Kbh after DK

This is our first winter fully surviving here in Copenhagen. All these years we rarely came here in winter on business or just for fun, but when we did, the overall impression was not the most pleasant one. Usually we had bad luck and the days we visited were grey and gloomy, and it was not just disgustingly frosty, but dank. All around were not just grey, but also cold and frozen to the gut. It was hard, even for a few hours.

But now we are slowly drifting into mid-February, and a whiff of spring can already be felt. it's been a beautiful winter, actually. Not everything is as terrible as many have warned us and what we seem to have experienced ourselves in the past. The worst expectations have not been met at all.

The winter was, for the most part, easy enough. There were days when things didn't go well, but it had little effect on the mood, by the way. Yes, it's hard to be active in winter, you don't want to go out, and the daylight hours are very short. There are not many social places in Copenhagen, let's be honest, so yeah, it was not really so cool in that sense. But it wasn't the weather, it wasn't the short day, the twilight, the cold and the long rains. It's not about that at all. It's about having nowhere to go and no one to spend time with. Sadly. We have to make something up. But the weather has nothing to do with it.

So, while we were running in a light drizzle, we happened to meet a few people who spoke Russian. Then I caught myself thinking that for my child, despite his being totally out of his language environment by birth, his own mother tongue would not be anything strange, unusual or rare here in Copenhagen. This is a very unexpected discovery for me. Perhaps for the first time here in Denmark, I felt that I, or rather we, are now quite safe in this space.

Many say that there is nothing to write or even that you mustn't write anything, but I already knew at the beginning of the year that I would have something to say at the end.

We moved to Copenhagen this year. We spent a fucking fortune to move here and we spend a lot of money every month, Copenhagen is really expensive, you can't help it. But the quality of life - it just doesn't compare with what it was. The quality of life is much higher.

One more thing. For me it's obvious: It was exactly in Copenhagen I met my Russian doctor, who referred me for treatment in just a couple of months. The fact that she's from Russia is key, but the doctors here are faster, more caring, they do their job.

In fact, this walk overlapped with our usual bus rides in many ways. The thing is, while I' m on the bus, I tend to flag down interesting spots and sort of make a mental note that I have to go back and take a picture. That's why part of my walk yesterday was exactly the places that were hanging out somewhere in my mind. The action is finally complete and I can move on.

This walk, by the way, gave interesting insights. On the one hand, I feel completely confident and familiar with the city, I understand and know its structure, its logic, so to speak, but at the same time, I feel that I am missing something. I realise that I don't yet have anything to anchor myself to and create my own map of the city with my own emotional nodes. So I will be exploring and experiencing.

🌠

Here are photos only from Nørrebro 💫

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Last Sunday we cancelled our plans at the very last moment and didn't regret it. We took a little walk and enjoyed a cozy Sunday morning. Sure, it's autumn already in town, but it's still kind of comfy in its greyness. Especially not everything is as grey as one would like to think and see.

Today we circled around Vesterbro, just walking through that subtle crystal drizzle that wiggles in the air like a thin veil.

🍁💦💫

#danish #Denmark #Copenhagen #københavn #blogger #blog #bloggerlife #expatlife #expatindenmark #expatblogger #everyday #personal #city #citylife #inspiration #life #lifestyle #photography #cityphotography #streetphotography #autumn #weather #weekend

Copenhagen seems to be in what is called the classic autumn. All the talk now is about how to get through these six months and survive into the full spring, when golden light will spread across the sky. But I am not yet tormented by all these twists and turns of weather and climate. I love autumn, although autumn is different everywhere.

Quick report on the nice little holiday that happened at the end of last week and we're back at the beginning of this one. Came home very late, so I ended up missing a doctor's appointment for blood tests. Hopefully they will forgive me and I can find another day, but so far we are too busy as always to plan the next day properly. But still things are going well, better than one would expect. The situation is slowly improving and this is good. No one knows what will happen next.

But anyway, about the weekend.

We have been invited to a reunion of old friends in Germany. It is a long and confusing explanation who is who, but most importantly we met people with whom it was nice to spend these days. We lodged in a small town, which, unfortunately, wasn't easy to get to by public transport, so we had to go for a ride in a high German speed taxi. It was pretty cool. I remember we also drove fast in Seattle, but the feeling was somehow very different. I didn't feel comfortable and safe. But here in the German taxi the ride was smooth and relaxing. I don't know what it was about, maybe German highways and German cars. Well, I'm just kidding.

So, had a great time in the German countryside, breakfasts, lunches and dinners were productive not only in terms of food. Then, we were off on our own and made our way to Berlin. I love Berlin with all my heart and it is a rare city that I am willing to call home. We lived in Berlin and for me now it was not like a tourist trip, no. It was like going home.

And then leaving. Probably back home, too. That's where I haven't decided or understood yet. Copenhagen, of course, is a completely different feeling and attitude. 

I was really lost.

It was hot, my head felt heavy from the heat, my body went limp, as if all the blood had gone. My vision clouded over, it was hard to think, hard to want.

I regretted that I had bought a monthly pass, as I did not want to go anywhere in such a heat. Everyone was on edge.

But almost every evening, when the heat was gone and there was still warmth in the twilight, I went to the bazaar. I went there on foot and took the bus back, because the shopping bags on thin shoulder straps were heavy with puffy aubergines, yellow shiny courgette, seedless grapes, bananas, which were already black on the way home in the bus, and the straps were hurting my shoulders and tightening on my throat. It was hard.

Right now, I have my own area of responsibility and I don't have the time to catch moments with my eyes or my camera. Today I actually wanted to take a picture, but I couldn't because my area of responsibility is not in the mood. And then the phone rang too.

I don't do much thinking when I speak Danish. I guess it means something. I guess I could say it means something good, it's a sign, a sign that I know the language, but it doesn't. I don't feel that way and there's nothing I can do about it. It will probably always be like that. That is definitely the way I feel.

- Hvad?

- Med?

- Hvad siger du?

- Er du med?!

- Sorry, I can't hear you. What did you say?