To Copenhagen!

So I got up early (9am) packed my bags and was off for my longest train ride yet (5 hours). I got to the station, got lunch and onto my train no problem. No one was sitting next to me (score), but my window seat happened to be next to the part between windows...so no view.

One of the best parts of the train is I could order Internet for the trip for $15 (which I did). The worst part is I found out about 45 minutes in I get motion sick on trains....damn. It is weird, I don't on planes, I do on trains and often on buses and def. in cars, but only if I try to read something. Since I don't on planes, I wonder if it is the moving scenery next to me that triggers it or the movement its self.

Either way it didn't matter because an hour in a nice Swedish girl (19 or 20) ended up sitting next to me. We sat there chatting about a variety of things. She was on her way to visit her sister in Malmo (in Sweden, across from Copenhagen). Her boyfriend is currently in the States trying to get onto a US minor league hockey team. She really wants to do a trip to the States like I am doing in Europe when she finishes school. I pulled out a US map and gave her the highlights to hit (national parks, fun cities, etc). It was a great way to pass the time.

Now, I am going to Copenhagen to visit family friends. My Mom lived/studied there in college and stayed with a family. They remain in contact to this day (parents at 89 and 93, kids are around my parents age, their children are around mine). We visited them a few times when I was younger, but it was been about 18 years since I have last seen them.

Finally, I arrived at Copenhagen Central Station and was going to be picked up by Ulla. It dawned on me that I haven't seen Ulla in 18 years and she hasn't seen me either, so how do I find her. Oddly enough I get off the train and see a woman standing there and instantly know its her. She notices the recognition in my eyes and guesses it is me. She exclaims that I look completely different, which 18 years of growth tends to do. Ulla looks completely different as well, but what I recognized was her energy. Ulla is one of those people just full to the brim of energy and happiness. That never changes and I saw that right away. She was bouncing around, running over to see me.

We go out to the car and she has some other guests. Her husbands two nephews and their Dad are also in town so they came to pick me up. The boys are 17 and 19 and really nice guys. We take the 25 minute drive back to Ulla's Mom's house where I will be staying that night and have a good conversation about my trip and life so far.

When we get to the house it looks familiar (some of my best childhood memories are from this house in Denmark), but the best thing was, it smelled the exact same. The moment I walked in I was overwhelmed with memories from my last visit. Smell is the strongest sense linked to memory and boy did that prove it to me. It was great. It is a smell I have only have found there. It is so pleasant. In my head that is what I always remembered Denmark smelling like.

Now the Mom (Kirstan) is 89 and she doesn't look a day over 70. She is still fully mobile, cooking and cleaning, tending the garden and doing everything. Her husband was sadly not there, he recently had a stroke at the age of 93 and is fully recovering in a rehab center. He has speak and write and is getting feeling back in his numb side already. Before his stroke, he was working for 3 days in the garden and then went to an Apple Festival in Sweden and was walking up a large hill when he didn't feel well. He said he didn't want to go to a Swedish hospital, so he waited a few days till they were back in Denmark. So he had a stroke and ignored it for 3 days at the age of 93 and he is fully recovering. Amazing. Oh yeah, no memory loss either. Sharp as a tack.

At the house I walk around realizing it looks almost identical still. Same chairs, couch, books, paintings and so on. We have a great dinner, which I called Danish lasagna and some Danish desserts. Ulla and the others left after that and Kirstan and I caught up. She is just an amazing person. Stays up till 1 or 2am each night and lives life to the fullest.

After awhile, she is watching TV and I am reading a book. She says to me "do you like this show, it is one of my favorites." I look over to see which show, it is the Daily Show with John Stewart. That is right, she watches The Daily Show every night. So at 11:30pm, I watched the Daily Show with an 89 year-old Danish woman who laughed at the same lewd jokes I did. It was awesome. I love these people. After that I went to bed while she stayed up and watched my TV!