TRAVEL | copenhagen ii

Three weekends ago Roman and I went to Copenhagen. It was his first visit and my { second }. This time I also ended up staying in Nørrebro, which, after a second visit, I still consider my favourite neighbourhood. It's pretty quiet, but it's also not without it's share of cool bars and great restaurants.

We also stayed in an amazing Airbnb. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was really really cozy. It was decorated in typical Scandinavian fashion with lots of blank walls, white furniture intermingled with warm grey tones and wooden accents--my style precisely! ;)

It's actually been a loooong while since I've taken my camera with me on travels.

Even though it's not really that heavy (I only use a 50mm prime lens), I've really neglected it
this past year. I didn't bring it with me to Vietnam, Nürnberg, or Prague and it felt really good
to take it out for a spin again.

Since I had it with me for this trip, Roman decided he wanted to learn how to use a DSLR
sowe ended up with a batch of portraits from our impromptu photoshoot. Some turned out
pretty decent and I got to walk away with some photos of me!
Which never happens btw.

On the first afternoon we did our own little biking tour of the city. Since it was

nearing the end of October we weren't exactly cycling in the most ideal conditions.
It was extremely cold and windy that afternoon, I swear I almost got blown off my
bike several times.

And because I'm not the strongest cyclist, I get tired really easily and always need small
intervals of down time in order to recharge. Luckily, just when I was starting to lose fuel we
happened to be close to { Copenhagen Street Food }, CPH's very own hipster food market.

There was also a small Wishing Tree art installation by Yoko Ono. I've seen these trees before in
Japan so I'm not particularly sure how her installation differs from an actual traditional wishing
tree, but anyways, it seemed pretty popular and the wishes were heartwarming but actually
mostly hilarious to read.

One of the places I had to revisit was Superkilen Park in Nørrebro. I went woke up especially early
that Sunday morning just to go and take photos before the park got too busy. That morning I met a
really nice lady who explained the { history of the park to me }. I really admire what the city did
for it's citizens by using art to bring together people from all walks of life.

The rest of the photos were from various points of the weekend. In the end, we had a lovely
time in Copenhagen. I would have liked to stay a little longer so I could have visited the
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art again. Although, I'm not the biggest fan of museums (to
the horror of my art school friends) but the Louisiana museum has got to be one of my
favourites in the world. Maybe I'll get to visit the next time I'm in Denmark, and hopefully
under warmer conditions. 

TRAVEL | copenhagen

It's weird to take a month long hiatus from the blog and then jump back into it as if nothing has changed. Reason for my absence is due to this quarter's overwhelming amount of school work. On one hand the busy schedule was just what I needed after a long break abroad, while on the other hand it leaves me really little time for personal projects.

Back to Copenhagen!

I had never learned to appreciate the sunlight and warmth until very recently. I had only been in Copenhagen a few days before I realised my mood was  effected by the weather. It rained almost the whole time! Usually I'm all about the rain, but rain with the piercing cold of the wind wasn't exactly something I'm used to. I would get very lethargic during cold gloomy days, but on the other hand, it's all the more exciting when the sun finally comes out. Back in California, you end up losing that appreciation for sunshine, where the weather is so "perfect"the days start blending together. Which, by the way, was one of the reasons why I left. I remember my first year out of University, that year just felt like one very long, very boring day...

Despite the lousy weather I had such a blast in Copenhagen. As a graphic designer (in-training), I've always had an affinity towards Scandinavian minimalism and now I was basically headed straight to the source!

I remember being nervous about my budget in Scandinavia. Back in Berlin I could easily live on 20 euros a day, but in Copenhagen it was a completely different story (little did I know it was going to get even worse in Stockholm). However, that didn't stop me from exploring the gastronomy scene in the city. I've always wanted to try Smørrebrød, traditional Danish open faced sandwiches, and after a whole morning of scouting on Yelp I, and a two of my hostel mates, found ourselves heading towards { Torvehallerne }. There we found a huge selection of Smørrebrød at { Hallernes Smørrebrød }. Now that it's been months since my visit I've forgotten what I ordered. But I suppose you can guesss from the photo.

Verdict? It was pretty tasty. We ended up sitting outside because the indoor seating was completely full, which is a shame because I would've liked to enjoy my sandwich in a more comfortable setting. Secondly, I was surprised that everything was slightly pickled; even the fried (baked?) trout/fish thing had a slight sweet tang to every bite. 

I encountered some hiccups along the way regarding lodging. I had originally checked into a hostel in the center of town, which was great at first because I made really good friends there. But it turned out to be a party hostel and halfway through it completely burnt me out. So one morning I checked out, hopped on a bus, and moved across town to { Sleep in Heaven Hostel } in Nørrebro.

Turned out it was one of the best decisions I've ever made because Sleep in Heaven was amazing. I loved my room, the common area, and the sleepy neighborhood. Waking up to Nørrebro every morning was such a treat, which makes me wish that I'd stayed longer.

My usual hostel set up. Here you see my handy quick-dry towel can double as a curtain.

I woke up really early one afternoon and hopped on a train to Humlebæk to visit the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. They're famous for their permanent Kusama exhibition and people from all over the world visit this museum for her Gleaming Lights of the Souls installation. 

I was in New York in 2013 when she was exhibiting her I Who Have Arrived In Heaven exhibition. I remember the line to get into Gagosian Gallery wrapped around the building and Kelly and I weren't prepared to wait 2 hours in mid-December NYC weather for a 45 second show. 

I hope I'll have another chance to visit Copenhagen again soon. Preferably when it's warmer. I hear the city is pretty amazing in the summer ;)

TRAVEL | amager strandpark

There's something a bit prehistoric about Amager Strandpark. Maybe it was the weather, or the dark waters, or the wildness of the terrain. I've never seen a beach quite like this one. The ones that I'm used to usually falls more towards the tropical side of the beach spectrum so this was a breath of fresh air.

I would've loved to visit this beach more than once but by October, the weather was already freezing. And I remember the wind blowing so hard I had difficulty breathing. But despite that I spent over an hour wandering around, taking photos, and watching people kitesurfing. Maybe one day I'll get to see it in the summer.