The Penultimate Entry

Given that Copenhagen was my European home, it was the obvious choice for my last place to visit. After having already seen the touristy attractions, I was free to simply enjoy the great city and my great company, which included Ida from Norway, Kolla, Birna and Maggy from Iceland, Camilla from Finland, Lasse the great Dane, and of course, Alma – my beautiful bicycle.

The Swedish artist Robyn was singing in concert on the Saturday evening, and so the lovely Ida arrived from Norway the same day I arrived from Budapest. I spent the evening having a few drinks and eating lasagna with the boys of Rentemestervej, but Friday morning I took Alma to meet Ida and Camilla for a superbly expensive cup of coffee. The day turned into one of those relaxed affairs that consisted of sitting, drinking, eating, catching up and laughing; one of those wonderful days when your stomach aches from all the laughing.

Ida and I.

Camilla left Ida and me drinking our coffee to head to work, and Kolla joined us for lunch. While we were still sitting in the restaurant, we received an invitation to join Maggy at his flat to take part in the eating of the chocolate cake he was currently baking. The cake was magnificent. Then once Birna showed up and Camilla returned, pizza, several bottles of wine, and much loud singing somehow followed the cake… though I believe the cake also made a late-night appearance. Oh, that cake...

Maggy belting out Elephant Love Medley

On Saturday, Lasse and I headed over to Kasper’s Mom’s hat shop to help out with some spring cleaning chores, and then rewarded our job well done with a canal tour. The girls were hanging around Nyhavn when the boat docked, and we headed out for dinner. Birna and I biked to the concert venue and arrived a good half an hour before the rest of the group. Fortunately, we had a bottle of wine to keep us warm.

The Little Mermaid from the canal tour.

Before Robyn.

My Alma.

The concert was great fun, and a huge bonus for me as Camilla had found me a ticket the day before. Robyn even wrapped up her final encore with a slowed-down version of Show Me Love.

We rolled out of bed on Sunday in time for a delicious brunch at a place called Stella. I’ve been there several times, but I still find it amusing given my fondness for Stella’s, Winnipeg. After saying goodbye to Ida, I wandered around town with Birna and Maggy before ending up in Christiania to enjoy the sunshine and the people-watching.

My last few days passed by in a bit of a blur. Lasse was busy with school, so I amused myself during the daytime reading and drinking coffee in cafes, biking around with Alma, and one day visiting the outstanding Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. I’ve seen a lot of museums over the past few months, and I’m admittedly a bit museum-ed out. However Louisiana more than proved worthy of a visit. It was definitely one of favourite museums, with a fantastic collection of art and an excellent temporary exhibition on Picasso. Even the architecture of the building and the location itself were wonderful.

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Louise Bourgeois

"Get up girl, a sun is running the world."

Rush hour in Copenhagen.

On my last night, Lasse and I made dinner for the household. We made dessert too – zucchini cake. And when Lasse realized that he didn’t have any cinnamon in the house, we made cinnamon “from scratch”. Luckily, he had cinnamon sticks, which were first grinded with some sort of electric contraption, then handed over to me along with a mortar and pestle, and finally sifted into the cake batter. Certainly it was the best cinnamon zucchini cake I’ve ever tasted.

Dinner prep mess.

And now, somehow, I am home again. I was a bit restless on my flights given that flying west meant following the daylight the whole way. But I made it. I am back in Winnipeg.

Jerry was waiting.

The past five months have been an incredible journey, even if I say so myself. It’s good to be home, I think. A bit strange of course, but good. The sky is beautiful, my bed is comfortable, there is peanut butter in the cupboard, hockey on television, and trees, trees, trees on every street. I’m a bit overwhelmed by the clothing in my closet. I have to practice recalling what day of the week it is. I found that I did not forget how to drive while I was away – it’s like riding a bike in that sense. However, riding a bike is way better.

Thanks for everything Europe, you were pretty great.

Sending love from Canada.