Periodekort: It's harder to pronounce than it looks.

29 June 2012

Starting out in Copenhagen, I was already familiar with the klippekort (a 10-trip pass), since I had used it last time I was visiting the city. I had done my research before arriving, and knew that I had to purchase the 2-zoner. Actually, the 2-zoner is the minimum amount of zones you need to purchase anyway for any travel on the DSB system (the public transportation system... by bus, metro, s-train...). I was lucky enough to be located on zone 2, so it stretched my kroner by traveling. If you don't have a klippekort, you can purchase a one-way ticket on the bus for 24 Kr., which is about $4 USD. A lot? Yes. So if you plan on staying in Copenhagen for two days or more, I recommend getting it. It costs 145 Kr., about $25 USD. At least it's convenient enough that you can buy transportation tickets at every 7-11 in Copenhagen.


But I was buying a 2-zoner klippekort every 5 days without a bike... that starts to add up.

The day before leaving for my Sweden-Finland study tour, I went out to the DSB office at the central station with a passport-type photo plus my passport to purchase a month pass (periodekort). It was going to save me a lot of money rather than spending 145 Kr. every 10 trips. I had already bought 4 klippekorts and knew that I had to save more kroner than buying a klippekort every 5 days or so. The best part about the periodekort is that you can choose the dates that it is valid for, with the minimum of 30 days of course. When it was my turn at the ticket window, it became really difficult to ask for what I wanted because (1) the women behind the glass barely spoke English and (2) the word periodekort isn't easy to pronounce as it looks.

Period-card
Period-kort
Periode-cart
Peh-riah-deh-koh-t
Peir-oh-deh-kehrt

I resorted to describing how it looks like and what it does, and finally, after some embarrassment and frustration, the lady behind the glass figured it out. "Month Pass!". Yes... thank you. 346 Kr. later (about $60 USD), I got my periodekort. It would come out to a little over 11 Kr. a ride/trip (~$1.90 USD), rather than the 14.50 Kr. (~$2.40 USD) I was paying with my 2-zoner klippekort. Oh the savings!

Obviously not my personal periodekort...

So I finally walked out of the central station with my periodkort pass in a nifty blue vinyl case valid from the time that I returned from my study tour until my departure date from Copenhagen. Perfect. Even with a bicycle on hand upon my return from my studytour, this pass would come very much in handy. No limits on public transportation within 2-zones! I no longer had to stress about my timestamp or how many klips I had left. Wonderful.

Note: for DIS students, if you are living with DIS housing, dorms or apartments, DIS provides you your periodekort for the duration of your studies in Copenhagen. If you opt out of DIS housing like I did, make sure you get one! You can easily go to http://www.dsb.dk/ and order yours online, or go to the central station and attempt to order one as well.

The Cityscape Coverup

29 June 2012

Packing for the study tour wasn't all too hard. I don't have too many things to begin with, so I just took items that I tend to wear the most. I packed it all into my travel backpack since I did not want to bring a suitcase. I am a great light packer. I have always been. It's not worth being modest about.

I couldn't sleep because of my childish excitement for the trip, so I decided to take some action on the daypack that I was going to bring. It was a daypack provided by DIS on the first day of school with a rather large embroidered "DIS" on the front pocket. I really did not want to stand out as an American study abroad student, so I decided to do something about it. Earlier, I had tried to look for an embroidered patch of the Italian and/or Spanish flag to tack over it (because of the Eurocup '12 games going on) but my search yeilded nothing of the sort. Just Danish flags.

I used to make postcards with these kinds of cityscapes
and had them on my my etsy, but long since took them
down. contact me if you have questions.

So instead, I took the oversized fabric tag of some pants that I had bought earlier last week and I drew a cityscape on it to cover up the "DIS" logo on the daypack.

update: I got a lot of compliments on the DIY coverup.

Meeting Lasma

29 June 2012

The girl that I had rented out the room from in the apartment had messaged me a few days ago letting me know that she was going to be in town to settle some things with the company that she was going her internship for. She is actually from Latvia, and decided to intern in Copenhagen. She wanted to know if I was going to be in town on Friday the 29th so that she could get into the apartment. So far, it had only been me in the apartment since the Italian and the Frenchie left shortly after I arrived in Copenhagen. I had the apartment all to myself for almost a week and a half. It was nice, I will admit that.

It was perfect timing, because on Saturday, I was to leave on a study tour with the school for Sweden and Finland early in the morning. Immediately after the Thursday lecture, I made it home. I felt a bit bad because Lasma had arrived early and was awaiting my return to the apartment. I was just hoping that she wouldn't get too wet. I learned later that she waited at a local cafe.

It was great meeting her- especially since it was her former room that I was renting for the summer. She is to stay in Copenhagen for a week, arranging the arrival of my two new flatmates (a young mid-twenty couple from Italy), who were friends with Lasma. Since they were basically immigrating from Italy to Denmark, the Italians needed a place to stay in the meantime while they looked for another place. The lease on the apartment is over on July 31th, so they have about a month. So did I, because school doesn't end until the 1st of August. I had some time to figure out where to go between the move-out date and my date of departure from city (August 8th).

Unfortunately I didn't really spend too much in her company because I had to run some errands before departing for the study tour (like getting snacks and preparing my lunch for the following day), and she was to go to a pub with her co-workers.

She at least let me know of some great news: she was going to leave me one of her two bikes! The other was to go to the Italians (the good bike). I got the bike with a faulty chain, but it was better than nothing. I was actually planning to rent a bike for a three week period for 300 Kr. or so, but this deal turned out a lot better. Free? Yes, but of course!

Royal Danish Academy Grad Show

27 June 2012

waiting for the waterbus

After spending the morning surveying the mess of The Palads Cinemas, we as a program with architecture and design took a small field trip to the Royal Danish Academy of the Fine Art's Graduate Show. We went studio by studio. BB, our instructor, decided to take us via waterbus. I was reluctant to use my klipperkort (my 10-trip transportation pass), but BB was only providing some passes for those that did not have one one them already.

So across the river we rode after waiting too long for a waterbus that would actually take a class of 14.

We made a short pit-stop at the academy library before heading off to the show. BB worked on the renovation of the library, which used to be part of the naval barracks of Copenhagen.

oh the colors!

The graduation show consisted of architecture, information design, fashion, and industrial design. The work produced was mind-blowing, and the models were all too impressive. We all had to remind ourselves that tuition is free for these students, so it's perhaps easier for them to blow money on prints and model-making.

the architecture portion of the show

I wanted to make my way back to the centre of the city because I did not want to use an additional "clip" on my transportation pass, since it is valid for 1.5 hours of travel from the timestamp. I felt like I was there for a while anyway, so I left with a classmate of mine to head off to the centre.

on the ferry

We basically rode on the ferry for an additional (and unnessesary) half hour because it went the opposite way we were supposed to head off of. There were other classmates on the ferry, too, 'enjoying' a mini cruise of the river before stepping off the correct stop.

Intro to the Studio Project: Palads

27 June 2012

Since our case studies were over, everybody in the architecture & design program were moved around to new professors and new classrooms. I was no longer in the poorly lit archaic timber constructed building with narrow winding stairs or low diagonal beams. My new studio was in the newly renovated building on the 5th floor a block southwest on the same street. It was exciting to see a shower in the studio spaces. I guess students really dedicate themselves. Or maybe the administration is trying to hint at something.

looking towards the north

The plus: the views were fantastic.

Interior Architecture was split into two studios- one in the old building with Johan, while the other studio was in the renovated building with BB. One studio morning, we were introduced to our project site and existing building: The Palads Cinema on Axeltorv. We were given existing plans, elevations, and sections of the cinema and were made to figure out what had been renovated since the original building was erected in 1917.

It wasn't easy. At all.

The renovations that had been made had made a giant mess of the space planning and program of the cinemas. Somehow 17 cinema rooms had been jam-packed into a old-fashioned cinema palace (hence the word palads) where it originally accommodated 2 cinema rooms that fit hundreds of people- if I am not mistaken it was probably an occupancy of 300. But now the smallest rooms had a screen that was no larger than a large-screen television. Talk about a movie-going experience. And all for 100 Kr. (~$18 USD). Really?

Renovations weren't just made to the rooms. The first story facade had been pushed out by about 3 meters or so and the terrace above is merely abandoned with no set purpose. It was also hard to figure out how to get there.

In conclusion: it's a mess. And the colors look like a rainbow vomit.

Palad's terrace. 

but wait! a beautiful lobby space!...

ruined by flashy movie stuff....

My Danish Breakfast

I am not quite a breakfast person. I still eat it, but I get more excited for lunch or dinner. For breakfast, I can have anything from oatmeal, yogurt, or cereal. Nothing exciting right?

But I discovered something grand while in Copenhagen. I got a little innovative. Simple, but I still consider it a bit innovative for me.

Because I fell in love with ryazhenka while in Moscow, I was determined to find it while in Copenhagen. But alas, to my dismay, it seems like it is strictly Russian, and pretty much there isn't an equivalent of it in Denmark. After researching for items that are similar to it, I came across a couple of products: A38, tykmaelk, and ymer. All of these are cultured milk products, similar to yogurts. Definitely not ryazhenka, though. It's closer to the consistency and taste of kefir, but not as sour.

All of these products are similar in price as well, between 8-12 kroner.... I think. It's been a while. Dairy is pretty cheap in Denmark. Thank goodness they love their cows (and they are proud of dairy industry). Really.

I bought tykmaelk for the most part, and only once ymer and A38. All of them are very similar, but I just always decided to stick with tykmaelk. At first I just tried drinking it with a side of rye bread with jam, but during a grocery visit, I found oatmeal and decided that it would be a great idea to mix both of them. A dash of sugar helped, too. This oatmeal was quite different, through, from any other rolled or quick oats that I have had. It's a light, thin, oat, that comes basically in crumbs. I still haven't found the equivalent of it in the states. If anyone can help me find it, please!

It's a wonderful combination. I think that I had that for breakfast almost everyday during my stay in Copenhagen without getting bored of it. I think for one of the few times of my life, I actually looked forward to such a (simple) breakfast.

Here is a blog post that has more info on A38, tykmaelk, and ymer. This is my research when I was looking for ryazhenka.

Coat Hunting

I didn't realize how cold it would be in Copenhagen during summer, or rainy for that matter. I thought that simply layering the few sweaters that I brought with me (all two of them) would suffice enough with a scarf and gloves. My cotton sweaters proved useless with the rain, soaking through sometimes touching my skin.

Shoes were another entirely different story. Tom's nor thin suede ankle boots do anything useful in the rain, obviously. None of them are waterproofed, and the rain just consumed the shoe material.
I didn't experience horrible weather in Russia nor in Riga- but I got a wonderful preview of the Scandinavian weather in Oslo during my 3 days there. I didn't think that Copenhagen would be more or less the same as Oslo. I didn't plan on bringing a coat from home. I only had a small luggage and my backpack coming into the eastern hemisphere. Bringing a coat simply would take up a lot of room. And I don't own any shoes for the rain. Sure it rains in southern California, but I don't think I have ever become desperate enough to actually get rain boots.

One day I gave up on being 'efficient' with what I brought with me, and I gave into looking for a coat- a lightweight coat for the rain, at least. I had already bought a couple of shirts and an extra pair of pants, so I thought I could do with one more item. I had to simply remind myself that because I got a new suitcase while in Riga, I did have extra room in the suitcase for purchased goodies from my time abroad.

It took me 3 days to search for a coat within my price range. The Danish currency is not friendly to an American wallet, or many wallets actually. But I managed to find a sale going on. It wasn't a coat meant for the rain, being a cotton shell with a polyester lining, but it would later fare very well in wet weather- and it kept me warm.

So $70 USD later and a hint of regret, this coat proved useful during the Danish summer rains and chilling gusty days. It slightly compensated for my wet feet, but it was a welcoming layer to cover me up when I needed it.

Midsummer Nights in CPH

These photos were taking between 11pm and midnight!

23 June 2012

2 days after the trip to Fridlandsmuseet, it was the celebration of Midsummer. It falls on the summer solstice  the longest day of the year. It got never got completely dark because Copenhagen lies just north enough to get some light from the sun, even at the dead of night. It is nothing compared to the light that I saw in St. Petersberg, since that lies even further up north, on about the same latitude as Helsinki.

my bedroom window with the pull down curtain.

But nonetheless, it was an experience, where ever I was in Russia or Scandinavia during the long summer nights. I never had trouble sleeping, as some people thought I would have. Then again I did have black out curtains in my bedroom, so that helped, especially during sunrise since it was around 4am!

Even Skyping with my family or the boyfriend was deceiving to them because I would be calling them around 9 or 10pm and there was enough sunlight to still illuminate my bedroom.
During Midsummer, on the 21st of June, the people of the city celebrate with bonfires. It originates back to the Pagan times of Scandinavia. Google that or something, I don't want to write on that.

So on the 23st, I was in studio and I knew of some of the students and my former teammates from the Holy Chapel case studies were going to go and and partake of some of the festivities along the beach or Nyhavn. I think I missed the memo, because I perhaps stayed in studio for too long and missed everyone. Too bad I didn't have anyone's number yet except for the teammates, but they were long gone at Amager strand Beach. So instead I went walking around 11pm through Nyhavn, following the scent of smoke coming from the harbor.

Indeed there were bonfires in the middle of the water on Nyhavn, so it was a sight to see. People drinking and eating on the harbor walls, and boat owners having a party of their own on deck. The dusk colored sky illuminated the city with a soft golden-blue hue, while the sun slowly began to tuck itself away from the earth.

Smørrebrød !

all done! i'm the one with the head down...

25 June 2012

On the day of our case study presentations, we were relieved that at least that portion of the program was finally over. It wasn't that bad really. Personally I love case studies. Probably because I don't have to frustrate myself over my own designs and being my own worst critic. But nonetheless, I was very, very, tired from finishing the project late the night before and coming in a bit early that morning to to some last minute printing and diagramming. But the results were great and our review went without a hitch. Well, almost without a hitch, we had to practice a few times to get the presentation just right between the 4 team members and known who said what.

And that was that. Part one of the summer study abroad program over.

After the presentations were done, a few of us from the program, including all of the team members from Holy Cross Chapel (us), headed over to get Smørrebrød- Denmark's imfamous open-faced sandwiches  I was rather excited, and this was actually my first time eating out in Copenhagen. So off we go to a nearby Smørrebrød shop near Strøget (pronounced something like "Struo"..... kind of like that. Danish is like the French of the Scandinavian languages. Probably worse than that).

Domhuset Smørresbrød storefront.

Anyway, the little sandwich shop that I found myself in was Domhuset's Smørresbrod shop (don't even try googling that place because no results will come up. Strange). For 13 kr. a piece (approx $2.25), it was a good price, considering that many other smørresbrød places will charge 15kr-18kr. a piece. These sandwiches are definitely worth a try. Just pick anything. Seriously- anything will be good.

Personally I don't even know what I chose. I just pointed at whatever I caught my eye. Pronouncing what it was was near impossible. Trying wasn't even worth it.

These little things come wrapped like a simple gift

I don't remember what this was, but it was interesting. Not bad at all.

This one was my favourite. I can still taste it! Creamed eggs on a split meatball!

Frilandsmuseet: I'm a time traveler now.

21 June 2012

Those three drawing sessions as mentioned here was to prepare us for a field trip to Fridlandsmuseet just outside of Copenhagen. I didn't know that they were going to require us to draw so much. I thought that it was going to stay within the sketching courses, not beyond that. But sketch we did, as much as I just wanted to lay on the grass and enjoy the Danish air of the more-or-less countryside outside of Copenhagen.

Don't get me wrong, I love to draw, but not when it is forced upon. At least I felt personally rewarded when I was done with a sketch.

Most of these traditional homes have been actually dismantles from their original site and have been reconstructed at this open-air museum. Some are from the 1400's. Some even as "modern" as the 1800's. All impressive nonetheless because of the greenroofing, thatching, programming, brick details, etc. There were even windmills! There was even a house with seagrass roofing! These Scandinavians had green roofs down before the whole "green" movement decided to make it big...

But as I mentioned before, I am quite meticulous with my drawings, and it resulted that at one point, the group left without me, and I had to walk around Fridlandsmuseet for about half an hour. I even tried communication with an older Danish woman asking if she saw a group of students. She at least picked out the word "student" and pointed me towards a general direction. Alas! I found my classmates! I thought I was going to have to camp out in one of those huts or something. It was too early in the program to get lost like that.

Sketch like your life depends on it...

@ Copenhagen's Cathedral. Focus: light.

The class schedule at DIS is not consistent. We had to constantly check Blackboard for our daily schedules. It wasn't based on a block schedule, but rather on a lecture schedule. So every lecture class had a different lecture on a different topic, and we had 3 sessions of sketching class during the entire session- all within one week. The only class that was consistent was studio. Otherwise, it was annoying having to check the schedule on a daily schedule.

@ Thorvaldsen's Museum

But this sketching class was something else. I thought we were going to learn how draw, or at least techniques in drawing. Rather, it was a very, very, short lecture on drawing methods for architects, and off we went to a museum to sketch. I felt bad for the students in Information Design because, well, they are clueless as to how to draw in an architectural manner. Then again, there are architecture students who can't draw to save their lives. Every one of the three drawing sessions had a different focus: color, light, and something else that I cannot remember. I tried my best to forcefully sketch something. The professors would ask for a few sketches, typically no less than 3 or 5. I would usually underachieve only because I am just so meticulous with drawing. It's good and bad at the same time.

inside Thorvalden's Museum.
The colors are exquisite... hence the focus: color.

An apartment all to myself

I found myself alone in my apartment on Wednesday of my first week in Copenhagen. The Frenchie moved out that day, and the Italian did as well. The Italian was supposed to move out at the end of the week, but he probably decided to do it earlier. He also carried a beef with the weather. Being from Italy, he probably hated it.
So I had the apartment all to myself for a week and a half. I had known prior to arriving that I was going to have the apartment to myself for a week, but now I found myself having 4 bonus days. I will have to say that it was actually quite nice having peace and quiet, and having "me" time outside of school. Call me an introvert if you want, but it felt great.

I actually made an elaborate meal on of those days. It was the only time during my course in Copenhagen that I bought meat (being on a budget means being an accidental vegetarian). I decided to try my hand at making Pelmeni- those Russian dumplings that I mentioned before while I was in Riga. I made everything out of scratch- from the dough to the filling. It was time consuming, but it was quite rewarding. Given, the pastry was coming apart a bit while I was boiling them, but all in all, I am proud of my work. It was a cheap recipe. It seems like a lot of typical Russian food is cheap to make. Thank you communism! I intend to try this again, and improve on it. Perhaps boyfriend's family can give me pointers.

you know you want some.

Another note on the Danish weather...

Mother Nature in Copenhagen has a knack of just raining out of nowhere.

And for some reason, karma, or luck, or what have you, every time I did not carry my umbrella, it would rain. When I carried it, it would not rain.

That being said, I forgot my umbrella a lot.

Figure that out on your own.

I also observed that the Danes, if they wake up to sunny weather, will wear their cool summer dresses, sheer tops, shorts, sandals, etc. But when it started to rain, they would whip out their parkas or jackets out of nowhere. They know how to be ready. I didn't. I swear that the ladies had a Hermione's bag that could store an infinite amount of stuff.

One moment you will see them in summer dress- only carrying their purse or bag, and the next moment in the rain you will see them with parkas and maybe a scarf.  

Copenhagen, for the most part, is wet and gloomy. Why people settled here in the first place definitely didn't do it for the weather.

And I think for the first time in my life, I missed the summer weather in California.

I obviously have a beef with the weather in Denmark.

Copenhagen Weather

Summer in Copenhagen is definitely not a summer at all. In terms of weather that is. When I arrived in Copenhagen, it was cloudy, and it began to drizzle when I was walking to my apartment. Later that day it rained like Niagra falls. It was a great welcoming from Mother Nature.

I think during my course in Copenhagen for 7 weeks, the sun was out probably only 3 days. When I mean "sun", I mean being out the whole day. Apparently the sun loves to play hide and seek behind the clouds, and usually doesn't come out that much.

As I am from California, the summer in CPH felt like a winter for me. Windy, cloudy, rainy, overcast, chilly,... it was perfect winter weather for me. And I really shouldn't complain (too) much only because I don't like Californian summers. I personally don't like the heat, so I actually did look forward to escaping to northern Europe for more "ideal" weather. But I didn't expect it to be cloudy most of the time. I had expected it to be cooler, with the sun still being out and about.

It was actually quite depressing. Now I know why Copenhagen has a high suicide rate during their wintertime. I might have been part of that demographic if I had stayed a whole year there. 

Doubting Myself and Everything

I was remembering that for a few hours on Tuesday of that first week in Copenhagen, there were thoughts running through my head of why I was doing what I was doing: my masters.

I was thrown into a summer semester abroad where ideally I would have loved to had started in Providence and establish myself there, but then again so many people would love to be in my shoes in Copenhagen. I couldn't take that for granted.

Additionally, strange enough, I think for the first time in my life, I felt old. Not like "I am a grandmother" old or "mid-life" old, but I felt a significant difference between the undergraduate students and the graduate students for the most part. That feeling of old also came with doubting my status as a graduate student. I thought I was making a huge mistake. All of a sudden I felt like running away. From the school, from myself. I think it was all just a small panic I had in a new environment, surrounded by people I didn't know, surrounded by a city speaking a different (and rather difficult) language. And I was throwing myself back in academia after 3 years of being out in the real world.

I just kept telling myself that it was just a matter of adjusting and making the most of this experience. There is a reason why I was accepted to RISD.

In a few hours, I felt great and that I was (slightly) invincible. Of course that is a lie.

First week in København

The first week in Copenhagen was exhausting enough. 

On Monday, we had an activity called the "Amazing Race" where we were assigned groups with other students in the 6 week program for Architecture and Design. We were given a map and a sheet letting us know what landmarks to visit in the center of town, where we were to meet up with a professor from DIS and they were to 'educate' us on the significance of that location. 

Leading the pack with my mad map skills...

I will modestly admit that I have great bearings in any given city. So I was the map holder. I had also been in Copenhagen some years back, so that helped out the group, too. 

After the activity, we went to our respective studios to meet our classmates and professor for the first assignment of the program: a case study. I love case studies, and if that were a profession, I would do that. We had already been assigned groups within our studio class, and I met my fellow teammates: Rhodes College pre-arch student (male), U. of Hawaii architecture student at Manoa (male), and a Carnegie Mellon architecture student (female). Our assignment: The Holy Cross Chapel in Turku Finland. Don't let that label of "chapel" fool you, it is actually a funeral chapel and crematorium. Just my cup of tea! (really)

trying to get the model started. did you notice how
warm i am dressed?

        I wasn't too surprised to learn that we had one week to do this case study which involved building a site model (1:200) and a section model (1:50). I find it funny how students who are unfamiliar with the metric system react to it for the first time. I had been lucky to deal with that during my year in Italy, and even at work when we had projects in China. The metric system really is simple, but its so simple that it can complicate things with newcomers. 

The first week basically consisted of just working on the case study day after day. Including Saturday and Sunday. But that is normal.

I also had the pleasure of meeting my fellow RISD classmates. All of them had already met either at the airport or at the DIS-provided housing. Two students had actually done their undergrad course together. Out of the 9 RISD students in Copenhagen, one is from Jordan, another from Lebanon, another from Thailand, another from Venezuela, 3 from India, and the remaining 3 from the United States. I will admit that I am questioning the application process at RISD. Just a thought. But at least its diverse, right?

Arriving in Copenhagen

17 June 2012

I will admit that when I arrived to Copenhagen, I already wanted to get out. My attitude was in the wrong place, and I just kept telling myself that it will change.

After getting off of the Swebus bus, I made my way to the bus ring outside of the Central Station to catch the 2A bus towards my stop in Brønshøj- where my apartment was waiting. But first I had to buy my kipperkort for 10 trips inside the station so that I at least was set up with short-term transportation during my first week there.

Arriving to the apartment building, I had no idea was button to ring. I wasn't told that detail, so I was taking my best guess. At least for the first two buttons I pressed no one answered, so third time was a charm- it was just my luck that it was the button for the apartment I was to stay in.

a view of the apartment complex's courtyard, so pretty!

I was shown around the apartment by my Italian flatmate, and to my disappointment I saw that I had no pillow nor bed sheets in my room. I just told myself that I would figure that out later- there were other priorities. So I finally showered, which felt so nice and got myself more or less situated in the apartment. I made my way out to DIS (the school where I was studying) because we had orientation/sign-in, surprisingly on a Sunday. It took all of half an hour to do everything at DIS: checking in and picking up my cell phone/SIM card. So I immediately went home because I just wanted to rest. But I made a quick pit stop at a produce store to buy some groceries. It was a Sunday, and surprisingly the majority of businesses are closed. I was lucky enough to spot one open from the bus.

Back at the apartment, I met my French flatmate (the Italian had left somewhere), and I asked him about an Ikea because of the bed linens. But he was nice enough to give me one of his comforters and an extra fitted sheet that was in the apartment; he thought it was rather silly for me to buy sheets for only a 6/7 week stay. The Frenchie said that since he was leaving Copenhagen in a week, I could take the other comforter from his room for my use.

For my entire stay in Copenhagen, I lived with a comforter, and a small pillow (about 20cm x 20cm) that I took from my home in California. 

The Swebus

I bought a bus ticket to Copenhagen from Oslo for about $30 with Swebus a few months before the actual trip. It was cheaper that way anyway buying it in anticipation- and it was an overnight bus. I had taken the Swebus before 4 years ago on the Stockholm-Copenhagen route, also an overnight bus.

It was nice having wi-fi on the bus; I Skyped with my mom and sister, but only typing with the video on. It never got completely dark during the night because it was in the middle of summer in Scandinavia- but it was still pretty dark. After a while I fell asleep, and at about 3am, the bus broke down. We were on the side of the highway for about 1.5 hours. I had no idea what was going on since I woke up when the bus was stopped. The driver was only explaining to the passengers what had happened only in Norwegian and Swedish. I had to guess by expressions and hand gestures. After those 1.5 hours, the bus moved again, but it only moved enough to get off the highway to the closest gas station. We were probably at the gas station for another 1.5 hours. Since I couldn't go to sleep since I was so alert- and there was a toddler who would not stop yelling/screaming/crying/wailing/everything- I decided to pull out my laptop and watch an episode of Portlandia. It helped to mute out that annoying toddler.

This toddler actually had been crying when I went to sleep on the bus hours ago. I am not lying when I say that that toddler cried for at least 5 hours straight.

So finally at about 5am, another Swebus bus came along to our rescue and we all transferred onto that bus to finally head on over to Copenhagen.

I got to Copenhagen about 2 hours after we were scheduled to arrive. But I finally arrived. I was looking forward to actually settling down for a bit after traveling across 3 countries for 2 weeks. 

Toms to Tomsk

I know it has been a while, but it's rather difficult catching up with my blog. Technically I left Oslo about 8 weeks ago, so I am now in Berlin, about to go home to California in a few days. So what happened in Copenhagen? A lot. And I promise I'll write on that soon!

In the meantime, look what I did to my Toms shoes shortly after arriving in Copenhagen! Tomsk is the city where my boyfriend's family is from in Siberia, Russia- look it up. I simply added a 'K' but how awesome is that?

My shoes look near new in that photo; now they are near their last days. I'm curious to know how many kilometers (or miles) I have walked in these shoes since I got them during my trip in New York City. 

Hei Oslo!: 2 Days

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet- be sure to wear sunglasses when it is sunny out here!

Oslo is not a destination for the "cheap" traveler. Sure, there are ways to get around things, especially if you have friends there.
But just be aware.
I came to Oslo because 4 years ago when I was in Scandinavia for my semester break, I really wanted to come to Oslo, but we realized that hostels were not budget-friendly (this was before discovering Couchsurfing). So we only hit up Stockholm and Copenhagen.

This time, I was intent on going to Oslo. And to Oslo I did go. But I was not prepared for the prices. I did know that their prices were higher than the other Scandinavian countries, but how high I did not know...

I ended up walking a lot avoid paying the bus fare ($6!). But I got to see a lot of Oslo that way, so I really cannot complain. Oslo is a nice city, but it does lack a little action.

For lunch each day, I gave up on searching for a good place to eat and gave into eating a "pølser" (or hot dog) for only 15 kroner, which is about $2.50. Anything else would have cost me $10 and above- for fast food. A cafe would have run me easily around $20. Out of curiosity, one day I decided to walk into a McDonald's and check out their menu prices. There was nothing less than $10. And it seemed to me that there was not a single burger that was less than $8. I didn't understand. I still do not.

It was fortunate enough that I found a couch to "surf" on via Couchsurfing for the 2 nights that I had in Oslo. I stayed with a young married couple- The Norwegian husband, and an American wife. Kjell and Tavonna. I got to watch some of the Eurocup games while staying with them. Both of them were busy with work, so the little time I did spend with them consisted of chatting up about everything and nothing. It was great. I got to cook my own dinners at their place, which I love doing. I found myself a little Vietnamese food store where I bought rice noodles, mushrooms, and tofu; I got cucumbers at a small grocery store near their place. Made some some really good soup out of it. Soup is exactly what I needed because it was pretty chilly the first day, and miserably wet the second day. My last day with them before departing I had the chance to meet 2 french girls that were going to stay with them. We all made a small hike to a lake north of the city, where Kjell and one of the frenchies decided to take a swim. A very cold swim. Even for Kjell- a Norwegian- it was pretty cold. I just watched like I always do.

My stay in Oslo also coincided with the arrival and Nobel Peace Prize presentation of Aung San Suu Kyi. While I was walking one day down the main pedestrian street in downtown Oslo (the only time the sun was out and warmed me up), I heard a lot of chanting from a crowd in front of the Grand Hotel. I was headed that direction, and I made myself part of that crowd. Little did I know that Aung San was arriving in Oslo, being greeting by hundreds of her supporters. I got a few glimpses of her, and all I can think of is how beautiful she is.

The next day while at the waterfront near the Nobel Peace Prize Center, it turned out that that day was the presentation of the Award for Aung San. So I made myself part of the crowd once more to get more glimpses of her while she entered the center, and later exited, making her way down to the stage where a public celebration was to be made in her honor.

My endless walking in Oslo paid off. I got to see a lot of little somethings, and a few big somethings- namely Aung San Suu Kyi. But it made me realize that Oslo is a place that I know I don't have to return to. But the rest of Norway is calling me. Especially Bergen.

Little Strummer Boy

I thought I could share this video that I took of this young boy playing his guitar in Old Riga. He definitely caught my attention, along with Katerina's, so we watched and caught ourselves "aww"-ing at his playing and singing. I gave him .50 Lats, Katerina gave him a bit more. It was well deserved.

If it weren't summer, I would have questioned why this boy wasn't in school.

20 Hours in Riga: Part II

(This is a continuation from '20 Hours in Riga: Part I'- I would expect for you to figure that out).

View of Old Riga from the top of Doma Laukums' Tower

Old Riga feels like a little big village. As I made my way towards the plaza of Doma Laukums to meet up with the Couchsurfer that I had contacted the night before, I was amazed how clean this little part of town was. It was probably the high tourist traffic that caused such cleanliness. I noticed a lot of local tourism from the local Baltic countries, and many Germans. Many, many Germans. 

Oh, and the city of Riga is in a country called Latvia. Many people don't even know of such place unfortunately. At least many people in the western hemisphere don't. It is clearly overshadowed by more popular destinations. The Baltic countries are definitely beautiful small gems in northern Europe. Educate yourselves!

When I arrived to the plaza of Doma Laukums, I did exactly as I told the couchsurfer I was going to do: sit down and write in my small notebook, wearing a tan jacket, black skinny jeans, and tan shoes. Shortly after I sat down, I barely wrote three sentences when I heard my name. Katerina from Australia had found me without a hitch, and we hit it off. Like me, she had also arrived the day before and was looking for company, since her Couchsurfing host was at work. Her company was wonderful and it distracted me from missing Moscow. She knew a lot of little factoids about Riga, thanks to her host. Here are a couple:

- Fake windows are painted on buildings because (1) windows are desirable- it's human nature- and (2) during the Medieval Age it was believed that windows 'stole' sunlight from the city, making the days shorter.

- During soviet occupation, Latvians had to speak Russian when a Russian was in the same room. Today, about 30% of Latvians are Russian.

Highlights of the rest of the 5 hours I had in Old Riga:

Doma Laukums

This is worth the 3 Lats (~$6) that I paid for- this will admit you to the top of the tower, otherwise the cathedral is free. I got the student price, fortunately. The lady at the ticket office was snarky, though. I asked her if my student ID card was valid (since it is not an ISIC), and all she had to say was "well, you're a student right? and you are showing me card? you are student then!". 

The view from the top of the tower is beautiful, and you get the whole view of Old and Central Riga, even the over side of the River Daugava. Surprisingly the terrain is flat. The top of the church tower is a little claustrophobic, but you get to people watch as if you were a god high up above. 

Worth it? Yes. 

But there is another place with a view- and for free. Read on.

After walking around the city, admiring the quaint facades of the Old Town, we started to feel a bit hungry. She asked if I knew of a good place for lunch, and fortunately I had done some "cheap eats" research on my digital copy of my Lonely Planet guide of Riga:

Pelmeni XL

I think I was craving Russian food, so I led the way towards this wonderful little pelmeni establishment. Pelmeni is a Russian dumpling, often referred to as "Russian ravioli". Pelmeni XL is actually a small chain with only 2 locations withing Riga. After glancing at the menu, we deemed it worthy. Katerina wanted a little taste of Russia (or Latvian- pelmeni is also part of the Latvian cuisine now) since she had never been. The establishment is cafeteria style and you get to choose your pelmeni: pork, beef, chicken, veggie, fried; additional ingredients: sour cream, ketchup, carrots, pickles, parsley, dill. 

Paying for  my bowl- which they charge you by the weight- only came out to 1.65 Lats (~$3!)- with a drink. I should have piled on more pelmeni! And it was wonderful pelmeni. Katerina definitely agreed. 

Worth it? Yes. 

Pushpin recommended!

Rigensis

Since lunch was so cheap, Katerina wanted to get some dessert to make the most out of our short day together in Riga. After walking in circles for about an hour (and discovering Riga at the same time), we came across Rigensis, a small bakery. Judging by the amount of people in the patio basking in the sun and enjoying their beautiful tarts and pastries, we decided to check out what they had to offer. Immediately we knew this is were we wanted to spend dessert-time. I ordered Medus Kūka (which translates to Honey Cake) and a hot chocolate. My total was only 1.20 Lats (~$2!). I definitely felt a little rich being here. The Medus Kūka wasn't much sweet, but it was just perfect. My hot chocolate was one of the best I have ever had, tasting the sweetness of the milk, and the rich chocolate that was mixed in.

Worth it? Yes

Pushpin recommended!

Radisson Blue's Skyline Bar

After 4pm, the Skyline Bar in the hotel is open for guests and tourists alike. Katerina let me know of this because it is another beautiful view of Riga, both Central and Old. We took our fair amount of photos in the bar; I only had less than an hour left in Riga and with Katerina since my flight was at 19:30-ish. 

Worth it? Yes (it's free!), especially if you are on a budget and would rather spend it on souvenirs. ;]

It would have been lovely to spend another day in Riga, but I had to travel on. Thank you, Katerina, wherever your are now, for making my time in Riga oh-so-wonderful. You brightened my day. 

On the way to the airport, I ran into the same young man who asked me to exchange some coins at the bus stop the night before. As it turned out, he is an American from Boston currently living in Turkey (that explains his impeccable English) and was visiting Riga via Couchsurfing! We got to chat a bit while I waited for my flight. His sister was arriving that evening, so he went to pick her up. I passed on my bus pass that I bought the day before, since it was valid for 5 days- so that his sister could use it. (I should have bought the bus ticket ON the bus, I would have paid .50 Lats or something like that, not the 4 Lats for 5 days).

It's a wonderful feeling randomly meeting people with a common interest and participation like Coushsurfing. 

at the Riga airport, at the terminal about to depart.

20 Hours in Riga: Part I

Arriving to Riga, I already felt pretty lonely. After being in an amazing country with amazing people, I felt saddened to be somewhere else other than Moscow. At the terminal I exchanged about 500 rubles, which got me 9 lats. It was definitely strange to hear such a difference, especially because 500 rubles is about $15.50 USD. At the airport parking lot, I sat waiting for the bus, watching someone struggle with the automated bus ticketing machine. He later asked me, in perfect English, if I had some spare lats (the Latvian currency) to switch with his since his for some reason wasn't being accepted. He was from Turkey, but I didn't ask why his English was so impeccably American. We chatted up a bit about our travels, and when he learned that I was coming from Russia, his expression was that of surprise (it always is, no matter who it is), and naturally he assumed I was Russian.
Trust me, I do not look Russian. I get that a lot, but when I was in Russia, I became 99.9% sure that I have zero percent of Russian physique.

photo from Cinnamon Sally. polaroid action by pushpin

When I finally came to the Cinnamon Sally Hostel in central Riga, it was about midnight, and the hostel keeper simply led me to the 6-bed dorm since I already had a reservation for the night. She came from bed, and didn't want to deal with the payment, so she said I looked trustworthy and that we could wait until the morning. I was definitely exhausted, because 3 of my luggage wheels had broken (even after I got 2 of them fixed while in Moscow), so I was basically dragging 18 kilos (about 40 lbs) for about .75 of a kilometer getting off the bus. It didn't help that the elevator was broken and I had to climb 4 flights of stairs to reach the hostel. At least somehow I felt at home at the hostel. It was bohemian looking, spacious, and not institutional-feeling. It was warm and welcoming, and I loved that. Right before I went to bed, I went to Couchsurfing.com to check on the open request that I had posted earlier while in Moscow for anyone who was in Riga that wanted to hang out with me before my flight left later in the evening, since the feeling of loneliness was actually increasing. I had one reply, but this guy had to references, and only one photo posted, so I deemed him not-so-trustworthy. I simply told him that I had already accepted to meet up with another couchsurfer (lie).
Waking up, I was intent on two things: getting a new luggage, and checking Couchsurfing for any other replies. Luckily an young Australian replied, and I shot her a message asking her to meet me in the plaza of St. Peter's square. I told her what I was wearing. Just to add to that I told her that she would find me sitting writing in a small brown notebook. After I sent the message, I arranged everything with the hostel keeper- paying my 6 Lats for the bed and having her show me a map of Old Riga. 

Shortly after, I left in search for new luggage. I remembered passing a shopping mall on the bus the night before. It was called Stockman's (later I learned it is a Finnish department store). I found my way up to the travel department, and oh-my-gosh the Latvian currency is very deceiving. It is about half the amount of the dollar. In the end, and after much reasoning with myself, I bought a $200 Samsonite. 
It better be durable. More than the Heys that I had before. I'm very disappointed in you, Heys. 
I returned to the hostel, repacked everything in my beautiful, grey, Samsonite, and left to meet the couchsurfer at noon. 
At that point I had 6 hours in Riga left before I was to take the bus back to the airport. 

Lessons Learned #4: AirBaltic... again.

courtesy of  http://www.fabbrunette.com

It was my first time flying AirBaltic when I departed Moscow for my 18 hour layover in Riga, with my destination being Oslo. I already had a small beef with AirBaltic (which was later, somewhat, forgiven). Ilya accompanied me to Sheremetyevo Airport. When I checked in, I took my checked baggage and  left my carry-on baggage with him so that I didn't need to unnecessarily lug it 10 meters to the counter when Ilya was waiting for me in the seating area. While standing in line awaiting my turn, I began to notice that the AirBaltic personnel were weighing carry-on baggage (which I have never seen before on other budget airlines), in addition to weighing checked baggage as usual. And they were very strict about their one carry on per passenger rule. I had small panic attacks in my head. My carry-on was 13 kilos- 5 kilos over the allowed weight- but at least I only had one carry-on. After personnel would weigh the carry-ons, passengers would basically receive a gold star in form of a neon-green strap to attach to their carry-on: "AirBalic approved" or whatever it said. There was no way that I was getting a green strap. After saying my thank yous and goodbyes to Ilya, I move on to the boarding area, where I had to torutre myself with passport/visa check, and another 40 minutes of waiting before boarding. The whole time I was still panicking about that weight allowance, especially because my bag wasn't glowing green from the strap that I didn't receive. I think I ended up chewing on about 5 or 7 fruit chews (a Russian equivalent to Starbursts) because of stress. 
What were the air stewardesses going to do? Were they going to turn me away? Charge me the unfair extra baggage fee (I think it was easily more than 60€)? Give me the usual "She's American" dirty look? The best that I could have hoped for was they they were going to just take it and put it with the rest of the checked baggage. I would have yelled at them for that (I really would have), though, because my cameras, laptop, and other very important items were inside.


Well, boarding the plane was flawless, and nothing happened. All that stress for nothing. Now all I had to do is worry about the second leg of the flight from Riga to Oslo. But nothing happened there either, because I had already checked in at Sheremetyevo, where I should have technically weighed my carry-on. 


Keep Calm and Carry On! I should have had that plastered on my hand or something.