Once again in Copenhagen! (17th-19th Sept 2010)

After a period of teaching in Turku I managed to organize a trip for myself and eight friends. We are all members of a photo club called Pictura vid Åbo Akademi (see link), that is, our photo club is a club at (the Swedish speaking) Åbo Akademi University. 2011 is my third year as a board member and I'm our Excursions Manager! :)


On this particular trip we all made individual reservations for the travel tickets, but we arranged for a hotel for the whole group and planned some activities. I took the direct flight from Turku with Blue1. (It's lovely to have a direct flight from Turku to this Scandinavian metropol, and if you book your flights in advance, you can get tickets for a reasonable price.)


Our group was staying at a hotel in Frederiksberg not too far from the city center (Cabin Express, Frederiksberg). "Walking distance" is of course a subjective thing, but for me it was within walking distance. The hotel was quite affordable and quite OK for a few nights' stay (though on this particular weekend they didn't have breakfast due to some broken water pipe). Okay. After checking in, we had some free time and a few of us went to Jensen's Bøfhus for dinner: I had a nice, big burger with a salad buffé.


After our meal I realized I had just enough time to go check out some tango shoes. I arrived at the Dance & Gym Shop just in time before closing, got some help from an Swedish speaking sales woman. Very quickly I ended up buying a pair of beautiful, well designed Rummos tango shoes - and I haven't regretted one moment that I bought them!! They are absolutely essential for my dancing and worth every penny!!


After my shopping session I headed to a Brewpub, where we were to meet up with local photographers from Københavns fotografiske amatørklubb (KFAK). Some of us had Brewpub's own beer, some of us ate a meal - all in all we had a lovely time with KFAK and I'm glad we have had some continuous co-operation with them.


On Saturday we had a lovely breakfast at a nearby coffee shop and after that we went to Vores Frelsers Kirke (Our Saviour's Church), which I had visited on my previous trip in July (see article here). It was a windier day and the tower swayed a little bit from side to side and it was awful! I'm not particularly afraid of heights but this was a fit frightening... After the church tower scenery, we went to The Royal Library AKA The Black Diamond - absolutely one of the loveliest buildings in Copenhagen and one of my all time favourites! Unfortunately the exhibits were being changed so we couldn't get in.. We wandered around. It was windy and cold. Had some DELICIOUS sushi at some restaurant (can't remember)... 


After our sushi meal I had some free time. I decided to go visit Marjaana: even though Marjaana had moved, she had still stayed close to the only bus route I know in Copenhagen!:) It wasn't difficult to find her and we went to a cute little coffee shop in Amager.


In the evening we had planned to go see Tivoli By Night and it was just as beautiful as you could imagine! It was a cold and windy day, so it was a cold and windy night. We spent some of the time taking in some warming spirits at a couple of pubs;) After the long day was done we were all very tired! I left way too early in the morning, while the rest of the group stayed...


Phew. It's taken me a while to get this written! And for a grande finale: here are some photos!

View from the church tower.

The Royal Library, view to the sea.

Coffee with Marjaana.

A photo I had framed for our 
Copenhagen exhibition.

Grand Central Station by night.

Grand Central II.

Tivoli by night <3

Copenhagen (2nd July 2010)

"Phaenomena Faroensia"
This is what this linguistically inspired writer decided to call a phenomenon that struck her (=me) in Copenhagen (although I have not had the linguistic ambition to sort out whether the term is grammatically correct or not;). 


So, on my first day in this Nordic metropol, I was strolling down the street with nothing in particular to do and I randomly met a couple of Faroese guys on their way to the Roskilde Festival. The other guy (Heini) had given us a lecture about religion and the Faroe Islands (see link here). We chatted for a bit and I arranged for an interview by e-mail... I thought that this was an awesome coincidence:)


On that same day I was waiting for my friend Marjaana to get off work and then I at some point remembered the BBQ-party my course mate Hjørdis was having at her place (see text below). We had our first Nordic/Faroese gettogether just a few days after the course was over!


The third phenomenon was the fact, that my friend Marjaana had organized for us to stay at a friend of hers - this friend was half Faroese and going on a holiday to meet her Faroese family! Learning about her heritage, I started paying attention to the decore in the apartment. I was baffled that I hadn't noticed it before - there were subtle giveaways all over the apartment: A Faroese calendar, Føroya Bjór (Faroe Beer) playing cards, postcards and photos.. Here is one picture of Marjaana's friend's lovely home (hoping this won't offend her, I just simply loved the apartment!) Can you spot the Faroese giveaway in this picture below? :)  (Click on the photo to enlarge)

Art and books well organized at 

Marjaana's friend's place..

Copenhagen (1st July 2010)

In the morning after a good night's sleep, me and Marjaana had a wonderful breakfast outside. We were barefoot. The sun was shining and it was really warm. Compared to Tórshavn it was like another planet (no clouds, no rain, no fog) and it felt really strange at first. Luckily I could adjust quickly!:)


Marjaana lent me her bike and we took the traditional Danish way into the heart of the city: we took the bike route, and this one was the scenic route via the Amager beach. It was so nice! Here are a few pictures.

Me and Marjaana at Amager beach.

Marjaana had to go to work so I had Copenhagen all to myself! And riding a bike in Copenhagen is definitely the way to experience this lovely Nordic metropol by the sea. Note that the Danish are very, how should I say, strict about the rules of riding a bike: signal clearly where you're going and, most preferably, ride your bike fast and with a fierce attitude. I went to the Royal Library and Vores Frelsers Kirke (Our Savior's Church), which is also a high point above CPH. 


I had a lovely lunch at the Library, I recommend the restaurant there. The food was tasty at a good price aka not too expensive. The library also has a very nice gift shop and the Danish Museum of Photography is also located in the same building. I went and saw the exhibition and it consisted of very brutal stories of violence against refugee women in Denmark. The women were more or less under the control of their sadistic husbands or boyfriends.

Lunch at the Royal Library.

The Royal Library.

Me at the top of the church tower.

View from above.

Oh yes. Those are my shoes. Awfully high above ground zero!

Biking around I got lost a few times, but that didn't matter because I had some free time alone before Marjaana got off work. And on my adventures I met a stork!

A stork in the park!

Ice-cream in Nyhavn, central CPH.

After a few hours of solo adventure, I met Marjaana in Nyhavn for some ice-cream. Then we went home and bought food and wine and had a lovely time. After a long day of adventures in the fresh sea air, I didn't have to wait long for sleep to come find me!

From Tórshavn to Copenhagen (30th June 2010)

Once in Copenhagen I took the train to the Central station, where I left my bags in a locker. I had some time on my own, since my friend, Marjaana, was still at work. So I strolled around the city doing everything and nothing in particular. I went to the shops I usually go to, picke up food where I always pick up food (my cousin showed this Chinese take away restaurant to me in 2004, see photo). I took some photos at Rosenborg castle and on the streets.

Easy and comfortable: Chinese Take Away 
from a familiar restaurant. 

And Adidas sneakers:)

Cute guys showing off their street dance skills!

Rosenborg castle, in the heart of CPH

Detail of Rosenborg castle.

The funniest thing happened when I was walking incognito on the streets of Copenhagen: I actually met the guy (Heini) we had had to give us a lecture on religion&politics! Apparently when you know someone from the Faroe Islands, you immediately meet them on the streets of Copenhagen:) You can find an entry of Heini's lecture by clicking this link. Heini was on his way to Roskilde: I want to go there, too, some day!

Finally when I got tired of walking, I went and sat down at the Danish Film Institute. I noticed that the Film Institute had free wireless Internet, so I opened my computer. I decided to check where my course friend, Hjørdis' BBQ-party was being held at. I was aware of the party, but I hadn't had the time to check the adress while still in Tórshavn. It turned out that Hjørdis lived quite close by to the Film Institute (well, close by is relative as you know, but within walking distance for me!). So I sent her a text that I'll be coming to her party after all!

Waiting for food to get ready:) Hjørdis to the right.

I walked briskly for a couple of kilometres and took a pitstop at a local food market: bought a few ciders, grapes and candy for the BBQ-party. When I arrived the pittoresque backyard was full with lovely Nordic people: many Norwegians (Hjørdis is also Norwegian), one Swedish guy and one Finn (=me:)! I couldn't figure out where all the Danish were, though, but my guess is Roskilde:)

The food was awesome and man was I HUNGRY! Many different delicious things roasting on the barbeque, accompanied by salads, fruit and veggies, dessert, wine and cider. The atmosphere was welcoming and warm and it was nice to meet up with Hjørdis so soon after the course in Tórshavn. I was a happy girl!:)

After a nice meal, good food in good company, I had to head downtown to meet up with Marjaana, who had gotten off work and dinner with work friends. It was late, so I just left my stuff at the Central station and we went straight down to Amager to "our" appartment. I was going to stay at Marjaana's friend's place for a couple of days, my flight to Turku wasn't until Friday. But right then and there, it was time to get some sweet sleep! I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Day 24 (Wed): Bye bye Faroe Islands, Hello Copenhagen!

Weather: a bit foggy, but no rain
Walked: very little, only down to the bus terminal

This day was a sad day. It started with a nice breakfast with Mrs. Fanny. We had also a Danish man staying in the house for Bed and Breakfast, so we were three at the table. It was inevitably time for goodbyes and then I walked down to the bus terminal.

I had my last look at Tórshavn while walking with my big backpack. I had  had a wonderful in Tórshavn time and I would miss it all.. On the bus I looked at the sheep on the green hills, the foggy skies and listened to people talking.


I was good and early at the terminal. Boarding and the security check went well. On the flight to Copenhagen I sat next to a young mother who had two sons. The younger one was still a baby and sat in his mothers lap, but the older one was probably around four or five. I played with him and helped him build his Lego-toys and we had small discussions in Danish. They were on their way to visit the Danish grandparents and obviously the mother was pleased to have me help with the kids and keep the older one occupied. I must admit though, that I was the "Funny lady" because of the free drinks the flight attendants were serving!:)

My turkey sandwich, red wine and Cola. Coffee and Bailey's afterwards:)

Atlantic Airways (see link here) is a good company: good service and customers are valued!:)