Copenhagen

What started out as a plan to take the trans-siberian to Moscow and then see a couple spots in the Baltics turned into a month long adventure around northern Europe. Our first stop was Copenhagen, where my long time friends David and Petek are living. If I recall correctly, I have visited them in New York, Istanbul, Taiwan, and Beijing. They have visited me in Japan, Malaysia, and Shanghai. When you and your friends have a fondness for travel, distance is nothing. 

In our time here we visited the national museum, biked around a lot, say the little mermaid, I ran a 10K with David, we took a boat ride through the canals in a Go-boat, went to the Carlsberg brewery and spent a night with David, Petek, and Aydin at their home. It was a short couple of days, but we packed a lot in. I'd say running the race with David and riding the boat around the canals were the highlights for me. 

I had recently completed another race here in Beijing, so I was feeling in pretty good shape. When I asked David if he would run with me I half expected him to decline, but he eagerly said yes. So race day rolls around and the site for the race is a bit out of town. David manages to figure out the train/bus combo to get us there, but unfortunately we are hours early so we just sit around for a bit chatting and waiting to start. The race itself was pretty fun, it was sunny, then rainy, the clear with a rainbow. We ran through some nice paths and areas and the other people in the race were well mannered. David and I finished together at around 52:30, which is a pretty good time for me. I was kind of hoping to be sub 50 minutes and we may have actually done that, but officials held us up at a few points were there was mud and steep paths which caused a backup or runners. I suppose I could have gone a bit faster as I was feeling pretty jet-lagged, but having David there certainly helped to keep me going. Most of the time we were trailing or slightly leading a woman whom I would guess was 50-55 years old. Near the end of the race David and I agreed that we had to beat her and so we put down the pedal and beat her. If nothing else, I can hold me head high that two men in their 30's beat a woman who could be their mother. Its a good feeling. 

The other thing I really liked was using the Go-boat to get around the canals. Essentially this is a small motorboat with a small outboard motor and a table placed in the center of the boat. Its perfect for cruising up and down the canals and having a picnic. Even better, Petek had taken some instruction on being a tour guide so as we putted around she was able to tell us about the various buildings. 

Overall, we had a great time and it was so nice to see our friends again. In some ways it seems like no time passes between our meetings, but obviously their son is getting bigger each time so we cannot pretend that time stands still.