Oh, sweet Copenhagen… This place is always changing, yet in some ways, always the same.

It was such a struggle to get here. Our flight from Paris was delayed out of Seattle and with a little over an hour to change planes, we didn’t make it. We landed 45 minutes late and then it took nearly 20 minutes to get off the plane. So an hour layover turned into an eight hour layover. I managed a little catnap on the plane, but otherwise kept busy watching movies, which meant that by the time we were in Paris, I was exhausted. Without a good place to rest, I struggled to stay awake and upright, until the final ten minutes of our 90 minute flight from Paris to Copenhagen where I was just falling asleep and my dad coughed and startled me awake. And then we landed.

Normally we land around two in the afternoon, visit with family and I force myself to stay awake until 8pm. I then allow myself to crash, despite the fact that the sun doesn’t set until shortly after 9 and then force myself to stay in bed until 8am. Two days like that and jet lag is no longer an issue. This time we didn’t arrive until shortly after 11pm and it was after 3am before I fell (quite literally) into bed. I took two benadryl and a melatonin and woke up in a foggy haze at 11. I could have slept longer, but that wouldn’t have done me any favors. My dad was also up at 11, but snuck in a little snooze later in the afternoon. My mom rolled out of bed at 3 in the afternoon and still struggled to stay awake through dinner.

A majority of the family joined us for a giant steak dinner (with hot dogs because in Denmark, you can’t turn on the grill without having hotdogs – also, I didn’t come to DK for an American steak). I shake my head at my father bringing steak frozen in his suitcase (was still frozen when we arrived, even with the delay). I don’t 100% ‘get it’ but something about the cut not being common and the price sky-high. I don’t know what my dad paid, but we popped into a butcher here, and the steaks my dad brought would have been about $40-50 PER steak. He didn’t pay anywhere near that. But it’s funny, as soon as they hit the grill, EVERYONE had their phone out to get the snap for the ‘gram. Too funny.

We spent Monday in Copenhagen. We didn’t do much. First stop was at this gem for a quick lunch. You won’t ‘get it’ unless you already get it, but hotdogs in Dk are a thing. These aren’t no basic Oscar Mayer Weiners, either. These stands litter the city the way Starbucks blankets Seattle.

Satisfied, we wandered down Købmagergade, popped into a few of my favorite stores. I kept myself in check (shopping-wise) because…. oh, all the beautiful things I *need*… and then wandered to a favorite cafe for an iced coffee. One of the more unusual things about this visit so far is that it was WARM yesterday. Like, I wore my SPF 100 because it was 80+ F which is quite unusual for Denmark in May. I know it was hot back home, but it’s been like that the past few years. Anyway, after an iced coffee, we headed down Strøget, the main shopping/tourist street in the city, hopped on the train and headed back to my cousin’s house.

Its just past 7am on Tuesday. It was a bit of a later night again, and while I’m taking melatonin, my body is still struggling to adapt. I’m fully-functional during the day, but the birds and the sun start early here in the summer time, so it can be difficult to fight when your body is already saying ‘wtf?’

Today it’s time to repack, I leave for Paris tomorrow afternoon while my parents head to Frankfurt to visit some friends. I don’t have a lot planned at this point. I have a baking class scheduled and  a few places on my list to visit, but after the stressful start to this trip and the whirlwind past few weeks of getting ready, I’m honestly looking forward to some solo quiet time. I’m itching to get my new camera out and about. I had considered bringing it into Copenhagen yesterday, but I find that I take better photos when I’m alone and don’t feel rushed, or like I’m slowing people down.

Until next time…