Commuting with the local Danish folk has been a bit of a high point for me on this trip. Just really love the vibe with the trains and the traffic and the bikes!
Took the train up to meet Michael for a ride to work, but got to stop at his house - apparently the former home of Jørgen Haagen Schmith, a WW2 resistance fighter (portrayed by Mads MIkkelson in Flame & Citron - a great movie!) which of course I found fascinating!
Apparently the intersection was the scene of some sort of kerfuffle during the war
And since I had it bookmarked, we drove past Jægersborg Allé 184, where Citron was killed after a gruesome firefight, where he held is own against 200 German troops, finally running out of ammo and charging the machine guns.
Ok, not much to see from the road, but still amazing
One of the previously mentioned Thatched roof houses
The monitors in the office had been deocrated with lights this morning, and get everything just that little bit of extra holiday cheer!
Heading home I realized I needed to eat - again - and headed into the center to find something.
The light show included turning the whole building into an advent calendar with a number in each window
Like I would go to Copenhagen and not see something Lego?
After having some Gløgg in Nyhavn I screwed up the courage to get some dinner, and had a lovely Tuborg holiday beer (Julebryg) and a "New York burger" which was flat out amazing. Then back to the hotel to write up travels and then pack for tomorrow's departure.
I very much would love to stay longer. And I very much can't wait to get home. It's been a lovely, fun, beautiful, amazing, interesting, enlightening, happy trip. But I miss my family and my comfy home. But it sounds like I'll be back in less than too many seasons, so I look forward to coming back some day -- maybe next time during summer months where I get tons of light for taking pictures...
Some more good office time, but most importantly, I took the train in to work! No issues, and I felt like I blended nicely with the local Copenhageners. Wear headphones, dress as stylishly as possible (with dark, muted colors of course) make sure your cheekbones are high and proud, and look awake but not too awake. The further you get on your train journey the more you can confirm you're on the right one. But halfway to Malmparken (it's a station, not a car from IKEA) I saw one of my workmates get on the train. One of the sales folk, we've talked a ton, and he was actually the only person I brought a gift for - some beef jerky, as he mentioned he liked it. So we got to talk some more, and more significantly he helped me get on campus and badged me through the door!
Some things I liked about the office that I think we might want to have in Minneapolis
Ok, this one is just a front end developer and our CEO playing some fierce ping pong
Dashboards. Tasty, tasty dashboards
A "conversation pit" - handy and comfy
Polaroid org chart - they even took polaroids of our online pictures since we weren't there
Office supplies
They keep their sales people in a glass cage. I mean, office.
Whiteboards and sound baffles
So many international workers that every desk in the office has a little flag representing the country of the person who sits there. I think Eli would be challenged to name them all!
That evening the team I'm on had a dinner out in my honor. We first went to Tivoli (see previous post), a historic amusement park in the middle of the city. Normally closed for the winter, they have Christmas themes in December and do it up in full yuletide fashion. They even run the rides - and some of those rides are crazy tall and all the way up in the wind and cold temperatures. None of us were brave enough to go on them in the 30something degree weather, but I secretly wanted to go on the crazy spinning airplane ride. Next time!
I liked the mixed media steampunk-like theme here - also, it has Hygge in the name, so,.
There are a lot of Hans Christian Andersen themes here, and this one is, of course, the flying luggage story..
Hard to tell, but old fashioned cars!
The crazy spinning airplane ride
It really is an amazing place - even if you don't go on the rides. There are many HCA references, and it was fun to hear my Danish cohorts talk about riding some of these rides forever ago when they were little. There was a great episode where everyone was explaining to me who Rasmus Klump was, and all about his pancakes and friends (Seal, Ostrich, etc.) -- for as endearing as they described it, it was utterly foreign. Like listening to the radio in Canada - you understand what it might be, but had no idea so many people loved it, while you didn't know it existed.
We followed the walking tour of the park with a traditional Christmas dinner at one of the more famous restaurants in the park. Apparently when the Christmas season opens all the celebrities of Denmark pay tons of money to eat there on opening night. As much as I like the idea of eating where Mads Mikkelson ate, I'm much happier that my boss paid for the pleasure.
The foods were amazing. Some really fish fish, creamy creams, and bready breads with many backstories and tales of how the Danish co-workers grew up with these foods. It was extravagant and tasty - but surprisingly filling, for sampling foods for so long. No room for dessert, even! But I think the herring with different sauces was my favorite, even if I was tasting it for hours afterward.
We also had some of the holiday beers, and more importantly, some proper holiday Aquavit. It tasted okay, but I was just happy to finally have some after having read about it for so long. Side note: Friday night's holiday party involved quite a bit of drinking, but nothing compared to the single shot of Aquavit I had this night and how I had to concentrate on not falling asleep or freaking out about the bed table spins. It passed quickly but I thought it was funny how intense it was.
We wrapped up the evening, and I had a good walk with our CTO. We had a good chat, and it was another of those times where I was really happy to be getting to know my co-workers and the founders not just as people I work with, but as good friendly people with whom I have a lot in common. Especially the leadership - it's nice to have the common experiences of children and age to share perspectives regardless of our countries of origin.
Everywhere you go there are Christmas Carols. Street decorations, lights, Christmas markets selling all sorts of interesting yuletide gear, ad then some. It's quite festive. Magical, even. Although there's no actual snow. A+ for effort though.
Dry day. Some days it's pouring rain, some day's it's a misting drizzle, some days it's dry. Not monotonous, for sure!
I'm overly warm everywhere I go. I packed and dress for cold damp and rainy (or snowy) and as a result I'm layering clothing, wearing sweaters, and my jacket is a Minnesota Winter jacket. So when I'm outside I'm a bit too warm, and when I'm inside I'm overly warm. I don't know if it's that the Danes are smart enough to want to be warm, or the Minnesotans are too cheap to heat well, but when I'm at home I'm always cold - especially feet. But here I've been overheating everywhere. It's a good problem to have, I suppose.
There are these little black and white birds Im seeing often. They're magpies, and apparently they're so smart! They can recognize themselves in a mirror - few animals do, and they're the only birds who do. Plus, they're pretty.
Work has now gotten quite busy. I'm spending a lot of time talking with people, working on relationships, and explaining things. While I've met many or most of these folks online, and interacted with most of them, it's different meeting in real life. And the same goes for the space!
A very festive welcome
Treats!
Busy with meetings and such, time flew by. Another great lunch, this time a more traditional Danish Christmas selection, with Ham and Potatos and such. Very tasty and substantial! Also, more currant juice. I feel like I'm at IKEA!
It's 50 degrees today, and we even got a glimpse of sun!
Sun!
Office Organization
I've been getting rides from my boss to and from work sometimes, and traffic is bad enough that I have him drop me at a close by metro stop and walk from there. Tonight the rain made everything shiny and wet, even though it had stopped coming down. It made for some really beautiful scenes. Copenhagen doesn't need much help in that arena, but the rain takes it to another level.
I will have dreams about this moment
Christmas lighting - even cooler the next few nights!
Tuborg and some impending pasta
Ok, I have to admit something. I suck at finding food. My social anxiety makes it so easy to avoid going into restaurants, and eating alone makes me feel like a sadness magnet. But sometimes I push myself and get rewarded. Tonight I needed proper carbs and protein, so I sought out Italian. Finding a well reviewed place near the center of town, I headed out. It was small, but oh so italian and I ordered a proper Danish been (Tuborg) and some good old spaghetti. It was simple, expected, and traditional, but so tasty, so filling, and so worth whatever that crazy Danish money cost. While I'm thinking the expense report is going to have some peaks, it'll have enough valleys where I wimped out on food. Seriously, there were a couple days where I just didn't eat enough food. But then, I was also trying to figure out what that odd feeling was on my belly It was the feeling of a shirt that wasn't stretched tight. I can't wait to get home and weigh myself! (I'm guessing I'm one of the rare people who loses weight when travelling to such a great food city)
After coming back home I kicked open the laptop and worked on my travel journal. All the while watching my new favorite Danish TV channel -- the kids channel at night. It's just shots panning across different children's show characters sleeping. Because, you know, kids should be sleeping, not watching creepy giant hook handed pirate bear with the mouth that looks like it's screaming. Also, have you ever seen a sleeping puppet fart? Yeah, it's as awesome as you'd think.
Scroll down to see video -- if it's not region locked. Not sure yet. :)
Daylight is rare here, so I was going to maximize it for pictures. Unfortunately, it was raining. Like, seriously raining Luckily I had my waterproof winter coat and a rocking umbrella, but I spent much of the day angling it to keep it from being ripped from my hands by the wind. It was cold, too, but I was wrapped up snugly and happy as can be.
I made my way through Copenhagen towards the water.
My corner coffee shop
Frederiks Kirke
Not my umbrella experience
Russian Orthodox Church
Beautiful random Copenhagen
Changing of the guard at Amalienborg
Bronze cast equestrian statue of King Frederik V mounted on a marble plinth & completed in 1771
Buildings near the design museum
Crufty. I like it.
Danish Frigate Peder Skram across the harbor
Ferry
Rain, the order of the day
Memorial Park
World War 2 Fallen statue with Magpie on barrel of gun for effect.
I was seeing Magpies all over the place in Copenhagen, and had to look them up to identify them. Did you know that the black and white Eurasian magpie is widely considered one of the most intelligent animals in the world? They are one of only a few non-mammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test!
Pictures from Kastellet, a star-shaped 17th-century fortress with ramparts & a museum. And it's a lovely place to wander around.
Again, people all around, but it's all about the timing.
Monument to Denmark's international activities after 1948
This is my favorite picture so far.
The little mermaid...
Bloody tourist crowds at the little mermaid
Seafarers Monument
Just a super cool boat
Scenes near The Genetically Modified Little Mermaid -- this is a fascinating piece of art and there were absolutely no crowds. I prefer it to the original!
I walked from the shore north to the park behind the Danish National Gallery, then across to the Geological Museum. It totally rocked. :)
Amazing Architecture
Finally, I went over to a commercial area near Norreport, checked out the TorvehallerneKBH, an amazing food market, but fairly thick with tourists.
Soaked to the bone, exhausted, but happy I headed back to the hotel (picking up some fancy Danish pizza, if that's a thing) on the way, only to crash and get a good night's sleep.
