Wednesdays are sort of like a day off. There are no classes, but so far I've kept myself busy with excursions. Today I slept in until 9:00, ate some apple & fig cereal while watching That 70s Show (I love you, Topher Grace, and I love you, American television), and caught the 11:15 bus to the train station.
According to the directions in the "Danish Library Guide" provided by my program, I could catch bus 48 to the Architecture Library from København H, the central station, or Rådhuspladsen, the town square. Easy. I'm so good with buses.
But no!
After arriving at Central Station, I found that there was a bus 47 (not 48) going in the same direction as the supposed bus 48. But none of the stops for bus 47 looked like they were in the right area.
I walked to Rådhuspladsen.
No dice. No bus 48. And none of the buses looked like they were going to the area where I needed to go.
I took a bus back to Central Station and went back to the stop for bus 47. I studied the names of the stops. Nothing looked right.
I looked at the routes for the other buses and figured out that another bus that came to the same stop did go to the right place. I never thought I'd be so happy to see the words Danneskiold-Samsøes Allé.
I was the last person to board the bus and just after the doors closed behind me, the bus sped forward with a huge lurch. Then there was a commotion and I looked over the shoulder of the man in front of me: an elderly woman who hadn't sat down yet had fallen over on top of her walker and her partner, along with a rough-looking bearded dude with piercings, was trying to help her up.
"Stop!" is the same in Danish and English.
The bus pulled over and everyone stared as the woman slowly collected herself. Bearded Dude held her up by the armpits and set her in a seat. Everything was fine, but people just couldn't stop staring-- at the elderly woman and then at the bus driver. Finally, after what felt like a very long, tense moment, the man in front of me said something like de fint (it's fine) and we all moved to our seats.
When not potentially life-threatening, the bus to the Architecture Library is a great way to see the sights for cheap. It goes over two canals, passes Parliament, the Stock Exchange, and the Black Diamond (the new extension to the Royal Library), and it goes through an interesting area of town you may have heard of -- Christiania.
I wish there was a term for being culturally spoiled -- maybe privilege is really the best word -- but it doesn't feel like a challenge at all when I can walk into a library in the middle of Copenhagen and say, "I would like a library card" and the other person responds automatically. I found a couple books on Jørn Utzon but I didn't have much time for browsing before heading back.
On the bus ride back, a young man with a limp sat next to another young man in the seat in front of me. Even though the kid was wearing headphones, Limp Guy started talking to him. This almost never happens in Denmark. People just don't talk to each other on public transportation. I figured out pretty quickly why he was so chatty -- he was drinking something clear from a soda bottle like it was soda but it definitely wasn't. I don't know of any soda that makes my nostrils burn. Also, most people don't offer soda to one another, and I saw Limp Guy hold the bottle out to Headphones Guy, who was smooshed up against the window in an attempt to create some distance between them.
I have a hygge dinner paid for by the program tonight. It's meant as a way for students to socialize with each other. I don't particularly want to attend (you know how I avoid socializing at all costs) because it starts at 8pm, which means I'll get home around 11:30 if I leave at 10pm. Tomorrow is a long day, too: class from 9-4, a meeting at 4, work at 5:30.
tags: travel. trip. dinner. day. work. busy. england. europe. support friends!