Falling In

Every time I see your face My heart takes off on a high speed chase

Something that speaks to me

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." - Marcus Aurelius

So grateful.

September is a good month.

DAY 100 OF 365

amazing.

GUIDE TO COPENHAGEN: WHERE TO EAT

the first instalment of three: where to eat, where to shop and where to go. one of my friends asked me for a guide to copenhagen. i thought i might as well just post a blog post about it and so, here goes! my top picks of what to eat in copenhagen. unfortunately, i did not take much photos of these places but you could easily find them online should you wish to take a closer look.

where to eat:

Torvehallerne Market is an indoor market and separates into two different blocks. in between the two blocks is an open market where a variety of fresh produce, fruits and vegetables are sold. inside the two blocks, there's a mishmash of foods from butchers cleaving fresh meat and then cooking it in the next store, sushi european style to traditional danish foods such as smørrebrød, which is an open sandwich with a dark rye bread based bottom and a variety of toppings.

must try: smørrebrød from HALLERNES SMØRREBRØD, fish salad assortment from FISKEHANDLER from hall one.

location: Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark

Paludan Bogcafe is a beautiful cafe near Størget and it's called a 'book cafe' for a reason, ('bog' is book in danish), the interior is filled with antique and some contemporary books that are for sale. the cafe offers a variety of drinks such as tea, coffee, hot chocolate but what i really love there is their brunch set. it's a really cosy place to be in where you can see many students studying and spending their afternoons there. 

must try: brunch menu and fresh juice of the day or smoothies

location: Fiolstræde 10, 1171 København, Denmark

La Glace is a confectionery store near Zara at Størget, i have never been there myself except to browse at their delicacies outside the store window. i will try it the next time i go to Copenhagen though. but it's still a place that i recommend as the queues exist though not as exaggerated as how it can get in Singapore, and even if you don't buy any, these pastries are amazing to look at.

Baresso is pretty much next door to La Glace but is also available round every corner. it's a chain coffee store much like Starbucks but i believe is uniquely Danish? i haven't seen it in Oslo which is the other Scandinavian country i've been to anyway. i'm frankly not too sure! but just in case, the cafe latte chocorange is ohmygodamazing and comes with orange flavoured krispies!! it deserves a multitude of exclamation marks. the cafe latte is also heavenly and comes with a stick coated with chocolate in the coffee.

must try: cafe latte chocorange and cafe latte!

Lagkagehuset is also located almost everywhere. do some googling and you'll find the closest one to where you're at. i personally like the one closest to nørrebro station. but hey, to each their own. i think their chocolate cake is pretty damn amazing and really thick. if you like marzipan, try their flødeboller. flødeboller is a pastry which is usually chocolate coated and has what seems to be meringue inside it and has a marzipan or waffle bottom. i don't like marzipan, so i try to ask for the waffle-bottomed ones whenever possible. it's really sweet and decadent but also really really really good. chocolate coated marshmallow treats is what google calls it. one thing that i've have not managed to try yet is their strawberry tart and i'm really looking forward to it the next time i'm there. also, if you like brown sugar, they have brunsvier which is basically brown sugar coated bread.

must try: flødeboller and whatever pastry that fills your heart's desire

Frellsen's is, i guess, a chocolate boutique? they serve all types of chocolates and candy and you can pick and choose the various types you like. i like their soft serve ice-cream coated with chocolate sauce and fresh Finnish liquorice! oh, that is really good.

must try: Finnish liquorice and ice cream 

Takii at Jatvej is a Japanese buffet restaurant, i think it serves a-la-carte as well. the sushi comes in generous portions but the yakitori is the ones that are what you should look out for. i've only been there once, but i'm looking forward to going back again. if you're craving for japanese food, this is a good option. the prices are pretty decent for Copenhagen too, seeing as everything is pretty much expensive there.

must try: yakitori? just get the buffet.
location: Jagtvej 113, 2200 København, Denmark

Vaffelbageren, an ice-cream store right at the end of Nyhavn. during summer, there's always a queue there. i find ice-cream in denmark really special because of guf, it's a magical ingredient that's marshmallow like and is plopped atop your ice-cream! the finishing touch of ice-cream in denmark. so so good. i believe there's two flavours of choice, liquorice and strawberry but i always go for the strawberry. there's drys too, which is basically just chocolate rice sprinkles, rainbow rice sprinkles, etc.

must try: two scoops of ice-cream flavour of your choice and guf atop!

Steff Hotdog Stands, self-explanatory you guys! but..do yourself a favour and ask for the fried onions! they make all the difference in a danish hotdog. it's also available almost everywhere, just keep your tummies hungry and your eyes peeled.

for everything else, if you're craving hard for Chinese/Korean food, it's available at Istedgade near the Central Station. walk around and see what you like! i've spotted Thai and Vietnamese once or twice but i've never ventured into them, yet. Also, kebabs and kebab pizzas in the Turkish pizza places are yummy. it comes with beef (i think?) and lots of lettuce and mayo. true comfort food.

and, my final and favourite of all time, Tuborg Classic. it's actually danish beer. no big deal? until you try it, it's the best i've ever had!! i'll never sing enough praises for it. 

HOLBAEK, ODENSE (H.C ANDERSEN MUSEUM) & KALUNBORG

marking the end of my europe journey with a trip back to Denmark after going to London, Paris and Berlin. this time in the smaller cities, i guess we could call it countryside?

stayed in Holbaek for four days hanging out with D's parents and my mom. one of those days, we headed off to Odense, Funen and visited the H.C Andersen museum! it's pretty great, to be able to see some of the amazing paper cuts he did. some said that he did it while telling his stories, cutting castles, pixies and fairies all at the same time. it's also a particular eye-opener for anyone who wants to know how people lived in the 19th century and their opinions of things. the 19th century was a particular period where many new inventions were created and also a period wrought with changes in the politics of denmark. 

we then spotted a beautiful tea and coffee shop after our little trip to the museum, with the most interesting art works in the shop itself and the nicest shopkeeper i've seen in a while! that little area of Odense which we were blessed to venture into really has one of the most beautiful architecture with its cobblestone roads and tiny houses.

on the way there, we took a detour and ended up visiting a ginormous boulder in what looks like the middle of nowhere. it's called the dammestenen, meaning the Lady's Stone. legend has it that some lady giant threw it to hit a church in sweden from finland but missed. at least, i think it's finland. 

some days later, we took mom out for a ride and visited church of our lady in kalunborg. i've been there once before. and it's a strange feeling to recognise all the little things that have changed, the flowers and overgrown vines over a house that was previously inhabited, etc. it's still beautiful and quiet and we still did not manage to get up to the church tower because it was closed.

denmark is gorgeous. during the drive home, mom shared with me a piece of her past while we looked at the constantly changing scenes of trees, windmills, birds and horses. 

i spent most of my 3 nights there walking my favourite dog in the whole wide world, or rather, having her walk me with the most precious person right beside me. 

and so, i'm back home now and i will leave this post with a memory of a poem that i found from the tea shop at Odense.

hvad er det, min marie
som gør det, at vi to
vi tale eller tie på færdeog i ro, 
os føle vi et sammen
som kirken og dens amen
præst og menighed

what is that, my marie, 
which does that, we two 
we talk or quiet on the way, 
and in peace, us feel as a whole, 
as church and its amen, 
priest and congregation

COPENHAGEN

i love denmark!

although i didn't take much pictures of it this time when i was there. i could make up a million excuses but it's also just really nice to leave the phone camera behind and just soaking in everything around, and the truth? it was freezing and i was lazy.

anyway, baresso has the best coffee ever! the orange krispies coffee is amazing ~

this time, we visited rundetårn, walked around størget with my mom where the only Zara in town is, had brunch at palundan bogcafe which everyone should at least go into once in their lives if you ever go to copenhagen. also to note are the beautiful buildings in copenhagen and how they vary so differently even if they are along the same row. the colours are vibrant, it's a rather eclectic mixture of the oldest, the old and the new. if you walk along the stretch of roads to the queen's palace, amalienborg, you'll probably end up spotting a few shops that sells vintage furniture, cutlery and the like. the cutlery is exceptionally gorgeous because of the detail thats on it. it's pretty expensive though as is everything in copenhagen or denmark in general. it's a quiet walk there and everything is a little jumbled up and the atmosphere a little different from størget and then right after the queen's castle, you walk left to amalienhavnen and you see the pier with the water and a huge building opposite it. it's a nice place to sit or stroll in the sun.

the flowers were starting to bloom and everything was becoming green and beautiful. the snowdrops were beginning to peek out. almost the end of winter and pre-spring, the weather is pretty crazy, going from nice and cosy to cold and beating in a minute. but ah well. 

it really is a beautiful time to visit copenhagen. but copenhagen is always beautiful to me.

Up, away, and back

Just came back from Europe. It's been 3 days since. Still jet lagging, but I'm hoping to get past it today. Just got a new nail polish from Kiko when I was in London, shall paint that now with my new awesome Mavadry from Mavala!

Very exciting. I hope that aerosol can is as magical as it claims to be.