Even though it’s November, I am so excited that Copenhagen starts preparing for the holiday season so early! Two Christmas markets have opened in Kongens Nytorv and Nørreport, offering mulled wine, delicious snacks, and holiday-related gifts. Christmas markets are a very common thing to have in most European big cities, and it is really cool to see the differences between each market’s adaptation of Christmas. Additionally, lights and ornaments are hung all around the city including the CBS campus. Adding some Christmas magic around the city definitely makes up for the fact that the days are getting shorter (the sunsets by 4:00 pm now) and the weather is getting colder and windier. With the right warm coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, cycling during the wintertime isn’t as brutal as I thought it would be. I definitely take the Metro if it is pouring, but cycling around the city decked out for the holiday season is a magical experience (playing Xmas music in your AirPods definitely enhances the ride).
Before the semester begins to wrap up for final exams, my friends and I decided to take one last big trip together to Madrid, Spain! The warmer weather and sunny skies were an amazing break from the rain and wind in Copenhagen. I tried to soak in as many UV rays as possible. Because I missed the beautiful peak of fall weather in Copenhagen while I was in Italy, it was so amazing to see Madrid’s trees that were shades of red, yellow, and orange. The trip was a great opportunity to finally practice the three years of Spanish I took in high school. It came in handy because Spain was surprisingly not as English-friendly as a thought. Madrid is the biggest and most populated city I’ve ever traveled to so far this semester, and it has an exciting city life-essence throughout the metro stations, center, and attractions. I could not get enough of the wide variety of delicious tapas, croquetas, and paella!
After Madrid, it was shortly our friend, Alyssa’s, birthday! We spent the day ice skating at Broens Gadekøkken, the street food market we loved during the summer, now turned into an ice-skating rink for the winter! Afterward, we spent a relaxing afternoon painting pottery, followed by making a big birthday breakfast for dinner (Alyssa’s birthday wish!). Denmark is known for having amazing bacon, and it is one of the country’s biggest exports. It definitely did not disappoint us for our breakfast for dinner meal. In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, my American friends and I wanted to have a big family dinner and prepare a semi-traditional feast for all of our international friends, so that they could experience the holiday. The meal included mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, stuffing, (fun fact: British stuffing and American stuffing are very different things), butternut squash soup, Danish sausages, and pumpkin pie. Because my dorm room has a very basic kitchen (2 stoves, fridge, microwave), I was able to use the community kitchen that offers an oven, more stoves, and lots of counter space. You have to reserve the time/day you would like to use the kitchen so it came in handy for us to have a nice private meal with each other. I’ve been especially valuing the big family dinners lately because I’m not ready to say goodbye to my friends in less than a month! This semester has flown by and I’m beginning to get very reminiscent of the amazing city and this new life I made.