Slight improvement...

Yes, 2:29AM is a slight improvement over the time of the previous post. Things are looking up. Today I saw a flicker of light at the end of a long tunnel.

THE PROJECT (in a bass voice with a touch of evil)

is nearing completion. It is, in fact, close enough to being complete that I don't feel incredible guilt about taking time to blog.

Where to begin?

Let's start with Copenhagen. That is where Tom and I started. The train station to be exact. Then progressed to the tourist information center. It was closed. On to the hostel. A familiar sight - it served as my first inn in Copenhagen three months prior. This time it felt warmer...and in general in Copenhagen, dispositions were more amicable. The sun was surely brighter. Perhaps it had something to do with my wonderful traveling companion : ) I think I could also owe it to the time that had elapsed since my first visit and this growing sense of comfort in exploring alien territory.

In the hostel I ate peanut butter. Good ol' Jif. Tom brought a jar. Thanks Tom. I had been craving it. Apparently PB is not a big deal over here. No PB&J on the kids menu and surely no PB&J in school lunches. The only peanut butter I can find is the rare jar for $6 in select grocery stores. I think I've mentioned this before. Maybe you can imagine the sweetness of the reunion...

(Fully fuelled from the PB&carrots&bread&nutella) Then we roamed the streets of Copenhagen. I was amazed by (lights! big city! everything! so easy to please)...the amount of Shawarma restaurants (Kebabistan anyone? meat product...not appetizing). A testament, nonetheless, to the diversity in Copenhagen? Visited a brew pub...and the pedestrian streets decked in Christmas spirit. I'm not sure which city of those we visited would win the Christmas light contest, but they were they were all vying for it...

Then, zenith of my Copenhagen experience (for that evening), we stumbled upon a Christmas carol sing-along. We took our sheet music, then our seats in the pews, then listened to the Pastor speak in Danish. He told a joke. I assume, anyway, people laughed. Then he took out his guitar and started strumming away to popular Christmas tunes in English...Silent Night, Away in a Manger...great discovery.

Back to pedestrian streets, back to the hostel.

Day 2

Beautiful, captivating blue skies. So true blue that camera simply begged me to use the highlight function. I obliged and hence, the endless stream of blue photos you'll see shortly (or have already seen above this post). Again, we walked and met the city in the daytime. The train to catch was later in the day, so we wandered, eventually cornering a destination: Christiania.

Christiania, what a wonderful place...thanks wikipedia for this:

"Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, but most commonly known amongst its inhabitants and visitors as "fristaden" or simply "staden", is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Christiania has established semi-legal status as an independent community.

"Christiania was founded in 1971, when many people from different backgrounds began to take over an area of recently abandoned military barracks together as a protest against the Danish government. At the time many people in the larger Danish cities felt betrayed by the politicians, as they believed there was a lack of affordable housing. The inhabitants of the surrounding neighbourhood Christianshavn also wanted a green, open area for their children to use, away from the increasing traffic in Copenhagen. The spirit of Christiania quickly developed into one of communism, the hippie movement and the squatter movement, in sharp contrast to the site's previous military use."

And finally, a few links to browse about this place...
http://www.utopiskehorisonter.dk/engelsk/comcur.htm
http://www.christiania.org/ (mostly in Danish)

There were riots in Christiania in May of this year...related to pressure from the government to normalize the community (to treat citizens as individual tenants instead of a commune...and repeated efforts to clean up the drug trade in the area...it's known for the sale of hash and cannabis in addition to its green living)...but thankfully, it was a very peaceful place the day we visited. Unlike anything I've ever seen...when we entered, we were clearly leaving Copenhagen, city proper. It reminded me of a funhouse at a carnival because of the intense colors and widespread graffiti. The streets were filled with people and though they (the streets or the people, take your pick) seemed to lack the typical orderliness of the rest of Copenhagen, or of Aalborg and other Danish communities, overall, chaos didn't reign. Burning barrels on the streets served as handwarmers and dogs roamed without owners. Most yards had accumulations of "junk" and cars were greatly outnumbered by bicycles. The atmosphere was generally festive. It was a huge block party with neighbors meeting and greeting one another, with the odd tourist thrown into the mix...

We left Christiania and returned to normalcy and the city. Then to the train station. On with the backpack. Goodbye Christiania. Goodbye Copenhagen. For now.

Here are the pictures as promised - these are of Christiania. Those above are also from Copenhagen...of Tivoli, etc.