Explore the possibilities.

Never be afraid to choose a road that nobody chooses.

Challenge new boundaries

Nobody knows what lies beyond.

There is always something new every day.

Pay attention to little details in your life and appreciate them.

Share the knowledge.

It is always fun to talk to someone who knows the subject as well as you do.

Be excited, and remember the excitement.

Never say you're too old to do something.

Showing posts with label copenhagen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label copenhagen. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Denmark - Angry Birds Goods at Copenhagen Airport

Chocolate eggs, chewing gum... all in fancy packaging.


Was tempted to buy something but we had to run to the gate that was about 20 minutes away from the inspection gate, and the inspection gate was kind of flooded with travelers. Well, it's summer holiday for most people in Europe.

Denmark - 7-Eleven

One thing I noticed from Copenhagen is that 7-Eleven is everywhere. I've been somewhat a fan of 7-Eleven because they open until late, and in Japan, 7-Eleven sells great variety of food. I've only been to 7-Eleven once in Indonesia, and several times in Singapore, but they were not very impressive.

Well, I'd say I like 7-Eleven in Copenhagen. Why?



Yummy food, of course! Chicken skewers? Damn they're so good! They're not as good as those from YakitoriQ or other specialized yakitori (Japanese chicken skewer) shops. But really, they're DAMN GOOD.

Coffee, tea, hotdogs... they sell a lot of things there. And there were at least two 7-Eleven shops in Copenhagen central station.



Cute fruit smoothie packaging. Creative marketing idea :)

Ready-to-go bubble drinks


LOL at the packaging!

Denmark - Ready-To-Go Bubble Tea

I love bubble tea, but I think it is relatively new in Europe. I normally find bubble tea shops around China Town or Japan Town (if they exist), and in Germany, McDonald sells them. Not the typical tapioca pearls, but fruit-flavoured alginate bubbles that release fruit syrup when burst. 



I found this packaging in 7-Eleven in Copenhagen. Open the lid, stick the straw to tear the packaging open, and voila, you have bubble tea ready to go. Not sure if this packaging is easy to handle since I didn't buy them (and I kind of regret it now).

Denmark - Licorice Icecream

I am a firm believer that you will get used to a foreign taste with enough exposure. My first licorice experience was during the team building week in the Netherlands, when one of the Dutch girls brought dropjes to class. THE SALTY LICORICE WAS (and still is) DISGUSTING. The sweet dropjes were better, but they were still not to my liking.

And thus, although the cat knows it dies out of curiosity, it is stupid enough to keep trying. I had not given up. At least, until I tried this Danish lakrids (licorice) ice cream:



NEVER, EVER AGAIN I WILL EAT SOMETHING WITH LICORICE. PURE LICORICE. NEVER.

Unless all food supplies in the world have vanished and there is nothing but licorice left to eat.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Denmark - Copenhagen (København)

My first visit to Copenhagen was actually early last month, when my friend from Ireland came over to visit me during the weekend. However, last week I ended up in Copenhagen again because it's so close to where I am living right now (35 minutes by train).



We took a train from Lund directly to Copenhagen central station (København H). It's a good thing that we can buy the duo-family ticket in both Lund and Copenhagen. It saves you 20% of the ticket price. Also, buying a return ticket is definitely cheaper as well. Choose this option if you plan to return on the same day :)

Copenhagen central station was relatively big (still smaller compared to Stockholm central station), with various shops inside the train station. One of my favourite shop was 7-Eleven, and I'm going to write a separate post on that.



Across the station is Tivoli, a famous amusement park in Copenhagen. We took a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus that cost 25 euros, and according to the audio guide, this park was built to calm down social unrest because people would be happier when there was entertainment.


We also had the opportunity to visit the Little Mermaid, which was a little bit far when reached on foot from the city centre. Indeed, it is based on the original story of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, which was adjusted to make it less tragic by Disney.




The Little Mermaid statue is indeed... little. I was expecting something more grand, but with so many tourists crowding around the statue trying to take pictures, I couldn't help but to feel that this attraction is somewhat overrated. However, if you're in Copenhagen and you have time, by all means please visit the statue. After all, seeing the real thing and hearing things from people (that the statue is small) gives you a different kind of feeling (and satisfaction). And in the end, I'm not too disappointed by it :)

We also explored the city centre. Sadly, the shops are closed on Sunday and my first visit there was on Sunday. There were just way too many shops to explore, and within the same city centre, there were 5 big H&Ms.



But at least, the souvenir shops are open on Sunday, some until 6 PM, some until 7 PM. They are famous for the Vikings, so you'll see tons of Viking-related souvenirs there.



We also explored Nyhavn (which literally translates as "new harbour"). The street is filled with rows of bars and pubs where you can chill and enjoy the view of boats and the beautiful canal. Nyhavn is somewhat comparable to Amsterdam, but I personally like the atmosphere of Nyhavn better.
 


When I asked my friend who moved from Wageningen University to Copenhagen of what is typical of Danish lunch, she suggested the smørrebrød, or the "open sandwich".



The bread was made out of rye, and since I'm not a really big fan of breads, this texture was new to me. It's delicious, but it's really filling.

We continued walking for a few hours around the city centre (yes, it's a really big city centre). There are lots of attractions that I wanted to see like Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not and of course Tivoli, but it seems that none of my friends are interested in such attractions. Quite a pity, but the trip was fun nevertheless :)

Copenhagen City Hall



Stock Exchange


Frederiks Church




Copenhagen Opera House

Geflon Fountain








And the second time I went to Copenhagen, just around 6 PM, there was a strong storm. From this photo you can't really tell how strong the wind was, but for a moment I thought that flag pole would break at any time (well, it didn't break in the end).



Copenhagen is a great weekend-getaway city from Lund. I can't believe I can cross countries easily like this haha. Indonesia is made up of islands, so travelling to another country is not possible without airplanes or boats.