#i knew i had to try some kind of pastry while i was in denmark

[weedle-testaburger]

er, yes, I am going finish that croissant

[aupairadventures]

Making Magical Memories in Copenhagen, Denmark:

Our story begins several months ago, on a rainy February day. What the weather was actually like that day is debatable, but in my memory, the sky was gray and rain was pouring dramatically from the sky, perfectly matching my emotions. That was the last day that I would see my friend Karoline, an au pair from Denmark, before she left Nantes and returned home to finish her studies. That day, I was thinking about all the wonderful moments that we had shared together since we met last September and replaying them in my head. Whether we were strolling through antique markets, baking macarons at 2 am in my host family’s kitchen, dancing or laughing uncontrollably, knitting and watching “Skam” together, or driving in my car and singing along to Christine and the Queens, we never failed to create beautiful memories together.

While I felt so happy and excited for Karoline that she would be returning home, I still couldn’t shake a feeling of sadness. As we stood next to the tram tracks in Commerce and hugged goodbye, part of me worried that this might be the last time that I ever see her. Little did I know what the Universe had in store…

Fast forward a month later to March 12, my 19th birthday. After spending an incredibly lovely day in Nantes celebrating with my friends, my host family surprised me with dinner at a delicious restaurant in Vertou. Halfway through dinner, my host dads handed me a little green envelope labeled “Indice Numero 1” (“Hint Number 1”). They explained that there would be a different picture inside each envelope, and every picture was a hint. Based on the hints, I would have to guess what my gift was. (Or else, they warned, if I didn’t guess correctly, there would no gift.) However, as I opened each envelope and looked at each picture, I only grew more and more confused. The first picture was of a cookie cutter in an indistinguishable shape. I stared at it and flipped the paper around, trying to view it from as many angles as possible. After a thorough inspection, I concluded that perhaps the cookie cutter was in the shape of the Virgin Mary. (Why I thought this, I honestly have no clue. It’s just what the shape looked like to me!) This miscalculation led to quite an embarrassing language error. While I was trying to say, “C’est la vierge?” I accidentally said “C’est la verge?” without realizing what it meant or what the difference in pronunciation was. (I’ll let you all Google Translate that one. Hint: It’s not something you want to say loudly in a crowded restaurant.)  

After my host dads’ fits of laughter quieted down after my unfortunate error in pronunciation, I moved on to the next envelopes to discover pictures of a cinnamon roll, a painting of a castle, and a painting of some kind of fancy-looking gate. No matter how hard I racked my brain, I had absolutely no idea what all of these seemingly random things had in common. I had no clue what in the world the answer could possibly be!

Finally, after it became clear that no matter how hard I tried, I  would never guess correctly, my host dads took pity on me and handed me the final envelope. When I opened it and read what was written on the piece of paper tucked inside, I nearly burst into tears of happiness. In total disbelief, I clasped my hands over my mouth, totally overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of my host family.

On the paper was written:  “Pack your bags, Shanti! You’re going to Copenhagen to see Karoline!”

The words “excited”,  “happy”, and “grateful” don’t even begin to describe the emotions that I was feeling that night. I felt absolutely overjoyed that I was going to see Karoline again soon and that I would have the incredible opportunity to travel and explore a new place with her. I also felt completely overwhelmed by the love and kindness that I had received that day from all of my loved ones. My heart was glowing brighter than every star in the sky and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have been blessed with so many incredible people in my life. I felt so grateful towards my host family for everything that they have done for me, starting with them choosing me to embark on this adventure with and allowing me to become a part of their family. I was so thankful for their beautiful gift, which means more to me than they’ll ever know.

After I came back to reality, my host dads explained to me how all of this had come about. They explained that before Karoline had left Nantes, they had found her contact information by scrolling through my list of friends on Facebook. They then reached out to her to organize a time where I could fly to Copenhagen to see her.  The three of them were in cahoots and forming an elaborate, top-secret plan, the whole time! When I hugged Karoline goodbye in February while saying, “But what if I never see you again?!” and she told me not to worry, she had good reason to say so. When I told my host dads that I was feeling down because it had been Karoline’s last day in Nantes and they said, “Ne t’inquiete pas, ça va aller,” they also knew exactly what they were talking about. Looking back, they all did a remarkably good job of keeping everything secret; I suspected nothing!

I think that I said “Merci beaucoup” to my host dads about a thousand times that night, and hugged them both at least a hundred times. I couldn’t shut up about how happy I was, even though no words exist in neither French nor English to sufficiently express the extremity of my happiness or gratitude.

After weeks of excited anticipation, the moment for my reunion with Karoline finally came on Tuesday, May 7th. When she came to pick me up at the airport, seeing her face in person, rather than on my phone screen, made me so incredibly happy. I couldn’t wait for the three days that lay ahead of us and all the memories that we were about to make.

From the airport, we took a short metro ride into the city center, during which we talked excitedly, thrilled to be reunited. Our first destination was the former meat-packing district of Copenhagen, which is now filled with tons of cool restaurants. Here, you can find almost any kind of cuisine imaginable. For lunch, Karoline brought me to one of her favorites: a Mexican restaurant called Hija de Sanchez for some deliciously spicy tacos. 

Although it rained while we were eating and just after we left the restaurant, a beautiful burst of golden sunlight began to shine through the parting clouds as we made our way into the city center. I immediately fell in love with Copenhagen: Whether I was looking around the little streets filled with funky, colorful boutiques and cool cafes, or the grandiose buildings and impressively beautiful palaces and royal residences, I loved everything that I saw. One of my favorite parts of the city was Nyhavn, the port in the center of the city that’s lined with vibrantly colored buildings. I especially loved the way the sunlight and the colors of the nearby buildings reflected on the water, making it look like a swirl of watercolor paints. 

After relaxing in a cafe housed in one of these colorful buildings, we set off to find the statue of the Little Mermaid. (As it turns out, that picture of the cookie cutter was actually in the shape of a mermaid! How I confused a mermaid for the Virgin Mary, I have no idea.) Along the way, we found some Lime scooters and hopped on them, in hopes of making the journey a bit quicker and easier. While we definitely had a lot of fun racing through the streets, my experience on the scooter has made me realize a few things: One, I have a fear of speed. Two, I have terrible balance. And three, are we sure that these things aren’t dangerous at all? When we reached the Little Mermaid statue, I fell in love with the view of the sea and the way that the sunshine sparkled on the bright blue water.

For dinner, Karoline took me to one of her favorite restaurants in Copenhagen, called Mahalle Lebanese kitchen. After having the most incredible meal, I decided that this is officially one of my favorite restaurants in the world. Out of all the delicious things that we tried, our favorite dish was the flatbread “pizza” topped with hummus, olive oil, halloumi cheese, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and spices. For anyone traveling to Copenhagen, this restaurant is a must-try! We had a lovely time at dinner, using the moment of relaxation to talk, laugh, tell stories, and catch up on everything that’s been going on since we’ve last seen each other. 

After dinner, we took the metro to Karoline’s parent’s house, where we would be staying. We entertained ourselves during the long metro ride by me trying (and miserably failing) to correctly pronounce the names of each metro stop in Danish. When we finally arrived at our stop,  I got to meet Karoline’s mother and brother, both of whom were so incredibly sweet and absolutely wonderful hosts!

On Wednesday morning, we started off the day perfectly by going to a nearby traditional Danish bakery to pick up some pastries and bread. When we got back to the house, Karoline put together a delicious breakfast of tea, bread with cheese and blueberry jam, orange juice, and cinnamon buns. After we finished eating, we set off for another day full of adventures. First, we visited the Kronborg castle in a town called Helsingør, which is actually the castle that inspired William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. One of my favorite things about the castle was that it stood right on the edge of the sea and that across the water, you could see the coast of Sweden. After we finished exploring the castle grounds, we strolled around the adorable streets of Helsingør, which were lined with lots of cute shops and old half-timbered houses. Next, we took the ferry and popped over to Sweden. Yep, Denmark and Sweden are so close to each other that getting from Helsingør, Denmark to Helsingborg Sweden only takes 20 minutes by ferry! We spent several hours in Helsingborg, where we got lunch at a great restaurant called Cafe Mezo and then walked around in a lovely flower garden. So, even though it was just for a bite to eat, now I can add Sweden to the list of countries I’ve visited! 

After we returned to Denmark, we visited the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in a town called Humlebæk, which was a really cool and interesting experience. The museum and its grounds, which stood at the edge of the sea, were absolutely beautiful. There were tons of intriguing expositions, interactive installations, and impressively creative artwork everywhere I looked. One of my favorite expositions was one of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms, called “Gleaming Light of Souls.” The dark room was lined with mirrors that reflected the many colorful, glowing orbs that hung from the ceiling, making for a surreal, disorienting, and beautiful sight. I absolutely adore Kusama’s work, because I love the way that she creates these fascinating worlds where the viewer can fully immerse themselves in her artwork. I absolutely loved this museum and highly recommend it for anyone interested in art.

Shortly after we returned home, we ventured back to Copenhagen to go out to dinner with Caroline's mother and brother. Karoline found a great organic restaurant called BOB Biomio Bistro in the meatpacking district. This restaurant is perfect for vegans and vegetarians, as it offers many delicious meat-free or animal product-free options. I don’t even remember exactly what I had or what it was called, but I do know that it was absolutely delicious and that I would highly recommend it! This restaurant is perfect for any vegan or vegetarian travelers looking for healthy options.  As we ate dinner together, I really enjoyed spending time with Karoline and her family and felt so grateful to the three of them for welcoming me so kindly into their home and making my experience in Denmark so magical.

On Thursday, my last day in Denmark, I woke up feeling sad to know that I only had a few hours left with Karoline. But, at the same time, my heart felt full and happy as I thought about how wonderful this trip had been and all the new memories that we had made together. After another delicious breakfast, we drove into Copenhagen, listening to our favorite Christine and the Queens songs the whole way. We started off our last morning in Copenhagen by grabbing some hot chocolate (and another cinnamon bun, of course!) at a cute cafe called the Coffee Collective Cafe. Next, we braved the rain and walked around the Nørrebro neighborhood, which is known to be loved by hipsters, artists, and students. Also located in the Nørrebro area was the Assistens Cemetery, which is the burial place of many famous Danes, such as fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. As the rain came down, we strolled through the surprisingly beautiful and peaceful cemetery. I’ve realized that while this is not true of many other cities, Copenhagen is a city that works in any weather, even in the rain. The dark gray skies make the bright orange and red brick buildings stand out, making this city look even more gorgeous in less than ideal weather. So, if the weather forecast for your trip to Copenhagen looks bleak, fear not! You’re sure to fall in love with this place, rain or shine. 

Our last destination before we headed to the airport was the French Bookstore and Cafe, or Den Franske Bogcafe in Danish. This shop was absolutely adorable and was the perfect place to seek shelter from the rain and find some gifts for my host family at the same time.

Saying goodbye to Karoline at the airport was difficult, as I know that it will most likely be quite a while before I see her again. However, I was so happy and grateful that have been given such a beautiful gift that allowed me to see her again, spend time together, and make so many new memories with her in such a magical place.

Karoline, thank you so much for everything! Thank you for being the most incredible friend, Danish language teacher, and tour guide. I can’t wait for you to visit the US with me one day and to show you all of my favorite places!