The last few days feel as if they've been really busy. Yet I don't feel that I've done anything of note... On Sunday I went to the Glyptotek, which was beautiful, breathtaking and wonderful. I took a few pictures on the little Diana (2 rolls that need to be developed now!) but it is definitely a place to which I will return. Afterward, I went to a place called Café Retro to warm up and do a little reading (currently Nabokov). It was so perfect! The mismatched furniture reminded me of a place on campus at home, except much better executed (as everything in Scandinavia it seems). The café is non-profit, everyone works for free and everything is fair trade and organic. The best part is how good the coffee is.
Good coffee, among other things, is surprisingly harder to find here than I thought. At a reasonable price, that is. Today I met up with a Danish student who came on exchange to Canada last semester and we spent 40kr ($8 cdn.) on a coffee each in a tiny shop off the street! Oops.
Apparently vegetables are not that popular either... Amongst the 5 different grocery stores of varying price ranges I have visited (excluding high-end chains whose prices are unheard of at home outside the doors of Pusateri's) the produce aisles are ultimately Spanish-imported accessories for the massive selection of meat and bread. Vegetables here seem like decorations on a fat and carb-laden christmas tree. Not to mention that these decorations must be either pickled, heavily salinated or chopped to a homogeneous consistency of cow cud. No sweet potatoes, no rapini, no cauliflower, no artichokes, no non-white mushrooms, no rutabaga, no fresh asparagus... I could go on and on. Today i was practically ecstatic to find some zucchinis, which were labeled "squash" in the supermarket. As for actual squashes? Apparently they don't exist...
So why are the Danes so thin? The bicycles, of course! As I write this there is the sweet sound of bicycle lane plows droning by. Oh, Copenhagen - although you may rip me off with $8 coffees and keep me on a pitiful diet of salads - I am falling even more in love with you.
p.s. Don't worry mom, I'm not skimping - and I am meeting the lovely author of this blog to end my vegetable woes with a Copenhagen culinary run-through on Friday!
The end of a vacation
5 years ago
My heart sinks when I read about the lack of veggi for I live on these beautiful wonderful colourful plants. No broccoli? sweet pepper? eggplant? :-( What about ethnic vegetables like bok choi, okra? I'm going to send you some virtual vegetables. Good thing you pack some multi-vitamins and vitamin B.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about Dane's idea of just staying slim by cycling. They need the multi-coloured nutrients from mother earth to be truly healthy.
There's broccoli and sweet peppers... these plus iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and beets seem to be the favourites here. But that's it!
ReplyDeleteGood point about the ethnic veggies - I am going to visit Nørrebro sometime, the "immigrant" neighbourhood where one of my friends lives. I've heard there are some little turkish, indian and chinese grocers!
Nørrebro is definitely where you'll find the produce that Netto lacks. Netto has a pretty regimented schedule of vegetables as you've noticed, but keep an eye out for seasonal specialties which come out en masse, then disappear. Irma usually has a wider selection of higher-end produce, but that comes at a price.
ReplyDeleteHave you been to a Tiger yet? Another store to check out is the Illums Bolighus in the Strøget. One of the best places to fantasize of your own Scandinavian-design-decked apartment.
i am so with you on the veggies! urrrggh!
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