Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Just a Little Bump in the Road

I have made it to Copenhagen! Yea!!!

Unfortunately my bag was not so lucky. :( I filed a report or whatever and they expect it to come on the next flight in, but it could be tomorrow before it gets to me (they'll deliver it to the hostel for me). The unfortunate part about this is that I do not have a change of clothes, shower supplies, sleeping attire, my sleep sack, or pillow. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. I can rent linens from the hostel and there is a pillow in the room available for me to use - but it is a little scary looking.

The flights for the most part were great. My first flight was about 7 hours and it went fairly quick. I watched 17Again which was dumb (do yourself a favor and never watch this movie) and then copied my notes about Denmark and Germany to my notebook. I tried to sleep and think I got a few hours in. I went through customs in Reykjavik and was worried for a moment that they weren't going to let me through. The guard asked me how long I was staying so I said 3-4 months. He raised his eyebrow, gave me a curious look, and then asked me if I was aware I could not be there for more than 90 days. I let him know I would be leaving the EU. He hesitated a moment and then went ahead and stamped my passport. Phew!

The second flight was quick because I slept the whole way! It was only a 3 hour flight, so not a huge deal, but nice that it went quickly. The couple I was sitting next to was from Corvallis, OR so we chatted it up a bit. They were excited for me for my trip, which was nice. I had been feeling a little unsure about my big plan to "see the world" so it was nice to have some reassurance from strangers - that I'm not completely crazy.

I landed in Copenhagen a little after 1pm and as you know my bag was lost. So sad. :( I failed at my attempt to purchase a ticket for the Metro. To my credit it was either the machine or my card that would not work. The attendant even tried for me and it wouldn't go so he gave me a free ticket (which was nice) so that I could get into town. I found the hostel rather easily and checked in. I am sleeping in a room with several other girls on what looks like a mattress that is older than me - all for only 150kr/night, but breakfast is included as well, so that'll be great.

I am now sitting in one of the common areas munching on my cheese-its as various other travelers pass through. It's funny to me how different languages can be. I'm used to hearing a few different languages in Seattle - mostly Asian or mainland European (Spanish, French, German, etc). The Scandinavian languages sound so interesting to me and I feel like a huge failure when I try to pronounce something! Oh well, I guess that's what this experience is all about.

Well, I am off to go buy a sim card for my phone and to figure out a plan for the rest of this evening. I hope to get to at least one museum tonight as most of them are free on Wednesdays. I will update more tonight and post my itinerary as I've been promising. :)

2 comments:

Shera said...

Oh Ann :) I know you know this, but I am SOO EXCITED for your adventures!!! (and a little jealous) I love hearing all those different languages too... overwhelming and amusing at the same time ;) Take care!

andrea said...

Awww I'm so jealous! This post just brought back memories of my last trip to Europe sitting in the lobby of our hostel in Brussels watching all the people hang out or pass by. And I remember hearing languages I've never even heard before. It just makes you feel so much smaller and realize that the world is so much bigger than you ever thought.

 
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