We visited the Botanical Gardens a few blocks away from us on a lovely Danish day in August. Copenhagen doesn’t get much sunlight in the winter months, so when you get sunny days- you take advantage.
A few blocks away from the Botanical Gardens is the Kings’s Garden, built in the early 1600s. It’s a beautiful park, full of green space, sculptures, flowerbeds, and Rosenborg Castle. It also has a beautiful Rose Garden, which we strolled through.
xoxo-sk
Andy had a great idea one day- he had read about the Swoop Freestyle Urban Parachuting happening on the Lakes right by our house. I didn’t know what this was, but it sounded cool, and we are all up for trying new things here- so we went. It was crazy. People with parachutes jumping out of helicopters and trying to artfully land on a giant floating island.
Andrew really enjoyed it.
Afterwards, we walked into Norborro for Andrew’s first Danish haircut at the frisør.
We had quesadillas and tacos at La Neta, a very good, cool, causal Mexican taquería. They also sell their own beer and hot sauce. Good Mexican, or at least the kind we are used too, is hard to find in Copenhagen. No hope of American-style white cheese dip on this island.
Andrew was in an adventurous mood and decided to try their hot sauce….
Not pictured- The table next to us felt bad for him. They got some milk from behind the bar for him, it was lactose-free and thus grossed out Andrew. It was very nice of them though. He survived.
Sweets for KRK afterwards.
xoxo-sk
The kids go to Copenhagen International School in Nordhavn. It has over 900 students, and it’s a popular choice for many of the expat families. About 20% of the students are American. It is a beautiful campus that is comprised of four towers (Early Years, Primary School, Middle School, and High School.) Each year has their own floor. It is an impressive building, covered in 12,000 solar panels. The school is a little over 3km from our apartment. We usually bike or ride the bus to get there.
Our bus stop, at the back of Østerport Station.
Showing Neen our classroom view of the water. Depending on the day, there are huge container ships that you can watch unload out the windows.
xoxo-sk
With my parents in town, Andy and I got the chance to visit Prague in the Czech Republic for a couple of days. It was a lovely and very walkable, which we love. We had a great time exploring this beautiful city.
One Uber later, we were at our cute retro hotel in Mala Straná.
The view from the hotel deck.
And guess what was around the corner…
We visited the sprawling Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, a gorgeous Gothic Church, on the grounds. If you know me, you know I was in heaven. I love castles, and this one was impressive.
Some violent angry statues at the palace gates.
The Dungeons.
The Royal Gardens.
After Prague Castle we took a walk (up quite a large hill) to Letná Beer Garden. The weather and the view were perfect.
We ate fresh fried mozzarella (which was life changingly amazing) and sausage and drank Pilsner. Lots and lots of Pilsner in Prague.
Lots of beautiful sights were seen, food eaten, and drinks drank.
The infamous Trdio (grilled sweet dough.)
The Dancing Queen in front of the Dancing House.
We went to The Strahov Monastic Brewery on the hill (lots of hills in Prague, unlike Copenhagen.)
Our last night we visited the John Lennon Wall and had a drink in the John Lennon Pub.
xoxo-sk
First day of school. New country, new city, new school. Super excited.
Lunchroom is behind them, and the library is in the wraparound balcony.
Their classrooms are just across the hall from each other on the second floor..
xoxo-sk
Our first visitors- Billy and Neen came to see us in August. Kids were beyond excited to see them and show them around their new city. We took the train to meet them. It’s an easy train ride from Østerport Station to the Airport Station. Side note- The CPH Airport is not very big and super user friendly (for future reference.)
Along with borrowing Andy’s bike, Billy rented a Christiania bike for a couple days to explore and to take the kids around and to school. These bikes are like cargo bikes, mostly used to cart around younger kids. Very popular with the Moms and Dads. The kids (obviously) loved it. It takes some major muscle to move these things.
Everyone at Nyhavn. Classic Copenhagen.
We went on a canal tour. It went through a bunch of Copenhagen’s canals and inlets. It’s on a flat bottom boat- there are some low bridges it squeezes under.
The Prime Minister’s house (Nyhavn.) The back of the Little Mermaid, and all of the tourists.
And with grandparents, comes McDonalds. Some things never change. McDonalds here is pretty similar to the States- fries taste the same, nuggets may actually taste better. It must be better ingredients. The cheeses actually melts. They don’t really have a breakfast menu, much to Andrew’s chagrin. Also, expect to pay a small fortune for it.
All the McDonalds has put them in a loving mood.
Such fun memories.
And of course with reinforcements here, Andy and I got to go out. First time, by ourselves in so long. One thing we miss the most about Atlanta is our village.
Hygge. Candles everywhere all the time.
xoxo-sk
There are some awesome new things I absolutely love about Copenhagen, especially our apartment. And some things I don’t love. Some things were fixable and some just became our new normal.
We moved in the summer, which was fantastic for the weather. Not so fantastic- the sunlight. In July, the sun rises before 0500, sets around 2145 (945,) and even then it’s not really that dark. When you have a beautiful apartment, with high ceilings and huge windows, it means massive amounts of sunlight. Needless to say, this did not help with acclimating. Curtains (from Ikea, naturally) for the bedrooms were one of our first purchases. Problem solved.
Copenhagen is six hours ahead from Atlanta. Which means I need to wait until at least 1300 to text or call someone. Not a huge deal I know, but it took awhile to get used to. It also means explaining to family that you will not be answering calls or texts if they send them in the evening. Side note- They use military time here. Everywhere. Luckily, I’m used to it, from working in a hospital.
Our apartment has a flat stovetop/oven. It is smaller than ours in the States, as most things are here. After some struggles- thinking it was broken, wondering why our cast iron skillet was the only pan to work, we figured out it was induction. I LOVE it! At least, after buying induction compatible pots and pans. Andy and I don’t know if we can ever go back. The oven doesn’t preheat, it’s just hot?!! We don’t even have a microwave. I am also in love with our instant hot water faucet at the sink. I drink tea, so it was a game changer. I know these things are available in the States, but they are new to us and more standard here, from what I can tell.
The kitchen has a black oven/cooktop and black sink (which is actually really cool looking.) They rest is all white- white walls, white cabinets (they cover the dishwasher and decently sized refrigerator and freezer), white countertops, white tile backsplash, white grout. It looks cool, but is not super fun to clean. Danish cleaning products can’t hold a candle to American cleaning products. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The Danish don’t use all the chemicals we use. Considering Copenhagen has really hard water, harsher cleaning products would be helpful. Alas, you learn to make due with what you have. You just have to scrub hard… and often.
I also have learned to live with the grocery stores here. I go to the store at least 3-4 times a week. The stores are small and don’t always have everything you need. You sometimes have to visit multiple if you want something specific. The options are a fraction of what you find in the States. A positive though, their products don’t have the preservatives that American ones have. But, that does mean constant trips because stuff spoils fast. You can’t buy in bulk. They poke fun at our insistence on big “American buys.” Since we don’t have a car, I can only buy what I can carry too.
I have also learned to live with Copenhagen being more expensive then Atlanta. We knew that going in, but living it day to day is different. It took some getting used to. So far, there are two things, that are cheaper here; wifi and Andy’s Crossfit membership.
ps. K found a little bit of Atlanta in our Ikea.
xoxo-sk
So, much to Andrew’s delight- we have found pizza. And he loves it. He is a tough critic, but has found Danish pizza acceptable, passing his infamous sniff test.
And, we got packages! Kids were so excited. They (and maybe me a little) have missed Cheez-its.
Snacks in Denmark just aren’t the same. They do not have a lot of the pre-packaged snacks that we are used to. Not a bad thing, just different, as we like to tell the kids.
But fear not. American goodies can be found, at a price…
ps.
Andy’s typical Danish lunch. Fish, potatoes, bread and cheese.
At most work places, there are canteens that have buffet lunches for the employees to eat at. Andy’s serves breads, cheeses, cold cuts, a salad bar, and two entrees. And cake on Wednesdays.
xoxo-sk
Our exploration of the city continues… One of our favorite things about Copenhagen is the crazy amount of cool playgrounds they have. Tucked into parks, attached to schools- they are everywhere in the city. And they are awesome. You can’t find parks like these in America (us being so litigious all.)
These are just a few right around our house-
They are very into parkour here apparently.
Also, we went to a service at the beautiful St. Alban’s Church. It’s an Anglican Church in a park near our house.
xoxo-sk
Copenhagen has beaches. Not the kind of beaches we are used to, but beaches none the less. We explored one just a short bike ride north of us, past the kids school. The water was freezing, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. If they had their bathing suits on, they probably wold have gone all the way in- like true Danes. Well, true Danes would have probably jumped off the dock naked. Maybe one day.
Way to cold for me, but they were fine.
xoxo-sk
xoxo-sk 