Japanese Observations – Part 1/2

After spending 4 glorious weeks in Europe (Denmark and the UK), Ian and I began a 23 hour journey from Heathrow to Haneda airport in Tokyo. It turns out flying from North America –> Europe –> Japan (over Eastern Europe) –> North America via the Pacific constitutes a trip around the world, and is priced insanely high. So when we found excellently priced flights that brought us to Japan from London via North America, we decided to do it, sucking up the fact that we would just have a terrible travel experience on that leg. Surprisingly, we made it without too much discomfort!

We landed in Japan on Saturday, October 3 for 2 weeks of work-free vacation. While we were both excited for our first trip to Asia, we left Europe somewhat wishing we’d stayed there for our final two weeks to avoid the cross-Atlantic, cross-Pacific single day journey. But after spending only a day in Tokyo, we knew we had made the right decision. We fell in love with Japan SO quickly, and hope we have a chance to go back one day to return to our fav spots, and see more of this beautiful country.

This first Japanese post summarizes 10 of my 20 most noteworthy observations. I hope you enjoy reading through!

1. Tactile paving: Wheeling my luggage from the airport to our Airbnb apartment, I noticed yellow indentations on the sidewalks. Then I noticed them inside some subway stations. And their texture always changed around intersections. I had no idea what the purpose of this vast infrastructure was so I googled it and found out it’s essentially sidewalk brail, referred to as tactile paving, which is ubiquitous around Japan. The extent of this infrastructure is amazing.

   

   Tactile paving, seen on almost all main streets in Tokyo and throughout Japan.

2. Vending machines: I’d heard that the Japanese love vending machines but I wasn’t expecting the sheer volume of vending machines along the streets. They are literally everywhere – on random side street corners, in parking lots, at entrances to residential buildings, etc. Unlike in North America, the vending machines predominantly sold drinks. I only saw a couple that sold food or other items.

   

   Vending machine cluster.

3. Restaurant vending machines: Sadly, I didn’t take a photo of this, but click on the hyperlink to see some. Many noodle restaurants designed for quick turnover require customers to buy a ticket for their food choice at a vending machine outside the door. This would ensure that service staff did not have to spend time taking orders or accepting payment. Patrons would come in with prepaid tickets for their order, which would get sent to the kitchen immediately upon being seated.
4. Fake food replicas: Again, I didn’t actually take any photos of this, but click the hyperlink to see some. Most restaurants had plastic food replicas in their windows to showcase their offerings. There is a whole area in Tokyo with warehouses and manufacturers that produce this fake food.
5. Cash on trays: Japan is still a heavily cash based society, which surprised me as I assumed they would be using smartphones to pay for almost everything. While Japan is in some ways hypermodern, it is also quite traditional. I noticed quite a few people still using flip phones so mobile payment wasn’t very common. The passing of cash to cashiers was often rather ceremonial. You would place your cash on a tray and push it toward the cashier. They would pass back change in the same way, often accompanied by a bow.

   

   Silver cash tray at Starbucks.

6. Bowing: I knew that it was common for Japanese to bow during formal introductions, such as in business meetings. What I didn’t expect was that service sector employees also bow to their customers. The first time I received a bow I had gone into a 7/11 to ask where the nearest Starbucks or McDonald’s was (we needed WiFi and didn’t yet have our Portable WiFi units). The staff didn’t speak English but finally understood my question and drew me a map with directions. They handed the map to me and then both bowed to me. I thought it was cute but quickly noticed that all service staff bows, including waiters, retail workers, cashiers, etc. Such a friendly society that takes the time to acknowledge each individual, despite the large population and sometimes long lineups.
7. Queuing: The Greater Tokyo Area is the world’s largest metro area and yet it is somehow miraculously orderly. This is in part due to the fact that queuing is a way of life. People line up for everything, and in many cases train platforms are marked with designated waiting areas to ensure that passengers have room to exit trains before boarding begins. Such a civilized society!

   

   Many train platforms had queuing areas marked. And people followed them.

8. Warm towlettes (O-shibori): Most restaurants and bars handed these out to patrons so they could clean their hands before eating. I loved these! It was nice not having to go to the washroom to clean my hands before eating.

   

   Disposable O-shibori. Sometimes they were disposable, sometimes they were washable.

9. Toilet seats (Washlets): I’d heard about Japanese toilet seats, with their breadth of functionality, before going, but it nevertheless took me by surprise. They can do so much! In addition to bidet features, you can also warm the seat, turn on water sounds to disguise the sound of peeing, etc. It was pretty fun to play with the multiple features and buttons. I meant to take photos of washlets but it turns out I actually didn’t take any. It’s worth checking out the wikipedia page here! Quite interesting! Washlets are said to consume 5% of electricity in an average Japanese home. 
10. Lack of public garbage cans: For whatever reason, the Japanese don’t have many public garbage cans. We found ourselves always keeping a grocery bag on us in case we had to wrap up garbage and carry it around for the day. Train stations often had garbage cans so we could dispose of things there. However, we found ourselves carrying garbage around Takayama for hours on end and were so glad to find the little household garbage can below on a hike up a mountain!

    

    Takayama’s lone public garbage can, so far as we could tell.

Come back for my other 10 observations about Japan, to be posted later this week!

Lovely, Lively London

I was lucky to have spent three wonderful weeks in Denmark, and after bidding our beloved neighbourhood and awesome apartment goodbye, we took a quick flight to London. London had not been a particularly high-ranking destination for me (what with the fact that they speak English and all) but Ian had received a somewhat open invitation to the British Library. We figured we might as well stop in London for a few days since we were so close, and considering I’d never been. After my first half-day exploring the city, I was very glad we went; London was so much more than I’d expected.

I’m taking a slightly different approach with this post and discussing two very valuable ways that I saw the city. I would highly recommend both to anyone with an itinerary of must-see sites in London.

The London Pass 

When I started googling things to do in London – two days before arriving there – I quickly realized that there were many attractions I wanted to see, and basically everything had an admission price, aside from the major national museums. I quickly stumbled upon the London Pass. Typically, I’m not a huge fan of such passes because I feel like they aren’t designed for me. Either I’ve already been to a city previously, and therefore don’t have to do ALL the sightseeing; I’m not interested in seeing all of the major attractions, and therefore the high pass price just isn’t worth it; or I simply don’t have time to get value out of it.

It turns out that the London Pass was the perfect way to see London. It’s super flexible – you can buy for 1, 2, 3 or 6 days. I had 5 days in the UK, but only 4 in London so I bought the 3 day pass, and did sightseeing that was not included in the pass on my first London day – Regent’s Park, Primrose Hill, Camden Lock Market, Brick Lane, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, etc. This means that if or when back in London, I’ll be able to focus on the free museums, none of which I had time to visit.

London Pass – Benefits

Not only did the pass cover admission to almost all the major sites, other than the London Eye, but it also offered Fast Track Entry at multiple sites, which in London is actually a valuable perk. London really is tourist galore! Further, it came with a useful pocketbook with info on all the attractions included with the Pass, including directions, hours, and what the pass offered.

The final benefit of the London Pass was that it was a flat fee – and I could use it as much as I wanted, though there is a total cap on the value for which you can redeem it, but I didn’t come too close to that. Which meant that I could do things that I otherwise wouldn’t have spent money on, including the Thames River Cruise. Rather than taking the tube from the Tower of London back into the heart of the city, I hopped on a River Cruise, which departed every 30 minutes I believe. The cruise was a wonderful way to see many of the sites bordering the Thames, while also relaxing and listening to an entertaining guide point out noteworthy buildings and provide some history.

And here are just a few pics taken at some of the attractions I visited using my London Pass. I also used my pass to go to the London Transport Museum (on the top of Ian’s to-do list) and the Museum of London. Both were very well done.

London Eye view. Note, the London Eye is owned by Virgin and is NOT included with the London Pass.
Tip: Book Eye tickets in advance so you can skip all the lines!

Tower of London

London Pass = discounted audio guide at Tower of London.

Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge Experience was included in the London Pass.

Tower Bridge from the Thames River Cruise, included in the London Pass.

Westminster and Big Ben, where I disembarked from the River Cruise.

Kensington Palace, included in London Pass. It’s William and Kate’s primary residence and where Queen Victoria was born and learned she had become Queen.

Royal Albert Hall was included in the London Pass, but I passed by after it had closed to visitors. Diane Krall was about to take the stage.

Westminster Abbey, included in the London Pass.

Hallway in Westminster Abbey. No photos were allowed in the main spaces but this somewhat captures the beautiful gothic ceilings. The building was WAY more stunning than I could have imagined.

I missed the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, but caught it here at Windsor Castle, my absolute favourite.

Windsor Castle watchtower.

Eton College Chapel is the large white building, seen from Windsor Castle. I visited Windsor Castle with a family member who’s a local so she took me on a drive through Eton so I could see the boys in their uniforms, tails and all.

The London Underground – Contactless Payment 

While we relied heavily on cycling and walking to get around in Copenhagen, I knew that I’d be riding the Tube to get around London. It’s such a huge city, and I had only 4 days in the city and a long list of attractions to get to. I would have to travel as efficiently as possible. So, given we planned on using the tube a lot, Ian and I researched the most economical way of doing this. Would we buy day passes, a weekly pass, get an Oyster card? There seemed to be a number of options….

Then I found about about contactless payment, which was by far the easiest way I could imagine to get around the city. All Transport for London modes of transport allow riders to tap their credit cards where they originate and terminate their journey. That’s right – a simple tap of the credit card is all you need to open the turnstiles. We were lucky because we have Amex cards; regular North American credit cards such as our TD Visas did not work, at least not yet. But with our Amex, we tapped on and off, charging us fare for our distance travelled. And here’s the beauty. There are daily and Monday-Sunday caps! So you pay as you go, but get capped if you hit the ceiling.

Thank you Transport for London for makes riding the tube easy AND economical. Makes the TTC’s day passes seem rather outdated….

More observations and commentary on London to come in my next post!

Top 10 Danish Observations

After spending 3 weeks in Denmark, here are my top 10 observations that I noted about Danish society and norms:

1 Pedestrian signal obedience 
Many blogs speak to the fact that Danes obey walking signals. And after just having spent less than a week in London, I can definitely confirm the difference in culture. Danes will wait at an intersection for the crossing signal, even if there is no traffic in sight. I experienced this on multiple occasions. Brits, on the other hand, regularly disobeyed crossing signals. Their motto: if no cars in sight, or if cars in sight aren’t moving yet, treat as green and walk.

2. Green thumbs 
Danish people, at least more than Canadians, seem to have an affinity with live plants and flowers. A flower/plant shop similar to these ones could easily be found in any Copenhagen neighbourhood. Windowsill plants/gardens were also a common feature in many flat windows, including ours.

So many flower shops.

3. Table decor 
I fell in love with minimalist Danish style. And in doing so I noticed that almost all Cafe, bar and restaurant tables shared two commonalities: they included both a floral arrangement or plant, including herbs, as well as a candle. This gave off a hygge vibe, defined below, and effortlessly gave off a warm, inviting vibe without much clutter. I did a poor job of documenting this, but here’s one photo with plants on all patio tables.

Cafe patio with plants on all tables.

4. Hygge
First, read here what the Danish term hygge means. Many restaurants, bars and cafes with outdoor seating had blankets available to keep guests warm. In addition to heat lamps, these blankets were often either draped over chairs or folded in trunks, so passerby could readily see that an additional layer was available if it was a chillier day. Such a cosy atmosphere to see patrons cuddled up under their blankets while dining or drinking.

Most restaurants, cafes, and bars with patios, which was very common, had blankets and heat lamps available to make the space useable despite dropping temperatures.

5. Sneakers
Many Danes wore stylish but practical footwear to support their active commuting lifestyle. Not previously a wearer of casual sneakers, I found myself oohing and ahhing over various stylish yet practical sneakers.

6. Design everywhere – even construction walls!
I was surprised by how the Danes, or maybe Europeans more broadly, take extra care to ensure many features are presented as pleasantly as possible. Take Copenhagen’s current million dollar City Circle ring line Metro expansion, wherein 17 new stations are being built by 2019. While in the centre city, you’re never more than a few minute walk from a construction site. Nevertheless, the city commissions public art to cover or be featured on these walls, making the construction zones as pleasing as possible, while also engaging the local arts community. A simple yet unnecessary touch that makes the city that much more pleasing.

Curated construction art featuring local residents and employees of neighbourhood businesses.

7. Widespread use this uniform pram (stroller)
I felt like Danish prams (or strollers) were everywhere. Danes seem to bring their kids along wherever they go, and if the child isn’t old enough to sit in the parent’s bike seat or have their own tricycle, they are pushed around in these super awesome strollers. I took quite a liking to these, though several ex-pat blogs question their practicality. Give their large size, it’s not uncommon for parents to leave their children inside the strollers on the sidewalk they quickly dash into a coffee shop or bakery.

Danish prams were everywhere.

8. Mac users
I popped into many cafes while in Denmark and not once did I notice a Windows laptop. Danes appeared to be Apple lovers through and through. Interestingly, the Apple watch was finally launched in Denmark and other smaller European countries while we were there.

9. Perfume
One of the first things I noticed in Denmark is that people wear perfume and cologne regularly. In North America we’ve largely moved to scent-free atmospheres, which is why I noticed scents in Denmark almost immediately. I’d be curious to know how per capita perfume sales compare between Denmark and Canada.

10. Self-serve water service
While I also noticed this in London, Denmark frequently had self-serve water stations at bars and cafes, where there wasn’t table service. I really enjoyed being able to grab a glass of water without having to line up at the counter. Given the extensive walking and biking we were doing, it was great to have easy access to unlimited water!

And there you have it. I had an amazing time and highly recommend Copenhagen, a European gem that, at least in September, was less invaded by tourists than many other major European cities.

Next up: my brief stop in London followed by tales from our Japanese adventure, which is sadly coming to an end this weekend.

Adventures in Aarhus

Welcome back! After having a tough time finding both spare time away from sightseeing, and a great internet connection, I’m finally able to finish this post, which dates back to 3 weeks ago when Ian and I spent two nights in Aarhus, Denmark’s “second city”.

While only a city of 325,000, or 845,000 metro, it is rather compact and as a result has the feel of a cosmopolitan city, with multiple central districts and many cafes and shopping districts. Furthermore. Aarhus has a number of wonderful cultural attractions. These are the ones I visited.

Old Town

Ian told me we were going to an open air museum, which was highly recommended to him by locals. I was game but neither of us had researched it before we walked over. We arrived to find out there was an admission cost, which we paid because we were there so figured we might as well.

We wandered in to the first building to discover it was an actual house from the 1500s relocated to this site, and had a museum actress playing a housewife working away in the kitchen. We thought this was a little odd and then read the signage to realize that Old Town represents a compilation of Danish buildings from 3 eras: 1550-1800s, 1927, and 1974. In essence, the carefully curated buildings create towns as they were in each era. It was actually the neatest museum I have ever been to in terms of layout and content. Here are some pictures from the 1927 and 1974 towns:

Homeware storefront circa 1927.

Fuel up. Roadside gas pump circa 1927.

Ian window shopping for a TV and radio. Storefront circa 1974, including actual product prices from the time (in DKK).

Cassette selection circa 1974.

Preserved actual former convenience store, physically relocated here with products circa 1974.

Moesgaard Museum (MOMU)

I’d heard that MOMU was a must see museum,having just recently opened outside the city of Aarhus in a purpose-built structure designed specifically to house this museum. It’s what’s you could call the future of museums – high ceilings, lots of open space, thematic decor, and a great mix of interactive exhibits for all senses – touch, audio, audio-visual, visual, etc.

The feature exhibit was a selection of artefacts from the Terracotta Army. It topped my list of favourite exhibits seen on this trip thus far. I marvelled at what Chinese society was able to accomplish and build in the 200s BCE. Mind you, there was significant exploitation of labour, but nevertheless the grandiose scale and attention to detail was extremely stunning.

Here are a few photos of the exhibit and rest of the museum:

Grauballe Man. Kinda creepy but super cool.

The museum is built into a hill, with a slanted rooftop that descends down the hill to the ground. Beautiful lookout spot from the top.

Aarhus City

While not a thorough list of all the neat things we stumbled upon,here are a few:

1. Stroøget, Latin Quarter, and Canal
These largely pedestrian areas were full of activity while we were in Aarhus, even mid-day during a weekday. I spent some time meandering through the streets, popping into a few stores and admiring all the beautiful, minimalist Danish decor items.

Narrow streets in the Latin Quarter.

Walk along the canal.

This photo doesn’t do it justice, but the fountain to the left is beautiful.

I fell in love with these chrome light fixtures but unfortunately they aren’t configured for North American outlets.

2. Dokk1 (Public Library and civic space)

The Aarhus public library and civic complex is brand new and should be regarded as an example of what’s possible in urban design, architecture, and space-making. It is designed to invite and encourage users to sit and spend time within the facility, whether it be to work, read, play or discuss – there’s something for everyone, and conversation is welcomed, not discouraged.

Isn’t this an inviting space?

Backlit bookshelves. Beautiful and spacious!

Board games. Yes, visitors are allowed and encouraged to play games here!

One of the best slides ever!

3. More Climbing Structures

Like Copenhagen, Aarhus is a very active city. Cycling is also extremely common, despite the fact that it has many more hills than Copenhagen. We stumbled upon this random climbing structure in a city park:

It was great to have the chance to meander out of Copenhagen to see Denmark outside of the capital. It’s a beautiful country, with many cute cities and towns situated along the train route between Copenhagen and Aarhus. We left Aarhus for a quick return to Copenhagen before heading to country #2/3 of our trip: England.

Denmark Food Favourites

I figured a food post was appropriate as a follow up to my last post on drinks. Although I came with slight hesitations about Danish food – I’d read that previously pork, dairy and root vegetables had been (fairly plain) staples – I can honestly report that Denmark can definitely do great, albeit expensive, food. 

We came here knowing that eating out is costly in Denmark. I guess Dames don’t really do casual dining – even a McDonalds burger costs the equivalent of $12 Cad. And that doesn’t include fries or a drink. 

As a result, we had a pact that we would eat many meals at home. And lucky for us, our kitchen was well-equipped and our apartment within a 10 minute walk of 2 full and 2 mid-size grocery stores, offering ample opportunity to pick up food quickly and easily.

Rugbrød

Traditional Danish bread, which is essentially a really dense rye bread with a lot of delicious seeds and grains. It’s actually very nutrition rich, and delicious. We bought many loaves of rugbrød, many of them from a wonderful (and I mean wonderful) bakery about a 3 minute walk from us, simply named Brød. 

Smørrebrød

In essence, these are open faced sandwiches served exclusively on rugbrød. When I first heard about these, I was quite hesitant as I pictured a kind of bland, boring sandwich served open. Was I ever surprised when I bought my first few smørrebrød! They were topped with fresh, colourful, and flavourful combinations of egg, meat, and fish. While these are apparently the Tier 1, modern twist to smørrebrød, they were nevertheless delicious! I definitely recommend Aamanns (it came highly recommended to us by multiple people) and Kahler in Aarhus, as well as at the delicious food stalls at Torvehallerne and PapirØen, or Paper Island.

Aamanns’ lunch

Paper Island food hall snack

Authentic Danish Dinner

One of our first nights in town, we met up with a high school friend who lives in Copenhagen, and he took us to an authentic Danish restaurant where I had the Pariserbøf, essentially minced meat with an egg on top. It was delicious! And neat to go to a traditional, neighbourhood Danish restaurant. 

Set Course Dinners

I think we’ve had a total of three of these in Denmark, two in Copenhagen and one in Aarhus. In two instances, they came with drink pairings, which was fun. 

We loved Manfreds in Nørrebro, which was in a cozy little caveroom, and Kahler in Aarhus served fantastic smørrebrød with some of the best bread I had in Denmark. It’s a concept store featuring beautiful Kahler decor items, namely serving dishes, vases and candleholders. They’re for sale in the store a few doors down, land in select shops throughout the city. I couldn’t help but pick up a couple of the cute, tiny little striped vases. Lastly, we went to Øl & Brød on our last night for a dinner paired with local craft beers from Mikkeller, which I mentioned in my Drinks post. Also a super neat spot – great food and casual atmosphere. 

Freetown Christiana 

An autonomous, self-governing commune in Copenhagen, Christiania is home to a couple of restaurants that we were introduced to by local friends of a friend. We went to for dinner, which was delicious and always has a vegetarian option, and to Morgenstedet for a vegetarian, organic lunch made with vegetables and herbs grown right there in Christiana. Delicious food with a very laid back atmosphere. 

Yoghurt – in a carton!

I am extremely predictable when it comes to breakfast. My go-to is yogurt, fruit and cereal. I was a little surprised on my first day here to only see a couple flavours of yogurt at the grocery store, especially since I’d heard Denmark had a sizeable dairy industry. After about a week, I discovered that the vast majority of yogurt is actually available in a 1 litre carton! This is the format where you can choose from a very wide assortment of flavours! 

Game Food

We went to a Copenhagen FC game at the large stadium, where we saw this sign advertising all the park food. We opted for a delectable Fransk hotdog, served in a bread tube. As hilarious as I found it, it’s actually very practical – it’s far less messy than a standard North American bun. 

Shawarma 

There is no shortage of shawarma in Denmark! We found a spot near our place that was reasonably priced, and delicious. There are a number of spots along our strip, and a local noticed us eyeing the spots and trying to decide so he offered his recommendation. We tried that spot, loved it, and returned several times. 

Traditional Danish Cake

On my last day, I was introduced by an old classmate to La Glace, an institutional and traditional Danish cake shop in the heart of Støget, their central pedestrianized shopping district (the largest in Europe). The spot is a must-try, dating back to the late 1800s with traditional Danish decor. It carries a selection of about 20 cakes on hand. My cake had a lot of nougat and whipped cream, but at the same time wasn’t overly sweet. It was just the right balance! 

Danish cuisine is varied, with many ethnic options and local cuisines in a wide variety from very traditional and simple to New Nordic, and in a wide array of price ranges. Having gone in with slight skeptism about Danish cuisine based on limited research, I was extremely impressed. 

Delicious Danish Drinks

So a fairly significant amount of my time in Denmark has centered around drinks, whether they be of the caffeinated or alcoholic variety. Popping into a cafe or bar is a nice way to take a break in the afternoon or evening, and can be a great way  to enjoy a Copenhagen patio. So I figured a blog post was in store to share interesting aspects about drinking in Copenhagen!

Caffeine

As in most places in Europe, drip coffee is not a standard cafe menu option. The Danes are all about espresso, with many cafes lining the streets. Ian and I are bodum coffee drinkers at home, and opted not to pack our bodum once our Airbnb host confirmed his kitchen is stocked with a bodum and coffee bean grinder. Perfect, we thought. Well, true to European form, we’ve replaced our morning bodum coffee with a daily morning espresso. This habit was kicked off when one of my best friends came to visit for a couple days, with Italian espresso in tow. Ever since her visit at the very beginning of our trip, we’ve been sipping espresso over breakfast.

Large morning espressos.

Yet since we’re used to larger quantities of caffeine, most afternoons involve stopping in to a local cafe to grab another caffeinated beverage. There are an abundance of cafes in our neighbourhood (Vesterbro) so it’s easy to walk downstairs and grab something. Or, we might take a break, visit another neighbourhood, and pop into a cafe there. Either way, Copenhagen has an abundance. All have free wifi, which we kinda love, and most have benches on the sidewalk in front of their storefront. It is far more common here to have patio benches than patio tables and chairs. They take up less sidewalk space, and they’re more communal.

Standard Copenhagen cafe storefront with communal tables and long benches.

Cortado at Laundromat cafe in Norrebro. Delicious!

Latte at Retro cafe in Norrebro. This is a non-profit coffee shop, operated by volunteers!

Lattes at Norrebro’s Coffee Collective, one of Copenhagen’s top roasters. The space was great, but the latte was too milky.

Pricing: Caffeinated beverages are pricey in Denmark, or at least in Copenhagen. We’d been forewarned that Copenhagen is expensive, and this is true largely for restaurant food and drink. Grocery store prices are reasonable to standard vis-a-vis Canada, but an espresso will easily cost $6-$7 CAD.

And lastly, Danes appear to love their independent cafes, or very small local chains. There is one mainstream chain cafe I see fairly frequently otherwise they are independents. Starbucks is essentially a no-show here. Because I’d seen so few locations, I googled it. Outside of mall locations, the airport, and the train station, there appear to be only a couple Starbucks locations in Copenhagen. While Danes love their coffee, they love their independents and obviously the demand is not there for Starbucks, which is especially overpriced here. A grande latte runs you $10 CAD.

Alcohol 

Like caffeinated drinks, beer is also expensive in Denmark if you’re going out for a pint. At Mikkeller, Copenhagen’s most comprehensive beer bar, now with multiple locations, two pints cost us exactly $30 CAD. That being said, the beer was delicious. With over 40 taps to choose from and employees who willing hand out samples, you’d be hard pressed not to find something for everyone. Further, the atmosphere at each location is fun, hip, and with minimalist Scandinavian style. I didn’t want to be that person taking pictures of the entire bar, but here are a couple I managed to grab.

Mikkeller & Friends in Norrebro. Can you tell Norrebro’s one of our favourite neighbourhoods?

Love these glasses at the original Mikkeller Bar.

I absolutely loved these washroom door signs at Mikkeller and Friends.

Because Copenhagen is home to Carlsberg brewery, there’s a wide selection of different Carlsberg brews. We stocked up on a number at the grocery store to try throughout our stay.

Given our close proximity to Sweden, we took a short commuter train ride to Malmö, Sweden, on Tuesday for the afternoon/evening, mainly so we could say we’ve been to Sweden. It was not very different from Denmark, except tipping small quantities at restaurants and bars is customary, unlike in Denmark. Luckily, we’d learned this so we could tip our friendly and amazing bartender at Malmö Brygghus.

Neat malt centrepieces at Malmö Brygghus.

Like many places in the world, though unlike many Canadian provinces, alcohol is sold in grocery stores here. Prices are reasonable and comparable to Canada. Further, grocery stores accept empties in an automated bottle return machine, and spit out store credits. No need to go to a separate location to return your bottles!

Lastly, public drinking is also allowed. So if you want to grab a beer and drink it in a park, go right ahead!  Further, many restaurants and bars have beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) available to stay or to go. A cocktail bar below has this sandwich board sign:

Take away cocktail sidewalk sign.

Despite the price tags, drinks in Denmark are of a very high standard and delicious. We still have several spots left on our list of recommendations for drinks and espresso as we kick off our final week in Copenhagen.

On today’s agenda: train ride north of the city to Louisiana, Denmark’s premiere modern art museum. It’s along the water so we’re bringing our bikes to ride up and down the coast, checking out the large mansions that line the water’s edge.

Happy weekend!

Playing Tourist in Copenhagen

After having spent just over one week in Copenhagen, I can report that Ian and I have checked off several of the major tourist attractions in the city, in addition to having done a lot of neighbourhood exploring.

The Little Mermaid

This was pretty disappointing, which is kind of what TripAdvisor and other blogs indicated. Nevertheless, we had to go to see her for ourselves. After waiting in a disorganized line, we finally shoved our way down to get a shot of with this famous sculpture inspired by H.C. Andersen’s fairy tale. She is rather removed from the city centre with many tour buses parked in the lot around her.

Requisite visit to the Little Mermaid

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle

Picturesque 400-year-old castle in the centre of Copenhagen. Its treasury (basement) houses crown jewels and royal regalia. This and the Long Hall in the 3rd story were my favourite aspects of this castle. Otherwise, most rooms housed various furniture pieces collected over the years both within the castle and from other royal residences. While I was pleased that this castle housed furniture, I was fairly disappointed that it was not staged as it had once been when occupied.

To see such a palace, I will have to go to Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, the royal familiy’s current winter residence. Christian VIII’s palace was maintained exactly as they were lived in, which is really neat. More on Amalienborg once I go for the tour this coming weekend.

Crown jewels in the castle’s Treasury

Rosenborg wine cellar.

The Long Hall, with the king and queen’s thrones, guarded by 3 silver lions (1670).

Loving the curved stairwell.

Renaissance decor and Flemish tapestries, plus the ceremonial arms collection and a China cabinet.

The beautiful Kongens Have (the King’s Garden), Denmark’s oldest royal garden.

Christian IV’s wine cellar.

Carlsberg Vistors Centre (and Museum)

Where in Canada can you wander around a museum with a draft beer in hand? Probably nowhere. But at Carlsberg, which is basically in our backyard, an admission ticket includes two beers, which you can grab from any of the museum’s 3 bars. So naturally, we grabbed ours at the first bar located alongside of the first exhibit. This was a very well put together museum, outlining general beer making history going back to the 1600s, then recounting Carlsberg’s rise to fame and prominence, in both Denmark and various foreign markets. The tour ended with more beer in the gardens.

Beer drinking and museum wandering.

Oh, and the little mermaid’s little sister statue is on display here. This replica was made when the original was shipped to a World Fair in China.

The Little Mermaid’s little sister.

And lastly, the Carlsberg Museum had a HUGE collection of beer bottles from countries around the world.

The world’s largest collection of unopened beer bottles.

Museum of Copenhagen

This museum is free on Fridays, so we popped in last Friday. It’s conveniently located in our neighbourhood, Vesterbro. The museum was largely a social history of Copenhagen, with a strong emphasis on immigration. This was especially interesting given the current situation with Syrian refugees, many of whom are traveling across Denmark to Sweden, where they are seeking to claim asylum.

One Copenhagen taxi company puts stickers on its cabs highlighting its employees’ countries of origin.

There were a couple neat special exhibits as well, one called “The Past Beneath Us” which showcases artifacts discovered during the construction of the city’s City Circle Line, a ring of metro stations currently under construction. The 2nd special exhibit is “Kid City”, whereby museum curators worked with a particular 5th grade class to develop an exhibit of students’ most prized or beloved objects, from soccer balls or special pencils.

Remaining official attractions on our list: 

1. Louisiana, Copenhagen’s Modern Art Museum. Thanks to our Airbnb host, who works at Louisiana, we learned that a new exhibit opens Sept 17 on Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. In light of our forthcoming travels to Japan, we’re waiting for this exhibit to open. We’re going to ride the train to Louisiana with our bikes to bike around the nearby ocean trails. I’m hoping for a little sunshine the day we go!
2. Kronborg Slot: Aiming to go to a 2nd castle, just north of the city near Louisiana. It is apparently very well preserved, and is the real-life location of Shakespeare’s fictional Hamlet.
3. Tower of Christiansborg, at the Christiansborg Palace. This 106-metre high tower, from the site of the current Danish Parliament, offers a free panoramic view of the city. We went today, but it’s closed on Mondays. We’ll try again later in the week.
4. Tivoli Gardens, Denmark’s top tourist attraction, is an amusement park and entertainment complex literally right in the centre of Copenhagen, across from the central train station. We’re going next week, once we’ve returned our (kinda beloved) bikes, because it’s walkable from our apartment.
5. National Museum, Denmark’s premiere museum happens to be free. Awesome! We’ll pop in here on a rainy day, possibly also after our bikes have been returned.
6. FC Copenhagen Game: We’re aiming to go to a game either Wednesday or Sunday! It will be my first professional soccer game! No, I have never been to a Toronto FC game.

And with that – I’m off for a pint at a neighbourhood bar.

Copenhagen’s Active Activities

I’m so jealous of the ample opportunities to build activity and physical fitness into daily life in Copenhagen. Firstly, the weather is particularly amenable to such a lifestyle. It’s a rather temperate climate, never (or rarely) deviating from moderate temperatures. Summers don’t get overly hot nor do winters get overly cold. Cycling becomes a feasible year-round activity.

5 Neat Things that encourage an Active Lifestyle 

1. Stair Climbing: I would LOVE to live in a 5-storey walk-up, and

   

   Our Vesterbro apartment building (at centre).

   live on the top floor, like we’re doing for 3 weeks. Five and six-storey walk-ups are the standard across downtown Copenhagen. Like most buildings, ours pre-dated modern “lifts” or elevators. The higher up you are, the more exercise is automatically built into your daily life!

2. Pickup Football (aka Soccer to us North Americans): Americans have

   

   Enclosed soccer court with built-in nets.

   their fair share of enclosed basketball courts, especially in the inner-cities. Well, Europeans (or at least Copenhagan-ites) have their fair share of enclosed soccer courts where space doesn’t permit for turf or grass. I’ve seen a fair share of casual, neighbourhood pickup games and drills thus far. It makes me want to start playing soccer again.

Sites from some of Copenhagen’s running trails, including the elephant pen at the zoo! There were elephants the first time I passed, but they were inside when I returned with my camera.

 

3. Running Trails: With views such as this, running (or walking) is a very enjoyable activity in Copenhagen. The extensive park and pathway (pedestrian and/or cycling) network across the city makes it pretty easy to run away from busy sidewalks. I love cycling, but it’s also great that runners can safely run on certain marked paths where cycling is prohibited. Copenhagen does a great job of marking spaces and advising what kind of users are allowed.

4. Active and Welcoming Public Spaces: This city encourages public participation by offering interesting, welcoming and mixed public spaces that encourage various demographics to linger, whether it be to sit on a park bench for lunch, read a book on a hill, watch children as they play, or skateboard. There’s something for everyone. Including this climbing wall in a Norrebro city park. It’s BYO climbing gear. Liability is clearly not as much of a concern here as in Canada. I think this fosters a greater sense of adventure and freedom, and encourages people to interact differently in public spaces.  These spaces are almost uniformly integrated with pedestrian pathways and bike networks, ensuring a constant flow of passersby.

Funky public and active spaces in Norrebro.

Public (and giant) climbing wall in a city park!

5. Cycling: See my previous post here. Little else to add here except this fun fact: 35% of people who work in Copenhagen cycle to work. That’s 1/3 of the working population! Amazing. And there are also more bikes in the city than inhabitants. See this article for more fun stats on cyclists.

Fittingly (no pun intended!), I’ll  be spending this Sunday running my 5th half-marathon right here in Copenhagen. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to run a race outside of North America, which is literally passing right outside the apartment. I’m really looking forward to seeing what, if anything, is different about a European race. The route is my favourite kind – flat and a circular loop, with no doubling back on the same strip. It’ll be an interesting way to see the city, at least those parts I have not yet explored.

Wish me luck – my training has been pretty lackluster!

Copenhagen: A cyclist’s paradise

Welcome (back) to my blog, now resurrected for what I have been referring to as my extended honeymoon. My partner Ian had an opportunity to travel this semester and write remotely. We couldn’t pass it up, so here we are in Europe for 4 weeks then switching gears and heading to Japan for our official honeymoon – 2 weeks of pure vacation bliss.

Evening rush hour traffic

Our first, and longest stop, is in Copenhagen. To some, this was a somewhat random choice but to us it is a wonderful  opportunity. After reading about Copenhagen’s arguable advantages from a city design perspective, in books such as Straphanger by Taras Gresco and Happy City by Charles Montgomery, Ian and I became mutually intrigued by what is regarded as the Happiest City in the World. We decided to take the plunge and see what Copenhagen is all about.

Parking outside a Fotex store (large retail chain)

Bikes. Copenhagen is all about bikes. We knew this before we arrived, but I still don’t think it was possible to fully comprehend the role which bikes play in this city until you’ve been here and seen it for yourself. Below are my top 5 highlights re Copenhagen cycling.

1. Traffic lights, for cyclists

Dedicated traffic signal (green light) for cyclists

In Copenhagen, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists (at many intersections) each get their own traffic lights/signals. This ensures that each user of the road understands what they are and are not allowed to do at all times. As someone not overly familiar with road rules where separated bike lanes are concerned, I very much appreciate being told what to do.

2. Extensive, safe cycling infrastructure

Copenhagen-ites are extremely lucky. They enjoy an expansive network of separated bike lanes throughout the city (approx. 415 km currently) making cycling extremely safe and simple. Almost every road in the city centre has two-way bike lanes. Even where there is on-street car parking, bike lanes are almost always found inside the parked cars offering increased protection from vehicles.

3. Unlocked bikes?

Rows and rows of “unlocked” bikes

One of my naive moments upon arriving in Copenhagen was when I said to Ian, “Interesting how no one locks their bikes here. They’re very trusting.” At a glance, bikes aren’t locked here. However, when I went to rent my bike I realized that that’s not the case. Bikes here are locked, but they use a locking system that’s way better than the chunky locks we use in

Close-up of bike lock on back wheel

North America. Theirs wrap around the back wheel and are non-discrete, using a key to both lock and unlock. This means you can literally park your bike anywhere (within reason and not in the way) without having to hunt for space on a pole to lock the bike to. Because let’s face it, there’s no way there would be enough poles in Copenhagen to accommodate all the bikes.

4. Sheltered parking

Sheltered Bike Parking

Copenhagen gets a fair amount of rain. This doesn’t preclude locals from cycling – many appear to have invested in a smart wardrobe of rain jackets and in some cases rain

Interior of bike shelter

pants, meaning they can find protection from the elements while still riding. Even though many cyclists appear to dress for cycling, there is still great infrastructure to allow many people to park their bikes in sheltered areas. For instance, this bike parking facility is located near a main entrance to a mall, making it far easier and faster to bike and park than to drive and park.

5. Bike signage

At least within the city centre, there are signs posted advising cyclists the distance to various destinations, such as attractions and neighbourhoods. I think this really captures not only how common cycling is in the city, but the respect and resources offered to cyclists to provide convenience and a positive experience.

Final thoughts

I’m very much looking forward to cycling around the city over the next 2 weeks. Not only does it build in activity to our commuting experience, but it also provides a wonderful opportunity to see the city from above ground while saving time vs. walking.  This exposure to Copenhagen’s cycling culture gives me ammunition to encourage the building of separated bike lanes in my home city of Waterloo, Ontario. The first (albeit short) network of separated bike lanes has recently been approved for construction so that’s a great starting point, but there is still so much left to be done.

Exploring Minneapolis-St. Paul: Major Attractions

It has been very long time since I last posted. However it only took another trip to help me get back on the bandwagon! So here goes. Read on to learn about my long weekend in Minneapolis.

In a random decision made on the spur of the moment, my partner and I decided to actually use an expiring Aeroplan deal and take a short haul flight. To where, in February? Well, we narrowed down our options to Minneapolis and St. Louis. St. Louis would have been decidedly warmer, however we could not shake the cosmopolitan nature of Minneapolis, as we perceived it through photos, reviews, and blog posts. From our research, we felt St. Louis would not compare. So yes, our choice was based on health of the urban fabric over temperature. Despite sometimes frigid temperatures, Minneapolis did not disappoint.

Below is my take on several major Minneapolis attractions that we checked out.

Mill City Museum:

Mill City Museum

Ruins of the Original Mill

This museum, uniquely built into the ruins of what was the world’s largest flour miill, had one of the neatest historical exhibits I have seen. The tower of the former flour mill, closed and abandoned in the 1960s, was repurposed into an elevator exhibit. The elevator had seating for probably up to 40 people. We took our seats on the elevator, and sat in for a ~10 minute ride through the mill’s history, narrated from various perspectives. We covered 9 floors within the tower, each one with a different exhibit to be seen from the elevator, and with pre-recorded audio narration. It was really neat. The elevator ride ended in the tower’s 8th storey, where the mill’s only remaining equipment sites.

It was also neat to learn that this mill, originally called the Washburn A. Mill, was purchased and operated by General Mills until it shut down in the 1960s. Back in the day, competitor Pillsbury opened its own flour mill directly across the Mississippi from the Mill City Museum. Competition abounded in Minneapolis.

Lobby of the Mill City Museum during the Saturday Market

Finally, it’s definitely worth mentioning that we went to this museum on a Saturday, around noon. If you’re like me, you might associate Saturday mornings with the market. Well, the spacious lobby of this museum was overrun by vendors and shoppers when we arrived. Between locally made granola – which was delicious but due to the nut content illegal to be taken back across the border – ethically sourced meat, and handmade gifts, there was a wide variety of vendors and, more importantly, a thick crowd of shoppers. I was so impressed by this mix-use space, where museum-goings interacted with locals doing their weekly shopping.

Mall of America

A trip to Minneapolis would not be complete without a visit to America’s largest shopping mall, in terms of total number of stores. However, this mall is extremely suburban, and is further from the city centre than even the airport, though not by much. Like the West Edmonton Mall, this “Mall” is very large in terms of footprint, but not exclusively a “Mall”. It is a complex containing: a wedding chapel (because that isn’t sad at all), Nickelodeon Universe amusement park, an aquarium, hotels, a movie theatre, a sad “exhibit centre” in one of the anchor store locations, which Bloomingdales once rented, restaurant row of American chain and theme restaurants, and alas some stores. But mostly standard stores you would find in almost any mall.

MOA Chapel, outside the sad Exhibit Centre. It was Valentine’s Day. Maybe Ian and I should have got married there

Following Bloomingdales’ exit from MOA, its old space (one of the 4 anchor tenant spaces) was repurposed – great idea. However, it was not necessary repurposed well. It is now the mall’s Exhibit Centre, with somewhat permanent exhibits. Showing now is STAR TREK The Exhibition and Barbie The Dreamhouse Exhibition, amongst a couple others. Well, we were considering going to the Star Trek exhibit – essentially my reward for him coming to MOA with me – but after passing the lovely Barbie Cafe, picturerd at right, he decided to save the $32 admission charge. What a shame… 🙂

Desserted Barbie Cafe

While the Exhibit Centre was funny if not a little depressing, what was actually appalling to me, from a free rights perspective, was the MOA’s Parental Escort Policy. As per their website:

We welcome all youth to Mall of America®, however on Friday and Saturday evenings youth under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 4 p.m. until close.

You might wonder – does mall security really ID teens? And the answer would be yes. Almost anyone who looks like they could be under the age of 16. I witnessed on at least 5 occasions incidents where a group of teens was exiting a store, often with shopping bags in tow, only to be ID by one of the mall’s MANY security guards. In many instances, one poor teen had to call their parent for a pickup as they didn’t have any ID to present. I honestly could not believe this. This sparked further research into this topic, and it seems that multiple American malls do the same thing to promote safety and encourage others to shop at the mall without fear of adolescents.

Walker Art Centre

I’m going to be honest: I’m not a huge lover of art galleries. I enjoy art, and feel like I can appreciate it, but I often find it difficult to view hundreds of pieces without understand the context in which in the art was created. I have never taken an Art History class, and could tell you next to nothing about art in history: various movements, forms, etc.

But unlike most art galleries, including the Louvres, I really appreciated the context that the Walker Art Centre provided to its audience, and felt that this allowed me to appreciate the art and its message to a far greater extent.

Indeed, as its mission statement states, Walker programs examine the questions that shape and inspire us as individuals, cultures, and communities.

Here are some of my favs:

Yoko ono’s Hammer A Nail

Robert Indiana’s infamous LOVE Sculpture

Daniel Spoerri,
31 Variations on a Meal: Eaten by Bruce Conner

Spoonbridge and Cherry fountain by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The adjacent Sculpture Garden would have been far more enjoyable in warmer weather.

I just loved this quote.

More to come on the rest of my weekend in Minneapolis, including neat neighbourhoods, my take on Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns, and the plethora of delicious food and beer spots!