13 June

I got up nice and early this morning and caught a 7:50 train from Göteborg to København (Copenhagen), Denmark. Most of the ride was pretty uneventful. The weather was cloudy and we traveled through mostly rural areas until we arrived in Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, near the southernmost tip of Sweden.

We were parked in Malmö for about 15 minutes before setting out once again to cross over the Kattegat into Denmark. The crossing was pretty dramatic – we were high above the water for several minutes on a huge bridge before plunging into a tunnel and finishing the last bit of the crossing underwater, finally emerging in the Danish capital, København (pronounced Cope-m-hawm).

What a beautiful city! Apparently the city was just emerging from a week of constant rain showers as I arrived. A friend of mine from high school, Marie LaHaye, is spending part of her summer in Denmark studying psychology and working with special needs children in Copenhagen. She met me at the train station when I finally arrived at about noon, and we spent the day exploring the city together. We visited the historic old town, grabbed some lunch, and finally hit up a grocery store for some dinner fixings. I cooked my favorite dish, lemon ginger chicken, for Marie and her roommate.

I am staying at the Denmark City Hostel, which is conveniently located only a few blocks from the train station and the city center. It is the largest city hostel in Europe, boasting a remarkable 18 stories of rooms. I am on the 13th story, and my room has an incredible view. Unfortunately, the hostel is run by fascists who charge $15.00 for breakfast and $8.00 for an hour of access to their wifi. I am somewhat appalled, but at least the rooms are nice.

As a side note, the bar/café I am in right now is playing Def Leapord. Pour some sugar on me.
After dinner I took a second walking tour through the city to appreciate the pleasant weather and ambience. Being rather exhausted after a long day, I came very close to just collapsing into my hostel, but resolved to explore the city again by night. I was handsomely rewarded by a spontaneous midnight fireworks display just as I arrived at the central square. People streamed out of the nearby bars and nightclubs to watch the display. I asked several Copenhagen natives what was going on, and they were just as surprised as I was.

Just a regular Saturday night, they said.

Marie is good at taking pictures (Gotcha!)

Countless canals

View from my hostel. Nice, yes?

Midnight