Thursday July 26, 2007

it was raining when i got to copenhagen. no surpise there really, its rained almost everyday i've been in europe. i walked around for a while with my backpack, in the rain, with no shower, after having slept on the floor of a train all night (or rather, TRYING to sleep). so after a few failed attempts to contact the boys i met in amsterdam that i was supposed to stay with, i found a hostel. i felt much better after a shower, and took advantage of the free wireless. as soon as i got online, i found a place to stay. so, even though i'd already paid 110 dkk (= $20) for a room, he had a spare bedroom for me. with a bed. the hostel had like 60 beds in one room, and only 3 showers in the building, plus i'd need to check out by 10 am. so i checked out 4 hour after i checked in. worked out for me though, because guido cooked me dinner. another italian :) i ate 3 times as much pasta as he did. plus, i got to wash (and dry, OMG) my clothes. it was the first dryer i'd come across since my hostel in berlin. he had work to do, so i just spent some time online, made a few phone calls, and went to bed pretty early. good thing i did, he woke me up at 9:30 to kick me out for the day so he could work. i didn't even have time for a shower. he did give me breakfast and a bike. so i decided to go see johannes that i met on couchsurfing. guido lives all the way south, and johannes lives all the way north. i finally got to his house, rang the bell, and no one was home. so i turned around and headed back. it wasn't a complete waste though. i stopped in several parks on the way. there are some really beautiful places in copenhagen. i saw the little mermaid statue. that was the one tourist spot i was determined to hit. i ended up riding that bike for 7-8 hours. no joke. it hurt to sit down at the end of the day. once i got back to guido's house, i got back online and got in touch with johannes. he came and picked me up, then we got his friend shawn and went to christiana. i had heard so much about that place from everyone, that i really wanted to go. its a small community in copenhagen that is self governed. they legalized hash in their community, but are all very much against hard drugs. but the town itself was absolutely incredible. many artists live there, so all of the buildings were covered with amazing graffiti and there were dogs running around everywhere. there was a spot with a few cafes where they were playing music and everyone was just hanging out drinking and talking. the atmosphere was really laid back. then we walked through the woods on a path along the water. we saw the houses of the people that live there. they all live in tents or little shacks that they built themselves. it really is a hippie town. i really loved it. unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures there, so i didn't get many. i did manage to take two of the murals. after that, i went and got my things from guido's house since he was still there working and i went to stay with johannes. he made me dinner and we hung out and listened to music and finally fell asleep at like 5 am. then he walked me to the train station, and i'm on the train to stockholm.

Thursday July 26, 2007

Copenhagen, Denmark