Denmark = Copenhagen, Køge, Ditte, Claus and Birgitte!

         First of all, apologies for not writing for a while - I've been busy! Since I last posted I've traveled to Denmark, and so far I've been having a lovely time. It all began with Copenhagen, which by the way, is an amazing city. Though this time of year is a little dark, the city itself just makes me smile. Maybe it's because I'm part Danish, maybe because I have an amazing couch surfing host, maybe because of the bikes, who knows. Copenhagen, and Denmark in general, just seems to have this infectious positivity about it. Some people might say it is because of the upcoming Climate Conference, but to be honest, I haven't really heard much about that here. Danish people to me are just fabulous.

          Also, I cannot say enough positive things about Couch Surfing, and my experience in Copenhagen was no different. My host, Ditte, is the chillest girl ever! I stayed in her tiny studio apartment for four days, and to be honest it felt like we had been friends forever. The second night I was staying with her I started talking about how I had plans to stay with family for a few days in a small town outside of Copenhagen. I couldn't remember the name of the town, but she told me her parents lived just outside of Copenhagen too, and that it was really easy to get to all of the towns around Copenhagen by train. After digging through my bag for the small piece of paper where I had written down Claus and Birgitte's address, (simply put my Danish Aunt and Uncle, or cousins 09325730453 times removed, or something like that) I told her they lived in Køge. Of course, as luck would have it, her parents live in Køge too! After talking about what a small world it was for about a half an hour, Ditte decided it would be fun to go home for a day, and that the two of us could make the trip together.

          So, come Saturday we both took the train to Køge, spent an hour at the Christmas market (where I purchased some killer cheese!!!) went to the cutest tea shop, and then met her father who offered to drop me off at Claus and Birgitte's house. We agreed to meet up later that night, and said our goodbyes after Claus and Ditte's dad talked for a bit. Now, I know that Copenhagen is supposed to be awesome for going out, but Køge showed us a great time. The night was epic and included an impromptu concert by a band that had played at Roskilde this past summer, tons of Ditte's high school friends, and Hugo's Wine Cellar. Whoever Hugo is, he knows how to party. The other thing that made it a great night was the fact that Claus and Birgitte cooked an amazing meal and, told some amazing stories about my Dad back in the day. Apparently Dad could rival Hugo... who knew?!?! Hahahaha.

           Anyway after spending half the day recuperating Birgitte and I rode our bikes over to Inger's house, (Danish grandmother) and spent the rest of the day chatting, drinking tea and eating massive amounts of marzipan. Sooooo goood! The past few days haven't been as crazy, because I've spent a lot of time planning my next moves travel wise, but I've thoroughly enjoyed myself here in Køge. I've gone on a few bikes rides, which were filled with lots of fields, horses, goats, chickens and even a pot bellied pig. Tomorrow I'm heading back to Copenhagen to stay with Ditte for two more days. I'll meet up with Jonas and Simon, (Claus and Birgitte's sons) on Thursday at Tivoli for another Christmas market (yay!!!), and then take the ferry across from Helsingør to Helsingborg, Sweden where I'll take a train to Stockholm. Until then!