there's something rotten in the state of denmark

Hello from Denmark! I'm feeling quite sleep deprived and although caffeine is keeping me awake, my brain definitely isn't working at full capacity. Although the first half of my holidays was a lazy, relaxing, sleep in til whenever week in the sun, the second half is a go go go travel and see and do as much as you can, sleep when you get home week.

The first flat we stayed in was close to the central train station. we walked past the sex shops, strip clubs, kebab and shwarma shops, fashionable boutiques, trendy cafes, cool pubs, and fruit stands. We went for a walk around and i took pictures of the hundreds and hundreds of bicycles everywhere. I'd heard about it, but it really is more than i expected. very neat.

we noticed that lots of people were walking about with beer, which is always a novelty when you come from a place where that's not allowed. so we joined the locals and grabbed a couple of Carlsbergs for our walk. at night our street was full of people. a few prostitutes loitered around the sex shops advertising ''erotic lifestyle'', a crowd of questionable men stood about the doorways. further down, groups of friends sat on stoops chatting and drinking their beers. people lined up for kebabs, cyclists rode by, and the occasional car passed. we sat on a stoop and people watched.

the next day, after not getting enough sleep, we hopped on a train to Helsingør. It's famous for its castle - Elsinore castle from Hamlet. It was cool, as castles usually are. The town was very cute too, with all the cobblestone streets and patio restaurants. Then, to make use of our 24 hour train pass, went to a town further north and sat on a bench on the beach, stunned at how those crazy Danes were swimming while we sat in our sweaters. Finally, we stopped at Hillerød and walked to a cute cobblestone (of course) square that overlooked another pretty castle on a lake.

tried not fall asleep and miss our stop on the train back to Copenhagen.

yesterday was a miserable rainy day. i had so much fun! we took the train to Malmo, Sweden where i met up with some old friends i hadn't seen in about 6 years. yes, the weather sucked, but the company was fantastic. we wandered about the city, stopped for coffee just to get out of the rain, napped, and finished the night with a delicious dinner at my friend's flat. i even tried some traditional pickled herring (that wasn't the delicious part) and some salty licorice (nor was that). I had such a good time, i didn't want the night to end!

now we're back in Copenhagen in our new flat. it's so nice! unfortunately, the weather is NOT. it's another miserably cold and rainy day. not sure what we're going to do... kind of puts a damper (haha, punny) on our boat tour plan, or rent bikes plan. i enjoy walking around soaking up the atmosphere, but i didn't want to be so literal on the soaking part.

anyway, time to venture out again, rain be damned!