Copenhagen, Denmark

The bus to Copenhagen leaves at 7.30 but people are required to be there at 7.15. I left the house at 6.30 and prepared to cross the street when my bus (M48) was approaching the stop. Normally, this would’ve been a goner, in which case, the time between crossing the street and walking towards the bus wouldn’t be enozugh as there are only a few seconds of a window given to board. Knowing bus drivers in Germany too, even if you did reach the bus door but which has already been closed, you might as well relax and wait for the next bus, as showing your ticket with your cutest look while knocking at the door doesn’t seem to work. However, something tells me it would be different that time and as the door shut, I still tried to flash my sweetest smile, though with eyes half awake, hoping the driver would open the door, and then he did, just for me! That made me have a good feeling about my trip ahead...

As I arrived the Omnibahnhof, I saw several buses and as I wanted to make sure I got into the right bus, I approached the nearby info desk officer immediately. I was hoping he would give me the exact bus number upon handing him my ticket but he just pointed me to go towards the right. I was right in thinking that it would be easy enough to spot ‘Kopenhagen’ but what I didn’t expect was that I’d see two signs of such. I just went with my instincts (which fortunately I have a lot of being a woman) and walked towards one that had more people boarding. I asked the person in front of me whether he had known the difference pointing at the other bus, but saying ‘keine anung’ which translates to ‘no idea’. As my turn came to show my ticket, the driver checked a list on hand and quickly found my, rather unique surname. I was relieved thinking someone must know this is the right bus for me. I picked one of the only two window seats left and prepared to enjoy the trip. Just when I had psyched myself up for a seven-hour ride, my first surprise came when the bus stopped at a port and I realized we were going to board a ferry! At exactly 11.00, the bus was inside the ferry, the engine stopped and everyone started to walk towards the bus door. Again following my ‘lil brother’s advice, I just went with the flow and found myself falling in line to another entrance door. As I went inside, my eyes were filled with excitement as I toured the placegoing from the cafe/restaurant to the perfumerie, to the Rod Hall, Panoramadeck and top most level which of course is the Soladeck. I have also ridden the ro-ro in Manila going to Palawan, but this didn’t seem to have the levels literally broken down into social classes – where the first level would be the most uncomfortable seats but of course the cheapest going higher to the top levels where the cabins were, fit only for the ‘can afford’. I settled in the Panoramadeck whichhad big comfy chairs, a table where I can write and eat my home-prepared scrumptious chicken mortadella sandwich, aka budget meal, and admired the view of the sea through the big clear windows beside me as the ferry sailed way. It is a bright sunny day and I think to myself, ‘so far so good...’The bus finally stopped and I hopped off excitedly, as I searched for my hostel. The hostel (Hotel Loeven) was OK because it was clean and I had my own private room in an apartment-type setup. I just needed to share the bathroom and kitchen with the rest of the people in the adjacent rooms but it wasn’t bad for an economical tourist. I left the hostel around15.30 to start my well-planned itinerary. I was quite conscious that I had a number of places to see so I didn’t notice I was going from one place to another rather quickly, that at 17.30, I was already going towards my last stop. By 18.00, I was finished with my planned Day 1 sites! I had arranged for my Day 1 sites to be the ones just walking distance from each other and when usually I would spend hours trying to find my own way, this time, I had a handy GPS to point me to the right direction so it saved me a lot of time as well. I think it’s the best invention ever! So far, it seems the Danes are more spontaneous than the Deutsch as you see a lot of impromptu performances in the streets, which passersby joyfully watch, if not actually stop and participate in the merriment. I wouldn’t exactly describe them as weird, they just seem really overjoyed, like they were high, just don’t know on what. The Fly Solo book wasn’t lying either when it said there won’t be any problem with language, as everyone including beggars, seemed to be able to speak English well. This is quite different from Germany.That day, I saw Tivoli (their amusement park)first, though didn’t pay the entrance as it seemed so sad to be riding alone. I went to see the Radhaus Pladsen, that had the Jens Olsen clock next. It was a very energy-filled and lively plaza where music played, and families hang out, not to mention a handful of people with cameras wrapped around their necks – like me! Afterwards, I saw the famous Charity Fountain (Caritas Spring Vandet) and then the Rundetarn, which had an entrance fee of 25 DKK or ~3 EUR, which wasn’t bad for the great view of the rooftops. My last stop was the Kultorvet which wasanother interesting plaza with cafes/bars around. Before heading back, I strolled around some more in the many interesting streets. One thing’s for sure, the Danes, much like the Germans, are crazy about ‘is’! What is it with these cold countries and ice cream?! I don’t think even Manila has an ice cream parlor in every corner! Well the weather was quite warm, which means 12 degrees Celcius, and that’s probably why. I was back in my hostel at around 22.00 to have a good rest as I check out in the morning and brace myself for a whole-day walking tour. Good, I have had some good walking practice since I got to Germany and I had my multivitamins ready as well.

I needed to get up early the next day if I wanted to finish my tight itinerary for day 2, so I checked out at 9AM and made sure I had everything I needed for surviving the day, including my packed sandwiches and big water bottle. After falling in line in the ticket station, I got my day ticket for quite an expensive 120 DKK (~16 EUR), which was already like 2 day tickets in Berlin. The next challenge was actually getting into the right train.

Though it was quite a similar setup to what I’ve gotten used to in Berlin, they seemed to have a more complicated setup in transportation. They had what they called S (train) station, then they also have the Metro (regular train) and then the buses and trams, but they seemed to lack in some signages so it took me a while to figure out where the right ones were. Compared to Berlin too, they had lesser train stops so you had to walk a bit far to get to certain destinations from the train (unless you switch to a bus after getting out of the train station). The only nice thing I found in their public transportation was that they seemed to have newer trains than ones in Berlin and spacier too. They had the same screen showing how many minutes more before the next train comes, but intervals between trains is quite a longer wait than ones in Berlin. They have about an average of 10 minutes interval and they often didn’t have benches or seats in the waiting area as well. My first stop was Carlsberg Visitor Center and since I already mapped out the nearest train stations these places were nearest to, I was quite confident that I would just find my way by foot from the train station, given I had my trusty GPS device with me. I paid 64 DKK (~8 EUR) for a self-guided tour in the Carlsberg Visitor Center, though it was quite funny because the guy in the receptions was ready to hand me a tour leaflet in Kanji, when I told him I come from the Philippines and not Japan. I guess us Asians look quite the same to Europeans just as we see all Europeans the same as well. In the visitor center, they showed the history of Carlsberg, how they made beer, as well as a showcase of their bottle collection that had 18,314 bottles, which were actually accepted in the Guiness Book of World Records. The most interesting part, though was the end of the tour where you get to find your own beer based on 24 different aromas presented to you. You get to smell these different scents such as citrus, ginger, chocolate, oak, roses, etc. and pick the ones that appeal to your sense of smell the best. They then have a chart of a combination of certain aromas and their corresponding beer which you can afterwards request from the bar. I seemed to like the aroma of toasted bread, almonds and caramel and although everybody knows I’m no beer drinker, I asked for a Carlsberg Special, just to taste. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste bad at all (compared to how I’d usually find the taste of beer). It, however, wasn’t good enough to make me finish even a third of a bottle, so although I had Carlsberg Porter (oak, chocolate, coffee, liquorice, toasted bread and almonds) as a close second, I opted to ask for their orange softdrink for my 2^ndround instead. I was happy with just having a picture with the beer of my choice.

Though other visitors were having fun drinking their beers in the morning of Good Friday, I headed towards the exit to continue my adventure. According to my well laid out plan, the next stop was just a few meters away – Frederiksberg Have – so I reached for my favourite device, only to be shocked I had left my GPS open all throughout the 2 hours in Carlsberg so it had the red battery sign flashing on the screen. If I had learned something about managing projects, it’s that not everything goes according to plan and that’s when risk management would kick in. I checked my itinerary again to see which ones I had to heavily rely on my GPS for reaching a destination and thought of saving the little energy it had for those more important times. So every time I found a friendly, approachable Danish (usually female and had kid/s with her), I would ask directions. When there were none, I would rely on my GPS, but would memorize the walking route/turns so I could turn it off again. Luckily for Frederiksberg Have, I was able to ask the receptionist at Carlsberg Visitor Center and it was really not very far, only maybe 1.5 kms away.

When I got there, I was just caught in amazement. It is a very romantic park overlooking a former royal palace but which now is home to a military office. I strolled around and even though I knew I had quite a number of places to still visit, I found myself in such a relaxed mood and having my Canon G9 with me, seemed to find so many “photo shoot” opportunities around. Couples were enjoying the sun and families had laid picnic mats in the grass while getting some midday snacks from their woven willow picnic basket, one which you’d usually see in foreign movies. Luckily, I still had the presence of mind to check the time amidst the captivating scene and as I saw it was nearing 13.00, I headed to the exit to now find ‘Den Lille Havefrue’, which is a statue of H.C. Andersen’s famous story, The Little Mermaid found at near Osterport, in an area called Kastellet. By this time, I was feeling quite hungry so I had eaten, on the way, my chicken wrap, just strips of fried chicken breast wrapped in a soft taco which I had prepared in Berlin.When I got to Kastellet, I was again taken away by the garden that had a lake flowing through. The sun was shining brightly and the weather wasn’t cold either so you will see many people walking around or sitting in the benches just enjoying the wonderful day. As I followed the lake by the jogging path, I was lead to a bridge that lead to what seemed a castle’s facade. I asked one of the “friendly-looking” people in the benches as I entered about the Little Mermaid and I was told it was at the other end by the port, where the ships were anchored. I had to get out of the area I was at though I considered it as a really pleasant detour. I walked several more meters out of the bridge, up the stairs and down to the path that led to the port and followed the shore line that had a lot of people crowding, and I knew that was it! The Little Mermaid was indeed a small sculpture as it had described in Lonely Planet. But its beauty wasn’t in its size. It just really looked so pretty by the shore with the rocks with its shiny surface and smooth finish. No wonder it is regarded as one of the most photographed attractions in the world.My fourth stop was quite an experience as well. For those of you who don’t know, Christiana used to be an abandoned military camp on the eastern side of Christianshavn which was taken over by squatters who proclaimed it the 'free state', subject to their own laws. The police tried to clear the area but it was the height of the hippie revolution and an increasing number of alternative folk from throughout Denmark continued to pour in. Although residents of this place modified their laws to prohibit hard drugs, many believe that marijuana and hash are still being sold in one of its famous streets, appropriately named “Pusher St.” I was curious about this place and wanted to see what the houses looked like and saw exactly what I found in the internet before leaving Berlin. As I climbed up a seemingly flimsy wooden flight of stairs, I already heard loud punk-ish music and as I went further up and finally on the pathway towards the village, I saw a big group of young crowd enjoying food and beer while basking in the sun listening to this music I was hearing. I progressed farther and saw so many people but different from the ones I saw in the streets, like I was at a totally different country. The vandalisms on the houses provided a colourful array and most resembled actual recognizable images. There were guys playing skateboard games and so many people going about their ways. I took several shots here and there, though something about the place didn’t seem right. I could smell the smoke and alcohols as I walked past the bars in the broad daylight. I thought to myself, this seemed like a scary place especially at night and the loud punk rock music wasn’t making me more comfortable either so I headed towards the way back as I took my last shot of the place. Just a few seconds after, a guy calls out “Hey, you!” and seeing nobody else seemed to have noticed his call, I stood there quickly thinking of my risk management plan for certain situations. The guy told me, though in a nice way, that pictures aren’t allowed and asked me to delete the picture I just took. I showed him my camera deleting the said shot, but then my camera just displayed the previous shot, at which case he said “...and that too...” and so I deleted it again somewhat reluctantly, knowing I had such nice shots of the place. However, after several photos, I think he got tired of saying “...and that too...” that he just said in the end “you shouldn’t take pictures here as this is a no picture zone”. I apologized and continued towards my way back and was relieved to have reached the train station safely. (I actually thought twice about writing this part of my trip since I didn’t want to worry my family, but I thought it was one of those experiences a traveller gets once in a while and thought the trip wouldn’t be as complete without it) It was about 17.00 when I arrived the station so I thought I had better head to the famous Assistens Kirkegård cemetery while it’s still early, as I don’t want to get into another scary situation. All the excitement has made me quite hungry again so I reached for another sandwich in my bag, now a ham with honey sandwich, which reminds me of one of the Mcdo breakfast meals in Manila. As I progressed through my day, I got more and more tired, but my bag got lighter and lighter as I had consumed almost every “baon” I had prepared, so I felt good about that balance.As I got off Kongens Nytorv train station, I asked a nice-looking lady whether she had known what direction I should take to get to the famous cemetery that is a resting place for famous people such as Hans Christian Andersen and Soren Kirkegaard, but she couldn’t help me, so I thought it was time to use some energy of my dying GPS. I found my way and indeed saw H.C. Andersen’s tomb stone, but there was a rather queer guy with jeans torn at the back just below his butt and with a beard that seemed not to have been shaved for ages, who was standing next to the tombstone so I kept my distance, thinking I don’t want another close encounter with someone. He wasn’t leaving yet so I, in the meantime, went around to see other tombstones and after every few minutes I would peek and see him just standing there cleaning his nails. I thought to myself, if I don’t look at H.C Andersen’s tombstone now, I might not be able to see it while the sun is still out and that seemed a scarier thought than being beside this guy. When I went closer, thankfully the guy walked away. I thought he was really weird, though something tells me he may even be somehow related to H.C. Anderson himself. After, I saw a sign that said this way to Soren Kirkegard, though I wasn’t able to pay my respects to him as I couldn’t find his tombstone. I strolled around the cemetery, which looked more like a peaceful park, a little more before heading towards my last two stops – Borsen and Norrebro.Børsen is another remarkable renaissance building, which is a stock exchange center, at the eastern corner of Slotsholmen. I was amazed with the intricate details of the building and the river flowing beside it actually even made it more beautiful. Norrebro, on the other hand, was said to have a frolicking night life with the many bars, cafes and designer shops lined in the streets, however, I didn’t find it too interesting maybe party because I was quite tired and it was getting dark so after a quick stroll, I decided to head back and find my way to the bus stop. It was just 8:30PM and even if it was still too early for my 11:45PM trip, I wanted to make sure I knew the right place as I didn’t want to miss my ride back to Berlin. As I got off the Dybbolsbro train station, I met an intersection and trying my GPS for the last time, found that it had completely lost its battery so I didn’t know which direction to go. It was getting quite dark (and cold) when I got there and there didn’t seem to be anyone I could ask directions from, and then coming from nowhere, I saw a sweet middle-aged couple walking towards my direction. I of course took the opportunity to ask away! It seems they knew the area very well too because when I had asked where the bus station is, they had threw me back the question, “it depends, where are you going?” I answered Berlin and they instantly told me, “in that case, you’ll need to head that direction” pointing one of the roads uphill. I thanked them and walked towards that direction to see the place. It was actually a bit far a walk that I was thankful that I made the decision to go earlier, rather than my alternative to stay and wait in the mall just next to the train station, because I can imagine it would be quite scary to walk at 23.00 as well. As I was approaching the sight of buses, I was trying to spot a place where I could stay and wait as I was sure the 23.45 bus to Berlin wasn’t going to be 2 hours early. I was hoping there would be a cafe but I wasn’t seeing any...instead, just across where the buses were parked, I saw a hotel. “Even better!” I thought to myself. I went straight inside and was welcomed by a warm and well-lighted atmosphere. By the entrance was a lobby full of kids watching TV at the same time talking about their day. I figured after a while, that they seem to be in some kind of exchange student program as they were speaking in different languages, with one even remarking “I don’t speak Cantonese!” I had found the perfect waiting area, I thought to myself. I went straight to the receptionist and asked if they had any money-changer in the hotel because I had some DKK money left but unfortunately they didn’t. I then asked whether they had internet available and to this she said yes, and pointing to the internet terminal just next to the receptions area, offered me to use it. “Perfect!” I thought to myself, as internet is the best answer to spare time, and I wasn’t even billeted in this hotel! After a few minutes, I felt quite hungry, but ran out of my packed food, aka “tipid meals” so I went outside to check what was near and spotted the central station just a few meters walk. I had more than an hour left to wait so I thought of heading there, especially since I particularly remember a 20 DKK (~2 EUR) Mcdo double cheeseburger sign there that morning. I got my prize food for a well-managed trip and headed back to my safe haven where I waited for the bus to arrive.

I was back in Berlin at exactly 8.00 the next day and was quite surprised with the feeling of being finally “home” again. I stopped at that thought and realized how the 4 months I have been staying in Germany had made me feel comfortable now. I was amazed at how I felt good knowing my way around, riding the familiar U-Bahn, which although had the usual vandalisms, also had the familiar announcements – “Einsteigen, bitte...zurück bleiben, bitte”. It also had people I’ve never seen before in my life, but for some reason I could distinguish as Germans and it made me feel at ease. I felt happy to be back, but also proud I was able to arrange my own trip and go about independently in another foreign country. There’s a certain fulfilment attached to the experience, which gives me a feeling this won’t certainly be the last.