Arrived here in the early afternoon fan chiong-ed off for buffet "brunch" which Huiwen recommended after his previous visit here and it was awesome! Food was really yummy with meat, salad, salmon (too salty though), pancakes, etc. awkward moment when Huiwen tried to pay the ones value in coins but the waiter thought he was giving tips and asked but Huiwen just have a determined "no"; I would have given him though, considering his efficiency... But oh wellz, budget. Then we headed to check in at Copenhagen Downtown Hostel, which was recently awarded the best Hostel in Denmark 2014 along with many other accolades. The atmosphere and setting really justifies it I must say, though I didn't really have a pleasant stay here (explain below).
Ever wonder why Danish are the happiest people on earth for so many years running? Just look at the "sceneries"! One stone throw and you're very likely to hit a pretty girl, and I'm not even exaggerating. Lol (though our guide the next day would continue to give us a more elaborate explanation: something to do with them having this thing that vaguely translate to being in a state of coziness; and also something to do with them having lower expectations... Lower expectations so they're easier to hit and this lesser disappointment, leading to more happiness!)
Anyway, walking around Copenhagen gives a little Amsterdam-feel, not so much because they are not too far apart, but more because they do have some canals running through the port city as well. But even more so, the smell of marijuana... Which brings me to our next place: Christiana! It's a free anarchy state within the Copenhagen city. What does it mean? Kinda like Vatican City within Rome, they are "independent" and not under the rule/order of te Danish government... Except, it's kinda unofficial. It is an anarchy state, so there's no form of governance. They are basically a bunch of hippies that settled in this old abandoned military base and set up their own community in this location. What do they do, you ask: Think Amsterdam - marijuana. They also have their three rules: have fun; don't run (apparently cos it causes panic); and no photography. They also have their own version of coffeeshops called "green zone" but they are much less discreet to say the least. One peculiar thing is that there were many children running around (not so peculiar cos they broke the rule but.. Children? In a damn anarchy weed heaven?!)! I was expecting some Hobbesian war of every man against every man, but guess I should learn from the Danes to expect less...
Went on to Nyhavns to take classic postcard photos with the houses... Which... Kinda looked like Bergen's Bryggens. Saw the opera house, walked past some nice statue, and finally reached the Little Mermaid. I was honestly most impressed by the Caramelized almond sold beside (which reminds me now as I type, that I still have some of it left; andddd I'm eating them now. Really good, lol), and the crowd this little statue draws in everyday.
Walked back to the hostel for free dinner!!! Reached at 6.15 for a 6.30pm dinner and I witnessed firsthand how singaporean's kiasuism was utterly defeated by european's hunger... (Or maybe, like I say, I really don't have MUCH kiasuness in me) Once again, I recalibrated my expectations to suit the culture I was in... So we went on a hunt for dinner and I saw KFC!! First time in Europe so I convinced we should get it after our grocery shopping (lol). Brought a bucket of 8 (and their original reciepe is kinda crispy and not like the Singapore's drier version), sat down by the city hall and you know what they say? That calls for a Carlsberg! Which was exactly what we brought from the grocery store laaaaa. Lol. So fried chicken with beer by the city hall became the highlight of our trip...
Went back to hostel and decided to have an early night cos, I have no idea why, but I've been easily tired these few days; probably the effect of too much traveling. But some dude had to wake me up cos I was in his bed. Back story: my bed was taken. And it was by one of the guys in this group of 5 super noisy people from I don't know why. The girl claimed that her guy friend's bed was also taken the previous night... But I am somehow skeptical about it. Anyway, got woken up and changed bed and as you'd expect from good old Jason, insomnia. Fell asleep at last at around 3am. Zzz just when I wanted to restttttt. Next morning I woke up to a very good comeback (lol, my brain has about 7 hours lag): I should have just said "great, I've been getting bitten by bed bugs the whole night; I'm glad I get to change my bed" and then show them my bites. The guy and the receptionist are probably gonna be speechless. Lol. But oh wellz, we were at fault too anyway so shouldn't blame anyone on this incident.
Next morning was breakfast buffet (again!) at another place. Thought this place had the world's highest Big Mac index, they probably haven't surveyed their eat-all-you-can buffets... Supposed to scrimp and save by eating lesser here but ended up having relatively reasonably priced buffet and getting really fat. Went on for free tour with Sandemans (loyal fan of theirs haha) which was mainly history (which I'll probably forget very soon... Actually, I don't even recall more than half of it now) and the reason why the city didn't have much medieval buildings (fire! Not once, but twice. Each claiming half the city). Interesting thing was that our group had sailors from somewhere. Two of my top choice jobs: sailor, and tour guide. Shortly after the tour, we went to some other castle before heading back to Lund.
Fatness continues when we cooked Maggie mee for lunner, and while Huiwen went for some Bball session, I rotted in his room and skyped Ms Blur. So he burnt some fats and came back for more pizza, potato chips, and ice cream; while I just ate them without the burning off part. Lol. Woke up at 5am this morning and here I am, first solo train ride in Europe and it's a 4-hour non-stop from south to centre Sweden (from 16 degrees back to my 8 degree Celsius)
*Munch munch* the almond's really good, especially since I was having a foul smelling mouth after my nap and am without water. Lol
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Gonna take a two weeks break before my next travel! As an Exchange Student, it's always "exchange" first before fulfilling the duty of being a "student"; now that the first part is done fore the time being, gotta go back and finish out the second part of the deal
