To Copenhagen!

We started our trip on Friday morning. We did all the final chores in Raleigh and schlepped our mountain of luggage to the airport.

We rode in a small plane for our connecting flight, and I was worried it would be bouncy and horrible and prime me for a bad experience on the overseas flight. But it was lovely! The first half of the overseas flight was not so good. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt nauseated, but all I wanted to do was sleep. But the second half was far better! I read "Anne of Green Gables"and it was sunny and we were closer to land every minute. I think Todd had the reverse experience: he read Harry Potter for the first half, then fitfully slept through the second.

I wish I didn't get so distressed flying. But I suppose it has helped me develop gratitude. I say lots of prayers on planes, mostly because I'm grateful things aren't going as poorly as I imagine they could.

But we made it! 

From the air, Copenhagen hardly looks like a city! There are almost no tall buildings. It was strange for me to recognize the lay of the land when I'd never been here before--I've mapped so many things on Google Maps, I knew exactly what I was looking at.

The airport was different from any I've been in before. Each gate has its own separate room separate from the hallways and there are no announcements or music. Exactly opposite of where we'd come from (JFK: worst airport).

All of our luggage made it safely and unharmed (more grateful prayers). The taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong entrance to our apartment building. He can't be blamed, really--he dropped us at 8 and we are 8A. The bad news is, we're on the 4th floor (5th floor to Americans) with no lift. And we only discovered we were in the entrance after carrying half our heavy suitcases up and discovering the key wouldn't open the lock. I found the correct entrance around the corner, and we (mostly Todd) hauled all the suitcases up to the top floor. We'll have no need of a gym while we're here.

Our apartment is very nice. It's twice as big as the rest in our stairway and is very open with lots of windows. And there is a queen bed! REJOICE! I was fully prepared for weeks of sleep deprivation due to overcrowding a full-size bed, so that was an extremely happy discovery.

We set two goals for the day: get train passes and groceries. The walk to the local station, Svanemøllen, is through a picturesque little neighborhood with cobblestone streets and ivy. We don't have the train system down pat yet, but Todd easily navigated us to the central station and back.

For groceries, we tried a little mini-mart version of Aldi with less (albeit different) selection than 7-11 (which are everywhere here, by the way). We bought some pasta and marinara sauce and salami... I'm now realizing we bought mostly Italian food, probably because I could actually read the labels!

Then we came home and collapsed.