Real Cycling Adventures!

Today, my friend Alex and I went off on a real cycling adventure (this is a shout-out to the title of this blog)! As I've mentioned before, I've been biking quite a bit here, but it's been entirely around Ebjy (my town). The idea of actually taking my bike into the city seemed terrifying. There are so many people and they are all such hard-core, experienced bikers that I have always been too intimidated. The bike lanes can be somewhat chaotic and I had a mental image of myself causing a massive collision. BUT in the spirit of trying new things/stepping outside my comfort zone/having an authentic cultural experience, I decided that it was time to face my fear. I proposed a Copenhagen biking adventure to Alex (who has been here for several months and has biked in the city quite a bit) and she enthusiastically agreed!

So this morning I left my house on my bike, took off for the station, and instead of locking my bike at one of the racks there, I pushed it up these ramps that are in all of the stairwells and arrived at the top of the platform. Lars had recently fixed the kickstand for me, so I parked it and waited for the train. So far so good!

Every S-train has 2 special cars for bikes--one at each end. You wait with your bike at a special part of the platform and when the train arrives, you just lift it up a half step and there you have it! The inside of the bike car has this strange bike rack attached to the wall. you just jam the wheel into it and it stays upright. The funny thing is that as the train turns and stops and starts, the handle bars on all of the bikes move back and forth in perfect synchrony, and thus avoid slamming into each other. It's a great system. The only problem is when a million other people have also taken their bikes on the train and so the car is full. That is what happened this morning...

I got my bike onto the train and it became immediately clear that there was not enough space. I wedged myself into a corner (and somehow managed to balance with one hand on my handlebar and one hand on the wall of the train), but then at the next stop one person needed to get off (and of course he was farthest away from the door). Many people grunted and looked severely annoyed. We sort of smushed together and twisted our bikes around, and by some miracle the man made it out of the car. But then 3 more people got on (2 with bikes, one with a giant stroller), adding a completely new twist to our puzzle. I felt like I was perpetually in the way and hadn't a clue what anyone was saying to me! My strategy was to just nod and look like I was busy. It worked well enough and eventually enough people left and I was able to wedge my bike into an actual space and moved to take a seat in another part of the car.

On the platform at Osterport, I met Alex! We wheeled our bikes off the platform and up the ramp on the stairs and set off in search of something (that we hadn't yet defined). Amazingly, we found exactly what we were looking for (which I guess is the best part about searching for nothing in particular... you almost always find it)!

We came across some statues and of course had to pose with them!

We ended up in another picture-perfect neighborhood. 

I am obsessed with the colors.  

Biking on the cobblestone streets!

We then came upon a giant church. I took a series of shots of Alex in front of it (like the one pictured below). Then, another older gentleman crossing the street asked if we would like him to take our photo. Well, he didn't really ask, he mostly just rolled his eyes, stretched out his hand, and took my camera, and then ushered me across the street to join Alex. 

Note Alex in the bottom right corner, waving as she bikes!

The photo taken by the old, kind Danish guy

The man spoke English (though you wouldn't have guessed that from our first interaction) and proceeded to tell us an incredibly long story of the history of the neighborhood and every building and problem the community has faced. "They are going to be turning these churches into schools or maybe a hall for dances. Do you like dances? It's a shame that they have to be changed." It was a strange, endearing, and quite hilarious conversation, and we eventually managed to break away. It was very uncharacteristically Danish, and was in fact quite refreshing! 

We continued on... to the Rosenborg Castle and gardens!

We walked out bikes through the park so that we wouldn't get muddy. Check out Alex and the cutie in the snowsuit!

View from the far end of the park

Me, posing with the statues and our bikes

We left the park and headed towards my school. This involved biking on some major roads. Luckily, in places where bikes are supposed to follow different traffic patterns than cars, CPH is equipped with mini bike-traffic lights!

So cute and practical!

Alex needed to look for boots, so we visited a couple of places:

A leather store! All of the stuff was beautiful... too bad the pair of boots Alex wanted was just under $350.

We visited the Red Cross thrift store since it was at the end of the street. We didn't find boots, but there were plenty of other great treasures (that we decided to leave for others to find)!

"I can't believe somebody made this!"

We ended the day with lunch at a bakery. We encountered a not-very-nice cashier, but the pastry at the end of the meal made it worth it (it was Alex's but she was willing to share!).

After dropping by the post office, we parted ways. I went to DIS to meet up with a friend from class to work on a project. I spend a good solid 4+ hours clacking away at this computer, but managed to crank out 6 pages of a 9 page report... not bad! 

When I got to DIS, I needed to park my bike. I LOVE that CPH has a specific symbol/sign for bike parking lots

The parking lot at DIS

 At about 5:15 I decided to head home. The streets were alive with plenty of bikers doing just the same thing.

The train ride back was actually more relaxing. I got on two stops before the main train station, so there was a spot for my bike in the bike car right away! Phew!

the back wheel of the bike is jammed into what looks like two pieces of old tire. No kickstand required!

This evening has been fun and relaxing. We had chicken for dinner (wa-hoo!!!), which I have been missing since we eat pork/beef pretty much every evening. I skyped with Mike for a while, which was awesome! And now, I am happily going to shower and sleep! 

Tomorrow is my last day of class before break #1 and Emily (one of my best friends from Dickinson, now in grad school in England) arrives Saturday!!! YAY! I am volunteering at Muhabet in the evening but I am hoping to be home in time for X-factor with my family at 8pm. 

It will be at least 1.5 weeks before I can meet up with Alex again (since I am traveling after Emily leaves), but I am SO excited to be spending time with her. We've vowed to go on many more cycling trips over the next few months and I will (of course) keep you posted. :)