Kööpenhamina!!! err...Copenhagen!

November cherry blossoms North of Copenhagen.  Seriously.  I guess the fall was so mild that these poor guys thought they could get another crop in...or maybe they thought it was spring already...hmmm

So last week was actually a very eventful week for me.  In between writing reports, scheduling exams, getting sick, and travelling to Denmark...I celebrated my birthday!  A whole quarter-century...phew!  Given the circumstances, I have to say I had a fantastic day and I really appreciate all of my friends around the world.  Much to my surprise, April baked me an amazing birthday cake (gingerbread with lemon icing) and the whole cafeteria sang happy birthday to me at lunch.  It was mildly mortifying.

15:07 sunlight at the Joensuu Rautatieasema.  The days here are already shorter than the very shortest day in Vancouver.

The reason I had to qualify the day with "Given the circumstances..." is because there was just too much going on.  I got a nasty nasty head cold, so I was stuffed up and out of it.  I had to finish a major report from my field course last summer, so I was tied to a computer during any free time.  I didn't plan my travelling to Copenhagen very well, so I ended up spending the evening of my birthday on a train...only to spend the night in a Helsinki Hostel working on my report.  Bleh.  There was just too much going on to fit much of a celebration in...sometimes these things just happen!!! I really appreciate how everyone went out of their way to wish me their best!

Sorry to disappoint those who were expecting a species ID...I don't know what this tree is, but it had a hole in it, which was very cool.  Denmark.

So...now for my trip to Copenhagen, or Kööpenhamina as the Finns call it.  Some international cities have a Finnish name, while most do not.  I went to Copenhagen to visit my aunt, Mille, for her birthday and to spend some time with family who I have not seen for many years.  My trip started with a train ride into the frosty sunset (at 15:17) as I started my journey south to Helsinki.  April saw me off at the train station (Rautatieasema..."Iron road station") with a final "Happy Birthday!," and then I was off.   I did not manage accomplish anything on my report that trip due to technical difficulties.  However, it gave me a significant amount of time to work on my latest knitting project: a gift for my aunt.  It had to be completed by Sunday...yet another thing on my list.  The rest of the travelling went smoothly for the most part (we almost didn't leave Helsinki because of something wrong with the airplane...but they fixed that quickly...phew).  By then end of the day I had made it successfully from Helsinki to Copenhagen and I managed to complete (and submit) my report.

Baroque gardens at the Frederiksborg Castle.  Funny-shaped trees due to human intervention....pruning.  I think it looks really neat with no leaves on them.

Some people don't like flying.  Some people don't like trains.  Some people don't like navigating through the streets of an unfamiliar city at night with a poor map.  I am totally fine with all of this (I enjoy it!).  My weak spot: public transit.  Especially city busses.  I had to take the bust from the metro to Mille's house, across Copenhagen.  The thought of this gave me butterflies for two days before I even got there. In the end, I chickened out and walked for 45 minutes instead of taking a 10 minute bus ride.  I tell myself (and most others) that I walked because it was a beautiful day out (true...it was 10 C and sunny) and because I needed the exercise after so many hours of travelling (also true).  However, I think it was nerves in the end that made me walk.

Nyhavn, Copenhagen

On Friday, Mille was an excellent tour guide and took me around the countryside North of Copenhagen where we visited a castle, admired gorgeous gardens, and basked on a beach (in a frigid sunset).  The next day, Stine arrived from Canada.  It was absolutely fantastic to see Canadian family for the first time since moving over here.  On Sunday we had the birthday party: a rich Danish Smørrebrød for brunch followed by birthday kringle.  Monday, Stine and I headed into downtown Copenhagen to see some of the tourist sites and take a look at some museums.  Ok. So they're not actually museums, but stores like Royal Copenhagen or  Ilums Bolighus or Georg Jensen have goods that could be purchased by 1% of people who walk in the store, just because of the extravagant prices.  Be careful not to knock any of that china off the shelf! Perhaps I could interest you in a €1,600 teacup (with a saucer!!...what a deal!).  Don't need a teacup?  Well, surely you need a €30,600 ice bell...!  I'm not even sure what one would use an ice bell for....

How could you have Copenhagen without bicycles??

Overall, Copenhagen was wonderful place to spend a weekend and get away from school and the cold grey that Joensuu has been recently.  I don't know what my Mormor (Danish grandmother) means when she says that Copenhagen is cold and dark...it felt positively tropical compared to Finnish weather!  The sun got high in the sky, and some trees even had leaves on them still!

Only the Danes would lose a naked woman like this in the neighbourhood bushes.  Copenhagen.

Today I will not write about a fun finnish fact because I have spent most of my week in Denmark.  However, I did manage to do some writing in Finnish about my weekend in Denmark.  If you don't know Finnish, you're not missing out on anything ;-)....I mean, what I wrote in Finnish has already been said in this post....so here goes:

Viime viikonloppuna, minä matkustin Kööpenhaminaan.  Minä kävin perheelläni, jotka asuvat Kööpenhaminassa.  Myös minun tätini Stine tuli Vancouverista, joka on kaupunki Kanadassa.  Me (Stine ja minä)  kävimme Kööpenhaminassa, koska oli minun isotätini syntymäpäivä viime sunnuntaina.  Minun isotätin nimi on Mille.  Perjantaina, Mille ja minä ajoimme maaseudulle ja kävelimme metsässä ja rannalla.  Me myös kävimme kuninkaanlinnassa.  Linnan puutarha oli erittäin kaunis ja ihana.  Lauantaina, Stine tuli Kanadasta.  Sunnuntaina oli Millen syntymäpäiväkutsut.  Lounaaksi söimme tanskalaisia voileipiä ja joimme tanskalaisia oluita.  Lounaan jälkeen, me palasimme Millen kotiin syömään kakkua ja juomaan kahvia tai teetä.  Ne olivat erittäin hyvät syntymäpäiväkutsut.  Maanantaina, Stine ja minä menimme Kööpenhaminan keskustaan.  Me shoppasimme, mutta en ostanut mitään. Me kävimme myös meidän isotädillä Annalla.  Se oli erittäin kiva viikonloppu!

Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki.  Afternoon light from across the water really lit it up like a postcard photo this afternoon.

Ok, so some of the finnish is a little repetitive.  Thanks for the editing help Krista!!

Have a great week everyone!

Copenhagen Graffiti.

November...like a swift current

Duck on the river...this week's photos are river-centric

Well, November (Marraskuu) seems to be flying along in some kind of hurry.  It will soon be December (Joulukuu) and I will have had no idea what I've been doing for the past month.  I just know it.  The weather is surprisingly balmy compared to that of Williams Lake, but the days are dismally grey.  I've stopped counting the days in a week that I wear long underwear (pitkät alusvaatteet - tops and bottoms; or pitkät alushousut - bottoms only) and instead count the days in a week when I don't...it just requires fewer fingers this way.  School is going through a bit of a busy stretch now. I've got 2 courses ending (silviculture and research methodology) with all of the associated assignments and exams.  In addition to this, I have a fairly major report from my trip across Canada due.  Ugh, not looking forward to the week...but the following weekend should be amazing!

The eastern river bank: my side of the river.  I cross the bridge in that photo everyday on my way to school.  It's the long bridge; it crosses the river, stays elevated through the area pictured here, goes over the railyard, and finally joins the ground on the far side of the tracks (where I live).

Yesterday, Saturday, was April's birthday.  She has been wanting to have a picnic lunch by the lake for quite some time now (i.e. ever since arriving).  But, the weather has always been off, or no-one could make it.  Yesterday the weather was far from perfect, but it wasn't raining...so a handfull of us went down to the beach and had a birthday picnic, complete with a sparkling rosé.  It was 2 degrees and blowing wind off the lake, leaving us (3 hardy Canadians, 1 brave Brazilian, and 1 fearless Finn) with some pretty serious goosebumps and purple fingers.  At least I think my fingers were purple...it was after 15:30, so it was too dark out to tell.   Let's just say the  rosé was well chilled, as were the picnickers (what a strange looking word!).   Things really got heated up later as April convinced me to come out to a salsa dancing-halloween party; pretty much her 2 favorite things (dancing and halloween) conveniently on her birthday.  Salsa was great fun!  For those of you who know my previous record of trying to learn how to salsa, I didn't punch anyone this time!  I am rather sore today though...

Western river bank: the Lutheran Church, Ilosaari, downtown (keskusta) and more of the long bridge to school.

I am continuously learning new interesting things about this country and culture.  April's birthday picnic brings up my First Fun Finnish Fact (the alliteration is getting cheesier and worse by the week).  It is totally acceptable to consume alcohol in public places...provided you are not drunk and belligerent.  For example, having beers (kaljaa or olutta) or wine (viiniä) with a picnic lunch or dinner will not get you in trouble with the police. Compare this with Vancouver where you would have to pour out all your beverages if the police found you picnicking with wine or beer...especially at a public park or beach.

My second interesting story I only just learnt from my roommate this afternoon.  Apparently, people's income and tax information are public domain.  At this time of year (sometime last week I believe), a publication is made available with the details of each taxpayer's name and details of their tax return.  This seems very strange to me.  You can go online (pay-per-view) or purchase a publication with all of this information.  You can look up the information of your neighbours, friends, colleagues, boss, celebrities, the rich and the famous.  Apparently, it's excellent tabloid material.  This practice can be a big source of local news (I took this to mean gossip), especially in small towns where everyone knows each other.  Income from gifts and grants is not included and names are not published for those who earn less than €10,000. Bizarre.

Some of the last leaves left on the tree in all of Joensuu are on willows leaning out over the river. 

Finnish trivia: what is the mostly commonly used Finnish word in the English language???  Sauna


I'll be spending next weekend in Copenhagen (hooray!), so there will be no Sunday blog update as I usually try to do.  Have a great week, and....

Lest we forget