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.

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.