Meet Lucy!

Go ahead, check Lucy out!  Isn’t she a beauty!? 

Well it took two weeks, but I finally found a bike that I have no trouble reaching the pedals when I ride!  I absolutely LOVE it!  The sun is shining again today, surprisingly, so I was able to enjoy an incredible ride home with my new toy!  Copenhagen is known as a “City of Cyclists” but I don’t think you can truly understand the meaning of that phrase until you are here experiencing the Danish bike culture yourself.  For Danes, cycling is an integral part of daily life.  Danes of all ages cycle to school, to work, to drop the kids of at soccer practice.  They ride in the rain, the snow, the wind.  And they do it all in style--I’m talking high heels and dresses!  The extensive and well-designed system of cycle paths has earned Copenhagen the reputation as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.  In the last five years, New York has built more than 250 miles of bike lanes that they have called “Copenhagen Lanes.” 

Here are a few bike facts from a pamphlet I received when I first arrived in Denmark.

* 55% of all Copenhageners commute to work or study by bike.

* In total Copenhageners bike 1.2 million kilometers a year, which equals a trip to the moon and back,  

   twice.  In comparison, Copenhageners only travel 660,000 kilometers by Metro.

* In central Copenhagen there are more bikes than citizens—520,000 inhabitants and 560,000 bikes.

* The busiest biking lane in the world is Dronning Louises in Copenhagen with up to 36,000 cyclists  

   passing through daily.

Going to head out and ride a little before dark.  Then it’s off to Malmo, Sweden tomorrow!  My bike and I will be hopping on the train in the morning and heading straight to a class at Crossfit Malmo.  I will then spend the afternoon riding around Malmo to all the tourist attractions I can find. 

A Day in the Life

I am living in the northwest corner of Copenhagen but my language class this month is located in the exact opposite end of the city.  I quickly learned, after an hour and a half trip one morning, that the bus is not the way to get across town.  Now I hop on the S train towards Ny Ellesberg to Flinton and then transfer to the M2 metro towards Vestamager.  My stop is Island Brygge, a fashionable mainly residential neighborhood in Copenhagen.  Loving my commute on the train instead of being stuck in traffic on the freeway!  It's the perfect time to get some homework done before arriving at the my apartment for the evening.  The University language buildings are brand new and beautiful.  I felt too touristy taking a picture of the cafeteria but even the lunch room has been remodeled to resemble a gourmet restaurant.  Oh, and thanks California for sharing the sun today, it was such a nice day out!

Gazoline- my new favorite coffee shop!

Adopted.

Bodil and Hans have been welcoming study abroad students into their home for longer than they can remember but are unable to continue hosting now that they have downsized into a smaller home.  My sorority “kid” Angie was the last student they took care of before the big move.  I got the chance to meet Bodil last weekend and she was so excited that one of Angie’s friends is spending some time in Copenhagen!  Although Bodil and Hans do not host students anymore, they still enjoy showing international visitors around the city.  I feel as though I have been officially adopted by an incredible Danish family!  Bodil picked me up from school this afternoon, bought me lunch, gave me a tour of Dragør- a quaint town by the sea, just outside of Copenhagen, bought me a cup of hot chocolate and then helped me with some much needed shopping.  Oh, and I will head up to her house next weekend for a home cooked meal!  

Bodil (I'll get a better picture soon!)

Dragør, Denmark 

Dragør, Denmark 

Workout of the Day

Back in August I signed up for a four-week introductory course to crossfit.  I still remember being absolutely terrified standing in the Folsom City Crossfit (FCCF) parking lot before my first class.  Now, five months later, I am completely addicted to the sport, as well as the friends I have met there!

FCCF Ladies

When I made the decision to move to Copenhagen, I immediately emailed the local crossfit.  The owner responded that Crossfit Copenhagen happily welcomes “foreigners” into their gym and encouraged me to try a class as soon as I arrived.  On Tuesday night I went to an introductory course in order to see if I could handle an hour-long workout taught completely in Danish.  I am thankful for the coaching I have received at FCCF because I was surprisingly comfortable and confident during the class even though I could not understand a word of what was being spoken around me.   The class on Tuesday took place at one of Crossfit Copenhagen’s locations known as the “Church” since it is located in an old church building.  It was an incredible experience to see a wall full of rowing machines, ropes hanging from the ceiling, countless pull up bars and a cabinet filled with kettlebells located inside of such beautiful architecture.  You can buy Crossfit Copenhagen shirts that say “I go to church six times a week” and I can’t wait to wear mine!  From the moment I walked into Crossfit Copenhagen, it was obvious that Copenhagen is very different from my home gym in Folsom.  FCCF is a small crossfit “box” with three daily classes during the week and one Saturday morning workout.  I know all members by name and see most of them four to five times a week for out nightly training.  FCCF is currently located in one small room, although they are in the process of expanding!   On the other hand, Crossfit Copenhagen has five locations throughout the city with several locations having more than one workout room going at a time.  Classes begin at 7am and continue throughout the entire day until 10 at night.  During the day, there are a variety of classes (normal WODs, beginner WODs, power WODs mega WODs, outdoor WODs…) as well as open gym time for members to work out on their own.  You must sign up online for the class in advance because they limit the amount of people that can be in each workout.  More than 2,000 members belong to Crossfit Copenhagen!  They hold a daily intro class that brings in between 10-15 new members daily.  There is definitely Crossfit fever here in the city! I am interested to see if there is still that “family” atmosphere I am accustomed to in Folsom, but I don’t know how that would work with so many members.  I am hoping to go in the afternoon, when the classes are smaller, so it is easier to meet other crossfitters.  The evening class yesterday was so hectic!  I am so proud I survived my first Danish crossfit class and can’t wait for many more ahead. I’ve also signed up for a Gymnastics Workshop being held for two hours in February.  Maybe a muscle up will finally be in my near future!?    

Crossfit Copenhagen "Church"

CASH IN

50 squats 

40 sit ups 

30 pull ups

20 back extentions

10 push ups

SKILL OF THE DAY

 Skin the cat 

WORKOUT OF THE DAY #1

8-8-8-8-8

Deadlifts

WORKOUT OF THE DAY #2

TEAM WOD filled with push press & burpees

CASH OUT 

Tabata push ups & dips with the parallel bars 

Danish Language & Culture Course

"Jeg hedder Jamie og jeg kommer fra California i USA.  Jeg kan kun tale engelsk."

My name is Jamie and I am from California, United States.  I can only speak English.

Hopefully I will soon be able to say I can speak a bit of Danish!  The next month will be filled with an intensive Danish language and culture class.  Even though this was only day two, I have quickly realized that Danish is difficult!  It has been a busy week so I will have to wait until the weekend to write more.  The sun has finally come out so there is no way I am going to spend the afternoon inside on a computer!  

Severe Weather Warning

I can't believe that two weeks ago I was in sunny California with clear skies and warm weather.  Now I am in Copenhagen and for the past 24 hours there has been a Severe Weather Warning issued for the city.  Above is the picture of a drying rack that I am thankful came with my room because, as you can see, I have already put it to good use!  Wind speed throughout Europe has reached 106mph, causing the death of at least one man in Scotland last night.  News reports are warning everyone to watch out for falling trees!  The current forecast for Copenhagen shows 48mph winds which are causing power outages throughout the town.  It is absolutely crazy outside!  As I walked home last night, you could see people swaying and stumbling on the sidewalk when the wind blew as they tried to walk.  My "kid" Angie has proudly told me many times that she has survived two Danish winters.  I never truly understood what she meant until I arrived here in Denmark on Monday.  It's only been a few days but I am already getting a sense of what a "Danish winter" means.