Its hard to describe the feel of Copenhagen. New York is gritty and strung out on caffeine. San Francisco is friendly and tech savvy. Paris is dirty yet chic. Shanghai is modern, young, and exotic. Reykjavik is just quirky. Copenhagen is...cozy? Warm? Laid-back? Its hard to pin down. Maybe the best word is no-nonsense. People here don't fuss over anything. Long line? No worries, Copenhageners are patient. Sleeting out? Just ignore it, we're on our bikes, there's not much we can do about it. Traffic jams and honking horns? Non-existent.
I've only been here a short two months, but it definitely feels like home. I love having everything so close! The supermarket? 2 blocks down. And I know where everything is. Looking for the pasta sauce? Its over by the rice. No, I don't know why its not next to the pasta. The movie theater is 2 blocks up (but I know a shortcut). The park is out my back door. My doctor is a half a block down and Charlotte, the receptionist, teaches me a new Danish word every time I visit. The Taco Shop (Mexican food is a must-have in any city I inhabit) is three blocks over. My favorite bar? I've got a couple, are you looking for a local dive or swanky and hip? The best cafe? The Phoenix, its across the park, but they only serve cocktails after 9. Ask for Jakob. :)
The one thing that took the longest to adjust to was the noise. Having lived in the country, I was used to silence with maybe the occasional coyote or turkey. Down the street from my little apartment is the town hall and its got a bell tower. The bells ring every hour and every half hour, though sometimes they start a couple minutes early. Its quirky, but hey, that's Copenhagen. The ambulances and police cars have those weird European sirens that sound more like broken Fisher Price toys than real sirens. Luckily I don't hear those more than a couple times a week. I'm also far enough up that I don't get much street noise. Though, as I said, there aren't any honking horns and I've heard exactly one booming stereo in 10 weeks. Its almost peaceful. You know, for a city. I can see why it consistently ranks as one of the top cities in the world for quality of life and happy residents.
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