Quick Update

I meant to post this quick update before I left on the trip around the 22^nd of August but got sidetracked beforehand. I figure I will post it now then do an update about the trip in a few days.

I had a good weekend, going to a free outdoor opera (hey, why not?) with some friends from class. Copenhagen is great during the summer because they have all kinds of these outdoor cultural events. Most people bring a picnic and make a whole evening of it…

I also had a fun pancake breakfast on Sunday with a large group of people from the Danish language class courtesy of one of my Canadian friends.

Anya, whose bike I borrowed over the weekend, and whose lock I broke has had her bike stolen! She was using one of my spare locks (the less thick one) before she got her own, left it at the University over the weekend and it’s gone…

We had our final test in my Danish class this morning and it went well, just two days left which clearly won’t be too intense. In other Danish news I had my first meeting with my “Tandem Partner” yesterday which is an individual you can find through an online forum through the university in which each of you wants to learn the other’s mother tongue. When we met yesterday it was only Danish and next time it will be only English (although I already know her English is much better than my Danish).

I uploaded a picture last time with a huge ice-cream cone so I thought I would tell the short story that goes along with it. Ice cream in general is very popular in Denmark and it is not uncommon to see carts, and just many places in general selling two types of ice-cream. There is just a normal waffle-cone (preferably home made) with ice-cream scoops on top—just like in the US with a few additions of whip-cream, jam, a cotton-candy-ish strawberry topping and a flødebolle (light chocolate coating for a marshmallow center) for those looking for the whole ice cream experience.

There is also a soft ice-cream which is very similar to Soft Serve except it is a bit creamier and generally served plain, maybe being dipped in a chocolate powder.

I had countless normal ice-creams last summer while in Denmark, but never had a soft ice-cream. I finally decided to have one after my friend told me how good they were, although she suggested not getting it too big because all the cream can give you a stomach ache afterwards.

Not heeding her advice the next afternoon I went down to the harbor and found an ice-cream place. I asked for a large soft-ice cream dipped in the chocolate powder. The man proceeded to make the biggest ice-cream in the history of mankind and hand it over to me. I was so astounded I attempted to take picture of it in one hand while holding it in the other. Unfortunately the perspective does not give its true size but you get the idea in comparison to my hand.

The problems began almost immediately, for the ice-cream was quite heavy and supported only by the tiny waffle cone. While trying to take a picture of the cone and holding it with only one hand I broke a hole in the side. So now as the ice cream melted it ran down the side of my hand (as if just controlling the edges of this bad boy wasn’t hard enough).

From this point it was all downhill because there was no way I could eat the entire ice-cream fast enough before it melted. To top it off I was in a pretty packed area down by the waterfront, standing around feeling very foolish as my hand slowly became soaked with ice cream. I tried to eat it as fast as possible but with this amount it was to no avail and I inhaled it while trying to casually hide behind a building but still catching everyone giving me odd looks.

10 minutes of straight eating later the cone was gone, I was able to wash up and know that if I am really, really, hungry for ice cream again that its time for a medium, or to bring a bowl.