I could not ask for more

I'm sitting here in the living room on my last night in Denmark, and I am experiencing about a million different thoughts and feelings. I may or may not get to those in my post tonight because as much as I want to share them, I think I need to document the past two days first. I'll start with yesterday (Thursday).

Thursday goes down as one of the best days I've ever had (despite the fact that it was one of my last in Copenhagen). Tonight, as my bags wait all packed and ready at the door for tomorrow's early morning departure, I am content going through pictures and reliving the sunshine and happiness from the past two days.

Thursday morning started with me being majorly productive... packing, finishing papers, submitting forms,  etc., but the real fun started when I met up with Evan for a goodbye walk and talk. I haven't seen him as much since classes ended, so it was really nice to hear how his semester is finishing. We discussed what we anticipate Senior year being like and also talked about the nature of change and transitions. I will probably refer to some of our conversations in my later reflection on leaving. He also showed me a really cool little park, which came in handy later in the afternoon when Becca and I were looking for a picnic spot...

SO gorgeous!

The flowers around the garden were in bloom and many couples were sitting together on benches

At my picnic date with Becca: Barefoot, sunkissed, and totally happy

Cheese and crackers and grapes and M&Ms... 

...DELICIOUS!

Becca even brought a tiny Danish flag to make the meal celebratory 

She and I sat talking, also reflecting on the semester and what it will be like going back home. We lay on our backs basking in the sunshine and enjoyed laughing about some of the funnier moments in the three classes we have shared together. I'm really, really going to miss her, but I know that she and I will be friends from here on out.

Many other people had the same idea

We took a break for a photo by the fountain  

And even took a risk by putting our feet in (although no one else was doing it). 

The water was COLD, but very refreshing  

One of my new "happy places"

We eventually left the park and wandered toward Nyhavn, the harbor that one thinks of when thinking of Copenhagen. In fact, it is the background picture for this blog, but now I have my own set of photos!

It was FILLED with people! SOOOO many people

My favorite thing (other than the colors) is watching the people on the banks with their feet over the edge, often sipping wine or beer (since it's allowed to drink alcohol in public) while talking with friends

Every restaurant patio was filled with people 

Street art and balloon venders, street musicians, and ice-cream stands lined the harbor 

Eventually we made our way back to Becca's apartment where we said a temporary goodbye. I had to get home to meet the Hellesens for a family night out to see their favorite soccer team's very important game...

In Denmark professional sports leagues are designed in a very different way. If I chose to, I could create a team and then slowly work my way up to literally being a professional team. Anyone has the potential to rise to the top over time (or to fall back down). Soccer is a big deal (even bigger than handball) and there was a lot riding on this particular game. Brondby is the family's favorite team and was in jeaopordy of being moved from the highest division down a level (something that hasn't happened in years and years). To make sure the stadium was packed, the owners decided to make an offer: wear a yellow (their team color) shirt and you get in for free! We took that bargain...

All in yellow, ready to cheer! [note: Mira stayed home]

Before the game started we got dinner. Of COURSE it involved many, many hotdogs/forms of pork 

The stadium packed with fans

the "hardcore fans"

The game was SO MUCH FUN! I've never heard more cheering and singing. We were constantly on our feet and even I caught on to some of the songs. Lars have me the hint to simply make sounds whenever I didn't understand the words; he said that oftentimes even he doesn't understand them!

Brondby love...

And after 90 minutes of cheering and excitement...

VICTORIOUS!

I wanted to take note of the process of leaving the stadium. All in all, there were over 21,000 people there, but weren't any car parking lots close by. Instead, when you left you ran into this:

SO MANY BIKES

And traffic getting out?

After the game I returned home with my family, but only temporarily. I took a night bus/train into the city to join my friends in last minute packing since almost everyone left today. I had offered to assist with getting bags to the airport in the morning and it made waaaay more sense for me to be there when we needed to leave at 9:15 rather than having to leave my house really early. It ended up being fantastic. I had been getting depressed in my house thinking about leaving so the trip to the city made things seem infinitely less lonely and infinitely more special.

I fell asleep thinking about how much like home this city now feels. The ease with which I navigated the buses and train (despite construction/confusion), my ability to give directions to "tourists" (since I am temporarily a Danish citizen!), and my confidence on my bike at all hours leave me feeling like I really belong. However, the fact that we are leaving also began to settle in: the apartment was empty, all photos off the walls and bedroom doors vacant and ajar. My own suitcases lay [mostly] packed in my room at home. Yet I felt strangely at peace and almost entirely simply happy. It had been the most beautiful day of the entire semester and I spent it doing what I enjoy most: exploring, reflecting, and passing the hours with those who I love. I could not ask for anything more.