The Metro in Copenhagen is usually quite reliable. Sometimes snags do happen and when they do, they’re fixed up pretty quickly. On Tuesday afternoon however, one of the metro trains headed for the airport (lufthavn) got stuck on the tracks. As a result, all of the other metro trains were being diverted to Nørreport Station. For a while there was no Metro service to the airport while they sorted out the problem. I was on my way to the library and it took twice the time to get there due to the delay. At one point, between Christianshavn and Kongens Nytorv, the train I was in stopped completely and shut down. All the lights went out and everything. It was also a packed train. But after a few minutes the train rebooted. It was actually pretty cool to see how it restarted, the little red display that tells you which station is coming up next was displaying all sort of boot-up messages. A computer controls the entire system. It’s really interesting.

As for the train that got stuck, I guess they had to have the people file out of the train, walk down the little platform along the tracks and into the station.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to write a series of posts about the different public transportation options in Copenhagen and so I will write much more about the Metro when that time comes. :-D

Pictured is part of the crowd at Nørreport Station. It was packed!!

Just got back from a wonderful Danish Christmas dinner held in my kitchen! The people in my hall are great cooks, lol. Well, we had pork, caramel potatoes and red cabbage. For dessert we had “ris ala mata” with cherry sauce. It’s basically some sort of rice with whipped cream and milk and almond nuts, topped with cherry sauce. Only one whole almond is mixed in, and whoever gets the whole almond gets a present! We had a nice time even though I couldn’t understand any of the Danish being spoken at the table. I could, however, pick up a few randon words here and there. But next semester I will be taking a Danish class and will hopefully be able to follow along with coversations to some exent. :-)

Last week the International Students at RSLIS held a Christmas party as well. Everyone brought things they eat for Christmas back at home, so we had a wide variety of foods from many different countries. It was all delicious! Since I didn’t have the time (or the skills) to make anything (at that time I was still trying to finish up my project paper), I brought popcorn, popped over the stove!

The Danes really get into the Christmas spirit. The Christmas decorations around town are wonderful. I will try to take some more pictures of them later before I leave to go home!

One more thing — apparently there was a minor earthquake this morning. The epicenter was somewhere in the southern part of Sweden, not too far from Malmo. Some people in Copenhagen felt the tremors. I slept right through it. Man, the first earthquake I ever experience and I sleep through it. Oh well.

I’m back with another post! I can’t believe it’s October already. I’m starting to settle into more of a regular rhythm here, although I try to discover something new each day. I’ve taken a lot of walks down the long streets, trying to figure out how everything connects.

This past Friday I went with some friends to a “karma night” at a disco club, it was a lot of fun. A different type of place than we were expecting but still an enjoyable experience. There were a lot of yoga-type people there, and positive quotes were posted on the walls (in Danish). Plus it was a nice release to just let go and dance. :)

This weekend I didn’t do much, just went on several walks and cleaned the kitchen and my room. I thought it went pretty well. I’m considering buying a plant or something to bring some more life into this room. :)

This afternoon I decided to check out the Swim Centre at DGI-Byen, and it was really nice. Very stylish. The Danes are very open when it comes to nakedness in the locker rooms…you are not allowed to have clothes on when you take a shower. Everyone in the women’s locker room was naked — kids, grown women and small boys (who are too young to go alone into the men’s locker rooms). There are 5 pools. I swam in Pool 4, which is elliptical. You swim in circles around this smaller children’s play pool in the center. Very interesting. I’d never seen anything like it. It’s 100 meters (~ 328 ft) in circumference, and 1.8 meters (~5.9 ft) deep. I didn’t visit the other 4 pools today, but when I go back I will take a look at them!

My absentee ballot came in the mail the other day. So I will be casting my vote for president and sending it back ASAP!