Our flat in Copenhagen

We arrived in Copenhagen exactly one week ago today! It was a rather cloudy and chilly Friday afternoon. We managed to fit all our luggage in a taxi and we headed to our new flat! Thankfully the taxi driver knew our street and we arrived in no time. As we drove through the city we noticed these large trucks with open backs full of kids wearing what looked like sailor hats. The kids were yelling, singing, and blowing whistles. The trucks were decorated with tissue paper and signs. It was quite the site! The taxi driver explained that these kids had just completed the Danish version of high school. It was the tradition to drive around in these trucks -- and they did, all weekend long!

Well, we found our apartment (the picture to the right is our front door!) but our landlord's parents (who were supposed to meet us with the keys to the apartment -- our landlords are in Ghana) were no where to be found. Luckily our downstairs neighbor walked into the building about the time we arrived and she let us into the building. We found our flat on the 3rd floor (2nd floor for Danes) and decided to go ahead and move our luggage upstairs and wait until our landlord's parents arrive.

Once into the apartment we were immediately pleased with the amount of space. It is very large, especially for two people in the heart of the city. The flat seems well cared for and there are several new appliances including a new dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine! That made me very happy. The flat is modestly furnished (we quickly discovered that we needed to add a few things), but in really good shape. Given our last house... this was a dream. The flat has an odd layout -- you have to walk through the master and small bedroom to get to the bathroom. And, the second bedroom is too small to hold a desk and bed so we had to put Joel's desk in the living room. But, there is lots of space for visitors, especially if you don't mind sharing a bathroom!

Our flat is in a building built in 1772 and it is truly in the middle of the city center (see the picture on the upper-left). In fact, whenever we explain where we live to native Danes they always respond with astonishment. Joel's secretary and boss both (and independently) described our area as posh. We laugh because it was the cheapest we could find on the internet (okay... not *the* cheapest, but one of the cheapest that didn't have "shared facilities" or showers over the toilet). Our street is a small side-street off two larger streets. There are three pubs on our tiny street -- and yes, it is very loud, especially on the weekend. But, that is just part of living in the city. We heard some very interesting "singing" the other night, and of course, the truckloads of graduates (although, I think they are about done with their celebrating!).

We spent the past week unpacking and settling in. We've walked all over the city and are beginning to learn our way around. Copenhagen is not huge, but it is not as easy to navigate as New York... none of the streets are straight and they often change their name every block! Joel started work this week. He goes in mid-morning and usually stays until dinner. More on that in another blog. I'll write more later...