Copenhagen - Travel Day

The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen was a straight shot.  No changing trains.  Hallelujah!  I get onboard the train with my heavy suitcase only to discover that there is no luggage area to store your luggage.  It has to go into the overhead luggage rack.  There is no way in hell that I will ever be able to lift my suitcase more than four inches off the ground let alone over my head.  I am in a bit of a panic when a man stops.  His seat is across from mine.  He lifts my suitcase up and all is fine.  We leave Hamburg and our tickets are checked by a train conductor.

My travelling companions are Mohsen (he lifted my suitcase), his son, Radin, and another woman named Jorlinde.  Mohsen and Radin are from Iran and on vacation.  They are on their way to Stockholm.  Jorlinde is living in Utrecht, Netherlands.  She is originally from Belgium.  She's also on the way to Stockholm where she will facilitate at a convention where people from all over the world will have a community dialog about the difference between people and how to create a more understanding society.  I would say that Jorlinde was in her mid twenties.  Mohsen is a lawyer who is 46.  His son is 18.

Mohsen had a big paper bag full of food with him.  He pulled KFC out of his bag - fries, chicken bites and two chicken burgers.  He puts them on the table between us and offers to share.  At first we said no but he isn't one to take no for an answer.  We have a few fries.  He then offers chicken to us.  Chicken?  Oooo, I don't turn that down.  Jorlinde says no.  Mohsen says have some.  She then says she's a vegetarian.  Oops!  Mohsen is quite talkative.  He tells us about his work.  He's the owner of the law firm so can work with his employees via satellite.  His son has just graduated high school.  He has applied to a university in Vancouver to go to law school.  He believes he'll start school in March.   After a while, Mohsen asks for our email addresses so we can get in contact with him if there is ever a time we can go to Iran.  I don't think either of us really wanted him to have our email address but we gave it to him anyway.  I gave him one that I never use.  Mohsen says Iran is an amazing country.  It's just unfortunate that right now, it isn't safe to go there.  I ask Radin if he will be alone in Vancouver.  He says that his father will be there too.  His dad apply for a visitor's visa which lasts for six months.  The mother in me came out knowing that if his father isn't there and if he needs help, it would be nice if he had someone nearbyish.  I told Radin that if he is alone and needs help, he can call me.  He thanked me.   Of course, I hope that doesn't happen.  lol

A while later, Mohsen is digging in his food bag again.  He brings out dates and offers those.  This time, Jorlinde and I both said no and stuck to our guns.  Half an hour goes by and he offers oranges and a banana.  Again, we say no.  Jorlinde, however, ends up with an orange.  No banana for me!  It's fruit!  Mohson then asks if I don't eat fruit and what I do eat on an average day.  Good Lord, more questions.  I tell him.  He says if you come to my house, I will feed you.  I tell him I've just lost a lot of weight and don't want to gain it all back.  He says he plays tennis every day to keep fit.  I think his  definition of fit and healthy is different than mine.

Look at the size of the toilet room in the train!  By European standards, you could put a shower in there!

Two hours into the trip, we cross the border into Denmark.  The border patrol come on board to check our passports.  We travel about 20 minutes more when the train personnel from Denmark come along and ask to see our train tickets and IDs.  We had to show tickets three times!

After four hours and 40 minutes, we arrived in Copenhagen.  It was a relaxing trip.  I was glad to be in Denmark.  It is the country my grandfather, Jens, was born in.  He lived in a northwest town called Thisted.  It is too far from Copenhagen for me to visit.  It would take almost five hours by car to go there.  Interestingly, a friend of mine is from Mors which is 23 minutes away from Thisted.  She was so surprised that I knew where in Denmark she is from.

The Copenhagen train station is quite small compared to Amsterdam and Hamburg.  It was easy to find the exit to Bernstorffgade which is the street my hotel is on.  Out comes Ms. Google.  I typed in the address of my hotel, Wakeup Copenhagen, and set off using the directions I'm given.  It feels like a long walk because I don't know where I'm going and because I've got a heavy backpack on my bag and am dragging my suitcase.  I stay the course, look up and there in big letters are the words Wakeup Copenhagen.  I go into the hotel and decide to use the automated self-check in.  I type in my reservation number and get a message that it doesn't recognize my number.  What??  Am I in the wrong hotel.  I read there are three buildings with the same name.  Please, please no.  I go to the reception desk and am told I am at the right hotel and they have a reservation for me.  Yay!  I get a card that you have to use for the elevator to take you to your floor.  You also need it to get into your room and to turn the lights on.  Have you ever tried finding the tiny slot to insert a card into in the dark?  If not, lucky you.  I get the lights on and look at my room.  Well, this is super cozy and narrow.  It has all I need so that's okay.  I look around trying to figure out what to do with my suitcase.  No closet to unpack so that means living out of my suitcase.  After a few minutes, I spy a board that is attached to the wall.  Turns out if you pull on it, it comes down and is your luggage rack.  Yay, suitcase up off the ground.  I decide to relax but it becomes impossible because the air conditioning is on and it is freezing in my room.  I thought I may not have a fridge but that won't be a problem to keep my pop cold.  I message my mom to tell her I've arrived.  I tell her about my room being a deep freeze.  She says go to the front desk to ask about it.  I do.  You are never too old to listen to your mother!  I'm told I have a thermostat in my room to control the room's temperature.  Oh!  Where?  She explains.  Off I go.  I look around the room and there it is!  Behind my coat that I hung up.  I immediately turn the temperature up and the fan off.  The room becomes warm.  Thank God!

Now it's time to find something to eat.  The closest place to the hotel is a pizza buffet next door.  I decide to go there.  I have now learned I should always go look at what the buffet has to offer before I pay.  There was a salad bar and five different pizzas to choose from for $16.99.  I paid and found the buffet.  First, not one of the six salads had a single piece of lettuce.   They were all some kind of pasta or grain.  The pizza selection wasn't much better.  The only one that wasn't some kind of vegetable (you all know my love for those) was a tomato sauce and Mozzerella pizza.  I took two pieces.  Sat down and took a bite.  No friggin flavour!  It was the worst pizza I'd ever had.  I decide to eat a bit because I paid for it.  Before I leave I make a trip to the bathroom.  If there is a free bathroom in Europe, you go even if you aren't sure you need to.  I follow the signs to get to it.  It's in the darned basement which means what?  Stairs.  Bloody stairs!  I climb down the first set, turn and there are two more.  I look to the left and see a door.  I open it and see a long hallway.  I'm actually a little freaked out because while it's well lit, you are separated from the actual restaurant.  I carry on, open another door and there is the toilet room with your own sink!  Totally weird!

All done so I leave and climb back up the stairs to head back to my hotel.  I'm so glad it's just next door.

The plan for the next day, Tuesday, is to explore the city of Copenhagen.  I have notes of what I want to see.  It will be interesting to learn if I can find anything.  I didn't realize how huge and spread out everything is in this city.  I asked the front desk for a map of the city.  Just about fell over when I saw how far apart the things I want to see are from each other.  I will figure it out.  Where there is a will, there is a way!

Until tomorrow!