The Putin-meister

Yesterday, a buddy of mine forwards an email to me about a scheduled shut down of the main building & writes "Vladimir Putin will be here in case you didn't know". Vlad must've forgotten to call me b/c I had no idea. You know...me being the buddy buddy of Russian Prime Ministers. In reading the email, I was glad that I do not work in the main building...Or I may have been stuck there for hours & hours waiting for him to show up.

I didn't think much of the email until lunch time when Secret Service, KGB, or whatever they call themselves nowadays began to enter the building (I have lunch in the main building) & stood around the entrance talking into their sleeve. Hello Hollywood? Yea, apparently you got that one spot on. As I walked back to the "safety" of my building, approx 4-5 policemen walked up behind me & one decided to cock his sniper. I guess the trio I was with looked suspicious & we needed a warning? The snipers were waiting for the elevator (lazy bums! Even I use the stairs now!) when one of them dropped something. I thought it was the gun & I swear I must've jumped 30 feet in the air. The policeman was amused. Me? Not so much.

As I was leaving for the day, the Putin-ator hadn't arrived yet but tourists, camera crews, police, & the rest of his entourage were all at the entrance to the office. I left as the helicopter approached.



But this is not the end of the story...Apparently, Vladster was disappointed that we didn't run into each other, because later in the evening, his motorcade & helicopter escort wizzed past me as they headed to parts unknown (at least to me).

I guess the Vlady & I will just have to catch up next time.


PS - I did not take this video but thought you might appreciate a little glimpse of "my world".

The Snipers

The Camera Crews

The Motorcade

Creepy Churchbells & A Cannon

Every morning, I walk to work through a military fortress, the Kastellet. At 8 am every morning, the church bells start ringing to signify the start of a new day. For some reason, I find these church bells a little eery. It's spooky when the bells break the silence of the 400 year old fort as I am crossing through.

But as if a church bell isn't creepy enough, only seconds after the bells start, a cannon goes off. And every morning, I jump & duck for cover as if a war was on the verge of breaking out. One single cannon blast into the morning air. And I know it's coming...I even expect it...And yet, it never fails to give me a little jolt to which I usually follow up with "Whyyy" Why is it necessary in this day & age...in the year 2011 to set off a cannon?

I've asked around & most people don't know the reason. The only theory I have been supplied with is that Denmark wants to remind Sweden to stay away. Really Denmark?? Because let me tell you, if I was Sweden, I would say, "Oh yea?? Well let me show you what my satellite controlled missile, released from my remote controlled plane can do to your little measly cannon." Yep. That's exactly how I would handle that situation. In fact, I often find myself fantasizing of the day that someone puts that cannon out of its misery. The cannon is not my friend.

The Things We Do To Get a Taste of Home

Now everybody got the game figured out all wrong
I guess you never know what you got till it's gone
I guess this is why I'm here and I can't come back home
And guess when I heard that when I was back home


(I'm comin' home again)
Do you think about me now and then?
Do you think about me now and then?
'Cause I'm comin' home again, comin' home again

"Homecoming" Kanye West

I've never been a huge Kanye West fan. As much as I love music, I don't really enjoy big ticket concerts. The live music never sounds as good, it's crowded, & runs late. Exceptions to this rule can always be made for New Kids on the Block. Just sayin'.

But yesterday I went to Tivoli & did the strangest, oddest thing. I spent 515 DKK ($97) on a ticket to a Kanye West concert in August, here in Copenhagen. In my defense, I still don't quite do the math properly & exchange rates confuse me. Had I known I would be paying more than my floor seats to the NKOTB concert 3 years ago, I may have thought twice. But I was lured by the prospect of seeing a famous d-bag American Rapper & bouncing along to songs I knew in a city where I know nothing.

I don't understand the language, the people, the customs of this place...But I do know the words to Gold Digger & in that moment, that seemed enough for me.

So on August 11, I will head back to Tivoli to find out if Kanye was worth my money.

Don't Be A Jaded American

It's so easy to travel or live abroad & quickly start thinking about how the U.S. is better at ....well everything. Suddenly, you find yourself saying that food is the best in the U.S. or that the clothes is the best in the US & nothing can compare to what our great country has.


But there's no way that I can be happy here if I keep holding on to that. So the other day, I was telling someone (a fellow American) that I wanted to go to Tivoli.


Source: Wikipedia
Tivoli Gardens (or simply Tivoli) is a famous amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on August 15, 1843 and is the second oldest amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg.
Tivoli is currently the most visited theme park in Scandinavia and the 3rd most visited in Europe.


You had me at Amusement Park. I wanted to go on all the rides & scream like a little girl on roller coasters. But, the person I was speaking with said, "Don't bother. There are no rides like what you're used to back home. You're American. This stuff will be boring to you."


Undeterred, I made plans with another expat from South Africa & we headed off to Tivoli. At first, I saw this & thought "It's going to be a LONG day":

After all...What was that? So so strange.


A few steps later, I came across this & was ever so slightly disturbed:

Then, I went on my first ride. And I didn't understand why the Danish engineers that created these rides couldn't have been recruited by Disney imagineers who are visionaries in animatronics. You know I am getting old when I am on an amusement ride & those big words are what I am thinking about.


I was having quite a bit of fun despite being a jaded American who was going from one lame ride to another.


But then it happened. I went on a ride so intense, that no Universal Studios, Disney World, or Busch Gardens experience could ever replicate. And what was this ride you ask? It was just a little "propeller plane" that is swung in a circular motion, while the plane also moves in its own circular motion. I don't think I can properly explain the sheer terror I felt in being hurdled up & down while I went upside down, right side up, & back upside down. The city views come & go & you don't know what is up or down or if this is what is meant to be happening. This little plane gave new meaning to the word thrill ride...and just for a tiny second, I wondered if it was all too much. Suddenly, I am right side up & itching to get off the ride...But it's not over yet. Time for Round 2. Round & Round I go. Where I stop you'll never know. This time, the plane stopped at the very top, with us upside down. And that's how we stayed until the ride reached the bottom & the plane turned around just to let us out. Is it even good for our brain cells to be upside down that long?

And all I can say is...This little plane ride kicks the Incredible Hulk's (Islands of Adventure) ass!!

All in all....a great day indeed....And a newfound appreciation for what really constitutes a "Thrill Ride".

PS - Here's just a couple more shots from the day....

To Bike Or Not To Bike

...That is the question. Never ever did I ever ever think that I would even consider using a bicycle as a mode of transportation. Ever.


I knew that moving to Copenhagen, I would be living in a bicycle culture but I thought I had the ability to resist the trend. I was going to be a rebel. It has now been exactly 3 weeks that I live here & already I am thinking, "Well, maybe I will just look into getting a bike".


1 small little problem, I don't know how to ride one. I haven't been on a bike since I was in elementary school & that whole thing about how you never forget...Not true. You do. I needed the space in my memory bank for important things...Like what Gwyneth Paltrow was wearing when she won an Oscar & the words to "Hustler" by Rick Ross.


Buttttt....My feet hurt. Walking is slow & not very fun. And I think I would look so cute in a bicycle with a cute basket in the front of it. I'll even name it the way I name my cars. (Oh Billy Earl, I miss you sooooo much).


The biggest issue is the cost. A new bike will average between 2000-5000DKK ($375-$940). That's alot of mula for something I don't even know how to use.


But I would look so cute! And in the end, isn't that what matter most?

Undskyld

I spent months reading & learning about this country that I would be calling home. In everything I read, there was an underlying theme: Danes are hard to befriend. Over & over I was made aware that this is a people that while FRIENDLY, they keep to themselves. "Oh they are polite...But hard to connect with". There is a "respect" for your personal space which is why strangers don't initiate conversations with you & why there is no such thing as small talk while standing in queue somewhere (ie waiting in line) or at a park or store or basically anywhere.

All that is fine and dandy. I can understand that....if it were true. But when someone bumps into you or cuts in line in front of you without so much as an excuse me, it's pretty safe to assume that your personal space is not being respected. Aside from my favorite word, tak (see previous post), one of the first words I learned was Undskyld (prounounced: Oon-Skl...kinda) which means Excuse Me. However, that is apparently not a word used too frequently around here.

Having spent almost 3 years living in the South where being polite is almost an art form, I find that the lack of common courtesy is almost appalling. As I venture about more & more & start to explore my new surroundings, I am finding plenty of things I like...but a few things I don't. And this happens to be one of them. For example, when I found a plastic wrapping in my pizza today at a restaurant today, it would have been nice to hear someone apologize as opposed to telling me that "It happens sometimes". I won't be going back since I prefer my pizza sans plastic.

Luckily for me, I spent almost 28 years living in Miami where politeness is almost as rare as here in Copenhagen. So, a warning to all Danes...Keep it up...Just keep it up....My Southern Charm is quickly melting & the Miami is about to come out. I'll push my way through w/ the best of them & I happen to have a little more to push around than most Danes...Oh yes, I know how to get to the front of the line. Don't underestimate me. ;-)

Photos of The City I Want to Call Home

If nothing else, this is a beautiful city. Here are just a few pics...

The Little Mermaid. And yes, she is quite Little.

The Lake just behind my office.

Taking in some nature

At the National Museum

Also at the National Museum