vivi torontali

Not caught up? Read Episodes 1-7 here.

It’s weird to experience summer knowing it isn’t a break from school now that I’ve graduated. There’s no official end date to my ‘vacation’. It can end in two weeks or it can extend into the fall. I can tell it’s summer break for everyone else in Copenhagen because all offices are closed and every worker in Denmark is swarming the city. It’s been an abnormally hot and sunny week. The trains feel like a greenhouse, and the apartment is no better. I can’t complain, it’s all the more reason to jump in the canals.

Copenhagen is known to have the cleanest harbor in any major city in the world (source), and that makes it a popular swimming destination during weeks like this one. I’ve been missing Lake Champlain recently– when it was warm in Vermont I’d go dip my toes in the lake between classes. I wouldn’t ever swim because the water quality isn’t great, so when I heard about the reputation of Copenhagen’s waters, I made it my goal to jump in at least once this summer. On the hottest day of the year, that’s exactly what I did.

After nearly melting on the train to the city, I jumped at the chance to get an ice cream from IKEA. To my pleasant surprise, it was on sale for basically half price. There’s nothing like a soft serve for less than a dollar on a hot summer day. The boardwalks by the canals were tan-colored from the vast amount of people in swimsuits. It was like the beach but instead of sand, it’s boardwalks and skin stretching for miles. Sorry– kilometers. After my man and I both got severe blisters from walking for maybe 15 minutes, we finally found a spot that wasn’t already occupied. And so we jumped. It felt like a swimming pool, not freezing cold despite it being the Baltic Sea. Ocean water gets more salty the closer you are to the poles– I could float so easily in New Zealand, but alas not here. Maybe I need to go swimming in Svalbard or Greenland. I jumped in the water twice before deciding I was sufficiently refreshed, making sure to get documentation for my beloved blog.

Though you read about my fun touristy adventures every week, most of the time I’m at home being aggressively poked by my dog’s cold wet nose in his efforts to get me to play with him. I guess the question is: am I entertaining the dog, or is the dog entertaining me? He doesn’t let me stretch on the floor or work on my table runner. All he wants me to do is throw his headless donkey plush, and then barks in exasperation when I beat him at his own game. What a sore loser. In my off-duty hours, I zoom through Duolingo in an attempt to finish the course before language school starts in August. Maybe I’m flying through it because I’m really good at Danish, or maybe it’s because I’ve figured out how the game is played. Either way, it boosts my ego.

Please enjoy this compilation of Nudli laying in various positions…

My family spends our days sifting through job portals and getting no response from our prospects. A lot of it is due to the summer vacation, but it feels like time is standing still. There is good news though– my mom scored an interview at Uniqlo! Wish her luck, we can use all the support we can get (drop a comment or something, idk). In other news, we set up my parents’ newly arrived bedframe and nightstands, and they put up a giant world map in their room, meaning we are officially fully moved in! We’ve been mostly working on our hygge, meaning rewatching The Orville on Hulu for the fifth time while I work on my table runner and sip on a glass of wine with the dog curled up in my lap. If you have ever had a conversation with my parents, particularly my mom, you would know just how passionate they are about The Orville. It’s a great show, I highly recommend. 

Other than that, we went walking in the woods one time and marveled at the large dirt piles we like to call “the highest peak in Denmark”. That was the only time we’ve gone on a walk and haven’t ended up in a grocery store to get ice cream or anything else. On another adventure, we found ourselves in the mall, where I ate the largest and most delicious bowl of ramen I’ve ever had in my entire life. I wasn’t too hungry but it was a bit pricey so I challenged myself to eat it all. I succeeded, and let’s just say I haven’t been hungry since. 

Because it’s been warm and we don’t have AC in this country (or Arizona iced tea), we’ve been leaving our terrace door and our windows open for the fresh air to stream in. With wide open doors come curious bees buzzing around while we eat our dinner. We have to stop Nudli from trying to catch them because we don’t have pet insurance and can’t be bothered to find a vet in case he gets himself stung. Additionally, you’d think the stellar healthcare in Denmark would mean we get quick access to our doctor, but my first appointment was with the secretary who was less than helpful. It’s okay, I’ll see the actual doctor in September.

In Episode 6: “I need a job…” I mentioned that my mom got a new bike. It had one wheel on the front and two in the back. Turns out it’s less than ideal when she rides on uneven ground. It’s basically impossible to drive. We ended up listing it on Marketplace so that we could find a better bike for her. Someone came to test it out, and his first question to my parents was “are you American?” If you have heard my parents talk, may it be about The Orville, you’d know they have Hungarian accents. I still wonder what made him ask that question. We ended up selling the bike to someone else and even made a small profit. My mom now has a very sleek, very cute electric bike, a much better alternative from what she had before. My dad is in the same situation now since he’s the only one with a regular— or as I like to call it— an acoustic bike. He realized that even though Denmark is flat, there are still small inclines here and there. Given his heart condition and his speedy wife and daughter, he decided to cave and get himself an electric bike while we sell his current one on Marketplace.

If my last seven episodes haven’t made it obvious enough, I’ve been living a beautiful little life here full of adventures and hygge. I almost don’t want life to get busier. Until it does though, you can bet that I’ll be here working on my table runner, entertaining my dog, and exploring the city. Keep us in your thoughts, and maybe drop a like, comment or subscribe to this blog so that you don’t have to wait even a second to see my posts on Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn.