I have a new t-shirt available through threadless.com. This 10 color shirt features black flocking and glow-in-the-dark ink. It's called ME VS. ME ss an homage to human regret. A visualization of the little voices inside your head that have you constantly second-guessing the decisions you make as you travel through life.
Well, I am back in Chicago now. Denmark was one of the top 3 journeys of my life and it has me looking and reflecting on my life. This trip has changed me in ways I cannot put into words. I am so grateful to all the new friends I've made. You made my trip special and I am glad we could share it together. I would be remiss in not thanking my friend Paul Scott for yet another amazing opportunity.
There was one thing I wanted to try that alluded me on our last trip to Copenhagen and that was these open air hot dog stands. I am told they are owned and run by people with disabilities. There was this lovely older lady running one near the city center train station. She could see my fascination and invited me into her stand so I could take more photos. I bought Fransk Hotdog for 20 Danish Krone's with the weak US dollar came to about $5 I think. It consists of a hallowed out roll filled with you choice of mayo, mayo with chopped pickles, ketchup or mustard. I went for the Danish choice which is mayo with chopped pickles. It was amazingly good. My mouth is watering just thinking about now. It was so good I walked back 5 minutes later and asked her for another.
Copenhagen and much of what I saw while in Denmark was bike friendly with dedicated lanes for cyclists. It was really refreshing to see so many people riding from the littlest tike's, a father with his children to elderly. Chicago may have a bike lane but there is always some car parked illegally in the bike lane. It's to bad our city planners did not take cycling into account. To add cyclist dedicated lanes would be nearly impossible now.
These two photos on represent a small fraction of bikes in and around the city center train station. Maybe I should move to Copenhagen and open up a repair shop.
Since I was traveling on a Sunday I couldn't get a train direct to the Copenhagen airport. This meant I would have to stop at the city center and switch trains. I looked at my watch and thought I would have more fun exploring Copenhagen for a couple of hours than sitting at the airport. I had also heard there was some festival which meant many of the stores would be open.
As I walked out of the train station I was greeted by this wonderful shirt. It's nice to see the Danish are worried about Britney too.
I headed toward the familiar, so I went back the area by the Hotel Fox where we had stayed previously. It is a really cool area full of great restaurants and shops. Sadly all the things I wanted to see were not open nonetheless I still enjoyed walking around. I was really sad to be leaving Denmark. I could really see myself making a life there.
On the morning of Sunday November 4th I left Guldagerard, my home for 3 weeks, pulling my suitcase behind. Jen accompanied me to the bus stop. I had to take a bus from Skaelskor to Slagelse to catch the train to Copenhagen.
Along the way I saw what must have been a glow-in-the-dark spider a cast off remnant from Halloween. It was a fitting good bye and one of the things I remember most about my stay. I have never seen the variety and number of spiders I experienced in the center.
Here is a classic Euro go-round a frequent route to the harbor and bar.
I know it is silly and immature but there are lots of funny signs.
Jen Woodin sees me off on the bus as I begin my journey back to Chicago.
Sadly this was my last dinner at the Denmark International Ceramic Research Center. I spent 3 weeks there, but it felt like 6 months. In the end it really started to feel like home and I was sad to leave.
This night we dined on a Mexican spread. It is certainly challenging cooking for 16 people. Each night a team of two had to factor in allergies, vegans and vegetarians. I was worried my trip would involve 100 ways to eat smoked fish but in the end I ate like a king.
