How do I always make friends on the last night?!

Welcome back! I’m sure you’re all eager to know how my night ended after setting a personal record at the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen…

Did I stay up partying at the club until 6:30 am like in Prague?

Did I hang out in my room all night?

Did I explore the city some more?

…

Or maybe you forgot that I have yet to tell you anything about my last night in Copenhagen… It has been almost a month. Oopsies!

Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?

Return from the race

In my previous post, I mentioned that it started raining during the last 1k of my run. What I didn’t tell you is that it was absolutely freezing and continued to pour well after I crossed the finish line. Luckily, I had planned ahead and brought pants, a sweatshirt, and a rain jacket. Despite my efforts, I was still drenched and shivering, so I booked it out of the runner’s area as fast as I could.

The entrance to the metro was packed full of people. I waited in line for about 20 minutes and then finally made it into a metro car. It was just as crowded as it had been that morning, but this time I was thankful for the extra body heat!

At last, I made it back to my room.

Roomie bonding!

My Italian/Brazilian roommate (I think her name is Anna) was hanging out in her bed. As soon as I entered the room, she spun around and said, “OH MY GOSH YOU’RE BACK! HOW WAS IT?!”

I told her everything. The crowds, the course, the rain… MY PR.

She was so excited for me, which was just so sweet.

As we were chatting, our other roommate An-Sofie (from Belgium) came in. She had also run the race! I whipped around and said, “OH MY GOSH YOU’RE BACK! HOW WAS IT?!”

She told us everything. The crowds, the course, the rain… HER PR.

We were practically jumping up and down with excitement. Not actually, though, because we were both hobbling around in pain. With every small move, you would hear us grunt, yelp, or heavy sigh. At one point, Anna said,”you guys are really inspiring me to get into running…. ooh! ow! my leg!… so fun”.

We laughed and laughed.

And then, another one of our roommates entered.

Her name is Jaiana, and she’s from Brazil but recently moved to Austria for her PhD. The three of us caught Jaiana up on the day, and then we started discussing dinner. Anna was going to eat at the hostel because she was cozy and didn’t want to leave (so fair). An-Sofie wanted pizza, which I could not wrap my head around after all the carb-loading 😂 Turns out, she was going to go to My Little Italy, the place I had gone to the night before the race! I had decided that I wanted to eat fish for dinner. I could not do pizza or pasta again even if I wanted to.

Anna and An-Sofie left for dinner, leaving just me and Jaiana in the room. We started talking about our careers, and I learned that she’s doing a PhD in medical anthropology! I asked about her thesis, and she told me all about her field studies interviewing fisherwomen in Brazil. I was practically screaming with excitement! Everything she was saying reminded me of things I had learned in my policy class last semester. For example, we had talked in class about how important it is to integrate laypeople’s voices into policies and how they should be treated as experts, not just scientists or other professionals. And here she was! Giving laypeople those voices!

She also brought up the elections happening soon in Brazil and why they’re so important. Much like the US during the 2024 presidential elections, Brazil is split 50/50 between two candidates. The first is their current president, and the second is the son of a previous president (who is now in prison). I knew exactly who she was talking about right away thanks to the reading I had done for my policy class the week before! What are the odds?! I was like, “oh yeah! He tried to overthrow the government and is now in prison for 20+ years, right?!” And she was like “…. How do you know that?!?!”

I also learned that our president is supporting the prisoner’s son by funding/displaying propaganda all across Brazil…which led to a long conversation about the US meddling in foreign politics.

Before I knew it, An-Sofie and Anna had returned from dinner. The time had passed so quickly! I knew Jaiana and I could just keep talking and talking, so I asked if she’d like to join me for dinner. She said yes!

Dinner at Hooked

We walked about 15 min from our hostel to a place in the Meatpacking District called “Hooked”. When we walked in the restaurant, we were surprised to find it completely full. The reason we were so shocked was not because it was a weird time of day, a “hidden gem” place, or anything like that; it was because the restaurant was sooo quiet! You could hardly tell there was anybody in there! Luckily, there was a cozy spot available outside with heaters and blankets.

Over fish n chips, we discussed everything from our personal lives and careers to favorite travel destinations. We also shared our impressions of Copenhagen! Here they are:

• People follow rules & seem generally very relaxed. For example, if the crosswalk is about to turn red, they wait rather than sprinting across (couldn’t be me)
• The city is clean & safe. There’s no trash on the ground. You can walk alone at night as a woman and feel fine. People swim in the canals.
• Danish design is elegant and welcoming. Warm lighting is everywhere — people’s homes, city buildings, street lights. Everything is aesthetically pleasing.
• People are social & rarely seen glued to their phones in public. Instead of scrolling while waiting in line, it seems like people actually strike up a conversation with the people around them! Or, just enjoy being present.
• Being active seems central to Danish lifestyle. So many bikes and runners!
• Coziness is highly valued. Blankets at restaurants, comfortable seating in museums, etc.
• People care for & support each other. There are almost no homeless people, which is likely related to the high taxes / more socialist society.

I’m probably forgetting some more observations, but hopefully this gave you a taste of what it felt like to be in Copenhagen!

Homeward bound

After dinner, Jaiana and I went back to our room and slept for just a few hours. We had to be up early to catch our flights! Turns out, our flights were within an hour of each other, so we decided to go to the airport together. We split an Uber after trying (& failing) to take the train. We got through security very quickly, so we had plenty of time to grab coffee and chat some more. I can’t even remember everything we talked about, but it was a blast! The time went so fast. As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. Before I knew it, it was time for me to board my flight back to Frankfurt and then home to Michigan.

Speaking of Frankfurt…

I’m back here AGAIN for the third time this year. Still haven’t actually been to Germany, though.

Check back to see what I’m up to!

Clara