A few of my favorite things....
You know that adage that teaching solidifies learning? I believe it now more than ever. I said goodbye to my parents a few days ago after hosting them in Scandinavia for a week. In the process I realized that I've learned a thing or two over the last four months.
It felt good to be the local expert for once instead of the newbie. Navigating the city, pronouncing the street names for them, sharing random historic factoids, finding public transportation without feeling helpless - all recently acquired, important and satisfying skills that I got to show off to my folks.
Torvehallerne (pronounced Toe-helena) Food Hall
Food heaven! Torvehallerne is a covered market, similar to those you might find in Italy and vaguely similar to New York's Chelsea Market. But since this is Scandinavia, everything here seems a bit more organized – and well designed. More than 80 vendors sell their goods inside, so the selection is breathtaking. There is everything fresh fish from the Baltic Sea to fresh vegetable juice (two essentials in my life) to tons of specialty items from different Danish regions, such as ox-meat sausages or, more appealing to my parents' palette, rhubarb juice from Bornholm.
Denmark prides itself on its minimalist style. If you go to a Danish home, you will remark that it is uncluttered, the colors are neutral and the decoration is cozy. So imagine my surprise when I noticed their fondness for gigantic fussy Danish baby prams.
And listening to the baby that's often left out in my apartment's courtyard having conversations with itself...
Copenhagen has more than its fair share of fine buildings, but in my opinion, the most impressive of them all is the modern wing of the Royal Library, also known as the Black Diamond.
The black Zimbabwean marble and glass exterior for which it is named is handsome enough, but it is the stunning interior, with an eight-story atrium featuring wave-shaped walls which made our jaws drop.
Our tour guide also volunteered that it's a great place to meet single men. Thanks for that. Well then, I just may go check out the Soren Kierkegaard restaurant on the ground floor of the library – a stylish, modern eaterie named after Denmark’s most famous philosopher.
It felt good to be the local expert for once instead of the newbie. Navigating the city, pronouncing the street names for them, sharing random historic factoids, finding public transportation without feeling helpless - all recently acquired, important and satisfying skills that I got to show off to my folks.
Planning our itinerary leading up to their visit gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I've grown to love about Copenhagen. Here's the short and sweet Top 5 list:
View from the Top of Our Savior's Church
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| View of the steeple on the canal |
What do I love about this church you ask? Two primary things. Number one by way of a story,
So, my boss hears my new apartment is right near Our Savior's Church and recommends I go check it out. He then mentions offhandedly that in the late 1600's when the church was completed the architect realized the spiral spire on the church's steeple was built anti-clockwise (read: incorrectly) and so he climbed to the top and jumped off. Tragic, right? Yeah, if it were true. The spire wasn't even completed until 50 years after the architect's death. I've gone on to hear this urban legend from a minimum of half a dozen people. Some share it intentionally wanting to propagate the lie and others without having realized the wool had been pulled over their eyes. Whether intentional or not, I love that this lie continues to be passed on.
The second thing I love about this church is how obscenely steep and downright terrifying it is to climb the spire. I can't imagine a structure with such a narrow twisting staircase would be opened as a tourist attraction in the US and if it were to open, the mounting lawsuits would quickly close it.
Torvehallerne (pronounced Toe-helena) Food Hall
Food heaven! Torvehallerne is a covered market, similar to those you might find in Italy and vaguely similar to New York's Chelsea Market. But since this is Scandinavia, everything here seems a bit more organized – and well designed. More than 80 vendors sell their goods inside, so the selection is breathtaking. There is everything fresh fish from the Baltic Sea to fresh vegetable juice (two essentials in my life) to tons of specialty items from different Danish regions, such as ox-meat sausages or, more appealing to my parents' palette, rhubarb juice from Bornholm.
Prams
Denmark prides itself on its minimalist style. If you go to a Danish home, you will remark that it is uncluttered, the colors are neutral and the decoration is cozy. So imagine my surprise when I noticed their fondness for gigantic fussy Danish baby prams.
They are so big that parents can use their pram until the child is about two years old.
And use them they do. You see prams everywhere, most commonly outside of shops and restaurants as parents run errands or have lunch. Now that's a high trust society for you!
Dad loved saying hello to the little ones...
And listening to the baby that's often left out in my apartment's courtyard having conversations with itself...
The Black Diamond
Copenhagen has more than its fair share of fine buildings, but in my opinion, the most impressive of them all is the modern wing of the Royal Library, also known as the Black Diamond.
The black Zimbabwean marble and glass exterior for which it is named is handsome enough, but it is the stunning interior, with an eight-story atrium featuring wave-shaped walls which made our jaws drop.
Our tour guide also volunteered that it's a great place to meet single men. Thanks for that. Well then, I just may go check out the Soren Kierkegaard restaurant on the ground floor of the library – a stylish, modern eaterie named after Denmark’s most famous philosopher.
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| This shot of the exterior from the library website. Not my handy work. |
Danish Center of Architecture
The Danish Center of Architecture greeted us with an exquisite Zaha Hadid exhibit, a bookstore to entertain you for hours and an exquisite cafe overlooking the harbor. And here's the kicker - it's approximately 11 steps from my new apartment. In New York the same walking distance would have gotten me to a bodega or a sex shop but in Copenhagen, I get this...
Mom and Dad, don't forget, you loved your time here so much that you promised you'd come once a year. I'm holding you to that!
More photos from Mom and Dad's trip here.
:) Great post!
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