After I left off last night, I turned on my iPhone and saw that Hans had invited me over to his house for Thai food, along with Jens and Reinhold. Because the invitation was for 6:30, and it was just 5:00, I started off by returning to Jarl's house to drop off my purchases, and then made my way by subway and by bus to Sodermalm. I got there about 15 minutes late, but the guys were patiently waiting for me at the bus stop. We got our Thai to go from a combination pizza and Thai place, and Hans gratiously paid for my meal. After dinner on Hans's patio terrasse it got noticeably cooler, so we moved inside, where Hans put on some French Canadian music, in my honour. He played his Natasha St-Pierre CD, an artist who just happens to have been born on Bathurst. Hans told me that he started listening to the CD of Acadian music I burned for him, and that he really enjoys it. I mentioned that I was still trying to learn Swedish, so Jens started pointed at things around him and naming them in Swedish. He pointed to a knife (kniv), a table (bord), a chair (stol) and Hans (bog, meaning "fag"). Hans playfully hit him on the shoulder.
Around 9:00 p.m., Reinhold suggested we call it a night, so I hugged Hans, and took the subway with Reinhold and Jens. We hugged and parted at the Slussen subway station, and told each other how happy we were to have met. The guys want me to come back again soon, for a longer period, and to celebrate Midsommar with them. I think I'll start saving my loonies and twoonies again.
I was awakened by a barking and crying dog this morning at 7:00 a.m. and got my iPhone out to surf the web and play games. I was in no real rush on this last morning in Sweden. I got ready and left the house around 10:00 to get my customary lemon muffin and water. My plan today was to have lunch at Ostermalms Saluhall, but I needed a bite to eat before heading over. I took the subway to the food halls and marvelled at the sights and smells. The lobster was particularly expensive, at 700SEK a kilo (more than 100 dollars Canadian). I had gone there to have kroppkakor, the Swedish version of poutines râpées, but when I got there, I discovered they had a dish I was hoping to try in Stockholm, Janssons Frestelse. So, I asked the attendant (in Swedish), if I could have a kroppkaka, and a half portion of the frestelse. I was thus able to have both. The frestelse, a dish consisting of shredded potatoes, cream, and anchovies, was absolutely delicious. Because these dishes were served to go, I had my lunch on a park bench facing a small church, exactly where I had kroppkakor the last time I was in Sweden three years ago. As I was eating, a lady came up to me and asked in Swedish if my meal was good. I said it was, She sat on the bench next to mine and we started talking. She used to be a Swedish-language teacher, but at 71, she is retired now. She lit a cigarette and we continued chatting. It was so nice to have a conversation with someone spontaneously. She was really nice. After finishing my lunch, I told her I had a flight to catch, so I thanked her for the conversation, and left the churchyard.
I returned to Jarl's house to collect my things, greeted his next house guest who arrived just as I was leaving (a young lady from Italy), and made my way on foot to the subway station. At Centralen, I chose to pay the 240SEK (40 dollars) to take the Arlanda Express, the quickest way to get to the airport. After 20 minutes, I was there and checking in. I used wi-fi at the airport and read an issue of the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet on the plane. I also snoozed a bit, then picked up the Benny Andersson biography I have been reading. After only about an hour's flight, we arrived in Copenhagen.
As usual, it was a little chaotic at the airport, collecting my luggage at the carrousel (and worrying that it might not show up...), then trying to find my way to the city centre. As I entered the airport, I was greeted by hundreds of Danes waving Danish flags. It turns out they were at the airport to greet some competitors in the Eurovision Song Contest, which is slated to be held next Tuesday, just across the strait from Copenhagen, in Malmö, Sweden. I took the subway, which would lead me to the city centre. At one point, the subway stopped at a station and a large group of young revelers got onboard, dancing and drinking. Whenever the subway stopped, it would shake from all the dancing going on. "No habla americano" was the song they were playing.
I followed the directions Emil and Tinna had given me to get to their house, but it was fairly complicated. After the subway, I had to find a bus. To get the correct change for the bus, I went to the little cafe at the bus station and bought a delicious donut with pink icing, just like in the Simpsons. I got to the house after a long, trying journey, just around 7:00 p.m. I rang the buzzer repeatedly, but no one answered. I tried using my phone, but without an Internet connection, I couldn't get it to work. So I went around the corner to the 7-Eleven and asked the clerk to ring them for me. It turns out they were just visiting their neighbour. Tinna sent me a text message to let me know, but because I couldn't use my phone, I did not get it.
So Emil and Tinna showed me my room. It is nice and spacious. It is a relief to finally be settled in for my stay here in Copenhagen. After having dropped off my things, I wanted to head out. It was 8:00 p.m., and I had not yet had dinner. I was in the mood for something typically Danish, so I started making my way on foot towards the city centre. On my way, I stopped at the Assistens cemetery, a short walk from Emil and Tinna's. I was hence able to visit and to take pictures of the grave stones of Hans Kristian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard. As I walked downtown, I realized that I can actually read and understand a lot of Danish. It looks just like badly written Swedish. For instance, at one point I read the Danish phrase for "and many, many others", which in Danish is "og mange, mange andre", whereas in Swedish it is "och manga, manga andra". So I can actually get by reading street signs and menus. But, as Hans had pointed out, it is impossible to understand anything when the Danes speak because the pronunciation is totally different from Swedish. Even Hans doesn't understand spoken Danish. I would have been curious to travel to Norway, though, because Norwegian and Swedish are so similar, people can communicate with each other even if they speak different languages.
I tried in vain to find a traditional Danish restauranmt, and after about an hour of walking around in the city, I gave up and ate at McDonald's. I was tired, and it was after 9:00 p.m. And all I could find were Italian, Greek, Chinese and Lebanese restaurants! When I got back to Tinna and Emil's, they lent me their computer so that I could write in my blog. But I took so long looking at my Facebook page, that by the time I was ready to blog, they wanted to computer back to watch a movie. So, I blogged a little bit on my iPhone, which was not as easy as it sounds. I went to bed shortly thereafter. And boy, am I glad I brought a jacket, because after my stay in Sweden, looks like I will be wearing a jacket again when I go out because it is so cool, just like in Helsinki.
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