Straight off the Streets of CP ... H?

Hello again. First order of business: the new appearance. As you may or may not have noticed, I've decided to redecorate a bit, so to speak. I got an email a few weeks ago encouraging Blogspot users to check out new template designs and more customizable layout options. Thinking that the old, stock version of NTD (Now that's Danish!) was a bit too cold and industrial, I felt the urge to change things up a little. The end result: still pretty industrial, but a little less cold. Stay tuned for more changes as I learn how to further make my own personal blog, well, more my own and personal.

Secondly, I apologize for being incommunicado the past few days. At home in Aarhus, I was having some internet troubles. That would have been a viable enough excuse, had I actually been in Aarhus. Rather than spending my weekend in DK's second-largest city, I enjoyed an adventurous one in the largest: the Capitol city of København, more commonly Anglicized as Copenhagen. Here's how things went:

Following Saturday's win in Amager (about twenty-five minutes outside Copenhagen or CPH), I met up with a friend I had made just before arriving here five weeks ago (today, actually). This person was a friend of a former coach of mine at Marist and offered her support and advice, as she had been in my shoes six months before she first contacted me online. Although she was not coming to Denmark to prolong her football career, she was doing so to return to the hardwood.

Olivia Nagle, of Acton, MA, has just finished her first season of international basketball. Collegiately, Liv (as she says she goes by) starred first at Wagner College on Staten Island before finishing up a storied two-year run at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. The difficult transition from the bright and lush landscape of Staten Island to the dank and dreary Florida coastline did little to faze Liv, as she led the Tritons (sweet name) to their best years in Women's hoops. From here, the door also opened to extend her playing days. Following her graduation last spring, Liv soon became connected with the Virum Vipers basketball club just outside CPH.

Moving forward to the present, Liv and I are basically at two different ends of the Danish sports spectrum: she has completed a very successful season as the dominant post threat for the Vipers and has also honed the dribbling and shooting skills of a group of rambuncious pre-teenage boys, whereas I am still in the relatively early stages of my adventures. In any event, Nagle (as I call her) has been great online company since I've been in DK and is always willing to offer pointers on how to make living here seem a little more like home, particularly when it comes to peanut butter.

Having finished up her season with the Vipers about three weeks ago and my first game likely another three weeks down the road, Nagle and I both realized that we weren't going to get the chance to see each other play. However, during the middle of last week, we discovered that our schedules would mesh during the weekend. She planned to come to Amager to watch her friend play for their basketball club and also catch some of our game. As things would have it, our game was played on the field behind the same gymnasium the basketball game was in. This would come in most handy later during the third quarter, as temperatures outside dropped significantly and sent Liv inside to warm up some. After the game, Brian dropped us off near the downtown area and we commenced our weekend festivities.

Nagle showed me around the city a bit, but we decided to save most of our sightseeing for Sunday afternoon, when temperatures would perhaps rise some and I was not wearing shorts (it's a coach thing). Hence, we returned to her apartment outside the city a little ways and enjoyed a splendid homecooked meal. The pasta was great but the masterfully prepared salad, thanks to my ability to cut vegetables into small pieces with a large knife, was probably the crown jewel of the dinner. After relaxing for a while, we hit the town with Liv's roommate Sarah, a fellow Vipers teammate and another MA product (from Wissstaahhh) and also their friend, Joe. Joe is a tall drink of water from West Virginia; he hails from the same town as NFL great Randy Moss (of RAND University), interestingly enough. He plays for another club in Copenhagen and also works for a marketing firm, as he's been in Denmark for three years now. I will tell you firsthand: you haven't heard anything until you've heard Danish spoken with a serious WVA twang.

The night moved along to some of their favorite hotspots; all of which were loud, fairly pricy and filled with Danes, young and sometimes old, looking to have some fun. Aside from some very rude redheaded little boys (who pretended to be British and were promptly and triumphantly dispatched by Nagle's friend Sydney, whom we joined forces with at one point), the night was a most enjoyable excursion. We did happen to have a bit of trouble just as the sun was rising, because Sunday morning travel times do change slightly. So, we arrived back at Liv's place around 6:30 in the AM to catch a few hours of shut-eye before a sightseeing tour a little later.

About two o'clock we set out once again to indulge my touristiness. We didn't go far before reaching a bakery, where Nagle introduced me to the best jelly donut I've ever eaten. While consuming the delicious pastry (filled with real fruit preserve), we checked out the cool little district where her apartment is located. Parts of it looked eerily similar to New Jersey, albeit with fewer off-ramps and Jets flags waving over garages. After that, we took a bus into town and she showed me all of the cool things I had read about prior to coming over, as I was originally in negotiations with a team in Copenhagen before talks with the Tigers. I could write way too much about all the cool things we looked at, but in lieu of doing so, I offer a few highlights:

1. Rosenborg Castle: Completed in 1624, used by Danish Royalty until 1710. Currently being patrolled by armed military personnel who do NOT always keep a straight face.


2. Nyhavn: Argualby the most popular tourist attraction in Denmark. Famous for colored building fronts and history as a former hub for prostitution and other sailor-related debauchery. Currently synomonous with harbor tours and restaurants/bars that offer outdoor seating and blankets for your legs on chilly days. The newest picture up on the right was taken here.


3. Copenhagen Opera House: Impressive $500 million building right on the waterfront donated by shipping magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a man so wealthy, he allegedly keeps Danish taxation constant by himself.


4. Børsen: "The Stock Exchange," built between 1619 and 1640. Famous for the four dragons and their tails entwined into a massive spire originally designed to keep the building safe from fire and enemies. Three crowns atop this spire represented the former united Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.


5. Fristaden Christiania: "Freetown Christiania," a hippie commune of about 850 residents is an autonomous neighborhood, formerly famous for legal marijuana trade. Picture a flea market with as many Danish Bob Dylan covers going on at once as possible. Not nearly as bad as portrayed in travel guides. No photos allowed inside!

6. Vor Frelsers Kirke: "Our Saviour's Church," completed in 1695. Finished in 1752 with yet another impressive spire, this time of the corkscrew variety with an external staircase that goes all the way to the top (tours were closed by the time we got there).


As I said before, there are many more cool things we saw that afternoon and we were indeed lucky to have some great walking weather. We capped things off with a dinner of all-you-can-eat salad and "Deep Dish" pizza, which I believe plummented some 0.8 inches into the pans they used. Tasty stuff though, as we both enjoyed the effort the restaurant put forth. We returned to Liv's apartment, fairly exhausted, to a relaxing viewing of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in "Hot Fuzz," a hilariously British motion picture. I awoke the next morning and caught an early train downtown to meet up with Brian and head back to Aarhus.

An unexpected surprise of a weekend, but most certainly worth it because I don't know when I will have the time (or resources) again to do such crack exploration. I would like to extend many, many thanks to Nagle for her hospitality and willingness to help out another American athlete in the Danish world of sports. It's pretty wild that two people who only communicated online prior to meeting were able to coordinate things and enjoy a really awesome time; internets, you've done it again. It's unfortunate that she will be leaving soon and I can't offer her the same opportunity to come to Aarhus for a weekend of equal or lesser enjoyment, yet I do applaud her for making the most of her Danish 'experience' (as she might say). Thanks again, Liv; you're a swell gal.

More exciting posts to come this week, with some neat pictures as well. Tomorrow, I will reveal the discovery I made several weeks ago, yet somehow forgot to write about. Before heading to sleep, I leave you with these two announcements:

1. It was thirty-three degrees and snowing as I biked my way to practice this afternoon. My hands almost contracted frostbite, as did my beard. Seventy-degree Merrimack, eat your heart out.

2. I would like you all to wish William "Baby Boy" Lott a very happy birthday on this April 20th (even though it's already the 21st by me). Bill, all I ask of you on your special day is that you email me a Viva Burrito, so that I might celebrate with you as we would back home. Enjoy today and your final weeks of school, young lad. Talk to you soon.

Good night to the rest of you, as well. Be back before you know it.