Mental Gymnastics

A Week in Denmark

What a week! We spent 2 nights in Copenhagen and got to walk around town, only to discover empty streets (it was a holiday). There were a lot of European tourists though, and for the first time in my life, I actually felt small (literally!) On Sundays and holidays, all the shops are closed, save for a few souvenir shops which closed at 6pm. The locals were nowhere to been as it is a Danish habit of staying home (probably getting drunk) during holidays. We walked to and from the Admiral Hotel to the Little Mermaid, to Nyhavn, through Stroget, and up to Hans Christian Andersen boulevard. What a hike!

Monday at past noon, our bus picked us up from the hotel and brought us two hours later to Svendborg. Svendborg is a quiet and provincial town with picture-book houses and turn of the century shops. It was another ghost town by the time we got there since it was WhitMonday (a Danish holiday). It's pretty frustrating to have the mall just across the street from your hotel and never find it open. Our host treated us for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. The next morning, we were suprised to see the same breakfast (from the other hotel) being served in Hotel Svendborg. I was getting a bit sick of sausages, ham, cheese, yoghurt, butter and bread but it's what we get everyday even until our last breakfast buffet in the quaint Hotel Dan in Copenhagen that was near the airport.

Tuesday was the start of our 4-day workshop held at Christiansminde. (What a workshop! Brainstorming galore!!) The weather's pretty cold (like Baguio without the Sun) or windy with occasional rain. We saw people walking the streets with a beer in their hand. And it seemed like a Danish norm to be drinking beer or wine on every meal. True enough, i got woozy every after dinner so sleep was easy to come by even if the sun's still up.

So the week's passed by like a breeze. It only felt longer whenever I'd find myself waiting --for the others to get done, for food to be served, or for the phone to ring. Denmark's great! There's so much to explore but either way, I'm really glad to be home.

See pics: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/kayeqv/album/576460762403698087

posted by kquill @ 6:17 PM