The Prettiest Place Ever

July and August have been full of trips. I started out slow with a day trip to Dresden followed by a weekend camping at the Baltic. The following weekend I went to Ibiza, the next my parents came to town and we drove down to Austria. Last weekend I went to the most beautiful area I have ever seen, Bodensee at the corner of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and known. I'm back in New York City for the Great Minnesota Get Together!

In the shadow of a gazillion other trips, I didn’t have a chance to get super pumped for the second of back-to-back weekends in Bavaria. The idea formed around an opera on the lake performed on a Seebühne (floating stage), and expanded to include hiking and exploring.

We took the Deutsche Bahn down to Munich on Wednesday night. I love the train. I couldn’t believe it was a six hour ride, it went by so fast. Munich was an in-and-out operation we got up early, grabbed a quick brunch and picked up our car. This was my first time in the city and it would have been nice to explore but I knew I would be coming back for Oktoberfest. While on our power stroll I stepped in wet concrete.

First stop, Spitzingsee. We stayed in a Hütte called Blecksteinhaus well situated for mountain hiking. Little did we know that we would not be able to drive there. We pulled up to the road and a rando explained in German that we couldn’t pass as his friends joked that he was Checkpoint Charlie.  We parked the car and gathered a night’s worth of stuff. Ben pulled wheely down the path which caught a few stares as most other hikers had backpacks, go figure. If we don’t stick out like dopes then are we even Americans? 

When we got to the Hütte there were cars in the parking lot! We felt totally ripped off. The lady there told us to go ahead upstairs to room 6 but take our shoes off first. The hutte had a shoe room (it smelled pretty foul) and no shoes were allowed upstairs. Room 6 wasn’t so bad but also part of hütte living means no locks on the door (or towels, good thing Ben brought one). It had beds and wifi so we were ok.

we left immidiately for a hike, not wanting to lose any sunlight. We commented on how beautiful the landscape was as we walked up and up. I felt like I was in really terrible shape! We came across some cows, a toad, and some other huttes and eventually turned around when the path ended and some well meaning strangers pointed us into a direction that seemed like it was best suited for them to harvest our organs. We had a dinner in a classic German lodge and walked back to our hutte in the dark night. 

Having spent very little time in truly dark places (the term for this is city slicker), I was terrified shortly after leaving the lights of the lodge but luckily Ben had a head lamp and a good sense of humor.

Friday we set off for Bodensee with a couple other agenda items in mind. We thought we had a lot of time so we would stop by Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. But our dawdling combined with traffic and poor planning resulted in us arriving at Zugspitze without enough time to go to the top. That and it cost 48 euro!! We took a picture from the parking lot and got back in the car.

I was starting to freak out about having enough time to get ready so we drove the rest of the way with a little more dedication. A detour and traffic put us in Lindau just before we needed to catch our ferry. We quickly got ready and rushed down to the show, which meant we didn’t get to appreciate how awesome the view was on our first glance.

The stage was on the Austria side and we were taking a ferry from the Germany side to drop us directly at the stage. We tore through the streets and parked the car, running through the cute town like foolish Americans are known to do. I was sure we were going to miss it so I was already crying which clearly helped the situation. Somehow I managed to not wipe out and we made it onto the boat as they were putting up the walkway. We rushed on the boat and they asked if we had tickets. Afraid we needed to purchase them in advance, but also hyperventilating and with mascara running down my face I made an impression on the captain he will not soon forget. As always in Deutschland the boat only accepted cash and there was no time for the ATM so we scrimped together our last euros as the boat pulled away.

Immediately it was clear that it was worth the rush and stress. The boat ride was amazing.  Crossing the beautiful lake during sunset with the mountains all around was beyond picturesque. Even with the lake winds it was out of the question to go inside and be a pane of glass from the amazing view.

The boat dropped us off at the stage about 15 minutes before the show. We hoped to find a Breze or something to keep us from being crabby during the show. We discovered there was a full on dinner available! There were 4 buffets, one for each course and you could pick a course and fill up on whatever. Great for pre-show so then you don’t need to wait for your meal. Here’s how it went down: Found two seats at a table that was already occupied by two others. frantically flagged a waitress. ordered our buffets. had man next to us offer to pay because we had neither cash nor time. politely declined and paid for ourselves. ran to the buffet. ran back. ate as fast as possible (the food was soo good!). choked a little bit. continued eating. ran to our seats.

The Opera, André Chénier was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The stage was set in the water but there was more than what we know as a stage. There were moving parts, boats and the actors jumped in the water! The stage opened and closed in a dozen different ways and as I watched the subtitles (auf deutch) I missed the action. It flew by, there was no intermission but we barely noticed. We took the ferry back and ended the exhausting day.

The area we stayed at was amazing. We stayed at Montfort Schlössle, it was a recommendation from Sebastian and we never would have found it otherwise. It could not have been more perfect. I don’t know if it’s best described as a restaurant with rooms, a B&B or maybe a little piece of heaven situated on top of the hill overlooking the lake, town and into the mountains the roads were lined with pear, apple and plum trees. The parking lot was bursting with blackberries, so much we couldn’t even open the trunk! 

The huge yard had a dining area/beer garten overlooking the most amazing view with a huge old tree as a canopy. A rose covered archway to the side yard full of fruit trees and on the side a little fenced in area with three adorable goats. When we approached them they started ramming horns, as if on cue. Our room was the perfect combination of new (bathroom, floors) with old touches (wooden beams in the walls, exposed stone). Everything about the place was entirely tasteful without one bit of cheese, except goat cheese!

We had a great breakfast at the schlössle and headed for Pfänder, the big peak of the town. We planned a hike but there was also a gondola which mean kids and strollers like mad. We were scared the hiking path would be a day care but luckily it wasn’t and it was actually a pretty steep hike at some points. We veered off the path and found some hidden treasures and even hand a picnic in a clearing. We worked our way down a different path and met a couple friendly sets of locals, even some that had formerly lived in Minnesota!

Our next agenda was to go for a swim. We walked along a peninsula also recommended by Sebastian and found a nice spot to jump in.

Next up, Lichtenstein and Switzerland, which was a quick hop away. When we crossed the border to Switzerland, we discovered that we needed to buy a toll pass and we weren’t interested enough for 40 euro so I took a picture of the street sign and we made a u-turn.

We excitedly went back to our hotel for dinner. On the way, we saw a selbst schneiden flower patch and picked out some Dahlias and Lilies. There were so many perfect flowers, it was fun picking out the best ones. They made our already perfect view a just a notch better.

We had a delicious dinner that included goat cheese homemade from our goat friends! Unfortunately, my tummy hurt from stuffing it with treasures all day and I had to go upstairs and lay down. Moderation with food is clearly a lesson I will never learn.

 As people in NY have been asking me about my travels and european living, this trip is all I can talk about. It was so amazing and I want to go back someday!

36 Hours in Barcelona

My travel plans have been all over the place lately.  First I thought I would be gone for nearly the entire month of July, which was going to be awesome. Then one-by-one, each trip fell through and I was going to be in Berlin for the whole month, also awesome. But we all know I can't just stay here so I jumped on board with Randi and her pal Caroline for a weekend in Barcelona. 

This was also the weekend before our big 4th of July party so I also needed to prepare for that. I stayed in town Friday night so Melissa and I could do party stuff and first thing Saturday morning I was off to Barcelona!

Even though the trip was incrementally shorter than most (yet longer than Brussels) I wanted to get the most out of it. In selling this weekend to me, Randi pointed out that we would be spending it almost exclusively on the beach. 

I packed a duffel bag with a swim suit, running stuff, and beach blanket, light enough that I could keep it with me all day. Caroline used to live in Barcelona so we were staying in her old neighborhood outside of the tourist areas. This was awesome but also far from everything. Not wanting to waste one minute, I told the gals to meet me in town when they were ready and headed straight to the center. 

I parked myself at the first cafe and ordered a cava and read my book. hours and cavas passed and Randi and Caroline were still not ready. I was having a lovely morning enjoying the weather and Kurt Vonnegut so i didn't even miss them. 

When they finally rolled in, they needed to buy bathing suits… I said no way Jose and I would meet them at the beach. Along the way, I stopped in a grocery store (obv) and picked up some tasty "musli bars" (similar to Jó Reggelt! but not as amazing) and some interesting gum (which turned out to be disgusting).

My first time in Barcelona was at the tail end of the Panda-Westrick 2k5 Eurotour. We stayed in a hostel room with 8 German teenage boys, ironically. We saw the typical sights and thought the city was just ok. Gaudí is a famous architect from Barcelona and we did not enjoy his work. Actually, two highlights of our barcelona trip were 1. We found a 100 euro bill on the ground and spent it all in one day at a shade ball slot machine "casino". 2. I had been searching for these white and black snakey loafers in every Zara since Dublin and as Zara is from Spain I made Westy go into every single store as we continued the quest. I found them and have since worn them less than 10 times.

The beach weather was perfect. Hot. Barcelona has citywide wifi!! so I cooked myself up while streaming public radio and playing scrabble over the internet. Could not imagine a more perfect day.

Around 5:00 the gals rolled in and I left them with my bag so I could go for a run. In the haste to get to the beach I completely neglected any semblance of sun protection so I was crispy. I had an amazing run along the beach but being a shriveled raisin couldn't go as far as I wanted.

That evening we met up with one of Caroline's pals in de Gracia. It was great to be out with people who knew the area and not see touristy placed. We went to great cocktail bar where a stranger pulled the chair out from underneath me. I fell directly on the floor and it was one of the funniest things that has happened in quite a while.

Sunday the gals wanted to do early beaching but luckily their definition of early is much later than mine since I was still a lobster. I ran through the neighborhood which was a special treat because it was full of hills. One of my few Berlin complaints is that the city is so flat which is not what I like for a run.

After breakfast, the gals went straight to the beach by taxi and I took the longest possible walk doing some classic Panda wandering. I bought Randi and I some really spectacular shirts to wear to our 4th party the next day. After a few well protected hours on the beach, we met Caroline's friend again for Tapas. The place we went was nothing special but it was so special. It was your classic Spanish tapas bar and we filled our bellies with all the Barcelona specialities. 

Caroline's pal Daniel told us the story of tapas. I guess way back in the day, the postmen would ride around stopping in each town delivering important official news. each town would thank them with a beverage. As their travels went on, these postmen would accidentally get drunk and have trouble on their horses, etc. So then they started giving them eats! but only small amounts of snacks because they knew they would get food at each stop and they didn't want to fill up. I didn't verify this store with the internet but I like it so I'm not going to.

We had a great little jaunt down to Barcelona and I came back with sand in my hair and a fantastic tan. 

Stachelbeere

Today was the first meeting of the Stralauer Allee bike gang. The gals and I took to our bikes over lunch time and went into town, cruising through the streets of Friedrichshain in our helmets and heels.

 The bike gang it's appropriate that we're a gang because yesterday we inked up with some sweet tattoos from Hey!Girl Magazine.

 The gang had burgers and more fries than I am comfortable admitting. I had a veggie burger that was made from veggies (!!) however it was fried so that took out some of the fun. but hey, baby steps.

Because of the gluttonous shame I felt from lunch, I planned a nice long run after work followed by some German homework. I made a stop at the fridge on my way out and remembered the Stachelbeeren I picked up last night. Can't run without a little energy, eh?

I've been seeing these buggers around, they're like a mix between extra veiny grapes and cherry tomatoes. Usually they are swarmed with fruit flies and yesterday I swatted them away and took the plunge.  As any exotic fruit club member would, I asked google before sampling. Big surprise here…

Stachelbeeren are gooseberries! But I thought I knew gooseberries?!? turns out these are cape gooseberries, not the classic variety.

Excited by this new discovery, I put the run on hold to consume and analyze this new fruit.

First off, their color is akin to grapes in that there is the green and red variety. I have only had yellow cape gooseberries and they are quite starchy. These have the tartness of a concord (also the same thick and peelable skin) with smaller almost unnoticeable seeds. I found some of them to be a tad mealy - this could be because I had them in the fridge (and everyone knows refrigeration is what makes tomatoes mealy) I'll be sure to store my next batch properly.

The green skin is definitely more tart, even sour and more reminiscent of the cape. Some seemed under-ripe possibly. Most flavor parallels between green and red grapes remain as well. I even blind tested myself a couple times and it was an easy difference to tell

A long time ago I read that you should eat peas and berries one-by-one. This is because each has it's own unique flavor, and when you eat a spoonful at a time you can't appreciate which is sweeter, crisper, etc. This advice comes to mind as I devour Stachelbeeren until nausea. Even as I eat out the guts then the skin of each berry, I don't miss the chance to appreciate the complexity of the individuals.

I have an annual tradition with concord grapes where I eat as many as I possibly can until i'm sick and my mouth is raw from acidity and I can't bear the sight of them. I do this so I can somehow survive the dark and cold months when they are not in season. I will follow this same strategy with Gooseberries and hopefully find a source close to home for next year's consumption!

Public wifi...

Has made it possible for me to share another photo of my feet.

Why are Hipsters so Tall?

Other titles considered for this post:

We know you're from Seattle

Three concerts, zero pictures

I had to throw away the olives to stop myself from eating them (this one is a little long)

In the past week, I have gone to three pretty good concerts in Berlin. I've seen a lot more music here than I normally do. I've been more proactive and shows are more accessible. You don't need wait logged-in to ticketmaster or buy some sketchball stub-hub deal.

I take really terrible pictures are concerts. My pictures are mostly ok considering most come from my phone and I've never taken my camera off the default settings. 

But concerts are another story. Let's say the problem is primarily due to my height. The only way I can get a picture of the stage is if I fully extent my arm at such an angle that I can't even see the screen. Issue 2: I somehow always manage to time my shot when a funky lighting thing is going on. Which would be awesome if I wasn't also underexposing or using my own crappy flash. Don't forget I'm impatient and lazy. I will not hold my arm in the air for an entire song to take a photo. And because I can't see the stage I often take my shot the moment when someone is facing the other way or taking a drink of water.

So for illustrations of my entertainment from the past week I recommend using your imagination. But in case you don't believe me here's a link to the pictures I took (not even worth embedding a slide show).

The first was Bright Eyes. It was the evening we got back from a fun weekend in Budapest and I've seen them a few times around New York so it wasn't so exciting. It was still a good show but we knew there was more to come.

Next, we went to see TV on the Radio. We spent the afternoon on a boat party with our coworkers and unfortunately had to disembark for the concert. At one point on the ride I was having such a great time I considered skipping the show but luckily Randi really wanted to go. The concert was great! I was exhausted from a crazy day but it flew by. Max advised and I agreed that the band is great on stage, really lively and interactive, and I like them even more now after seeing them in person. 

And tonight was our last concert in the series. The main show was Death Cab for Cutie, who are ok, but it was their opener I was the most excited to see. Of the three concerts we expected Death Cab to be the post popular even though TV on the Radio is probably the most famous (in our American minds).  We were right and we got there on time for that reason. it didn't really matter because 90% of the spectators were over 6 feet tall. 

The Head and the Heart were very awesome. They play all kinds of hand instruments and harmonica and violin and who knows what else I couldn't see! The folksy stuff was great with the extra pizzazz. Also, their bass drum was surprisingly deep and it seemed to emphasize how passionately they were playing. I also loved the great harmonizing that make their songs so lovely to listen to. If you like that kind of stuff you can download some of their songs gratis on their website or almost free on Amazon, my personal favorite for music purchasing.

And then Death Cab played for a marathon two hours (maybe more!) and we couldn't make it through the whole thing. They played so many songs it was a really good value if you consider the price of the ticket.

While we contemplated leaving early Randi spotted the band selling their own merch! At first we weren't sure if it was them because using a beard to distinguishing someone is like describing someone by the number of eyes they have. Also, I have only seen them from the internet since I forgot to bring a step ladder. Identity was confirmed but not a bad plan for imposter-ing if you're a dude with a good beard.

Because my pictures are always from so far away and terrible, I thought if I took a one-on-one it might not be bad. Problem is, I ruined it by being shiny from the steamy hot concert and all veiny. I used every trick in Picasa:

The streak continues.

Top Three Chairs: A Trip to Budapest

Randi and I left the office early on Friday to fly to Budapest. As I filled out my urlaub forms to leave at 1:30, I realized we don't get summer Fridays in The D! Booo. Granted, we get more vacation summer Fridays are special because those that DO show up get a combination of a super productive and playful day. Well we don't play much at work so I guess it doesn't matter.

Neither of us are much for planning trips. I compiled a google map from places that friends recommended but nothing else. Randi printed a list of recommendations from a random website. Between the two of us, all we knew was that Buda and Pest were two different places. 

Because of our unpreparedness, we arrived on Friday and set out wandering. The streets were empty, which was a little eerie. The buildings were Berlin-style large (not to be confused with tall) but many were almost black with what appeared to be soot. Randi theorized this was due to their previous reliance on coal. we both agreed that it looked cool.

While wandering, I came across my favorite chair of the trip. It was of the wooden dining room variety with a padded velvet seat. Here's a picture of me sitting in it.

After a lovely beverage on the Danube, we went to a Hungarian restaurant called Rosenstein Vendéglő. I would have taken pictures of my food but I didn't bring my camera on the trip and my phone was dead. 

(this is a recurring theme we discussed - that we have become so desensitized to travel that we don't even take normal precautions such as bringing a camera or learning the first thing about a city)

I had a lovely pea soup followed by some meat thing for my monthly dose of iron that was on some really fantastic pan fried fingerlings. We had a really great Hungarian wine made from kekfrankos grapes in the Bodri region and named after this cool looking dog. 

We were very full after dinner so we accepted our waiter's offer for Palinka. Every country has their own preferred aperitif - The theory is the alcohol helps you digest your food by cutting through your belly like a macheté. I think it kind of works and I wonder if I had an aperitif or 20 after the painful yet delicious dinner at Dovetail if I would still be permanently scarred. Probably not and I still only regret it just a little.

Before I get to the next topic, I need to disclaim that I have probably some of the most offensive looking feet ever. My pal Kevin reminded me daily that even though everyone has ugly feet, mine were a special kind of ugly. At some point in the dinner, we noticed that my right foot exploded. check this out! it's a giant. it also hurt and had some issues fitting it in my shoe. ole lefty was a good role model while righty went rogue.

Next we checked out a couple of the places recommended by Naman. First was a club Corvintetõ that from the outside seemed like a typical Berlin place with youths and techno. Turns out it had a sweet roof deck and it was a great night for sitting outside. Next we went to this other place Szimpla. We determined it was a full size apartment building, complete with Hof and Hinterhaus that was gutted and turned into this bar. 

There were all kinds of tucked away rooms and random surprises. This is where I came across my #2 and #3 favorite chairs. There was also a Pommel horse which made me think of Evan since he's good at doing a pommel horse even on a pool table. I tried to swing around for a while but then my weakling arms gave up and we went home.

Saturday, I went for a run around the Danube. Running is maybe my favorite things to do while traveling. I already like running but there are so many good distractions while in a foreign city I can go for hours until I realize I have to get home because the breakfast buffet ends at 10. For the first time ever I kind of almost got lost. I didn't get off track but I didn't know where I was! I reverted to GPS before trying to figure it out myself. Like a Tigger I could have found my way I just didn't want to.

As I talk about grocery stores in almost every post, you already know they are my second favorite thing to do in foreign cities. I found these really great cookie/cracker/granola bars called Jó Reggelt!. They were sooo good. I emailed HQ to see if they can be purchased or shipped to my area and I got this response:

Darn

We went to this huge palace in Buda, We had to climb some great steps which I missed out on my run and at the top the view was overlooking all of Pest. Turns out this is also the palace from one of the most annoying songs/videos on VIVA. It is a really beautiful palace though. We wanted to enjoy a beverage at the top but the cafe had three competing groups of panhandling musicians and between the upright bass, the xylophone, and the violin, it was not our idea of a nice time.

Instead, we went inside a labyrinth! In the entrance way of the labyrinth there was a child's birthday party. Those kids are hardcore because it was spooky inside! It was just a titch more dark than I was comfortable with so I used my phone as a flashlight. I wasn't as scared as in the Minnesota State Fair Haunted House where I would open the emergency exit door to see the creepers. Also, the floor was really uneven and there were lots of puddles from the leaky cave so I was just trying to protect myself.

Some areas seemed to be preserved and some were built up as replicas. We had a hard time telling what was old and new and then towards the end we didn't even know if they were serious. It started with these cave drawings. Next, there was this room with a wine fountain (not potable, or so they claim). And there was also this giant crowned head sticking out of the ground (reminded me of the part in Star Trek IV when they go back in time). There was one area that was barricaded with glow in the dark ropes. Didn't seem effective at keeping people or monsters on either side of the barricade. 

At the end it got really goofy. there were these "fossils" that were of cell phones and computers, so clearly they were trying to make a statement regarding our consumerism but they took it so seriously it was hard to see the point. The very last room was up a set of stairs and completely dark. I couldn't believe it was a part of the path but there was no other way to go. i cracked out my flashlight and found other people also looking for the path out. 

After the labyrinth we went to Vörösmarty tér for a beverage. There was a nice xylophone player who let all the little kids play too. He needed to learn more songs. There was also a protest but it was poorly organized so the xylophone man just moved to the side and went back to the square when they were done.

We had dinner at Hungarian place recommended by Melissa, Cafe Déryné. It had a frenchy feel and reminded me of Artisinal or Balthazar but they were serving up Paprikash.

Sunday, we went to a Bath house. Melissa recommended it and it is also one of the largest in the world. We had a vague idea of what to expect but were sure to confirm in advance that folks would be wearing swimming suits (even though Randi forgot hers and bought one in the basement of the covered market). There was a mix up in the beginning so we ended up having to barter for a bed sheet to use as a shared towel. 

The place was huge. but repetitive. and pretty normal - as normal as a bath house gets. There were about 30 pools of various temperatures with different minerals in them. Maybe if we could read the signs or knew the significance it would have been exciting but instead we just got in and out of each pool after about 5 minutes. Neither of us "relax" so when we found the room with the treadmills it was obviously where we spent the rest of our time.

We ended our weekend with a Bright Eyes concert in Berlin. The show was great and full of the crunchy folks in town. They played my favorite songs and we swayed with the hipsters.

I really liked Budapest. I liked how it shared a similar feeling to Berlin - a little beat up, rough around the edges, but still beautiful for the history. Budapest has massive and impressive structures but not the crunchiness of the inhabitants. Also, their bottled water is in GLASS bottles. Love it. The tap water was tasty but for those with special needs I'm glad they don't need to go plastic. And somehow there still isn't broken glass everywhere. Berlin, take note!

Hey! Remember When I Went to København?

Post written shortly after the trip taken in March...


Many months ago, possibly before I moved here, I made plans to meet Naman in Copenhagen. I hadn't heard much about it but my pal Ginia studied abroad there and she does cool stuff so I figured it was a good place.

Overall, Copenhagen did not impress me. OK it was a new European city (early in my travelling days) but I don't think it really had anything special to offer. It's a huge biking city with canals so in that way it's like Amsterdam. Bike after bike parked in each square and theft must not be an issue because in some cases the bikes were just parked and not locked to anything.

One of the unique things about Copenhagen is this commune-type village called Christiana. It's political status varies but basically it is self governed and Danish and EU laws don't apply (I've been informed that since I wrote this, the status has changed). They even have their own currency! 

No photos were allowed which was really a shame because it as quite a sight. There are a handful of cafes/bars where folks are drinking beers and playing backgammon. The natives closely resemble homeless folks minus the smell (although it was so smokey maybe they did smell). There were a couple old asian ladies dolled up and smoking drugs in the corner schmoozin with the homeless looking men. And then there were the folks like us that show up just to gawk at it all. We really stood out with our bright sneakers and clean hair.

Also a drawback to Copenhagen is the Kroner. It's not such an expensive city but when you're getting out hundreds of Kroners at  a time and burning through them in hours it starts to make you feel like your pockets are empty. We stayed at a hostel again but since the hotels are so expensive the hostel was full of adults and families, not just kids like us. Someone in our room smelled so bad I think it's still on me.

We heard they had a bike share program so that was high on the list. Unlike most cities, the bikes were 20DKK (about 3 Eur). We found where the bike stands were on a map and set out to get some. We looked and looked and went to a number of places where the stands were supposed to be but saw nothing resembling city bikes. We also didn't know exactly what we were looking for. Finally, we found it. The city bikes are locked in the same way that grocery carts are: Each is attached to a stand with a small chain and if you put a coin into a slot in the chain the bike is released. When you bring it back, you get your coin back. So basically these bikes cost 20DKK. Not much motivation to bring it back, right? We gave up on the bike idea and went for a boat tour instead. 

Brought to our attention by the tour guide was a small submarine on display outside of the water. "The submarine on your right was contributed by the Danish Navy to the second Gulf War. Unfortunately, the sub broke and had to return to Denmark". OK. so what were they using a sub for? and they sent a busted one? I think that was the Danes' way of saying "we don't support this war but we don't want to get on your bad side so here's an old sub we're not using." Funny stuff.

Next, the boat stopped at a statue of the Little Mermaid, created because HC Anderson who wrote The Little Mermaid was from Copenhagen. We weren't going to get off the boat but everyone else did so we figured maybe there was something worth seeing. nope. Just another small statue with tons of people taking pictures (reminded me very much of mannequin pis in Brussels). So we obviously also took a picture with it.

Also nearby was supposed to be a castle with a moat. Growing up playing Super Mario Brothers and building sand castles, I think moats are awesome and having never seen one in real life this  was going to be huge! Unfortunately, the moat really was not a foot deep and could be forged with your standard Oregon Trail wagon train. We also weren't able to even find the castle on the island because turns out it was a church. We crossed a moat for this? So here's a picture of the moat.

On thing I really liked about copenhagen was the Boxmaster, a sandwich at KFC. Now I don't think I've eaten at KFC more than 5 times in my entire life and usually then only on road trips but we went there twice in two days! The boxmaster was a spicy chicken sandwich with a rosti on it and you know I love rosti's since I discovered the Big McRosti at McDonalds.

We met some cool people at the hostel, including a kid named Max from Minnesota! He could have been the biggest crazy but I didn't care because he shared two traits with my good pal MAP. We were hanging out with him and these two canadian girls when we went to  KFC the second time. The canadians seemed disgusted with us and commented that they didn't think Americans actually ate at KFC, not to mention twice in two days. Ladies, first try then judge.

Sunday before leaving we stopped at the Carlsburg Brewery. I haven't spent much time with Carlsburg in the past because the bottle reminds me of Heinekin which I don't like. Actually, it's pretty good! I skipped the brewery tour since I've seen enough malted yeast in my day and went to the bar instead. 


Finally some beer variety! We sampled some of the products and then went back to catch our flights. We took public transit to the brewery and I was extremely impressed. Not only was it clean with very nice seats and televisions, but there is free wifi! and it's fast too. we rode the train two stops which was enough time to register an account (in Danish), log in, sync up email and scrabble. Pretty sure the train wifi is faster than the LAN connection at work. They've been talking about putting wifi in the NYC subway for a while but it would be for pay and probably busted.


I didn't take many photos but Naman did! link to Naman's album