitar who did a cover of Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt". Very drunk guy tried to talk to us, unclear whether he may have been Icelandic based on reference to Hafarfjordur.

7) Walked to one of the two Icelandic bars in Copenhagen, which I thought was very lively but Eva thought was slow. Music was extremely good (Pixies, Pulp, Justice, Cure...best I have heard "out" in a while), people were dancing, and everyone speaking Icelandic. I liked.

8) Took the bus home, where I slept.

Medina -- Kun For Mig (I was considering using reference to the phone message refering to The Little Mermaid discussed in this episode of This American Life but opted against)