Copenhagen

Hello!

Okay so two weeks ago I went to Copenhagen and it was great. The end.



Just kidding, Grandma.

I left work after clean-up Friday and hopped on a train to Copenhagen. The man next to me was telling me that the train was so short(only 4 cars) because that was all that would fit on the boat. I thought he was just messing with me, but then the train DROVE ON TO A FERRY. It was crazy. I was not expecting that. So we got off the train and went to go hang out on the top part of the ferry for 45 minutes while we sailed to Denmark.

Side note, Scandinavian people are TOO attractive. Cut it out.

Arrived in Copenhagen and got a little lost on the way to the hostel. I got to the hostel around 10:45, Morgen's plane was super delayed and I thought she was dead. I got to the hostel after happy hour had come and gone, so all the solo travelers had already bonded... I sat in a corner and abused the wifi and moped and thought Morgen was dead and considered what a terrible backpacker I was, and THEN MORGEN ARRIVED. all was well.

We went out with some of her ICP Cincinnati Co-Op acquaintances and wandered around the square near our hostel.

Saturday, we did the free walking tour with Simon and his British accent. Morgen and I took advantage of the legal public drinking and enjoyed some Elephant beers along the way.

The tour started in front of the Town Hall which was the spot where the glorious Native American performers were doing their thang. They were amazing and dedicated, apparently they perform all day every day. LOVED it.

At the end of the tour, Morgen and I were approached by a lady who was filming some guy playing the guitar. She asked if we had a few minutes to be in her video. FAME. Morgen and I had to walk up to the guitar man, sit down, nod and talk to one another about how great he was, hand him a piece of paper and walk away giving one final glance back. NAILED IT.

I got her facebook info, so now we just have to wait until she loads the video onto her vimeo.

After that Morgen and I got some delicious Indian food. Expensive, but soooooo worth it. Then we took a nap and got ready for the pub crawl. The pub crawl was fun, we were in an Australian bar where people were 'playing' beer pong. It was terrible. They were playing it alllllll wrong and Morgen and I couldn't handle being around that, so we went back to the other room with the dance music.

Sunday, we went to Christiania with two guys from our room, an Aussie(can't remember his name), and Benny, from Germany.  Christiania is an area in Copenhagen that essentially decided to not follow any laws or pay any taxes or anything. Drugs galore. Garbage everywhere. It was really bizarre. No pictures allowed in there because weed is not technically legal but they still sell it and smoke it and eat it and look at it and everything. We left Christiania and re-entered the EU and walked around a little more. We then headed back to the hostel and took a nap on the giant napping platform in the lobby area. After that we went to Tivoli, super old amusement park in the center of Copenhagen, with Benny.  Good people watching there. It was strange though because you pay an entrance fee and each ride costs more. We didn't ride anything, just looked at people and things. Cedar Point spoiled me.

Then we left and went our separate ways. Benny and I are trying to meet up this weekend in Berlin. We'll see.

I have a lot of pictures from Copenhagen, hopefully I will have some internet at home at some point so I can upload them.

I can use my phone as a router, but the internet speed on my phone is soooooo slooooowwwwwww.... so it doesn't work well.

Post about Wuppertal and Köln coming soon.

quick update

Hello loyal blog readers(grandma)

I am not dead.

It has been a busy week at work and I still don't have home internet so I haven't been able to post anything.

Copenhagen was great! I will have to go back soon.

I will write a full post about it later, but to hold you over here is Morgen's.

I am going to Wuppertal tomorrow to see Morgen and we will go to Dusseldorf and Köln and some beer festival

Tonight is a work party.

Tschüss!

real bedroom

Hi!

Vany and I hung the roller-blinds last night. I think she said we needed blinds that were 1 inch wider, but they ran out at Ikea, so these work! might shift them over a little more to the left to block a tiny bit more sun, but it is so nice to have real curtains and not my fitted bed sheet tucked into the window. It was wonderfully dark in my room this morning!

Leaving for Copenhagen in 7.5 hours. wooooo!

making progress

I think I am starting to become a slightly more real Hamburger. Although as soon as one thing starts to improve, I encounter another setback... but that's just how it is I guess.

Last night I got a BED! little victories. Ikea was a hot mess, as it always is. That section at the bottom with all the weird little things gets me every time. David(from work) and I took the train and a bus to Ikea and met Vani/Vany(I really should ask her how she spells that) outside. I was shopping for: bed frame, curtains, mirror, hooks, organizer thing for my makeup and things. I got all of those things plus some elk noodles(must-have). We managed to fit a twin bed frame, full/queen bedframe+mattress, 2 large mirrors, and a bunch of other little things into Vani's smallish car(smaller than Patrick) It was amazing, thanks Pops for the packing lessons on every trip.
We got all of the things back and David helped(did all of the work) to build my bed. Vani and I will try to tackle the roller blind later on, for now the fitted bedsheet I tucked into the window works, even if the light coming through the red sheet makes my room look like a brothel.

Here is my bed:

Isn't she beautiful? Hah. I'll get a picture of my room once I hang the roller blind curtain thing. It will be gorgeous.

The internet provider seems to be incompetent. Last week the man said he couldn't install the internet because he needed a 'special box'. So they sent another person on Tuesday, and apparently they didn't tell him about the 'special box' so he was totally unprepared. Maybe next week.

Going back in time, last weekend was great. Friday night I went out to get Vietnamese food with Nina(lives in Cincinnati, family from Germany originally) and her friend, it was delicious, must go back there. After that we met up with a few other work people and had some drinks outside, must take advantage of nice weather as it is SO rare. I had some German beer and then some Irish cider. PUMPED for Ireland in a few weeks. Saturday I walked around Sternschanze for a little bit and bought some spectacular shoes:

They were on sale. So versatile, I'm pretty sure they will go with everything.

Saturday night I met up with Xenia at her friend's apartment for bruschetta and cocktails before going out to the Reeperbahn where we met up with more people from work. The goal of the night was to stay out late enough to go to the Altona fish market which opens at 5:30am. It was a strugggggle. We made it there and I was too tired to take any pictures, so it doesn't even really count and I'll have to try again. Got home around 8am and slept allllllll day Sunday. Was supposed to meet work people to play pool and I'm pretty sure they thought I was dead.


My German classes seem to be helping. I feel like I understand more of what people are saying, but I can't think fast enough to string together the few words I know into a sentence. Morgen wrote a post about being the new 'quiet girl' and I think that applies to me here too. I go out to lunch with people and they are joking and laughing and I can sort of understand what they are saying and would love to contribute, but my German is just NOT good enough for wit and charm.

Tonight after my lesson I have to do some laundry so I have clothes and things to bring to Copenhagen, then I have to pack up my backpack, I am leaving straight from work tomorrow. So excited! I hope I get a passport stamp. Love those.

To do:
-hang curtain
-learn German
-plan more trips
-get face piercing or hip new haircut to fit in with the CROWDS of hipsters in the Schanze, I have never felt so bland. this website seems to have some great suggestions for how to be hip. Must learn some hip German lingo. Or I'll just buy some more outrageous clothing. I got paid, so now I feel like I am rolllllling in money. I'm not.

Okay, bye!

I can't speak any language and am not a legal Hamburger

Hi blog world,


Soooo bank accounts and government things...


Last week I tried to open a bank account and was told I would need proof of residency... or a Meldebestätigung. So I got up early the next day and went to the Hamburg residency office place and took a number and waited to speak with someone about registering as a Hamburger. The form was in German(obviously) but they had a sheet translated into English for reference. The German sheet was an updated version and the English translation was for the older paper... so the nice guy at the counter helped me fill it out. Waited the 30ish minutes to speak to someone, I think it would typically be a longer wait, but I got there right when it opened. I then found out that I couldn't register yet because my new roommates hadn't registered and they need someone from the lease to be registered as a Hamburger before I can become a Hamburger, or something. So no bank account yet... going to figure out the registering thing this week, hopefully, and then set up the bank account. I have a contact at the bank now so I can set up a meeting through email and head over to struggle through the bank process...


Saturday, I met Xenia at the Deichtorhallen for an Art Exhibition of news photos and advertising campaign things, she said last year there were more ads, but it was still cool. 


There were a few funny Ikea ads that I haven't seen before:

after we wandered through all the rooms, we had a coffee and then I went back to Malia's to finish packing and prepare for the big move. I called 5 or 6 taxi companies trying to speak to someone who spoke a few words in english, or spoke German slow enough for me to understand... most people said no or nein, and one lady hung up after 4 minutes talking to me.... finally got a nice lady who answered my tragic sounding 'Sprechen Sie Englisch?' with a laugh and 'a little' and she sent a cab over to fetch me... the nice cab man carried my suitcases to the door outside my new apartment building for me.... I must have looked really tired/dejected at this point haha. Vani and Bente helped me carry my things up to my room and then we went out and walked around the area for a little bit. They are both really nice and have sent me some links to Erasmus, foreign exchange group, meetings and have been setting up meetups or essentially play dates for me and some people they know. 


Saturday night we set up some things in the kitchen, built an Ikea shelf, always a struggle in any language. After that we had some wine and then some of their friends came over. Later on we were all talking(well they were talking and I was trying to follow...) and one of the guys turns to me and is talking in English about something, I was pretty sure he was talking about cocaine, and I politely refused 'oh no, I don't really want any cocaine thank you' 'oh you don't like cocaine' 'oh no, you know, I don't like putting things in my nose' ... this went on for a bit before some other guy across the room starts cracking up and tells me that he was trying to say 'cooking'... they really sound the same with a thick accent. So apparently I can't speak german or english and I looked stupid say I don't like cooking because of my nose.  whatever. also don't worry mom/ grandma, honest mistake, no one offered me cocaine haha


things I need to do:


-register as a Hamburger
-get bank account
-buy a bedframe, Vani and Bente both have cars and said I could go with them next time they go.... They both have their mattresses on the floor, but I feel a bit like a squatter, and could use the room under the bed to store things. Ikea sells a few frames for under €50, so I think I'll get one of those and see if I can manage to build it.
-buy curtains---I have a huge window, and should probably stop putting on a show for the pedestrians, this isn't the Reeperbahn
-health insurance
-tax man
-get hair cut
-learn german.


I started to watch a few movies in German with english subtitles, or in English with German subtitles... and I have learned some swear words. so my language skills are really coming along.


I am going to try to do laundry tonight, there is a machine in the basement/Keller of the building/Gebäude. I think it is €1 to wash and €1 to dry. must buy some detergent... and hopefully I can select the right settings and not ruin all of my things.


In other news, Morgen and I planned a trip to Copenhagen! We will be going there August 3-5! Huzzah!


Tschüß or Tschüss... can't tell which is right...




-Michelle