Just Go With It.

Hello there blog readers!

I hope you enjoyed the cupcake review on Tuesday; I definitely ate way too many cupcakes last week. Anyway, the reason I’m writing today and not tomorrow is that I have to update you all on what my life has been life for the past two days. Unfortunately, Monday night when I was out, my laptop was stolen from my room. Even more unfortunate is that my roommate failed to lock the door, meaning insurance can’t cover the losses because it was technically not a break-in. So I have had to quickly say goodbye to my MacBook, my faithful friend that I’ve had since high school, and everything that was on it (I kept putting off buying an external hard drive, I know, I know) including papers, lists, my travel plans for my two week break, and all the pictures I have taken in the past three years. It was a tough loss.

What I will say is that I have been impressed with how DIS has handled the situation. Obviously being abroad in a large city means laptop thefts are unfortunately just something you have to deal with, and DIS knows what to do. They have already contacted the IT department to get me a loaner laptop for as long as possible, helped me file the insurance claim (even though it probably won’t be covered) and have done everything they can to make this as easy as possible. I’m glad I’m abroad with a program that knows the ropes.

As for the blogs, I will try to update everything as much as I can, but please be patient the next couple weeks. Right now I’m still using the DIS library computers, but I should have an external hard drive when my mom visits in October, and can then start uploading pictures again. Please bear with me; they might not be as detailed as before, I have limited computer access now. I’m not planning on buying a new laptop until I come home in December (just in case something was to happen again), so it will be a very interesting rest of the semester. There actually might be even more cupcake blogs (just without pictures) in the near future, because I like to eat away my sorrows in the form of chocolate.

So that's all, I just wanted to blog and tell you all what's up. Next week I'm in Berlin and Poznan, Poland, so I will try to blog but we'll see. More to look forward to when I come back!

Thanks for reading,

Devon.

Agnes Cupcakes: Fruit Overload

Last week I went to Agnes Cupcakes two times too many, meaning I went a total of three times. To explain why I went so many times, I will just say that I am so dedicated to making sure I review all thirty flavors, that I had a mini panic last weekend that I wouldn't be able to do just one a week. And so I went three times. 

The first was on Sunday, and I made sure to go early in the day to grab a flavor that is usually sold out by the time I make it there in the afternoon. When I arrived, they still had the flavor I was looking for. There it was with the cinnamon frosting, cute little star on top and red-brown cupcake sitting in the wrapper. I may have only tried a mini carrot cupcake, but this apple flavor may have topped the carrot in my book. Literally there were chunks of apple in the cupcake. You could see the specks of cinnamon in the frosting and in the cake. It was like having apple cake or apple muffins only with delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting with it. Definitely a smart flavor choice, I loved it so much I ate it immediately!

I was good for two days, not going back and getting a cupcake I would immediately down without taking pictures. But Tuesday night I realized I needed to do more than just one cupcake a day. So I went back Wednesday, and saw just what I wanted: sea salt chocolate! To be honest, it made me want to bake some of my favorite cupcakes - chocolate with mocha frosting and caramel drizzle. I always put sea salt on top and when I took the first bite of the sea salt chocolate, it was heavenly. Salt adds that "sweet and salty" aspect to cupcakes. I mentioned in a previous post that the chocolate/chocolate frosting combination was a little too sweet, but the salt changed everything! Definitely a delicious flavor.

And here is where the guilt sinks in. Well, not completely, but I'm sure you're like, "She ate three cupcakes last week!?!" Well, I'd say I ate two and a half, and let me explain. Wednesday night my core class at DIS had an information session about our upcoming long study tour to Berlin and Poznan, Poland. Afterwards, Josie (my neighbor in our dorm) and our friend Amy were planning on stopping for cupcakes before going home. I asked them if I could come and have them review for me, and they happily agreed. Amy ordered the black & white and Josie immediately went for the kids flavor. I decided to snag a mini strawberry before they were all out, and because I was really curious about the fruit flavored cupcakes - Agnes has about five or six of them!

Amy loved the black & white, her only complaint was a little too much frosting and a need for water at the end! Agnes sells bottled water... they must know. Josie's cupcake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting, rolled in sprinkles. Definitely for the kids. It was... interesting. I took a quick bite at the end and was surprised it didn't taste better. It was good, but not great. I'm really interested in trying the original red velvet flavor now. My mini strawberry cupcake was very good besides the frosting (usually my favorite part!). It was too strawberry-tasting! I know that sounds odd, but truly it would have been so much better with vanilla on top. The cake had chunks of strawberry in it and had so much flavor I could have eaten it for days. The frosting... not so much. But that's ok, it was still very satisfying after dinner.

So in all, I have found some more really great cupcakes, and some that aren't so fabulous. I guess I knew this would happen, but it's still disappointing to eat a not so great cupcake. It's also a good thing I joined the gym last week. Josie and I do intense aerobics together and then I go for some pilates classes too. Bright and early in the morning, no less! I have some great cupcakes planned for next week, and then I believe I'll be able to make a review with a small twist in early October... we shall see!

Until then,

Devon.

Top Five Reasons to Study Abroad in Copenhagen

You're saying, "It's only September!" And I'm saying, "I already know it's the best place to go, and if I wait any longer to write this, it will be a top fifty!"

Onto the list so you know what I mean:

1. Amazing events take place without you being aware or having planned ahead knowing they were scheduled. Case in point: Denmark announced their elections in August, and I witness them in September. Also, the cycling world championships were held this past week. I went today to the finals, and was confused all week on my bike due to various road closures for the time trials.

2. Everyone is genuinely nice. My friend Jane and I went to an open house at a hospital yesterday outside Copenhagen, and were not only welcomed in English, but talked with medical students and other health professionals who all wanted to know about why we are here in Denmark. We learned how to place sutures, practiced arthroscopic surgery, tested rehabilitation equipment and even got to examine a placenta (with gloves on). Everyone was welcoming, extremely nice, and switched to English as soon as they saw the deer-in-the-headlights looks on our faces.

3. The weather. You honestly never know what the day is going to be like, even if it's pouring rain when you wake up. I've learned to love this about Copenhagen because it keeps things spontaneous. Today ended up being an absolutely gorgeous day with blue skies and just a breeze (instead of full on tornado-style wind like it has been lately). Everyone goes outside to walk, sit or have a meal on the sidewalk. Especially on the bridge near us people just congregate and enjoy the nice day!

4. Food. I know I've posted this before, but since then I have really experienced food here in Copenhagen. Besides there being amazing fish, there's also a fantastic variety of bread. On Friday I honestly did not want to go to class, and the only thing that made me go was that I told myself I could go to Lagkagehuset, the best and most expensive bakery in the city. Honestly, I didn't care that I paid three dollars for a pastry, I just went with it. It was a flat cinnamon bun that was still soft with plain and chocolate icing pooled on top. Absolute heaven. It got me through class and then some. And besides the baked goods, Denmark actually has very good sushi (because the fish quality here is amazing). I had some today and want to go get more it was so good! I'm sure I will find more amazing things to eat while I am here, and don't want to think about when I have to go back and can't eat them any more!

5. Transportation here is amazing. It's like it was sent from the gods. Today when my friend Rose and I went to the elite mens finals of the World Cycling Championships, we had to take the train out of the city and up the coast. Afterwards on our way back, we figured we'd have to wait forever for a train. I was telling her while we walked to the station that in DC when there is an event on the Mall the metro simply can't handle the masses of people and you usually have better luck walking home. But to our surprise the train came and we got on, and even found a seat! Danes don't cram into train cars like Americans do, apparently they dislike being human sardines. I like this. Also, the buses are reliable, safe, mostly clean and some of the best I have ever been on.

I know there are many more things I could write, but I am going to save them for another day. But to keep you all reading, I will tell you that the next cupcake review has been written - look for it on Tuesday!

Update

Hello Everyone!

First of all, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I have almost reached 1,000 page views and honestly, I never thought that would happen (hopefully it will). I guess about 100 visits are from me, but still I want to thank everyone that is reading and following my semester abroad!

Second, I wanted to take a day to explain MANY things. Hopefully it won't take very long, and it won't all be in this blog, but I just wanted to give you all a heads up on what to expect in the future! I thought about making a vlog for this post (Mum, it stands for video blog) but it's really late at night and I just woke up from falling asleep for four hours (also called a nap) so I'm not exactly looking my best. But that is the first thing I want to tell you all about. For the weeks I am traveling, or if I have a week where I do a ton of things that would take years to write about (and read!) I am going to make a vlog and talk about it instead. I can also talk for hours, but I promise not to. Hopefully my sociology class last spring where I had to make a movie trained me well enough to make vlogs. Who knows, but I am really looking forward to talking to you all!

I also wanted (finally) share my class schedule with you! I think it's important if you're considering studying abroad at DIS and might choose the Medical Practice and Policy (MPP) program that you know what your class schedule will be like. All core sections are taught in the late afternoon, because that's when the doctors have time to teach, and also when the hospitals are less busy. My other classes are in the afternoon because I am NOT a morning person (well, possibly, more on that later). So here's my schedule:

Monday/Thursday	Time
- Medical Ethics	1:15 – 2:35
- Medical Exploration of HIV/AIDS	2:50 – 4:10
- Complexity of Cancer	4:25 – 5:45
Tuesday/Friday
- Pregnancy, Birth and Infancy In Denmark	11:40 – 12:00
- Human Health and Disease (MPP core class)	3:30 – 5:30

My favorite class so far is Complexity of Cancer. I absolutely love the detail we get into about the types of cancer and how to treat them. The professors are both young oncologists and have great stories and experiences to add to their lectures. We also do a lot of case studies, which help pass the time! As you can see, all classes at DIS are an hour and twenty minutes, besides your core class, which is two hours. But all of the professors are really nice and always give 3-5 minute breaks halfway through class.

Something else I wanted to discuss is my love of cupcakes! Hopefully by the end of my semester here I will have worked my way through (with the help of friends) the entire Agnes Cupcakes menu. This isn't going to be easy, since I tend to go on Sundays and they don't have all the flavors that day. But I will figure it out. I will probably post my cupcake blogs on Thursdays because that allows me to taste two cupcakes - one on the weekend and one during the week - before I write the blog. Right now I have two flavors waiting to be written about! So look for those on Thursdays. If you follow me on Twitter (the link is on the side, it's a special account for my blog) you can get a heads up on when a new blog is going up, too!

More schedules! The next few weeks are very crazy for me because I am going on my long study tour (remember when I went on my short study tour?) to Berlin and Poznan, Poland on Sunday, October 2nd, and I'm not returning until that Saturday! So that will definitely be a vlog and not a blog. Too much to talk about! But I promise to keep up with the cupcakes while I am away!

After that week away, my mom and sister come to visit me in Copenhagen for a week and a half! We are going to Stockholm together, so I will have lots of update you all on, plus tell you of any adventures we have while they are here. I already told my sister she's helping me with the cupcake flavors I don't like. They leave towards the end of October, and a week and a half later I am off to Europe! Ok, I mean traveling in Europe. I don't want to tell you where I'm going quite yet, but I can tell you it is going to be amazing. And that I will seriously need to think about how to pack.

What else, what else... oh I know. I will hopefully be posting blogs three times a week (with the exception of blogs like this that are just updates). Probably on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday but if one pops up on Monday or Friday, just go with it!

Also (I promise this is it), be sure to check out the lists I've made on the side bar! If you're looking for blogs that include a certain topic, just click on the link it will bring up the blogs in order of most recent first. That way you can check out my housing, where I traveled to, what I did on the weekend and which cupcake flavors I reviewed without having to file through every single blog. I actually use this a lot to find old blogs I need to create links for.

Well I think that's it! Nothing more from me today, but I will leave you with a wonderful cupcake image that will make you want to fly across the ocean and visit me - flights are under $1000, I checked today!!!

Haha, until next time,

Devon

Agnes Cupcakes: Round Two

Hurray for a second post of the week! I hope all of you are near a very nice cupcake store this fall because the level of cupcake blogging is about to increase exponentially. I have decided to blog about Agnes Cupcakes, the leading (and possibly only) cupcakery in Copenhagen. A little while ago I went to their new location in the Torvehallerne Market, located a few blocks from where I live, and blogged about the amazing dark chocolate cupcake I had (read about it here). Then my friend Julie wanted to go see what flavors they had, and it turned into a crazy adventure ending in me deciding I just had to taste all thirty flavors. So each week I will be blogging about a new flavor or two that I tried during the week. But for today, I'd like to tell you all about my adventure with Julie to find some cupcakes...

We started a bit late in the afternoon, rolling out of bed at about one. We had just come back from our short study tours and weren't really feeling like getting out of bed. Julie asked me for directions to the cupcake store, and I said I'd go with her (pass on cupcakes? I think not.). As we got ready to go, girls on our floor kept giving us 30 kroner for a cupcake, and pretty soon we had a list of people wanting a delicious cupcake. We got on our bikes and rode to the market, list and kroner in hand.

Half of the market - there are two identical buildings.

And it was closing. Julie and I had waited so long to roll out of bed, hardly anything was open. No sushi, no bread, and barely any cupcakes. I had my eye on the carrot cake flavor but there weren't any. Julie wanted dark chocolate but they were almost out. And we had to buy everyone else cupcakes too... So we jumped back on our bikes and headed downtown to where the Agnes headquarters are. To be honest, you'd never find them without a detailed map or a nice juice store employee, who helped Julie and I out after we had become terribly lost. 

People waiting in line for cupcakes at the flagship store.

Finally we got there! We bought SO MANY CUPCAKES!!! Julie bought a dark chocolate for herself, I bought a mini carrot cake to eat there (they were all out of the normal size), and a black and white for later that day (to review here). Then we bought the three girls dark chocolate cupcakes and had them wrapped in a box to bring home. Julie has a bike basket, so it was easy to carry them all back. When we got home and opened the box, we found this:

Not exactly what they looked like in the store, but they tasted just as good! It was a little warm that day and we think they just melted on the ride home. Oh well! My black and white cupcake (chocolate with vanilla frosting) was possibly better than the dark chocolate flavor I originally tried! It was sweet but not too sweet, perfectly moist cake and just enough frosting for each bite. The chocolate shavings around the edge were the perfect ending. I'd eat ten more if they weren't bad for me!

I can't say anything bad about Agnes Cupcakes. They have the best cupcakes around. My next cupcake review will be APPLE! I don't want to give it away, but I already ate it and you won't be disappointed! 

Until then,

Devon.

Julie before her very first Agnes cupcake. 

Embracing My Inner Scandinavian

Oh please, you knew this was coming. I've been in Denmark for a month and have yet to blog about Ikea. This would be because there isn't an Ikea in Copenhagen, you have to travel just outside to Gentofte to reach the nearest one. Lucky for me there is a bus that stops right in front of the entrance, and another bus that takes me straight there from my class at the hospital - meaning I'll be back again and again and again.

I decided to make the trip this past weekend as I had nothing to do either day. You don't have to remind me that I'm in Denmark and should be traveling every chance I get - I have many trips planned and will post about that soon. But back to Ikea! I took the 5A bus to Norreport Station, where I stopped to get breakfast/lunch (it was noon) and ran to catch the 150S, the express Ikea bus! Everyone piled on and everyone piled off at Ikea. When I say this is the Ikea bus, I mean it. They even announce the stop.

When I walked inside, I immediately regretted going on a Saturday. If you don't know, Ikea has a restaurant with very good food and great prices, as well as a play place for kids (and a daycare - more about that later). I was overwhelmed by the completely Danish signs and mass of people walking around me, heading in to refurnish their entire house for under $1000 (I don't know if this is possible, but I don't doubt it). Apparently in Gentofte, Saturday is Ikea day.

I managed to avoid getting lost and had no major collisions with carts. My purchases included a duvet cover and pillow case for six dollars (Ikea pick of the day - but I didn't know this until after I bought it), three reusable grocery bags for a dollar each, a scale - it was eight dollars and probably a smart buy, and a scented candle for my room! It smells like apples and cinnamon and I've been burning it ever since I bought it. I'll have to go back to get some more fall scented candles. It just makes things so cozy!

My bed with my new duvet cover and pillow case!

After I bought everything, I went to the restaurant for some lunch/the only meal of the day so far. Being at Ikea, I had to have the meatballs! I also slipped in a piece of pie since it looked so delish and I wasn't in a soft serve ice cream mood (Ikea has a sundae bar). Oddly enough the soda I got tasted just like soda in the US, not like soda here in Denmark. I guess commercial companies in North America are at the same standards level as the Ikea cafeteria... The meatballs were just right for the rainy afternoon and the mashed potatoes and gravy reminded me of Thanksgiving (it could also be that it came with cranberry sauce). Definitely a decent meal for only eight dollars.

Mental note: 10 meatball meal+drink+dessert is only $8!

I will definitely be back to Ikea, it was so much fun! Hopefully next time it will just be to visit, not buy things, since I'm going to run out of room in my suitcase! But going to Ikea, being alone, and only hearing Danish definitely made me feel more immersed in the Danish culture. And I'm sure when I head back to school in DC and go to the Ikea in College Park my experience will be very different...


- Devon.

Oh Dear...

I am so, so, SO sorry that I haven't blogged at all this week. I know this wonderful distraction from homework, time passer during block classes, and quick view into the world from Copenhagen is a crucial part of your lives. And I let you down. But - before you get all depressed thinking you missed out on more than a week of my life here, have no fear! I have been taking pictures and documenting my every move, just not writing about them. So this week I promise to catch you all up on my adventures and hopefully entertain you in some way. Today I'm going to head back to a week ago Thursday, when I left with my core class for Western Denmark for our short study tour.

Thursday
My tour was pretty busy, and when we came back all I wanted to do was sleep, but I will try to include everything. Thursday we left Copenhagen at 7:15 am. The first city we went to was Aarhus (pronounced Arhoos), about five hours from Copenhagen in Jutland, the mainland portion of Denmark. When we arrived we went to the University Hospital, a teaching and research hospital in Aarhus. Here they gave us a tour of their radiology department and showed us some of their research projects. It was interesting to see what kind of research they were doing (mostly cognitive mapping of the brain) since Denmark is seen as a leader in medical research here in Scandinavia. After our hospital tour, we had some downtime, so our bus driver parked at IKEA and we grabbed some food for lunch. Definitely one of the highlights of the day.

After our quick lunch we went just outside the city to visit a general practitioner's office. In Denmark, the GP connects all patients to the medical world; a referral from one is like your golden ticket for treatment. The GP we met with was passionate about his job, and made general medicine seem much more interesting than people give it credit for. Coincidentally he studied abroad in the US, and when I asked him where, he told me he lived 20 minutes from where I grew up for an entire year! I was shocked, nobody knows about Maine at all. Such a small world! After meeting with the GP we headed to our hostel, which was SO much nicer than any hostel I've ever stayed in! Private bathrooms, hot water, a table and chairs in the room... it was nice. After leaving our things in the rooms we headed back to downtown Aarhus for dinner. DIS paid for two meals on the trip (plus three hostel meals) and this was delicious! I can't wait for my long study tour and the meals we'll have then! Thursday night I explored the city with my new friends I had met, and we stumbled upon ARoS, a modern art museum. It houses "boy" a larger than life statue I learned about in my art history class in high school. Unfortunately somehow we missed the massive sculpture... But we did take great pictures from the roof!

Friday
Friday I woke up with a cold. A miserable, sore throat and stuffy nose cold. But since our first activity was a scavenger hunt of Aarhus with a cash prize, I sucked it up and headed out into the cold (northern Denmark was so much colder than Copenhagen!). My team did well, but didn't win. We did learn a lot about Aarhus, though. After the scavenger hunt we had some free time, so I bought some postcards and explored the stroget (walking street). Departing downtown Aarhus at one for our next leg of the adventure, we drove towards the largest hospital in Northern Jutland for a tour of their research and bioengineering departments. Here I stood next to a pig during open heart surgery, saw a mouse heart beating outside the body in solution, learned about the physics behind heart valve replacements, and compared the pros and cons of natural versus man made valves. It was a great visit and our two presenters were fabulous!

This was the end of the academic portion of our trip, and now we just had adventures ahead of us! Our final stop for Friday was Den Gamle By, or "The Old Town", an open air museum created by relocating houses from different time periods from all over Denmark. It is like a Danish version of Plymouth Plantation. We had a medically-based tour of the town and met a very curious horse! On the way out, we even crossed paths with the Danish Cultural Minister, who was touring the museum with his entourage. Piling back onto our bus, we settled in for a two hour drive to Vejle (Vi-leh) where our next hostel had dinner waiting for us. This hostel was even nicer than the first, I have to give DIS credit for choosing great places to stay! Dinner was fabulous, and everyone in my room was so tired, we went to bed at 10!

Saturday
The last day was all fun and games. I wasn't feeling much better but had fun anyway. First we went to Jelling (pronounced yelling) to see the Jelling Stones. The story behind the rocks and mound formations is incredibly interesting, and I promise to make a blog dedicated just to them in the near future, because it was really cool. The church in the town is the first church in Denmark, built by the Vikings and ordered by their king Harold Bluetooth, who converted the Vikings to christianity. It was also interesting to see the cemetery - too many people want to be buried at the church so they bury you for a few years, and then send you somewhere else so another person can be buried there. A bit strange, but practical.

After Jelling we drove to Odense (pronounced the same, but with a little emphasis on the last 'e') to tour Hans Christian Anderson's childhood houses and the cathedral he was confirmed in. It was a beautiful day and our tour guide (a teacher at DIS) explained everything so well! She even planned the tour so we would end at the restaurant we had lunch at. Hamburgers and fries were exactly what we needed after a long trip around Denmark. We ate as much as we could, keeping in mind we were going gokarting next... This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We just zoomed around the track, crashing into people (by accident I promise, Leanna!) and racing tournament-style (we kept track of points and had a championship race at the end). Sunday I woke up so sore from all the bumps and crashes. But we had a great time!

Heading back to Copenhagen we all slept (basically the norm of the bus was to fall asleep once we started moving) until we arrived. We had such a great time and I loved going to all the places. One thing I will say is that I am in the last section of my core class, Medical Practice and Policy, so my class was divided in two. I didn't know 20 of the 29 people I traveled with, but by the end knew everyone. I was worried at first, but it went so well!

Sorry this blog is long, I had a lot going on last weekend! Tomorrow I will put what I did last Sunday on here, and you will love it, I promise!

Until then,
Devon.

10 Years Later.

I'll keep this short, but I wanted to make sure I wrote today.

Ten years ago I was a student in Mrs. Norris' fifth grade class at Whitefield Elementary School in my hometown in Maine. We had finished our journal entries and had moved onto math exercises. While we were working, a teacher came to our doorway and asked our teacher to come into the hallway with her. A few minutes later she came back and grabbed her radio - we still didn't really use the internet at my school then, and nobody had laptops. Throughout the day we were concerned. Concerned a person had died, concerned someone's family member was in trouble, or that someone's house had burned down. It wasn't until 2:20 pm, when we lined up for bus dismissal, that our teacher told us the news. Our principal had forbidden the teachers from telling us, but Mrs. Norris made sure we knew. She held up a copy of Time magazine with an arial picture of Manhattan on the cover. She said, "See these two buildings right here? They're gone. Men flew planes into them and they are gone." And with that, we were dismissed to our buses, our minds racing with questions.

I had never flown before 9/11, so I can't compare the differences, but I can say I have flown enough since to see the never-ending list of security checks and procedures. And it always makes me think when I travel to Europe and sail through customs with no waiting, no horribly long lines, no need to fill out forms. I admire the way Europe has handled the need for updated security measures, screenings and protection. In Copenhagen I feel as safe as I do at home in Maine, a place where you don't lock your front door and let your kids play outside alone. As my friend Amanda put it last night, Copenhagen has theft, but not robbery. Yes, people steal here, but there will always be petty theft. What you don't hear about is armed robbery, people stealing cash from banks or breaking into buildings. This is something even Maine has, yet I've read nothing about it in the newspaper here. People here are happy and for the most part healthy, they want to get along.

I love my country and I love the support that began ten years ago and continues today. Sometimes admitting you're American in Europe can be hard, as it brings stigmas and stereotypes. But today, as the man at the sushi counter asked where I was from, I told him without hesitation, the United States. Being in another country for September 11th has shown me how supportive the world is of all nations - including the US. Ceremonies were held in Berlin, Sydney, Madrid, Paris, London, and in cities across the world. We are all living here together, and even if we don't speak the same language or share the same customs, we can support one another. And it just makes me so happy to be living in a place where I know this is true.

- Devon.

Agnes Cupcakes

As a semi-Washingtonian, I have a strong connection to cupcakes. Before my freshman year at American, I hadn't given the idea of gourmet cupcakes much thought. Georgetown Cupcake changed everything for me with their delicious creations (my favorite being chocolate squared). But as all DC residents know, there is much competition between cupcake shops. Hello Cupcake, Red Velvet, Baked and Wired, I could go on for days, but I'll just end by saying I am now a cupcake fanatic who will go out of my way to find a new cupcakery.

And that is what I did today. I had heard about Agnes Cupcakes through a friend and knew they were the Georgetown Cupcake of Copenhagen. When the new food markets opened near me, I saw that Agnes had opened a second location right inside. Today is Wednesday, so I didn't have class, and after walking around the shopping area for a bit, I stopped in the market on the way home.

It was amazing. So many flavors, so much frosting (I am a huge fan of overly frosted cupcakes), so many people! 

I decided I had to try their dark chocolate cupcake, since chocolate with chocolate frosting is my ultimate favorite flavor. I waited until home to try it, but was so tempted to open the box before even leaving the building!

It was definitely a huge cupcake, with more frosting than I've ever seen, but it didn't feel like too much. The cake was moist and fluffy, a perfect combination. The frosting was plenty sweet and light, not as dense as some. I like this because when the frosting is too dense, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. Too much sugar! It also had chocolate shavings around the side which added the dark chocolate flavor, and also cut down on the sugar taste all cupcakes have. It was heavenly.

Next time I want to try their carrot cupcake, and then move on to the black and white (chocolate with vanilla frosting). It is surprisingly inexpensive for Copenhagen, 30 kroner for one ($6) - but by no means cheap. Check out their website, agnescupcakes.com for all their flavors and more information. 

Looks like I'm hooked!

dwh.

Why I Love the Danes

There is something about Danes that makes me admire them. They are so friendly, easy-going and warm (which I guess you have to be here)! Today I was in a situation that made me appreciate this country even more than I already did.  Here's what happened:

Today I had my class at the hospital, which means at 3pm I have to take a train from Norreport station, near DIS and my house, outside the city to Gentofte, where my hospital is. All of the trains run on the same tracks (there are five), with commuter rail trains beneath. When I arrived, I had seven minutes, which meant I would barely make it to class on time. After a few trains came and went and I had two minutes left, a girl came up to me with tears in her eyes, speaking to me in Danish. I explained I only speak english, and she explained to me that she had lost her mother. She must have been at least 10 because her english was quite good. I honestly didn't know what to do. In the states, you take children to the ticket agent and explain what happened and stay with them until you know they are safe or their parents have arrived. In Denmark, there are no ticket turnstiles because they use the honor system, so there are no ticket agents to get help from.

I looked around trying to figure out what to do, telling her it would be ok, and asking her what she looked like. It seemed as if she had been on the commuter rail and when they came up to the S train level, she got lost in the crowd. By this time she was crying and so scared, and I desperately wanted to help her, but honestly didn't know what to do since there were no train workers close to us. The closest help would have been to take her to the street level to the ticket office and wait there, but then her mother never would have found her. Then, just when I saw my train approaching, an older woman waiting in line for coffee near us turned around and asked what was wrong. There were many people around, but the Danes are very private and do not disturb other people. After hearing her story this woman pulled out her cell phone and handed it to the girl, telling her to call her mother and not to worry, that they would find her. Then she looked at me with a short smile and a nod, letting me know it was ok to go. I ran on the train and when I left, the girl was wiping away her tears and the woman was staying put, dedicated to finding the mother. Somehow I know she found her mom, and I made it to class on time.

This is what I love about the Danes. They will go out of their way for one of their own. They are the most genuine people I have met, far more grounded than Americans. If you say you will do something, they expect you to do it! They never turn their backs or leave you hanging. This woman had no idea what she was getting herself into, but knew we both needed help and came to our assistance. The whole situation made my day that much better. And the fact that I looked Danish enough for the girl to approach me was nice too, she trusted me. So that's all for today, I just wanted to share my story! It honest made me appreciate Danes more than I thought possible.

dwh.

Ants In My Pants

Yes, I can now honestly say I've had ants in my pants. And I don't mean fake ants, I mean the real kind. The ones that build little mounds in your driveway. And no, it wasn't voluntary. Let me explain:

Today I went to Dyrehaven (Deer Haven) with my visiting family (who I feel I should just start calling my family, that sounds much nicer) and Katherine, the girl who I share my family with. Dyrehaven is the old hunting grounds for the king. He had a small castle built there so he could hunt outside the city with his dogs and friends. And I don't think he was a very good hunter because they brought deer to the forest to ensure a good hunt. And now the deer have inbred and there are about 10 albino deer in the park!

But since there is no king anymore (Queen Margaret II is the first ruling queen in Danish history) there is no need for a hunting castle, and it is now a public park where you can ride bikes or horses, run, walk or have a picnic - which is exactly what we did! Danish food is always better when a Dane makes it. Hanne, the mom, is an amazing cook. There were salmon rolls, sausage wrapped in homemade bread, potato salad and vegetables. Yum! Also, until now I had never known what ants in your pants felt like. I did after lunch. So we picked a spot on the grass in the forest and put our blanket down. They have three kids so there were a lot of us, and I sat right off the blanket on the grass. All of a sudden I felt all these ants crawling on my back, and then in my pants. It was uncomfortable to say the least. So I quickly brushed them off/squished them, and pretended it was nothing. I still have the creepy-crawlies and think there might still be an ant in my pocket or somewhere. It was a bit traumatizing. But other than that, we had an excellent lunch!

This deer was so close to us and didn't seem to mind at all!

After lunch we walked to the castle at the top of the hill - honestly it wasn't anything more than that, Denmark is very flat. You could see Sweden and the coast on one side and a huge field full of deer on the other. The kids flew their kite and it was so nice. One thing I should note is that my family's third child, Johannes, has Down's syndrome. He is the cutest little seven year old I know. Today at lunch he crawled next to me and held my hand. He is nonverbal but understands everything you say (in Danish). I love how the family dynamic is here - very accepting. The kids adapt so easily when Johannes is tired or walking slowly. I feel like in the US it would be more than it is here to have a child with a disability. The family fully embraces it and thinks positively, knowing it gives them opportunities they would otherwise never experience. I love all of them!

I wish the castle was a museum now, but it's boarded up. There aren't park workers to provide security. 

Sweden! Through the fog...

I did much more than just this, but I don't want this to be a long blog! I'll add in more when I do my blog about all the tourist places in Copenhagen. Yesterday I went to the Round Tower and tomorrow I'm headed to Rosenborg Castle and gardens in the heart of Copenhagen. Pictures of those soon!

Hej hej!
(pronounced 'hi hi', it's Danish for goodbye!)

dwh.