As a self-proclaimed introvert, it's a myth that introverts do *not* need friends. We get lonely too, and if I had to stay in Copenhagen for four months without anyone to confide in, I am pretty sure that I would be driven to a depression. This would be especially true during the tail-end of October, where the skies on most days would be covered in the signature Copenhagen gray.
If I had to do this experience all over again, I would definitely schedule my activities so that all the outdoor ones such as park visits and excursions outside of Copenhagen proper would be situated in August to September, where it wasn't impossible to work up a sweat in the afternoon. There was, however, a silver lining (or a golden lining, if you will) to all of this. Thankfully, with the coming of fall, it would be my first chance to experience the season itself--and boy it did not disappoint. I observed the tree outside of my house where I parked my bike grow from a vibrant green color to a melancholic orange in less than two weeks after the end of September. The lush sights and smells of Frederiksberg Garden took on an entirely different vibe and encouraged sentimentality and slowness. The days growing shorter only made the brilliant colors of twilight more noticeable in the evenings as I saw the dull sunlight peak through empty alleyways and the quiet streets where I lived. The grand promenade of Assistens Cemetery was wonderfully bathed in a new orange light; any photographer would be delighted to spend hours simply capturing the city during the golden hour. The sights were wonderful of course, but I think the cherry on top were the friends I made in the first two months of being here. I took enjoyment in the simple things, strolling and stopping by random points of interest as our small group commuted our way around the city whenever we weren't busy. We scouted and discovered locations like restaurants, venues, parks, and other landmarks, ate and cooked at each others places (an activity that is pretty much the pinnacle of hygge), and just enjoyed each others company and time. The weather seemed perfect for that, and now that we had gotten used to living here in Copenhagen, I think my group of friends spanning from South East Asia to South America could feel that too. I remember watching the World Cup at an Irish pub with three Brazilians, a Japanese person, and a guy from Wisconsin. As we cozied up eating fries and throwing out foreign curses that we just learned, I could hardly remember the gray weather. My Singaporean friend Hui ate at Ramen To Biiru, a restaurant that I would surprisingly rate as one of my favorites because of its authenticity and the overall atmosphere of the place which paid respect to all things Japanese from its vending machines, to its display figurines, to its Japanese inspired beer. I did things that I never would have imagined doing by myself, like watching a classical music concert or going to multiple art museums. One of my favorite places to hang out with my friends during the fall and winter time was the meatpacking district, a industrial looking section of the city that had ethnic restaurants and unique venues. One of those venues was a place called "Kaf & Console," a small apartment sized cafe/bar whose main selling point was the fact that they had all you can play game consoles from the Nintendo Switch to the Nintendo Game Cube; hell they even had Guitar Hero 3 on the PS2, a favorite of mine from my childhood. But all in all, I think what I cherished the most from all of this weren't the places themselves. I'm pretty sure I would have been happy doing the same thing in some other part of the planet. Rather, I realized that what made this whole adventure worth it was just the company I was with. I realized this would be a lesson I would carry for the rest of my life, no matter where I was
0 Comments
Hui and I had one goal when we booked our flight to Sweden: go husky sledding. In fact, before we even expressed an interest in traveling to Switzerland together, Hui mentioned that one of the top things in her bucket list was to go husky sledding. It took us a few stressful nights to find an open husky sledding tour that was actually available in between our times of arrival and departure, and besides our usual planning, we also had to map out the routes to our appropriate train lines as well.
Eventually, we honed in on a morning tour run by "Husky Tours Lulea," which of course happened to be in the small town of Lulea on the northern part of Sweden. Before our 3:00AM train to the town itself, we were lucky enough to have time to visit Stockholm, and more specifically, its old town of Gamla Stan. I couldn't help but make comparisons between Copenhagen's architecture and way of living compared to Sweden's while we were walking around the cobblestone-paved streets there, and honestly, there wasn't much differences we could find. We simply enjoyed our time people-watching around the square. The two of us also visited a few landmarks like the Stockholm Royal Palace, and the "Alley of Marten Trotzig," a small alley only 36 centimeters wide (making a pretty cute and unique photo op!) The time eventually did come to take our train to Lulea, however, and I think the two of us could feel the excitement we had for this once in a lifetime experience. We paid a pretty penny for this, and we were hoping that everything would turn out fine seeing as this was our last excursion outside of Copenhagen. Even though I thought I had prepared for this, I was NOT prepared for the cold. The two of us packed a heavy coat, tights, and gloves, but when we arrived in Lulea, even a simple grocery trip to buy breakfast would leave us aching to go back inside as quick as possible. It was made worse by the fact that my friend had acquired a pretty nasty blister because her boots did not break in yet. Waking up at four in the morning the next day was also a pretty arduous task as we had to wait nearly half an hour in the freezing cold for our first bus transfer (then a subsequent three-hour train trip!) to the actual sledding location. In the beginning, the both of us were somewhat shy to ask for guidance about things like tickets and direction--especially with the internet on our sides--but by the end of this trip, we did not hesitate. We were driven in a van by the tour guide to the Husky farm, and as soon as we saw those dogs, the two of us knew we were in for one memorable ride. I could feel all of my worry fade away when I played with the huskies, but the hour-long sledding tour itself was one of the most unique moments of my life. The two of us took turns driving the huskies as we followed a small procession of other sleds manned by tour guides and tourists alike. As we travelled through the lush and sometimes bumpy terrain of the snowy steppes of Sweden, I was amazed at how blue everything was. The exhilaration and adrenaline of driving the sled seemed small compared to the wonder the both of us felt at frozen lake we passed by. The both of us expressed surprised at how quiet everything was as well. For me, it was the most rural location I've ever been in my life. The sight of the sun rising to meet our faces marked the end of the tour, and as we sipped on our hot coffee to warm ourselves up, I knew that we participated in something truly special. |
Matthew Calulot
Aloha! I am a fourth-year Marketing and International Business student currently studying at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. I have never been to Europe before, which is exactly why I wanted to study abroad as a student from Hawai'i. Archives
January 2023
Categories |