So long, Denver
I started watching the Netflix documentary “Crafting a Nation” about the micro breweries boom in the US, and suddenly, I was back in Denver again. I guess a lot of my memories from there involves beer ☺️ but anyway, it made me think of all the things I loved about the city:
- Of course, the availability of delicious local craft beer on tap everywhere, and just walking past breweries and their tap rooms on my way somewhere.
- My sandals touching the sandstone sidewalk. Once black, but very soon they were covered in desert dust.
- The size of the city is just about right (lagom). Enough people to be popping on a Tuesday night, but small enough to be so very friendly. I literally made friends just walking down the street.
- The contrast of the breathtaking green sceneries in the Rocky Mountains just a short drive away, to the dry earth tones of downtown which was once the capital of the Wild West. The old brick buildings are still there. It’s so different from the neo classical buildings of Gothenburg.
- Sharing a beautiful Victorian house with roomies. Those houses are so decorative and make me feel right at home. I can’t think of a prettier type of house to live in.
- The fact that hippies are still alive and well there, which makes the vibe positive and spiritual.
- On your daily route you see almost as many yoga studios as you see liquor stores.
- Living local, organic, and vegan is so easy there because there’s just so much yummy stuff being produced in Boulder and around the state. I loved going to Whole Foods and reading “Made in Colorado” on the label of my food. Oh, the chips, the chai, and the kombucha… Not to mention the breakfast burritos, and the buffalo burgers (not vegan ;-) 😍😋
- Cruising by endless of diners, motels, theatres, bars, car dealers, and neon signs on Colfax and S Broadway - it really is a feast for the eye. I passed them every morning on my way to school riding the bus 16, feeling slightly sketched out by the amount of creepy guys around me. But I enjoyed the view.
- Tom’s Diner at 2 AM in the morning, any day of the week. That place could easily be in any David Lynch or Tarantino movie. It’s so pretty, and there’s always interesting characters there eating semi-ok cheeseburgers.
I guess there’s just three things I missed while living in Denver: smooth public transportation, water (lakes and streams), and birdsong. The two latter I cannot live without. Therefore, Denver will never be my home. But it will always be in my heart.
