I seem to have accidentally purchased a pamplemousse

Buying things in a foreign language can always be fun. This is how I ended up with a duvet cover instead of sheets — although I have found a way to make my duvet cover function as a sheet — and how I ended up buying grapefruits instead of oranges. I was at the store and found round, small, and orange fruits. A nearby sign said Citron and I was like citrus that must be referring to the delightful orange fruits that are obviously oranges (wrong). It so happens that citron was in fact referring to the nearby lemons. Instead the not oranges were called grape and I couldn’t figure out why. I thought what a strange language Danish is to call oranges grape, but it turned out that they are grapefruits as opposed to their actually edible cousin the orange. I had the unpleasant surprise of peeling a fruit that turned out to be red on the inside, to which I thought maybe they are just blood oranges. Wrong again. No, they are grapefruits. I have half of the one I ate sitting on a plate — I can not bring myself to finish more because it is a grapefruit, which has a fairly vile taste. Oh well at least I have a reason to say pamplemousse.

Construction

There is construction everywhere. Next door they are building an apartment building, the metro and S-tog are being expanded, and a lot of apartments still have the new building smell.

Parts of Copenhagen have the feel of a classic European capital with cobblestone (a paving material that is far more aesthetically pleasing than it is comfortable to walk on), while elsewhere there are signs that it is a growing city.

Growing up in Calgary I was always surrounded by construction, as the city’s skyline expanded and neighbourhoods gentrified. The city was booming and constantly expanding. I get some of that feeling here. There are no sky scrappers going up, or a massive new C-train line, but it feels like a city that is growing, especially in the newer suburb where I live. It feels like it is expanding and becoming more modern.

I am surprised by finding that feeling in older more established cities — I felt it in parts of London too. It seems fitting to a city like Calgary that is still so young, and is really just taking shape. I guess that other cities are never finished either. Copenhagen is not done growing yet, as new buildings and suburbs spring up, and people move towards urban centres.

Culture? shock

Before going on exchange I was warned that there was a chance that I would get culture shock, and find it strange to adjust to fitting into a different culture. This hasn’t entirely been the case. Ultimately the most confusing thing about Copenhagen is the zone system used on the S-tog and metro (mostly because the penalty for having the wrong zone ticket is almost as much as my bike cost and the maps are as clear as mud).

Overall most of the people I hang out with are international students — there aren’t a lot of Danish students in my housing and all of us English speakers seem to gravitate to one another. We are a jumble of people mostly from Australia, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand, as well as the Netherlands and Finland. There is really no natural culture amongst us. Some of us say elevator, while some of us say lift, while all of us complain about how slow it is — sadly I live on the top floor and have managed to paint several masterpieces in the landing while waiting for the elevator. We use different terms, with the Australians and Kiwis sharing a lot, and the Canadians and Americans sharing others. There is an on going disagreement on whether brunch is a favourite meal or a favorite meal — Americans do not use the British spellings of words.

Then there are other subtle differences. A Canadian invited me over for tea and I happily went over, while my Australian roommate fretted about showing up empty handed — apparently tea means a meal in Australia, whereas in Canada tea means a hot beverage. I never know whether to take my shoes off inside, usually it is split but I take them off because wearing them inside is weird. Apparently in Australia only lowbrow people drink beer out of cans or tins, whereas for me it is more efficient than having to clean out a glass unnecessarily. There isn’t really a culture to shock us, because we don’t really have a particular dominant culture. Sometimes differences are quite noticeable, other times they are funny.

Otherwise Danes are a very efficient and sometimes cold people. If you ask someone for help they tell you whether or not they can help you. That is all. Canadians are not so efficient. We are also far friendlier when checking out. One day I will train myself to stand stoically at the grocery check saying only ja and tak. No “have a great day” you crazy Canadian.

Tivoli Gardens

While on our walking tour we were told that Tivoli Gardens is a must see in Copenhagen, that even the locals go there to hang out and grab a beer or a meal, so when some friends invited me I though why not check it out (admission without rides is only 100DKK).

The thing is I hate amusement parks, or more specifically I hate rides. If it’s fast, or involves heights I probably don’t want to get near it. A ferris almost guarantees a breakdown of some kind. So I tagged along, and did not buy the ride pass — though I do enjoy bumper boats and cars, I would rather spend the money on overpriced hot chocolate. The other value that amusement parks have is that they are a great place to take pictures, though this was limited by the rain.

All in all Tivoli was not a bad place. It is said to have inspired Disneyland and I can see why. It is right beside Copenhagen’s central train station, and you can see the Radisson from parts of it. Most surprisingly it is filled with various restaurants and bars. One can find really good (somewhat overpriced food) all over Tivoli. This is definitely a more European approach to amusement parks.

Then at the end of the night there was a huge Danish rap concert. It was crazy to see this huge crowd of Danish people waving their arms and totally into what sounded a lot like the Beastie Boys. I will hand it to them, they were really good. It helped that we didn’t understand a word they were saying and that the crowd had so much energy.

Chalk on cobblestone

Bikes

Rain rain

Fall in Calgary makes up the two most beautiful weeks of the year. It is extremely fleeting. The weather is perfect and mild, and the leaves are changing. It is quite simply beautiful.

Fall in Copenhagen seems to mostly consist of rain — though there are rumblings that it will warm up later in the week.

People usually don’t take me seriously when I tell them that I love rain. I love it the way I love otters, or the colour baby blue. It is something simple that fills me with joy. They usually tell me to move somewhere rainy and see how long it takes me to get over it, how long it takes for it to become annoying.

The last few days in Copenhagen have been rainy. Yes, this does make it a pain to go outside and riding a bike in the rain can be a trying and cold experience — though I will take rain over wind if given the choice, but usually they are partners in crime. At times it makes you want to stay in and do the bare minimum possible. It makes things muddy, messy and grey. Those are just the superficial sides of rain.

Then there is the real side of rain, the simple pleasure of watching the rain fall down outside from a balcony, common room, or back door. Listening to it hitting the ground, steadily coming down. The look of the outline of rain on a balcony, coming close to the door but not quite. There is the joy of bundling up, sucking it up, and families wandering around with colourful umbrellas. There is something peaceful and serene about rain. Last night I went out on my balcony and just watched the rain come down. I thought it may be a bit of a pain, but isn’t it wonderful.

Europa

Orestad metro

Why I don’t miss driving

It’s been almost a month since I’ve driven a car and it’s been quite nice. I don’t miss it, not even a little.

I grew up in a place where you have to own a car to have any quality of life — or to avoid the inconvenience of making the decision not to own one, or worse not being able to afford one. The nearest grocery store to my house was a forty-five minute walk, each way. Or a ten minute bus ride, on a bus that came about once every twenty minutes. Everybody in my neighourhood had to drive to the grocery store if they wanted to pick up some milk.

Now I live a two minute walk from two different grocery stores, a metro station, and a shopping centre that meets almost all consumer needs I may have. The metro is excellent, coming once every four minutes during peak hours and every six minutes during non-peak hours, and then every twenty minutes after mid-night — yes this town has night transit and it is amazing. In Calgary the bars would thin out as last train approached — the time when you could leave and catch the last train of the night. It didn’t make any sense that there was no transit after midnight, especially on weekends. Even just the c-train would have been something.

Then there are every forty-five minute buses, that sometimes don’t come. Or the once every hour bus that you miss when it’s minus thirty and snowing. Or the bus that comes halfway between when the previous bus was supposed to leave and the next bus was supposed to arrive. You are never quite sure whether it is late, or early, or just off. There is a reason everyone owns a car. The problem is that when transit sucks no one takes it, so no one will invest in it and it continues to suck. Thus everyone continues to drive everywhere.

Driving never came very naturally to me. It is stressful and a lot of responsibility. I was always far more inclined to be the passenger if the opportunity presented itself.

Traffic jams were the worst. There is nothing like the feeling of sitting in stop and go traffic knowing that it is going to take an hour and a half to do a drive that normally takes ten minutes. You could be doing almost anything with that time, instead you have your foot pressed on the break, and your eyes locked on the car in front of you scanning for any movement whatsoever. This time feels like it is a total waste. You are not moving forward, and you are not doing anything productive. Instead, the stress builds, and builds. Every time I am in one of these jams I can feel my life getting shorter and shorter.

Then there is parking. A nemesis that bests me most of the time. I am bad at parking. I cannot pull nicely into a tight spot between two cars and then have it so that passengers on both sides of the vehicle can open their doors. I am bad at pulling out as well. I usually feel totally blind just waiting to hit something. Then there are those moments when you are unable to find a parking spot all together and drive around endlessly searching for one. Then it is so so expensive. It always feels like you are throwing money away.

Parking tickets are the cherry on top of this nightmare. In my experience they are mostly arbitrary, and for infractions you didn’t even know it was possible to commit until you read the ticket. You are punished for being a mm too far or too near, or for the shear inability to read signs — an enigma machine is the only sure fire way to decipher Calgary’s parking signs. They are often numerous and confusing. They say contradictory things. Snow lane signs and handicapped signs look very similar. There are a lot of times listed, and a lot of does and don’ts.

I have not parked for a month. I have not walked back to my car fingers crossed I didn’t commit a surprise parking infraction, and I feel so much more content because of it.

Walking, taking transit, and biking are far better solutions. You get a lot more exercise, or time to read. You don’t have to worry about getting back to your car, or about having one beer — although this may not apply cycling.

There is one thing I do miss about driving: blasting music with the windows rolled down. I think it is something I can live without.