Living in Denmark

Today we are going to Odense which is the hometown of H.C. Andersen. He is a famous fairytale author of the ugly duckling, little mermaid, princess and the pea etc. To be honest, I didnt know these stories were written by a Danish. That also explains why Denmark is famous for the little mermaid.

Traveling to Odense was easy! It took us 1.5 hrs from the copenhagen central station to arrive! Love traveling around in trains. I think it has been really fun and exciting traveling within Denmark since we come from a really really small country. But most Danes laugh when we mention how big Denmark is, cause it is the smallest country out of the Scandi region.

We brought along some nice snacks to entertain ourselves while we travelled to Odense and soon enough, we have arrived. Odense feels different from the city centre. Maybe a lot more of what i would have imagine Copenhagen would be like. All the small colorful houses along the roads on cobbled streets.

Off we head to HC Andersen House, we had an audio tour which was very informative and talks about HC Anderson’s life history and where he got his inspiration in writing his stories and I LOVEEEEEEE the inspiration behind ugly duckling! Its definitely a must visit.

Thereafter, we went around following HC Andersen footsteps around the city to see where he visits and walk along in his neighbourhood. It was indeed a very fun experience where I feel very involved by trying to walk to his footsteps.

Thank goodness for good weather that we are able to enjoy such a fun and relaxing day in Odense and off we went to a food market — Storms Pakhus! Since it was the weekends, it was bustling and filled with many people that are here for either food or drinks or even the flea market that was on going. Both me and my husband had a very good time enjoying the music, atmosphere and delicious Asian food here. Living abroad makes me realise that i am more asian than i can ever image.

Time fly by quickly when you are having fun! soon it was time for the handball match! It was second time watching a handball match. This time the team we are supporting is playing in their home ground. Never heard of handball back in Singapore, but this is almost like Danish national sport. But having watched it live for the first time, I really like this sport. Well i think the atmosphere definitely play a big part, hahahah. Who doesnt like watching sports live?

Well the results werent what we were expecting, but we had a good time here in Odense! Thank you for the invite to this handball match by my husband’s colleague if not i think it would have taken us maybe a little longer before we visit Odense. We are definitely coming back for you!

Decided to start blogging again but to keep track of our travel memories together. It was a slightly rough start of the year, but decided to look on the positive side of things and travel since we are in Europe now. Decided to try the DFDS ferry to OSLO and so we booked and off we went.!

We booked a commodore cabin(sea-view) which comes with complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi. Typically, the ferry departs the port of CPH at 15:00 sharp and arrives at the port in OSLO at 10:00 the next morning. We did a 4-5hrs walk in Oslo and then headed back to the ferry at 15:00 to arrive back in CPH the next day at 10:00. It was a really short weekend trip but we really wanted to see the fjords. So HERE WE GOOOOOO….

We arrived at the ferry terminal of DFDS in CPH at 230pm. We had lunch and went to the supermarkets to get some soft drinks/beers/snacks with us to bring along through the cruise prior to arriving. The check-in process was very seamless and easy. Just scan your ID and the tickets for the room card comes out and you can board the ferry. Our rooms were ready when we check-in, so once we boarded the ferry, we headed straight to the room.

Here is a quick overview of our stay for the next 2 nights away from home. Its pretty decent for the price I would say.

After dropping off our luggage, we headed off to collect the Wi-Fi code and also to explore the ferry.

It is amazing how everything here in this world is so sharp and punctual. The ferry leaves at 15:00 sharp, so don’t be late. Off we sailed into the ocean towards Oslo.

One thing we could have done better would be to head to dinner early. As we didn’t do a booking for the first night and it was a Saturday night, so all the restaurants were really crowded during dinner time. So, both me and my husband had a chicken sandwich and cafe latte for dinner. The coffee was really good, and the chicken sandwich was ok. Well at least we filled our stomach 🙂

There were shopping in the ferry where you can get tax free shopping of clothes, bags, cosmetics etc. There is also a mini arcade for entertainment. The facilities on board were not much but there are some if one would like to have a look and spend some time. We just stay in the room to rest and relax for the weekend. 🙂

Next morning, we went for our complimentary breakfast at 8am. Wanted to have some time to chill and relax after breakfast before we arrive at Oslo. The view at the restaurant for breakfast was awesome. The ferry was cruising along the fjords and because it was snowing the days before, the fjords were covered with snow. It was a really enjoyable way to have your breakfast working your 5 senses. Sight, Smell, Taste, Hearing and Touch.

Very quickly we arrived at Oslo and so we got off the ferry and walked to the Opera House which was about a 15-20min walk from the port. Everything was very accessible by walking, and we visited the various places that I thought would be nice to go and see as it’s my husband’s first time to Oslo.

It was really nice as everywhere was covered in snow and the sun was out for the day! Lucky us!

Opera House

Oslo Central Station

The Royal Palace

Streets of Oslo

Oslo Street Food

After Lunch we slowly headed back to the cruise. Decided to visit the supermarket to get some beers/snacks and my favorite hazelnut spread, Nugatti. To our surprise, Norway doesn’t sell alcohols on Sundays except at restaurants and bar. Unfortunately, no Norwegian beer to try for the husband. We headed back to the ferry, went through the same procedure to check-in and chilled at a bar to watch the sunset and the ferry cruising out of the fjords to head back to CPH. It was definitely a worth-while experience to be able to travel to Norway and see the fjords at the same time just by taking the ferry. I like that its fuss free and also its convenient as the ports are not that far away from the city center.

Definitely, doing short trips while living in Europe is a plus. It is so much easier and wayyyyy more fun to travel around when you packed lighter too 🙂

Next planned weekend trip would be to odense.. HC Andersen’s Hometown. Tune in for the next post!

Looking out as the rain falls down

many thoughts come flooding in

why is heaven crying so hard now

Decided to go for a exercise since the food here at home is a lot more sinful than what we usually have in Denmark. Headed to the stadium at 9am but it suddenly poured very heavily! Feels like heaven is trying to test how resilient I am with exercising. So glad i had company if not i would have just taken the easy way out and leave. We ended up doing some YouTube exercises and then ran around the track for 3 rounds before leaving for the day.

Of course, not forgetting our Yakun Toast breakfast. AHHHHH Singapore breakfast. I love the soft-boiled eggs with the hot fluffy French toast and my savory kaya spread. YUMS.

Headed home after to shower and come out to meet my ex-colleague Sheila and her daughter! OH MY, haven seen Miranda for so long but she warm up to me so quickly like I am her best friend. It was fun to be around friends and their family, watching them grow and moving along milestones. I had fun making bracelets too with Miranda and Sheila. To either more videocalls or meet up sessions when I am back 🙂

One is not wiser being older in age

One is not more matured being older in age too

Sometimes I think that children are wiser than their parents

It’s going to be an intensive week with loads of catch up! Not sure if I would be exhausted at the end of this visit back to SG because we went from minimal social life in DK to like maximum social life in SG. Meeting people every day for almost every meal. Thankfully mine is a slow start which increasing gets more intensive as the week past.

Met junior for brunch today and that was all the program I have for today. It was a nice catch up and know that I am still a good listener to my friends even though we might not have been in touch or catching up as frequently.

Tuesday was with my ex-colleague from Citibank. Only 1 out of the 3 of us are working at the moment. Does seem like more and more people are currently out of the workforce. But of course, it’s a voluntary decision as my friend would like to spend more time with her newborn while myself, i am off to Denmark with my spouse. Seemed like banking industry has been a challenging year in 2022 and i totally didn’t missed it 🙂

Dad is still giving the cold shoulder since we left and when we are back. OH WELLS. I did my best. Not even sure what he is pissed off about, but it has been 6 freaking months *smacks forehead* Coming back to SG also make me realise i really do like having my own space. Thank goodness we are only back for 2 weeks.

Time and tide waits for no man

The kids grow up quickly

Parents tired but filled with thankful hearts

Met up with bestie and sk on sunday! So nice to see them and the girls! 6 months is too long for kids! Took a while to warm up but we have fun! Its really not easy to catch up with kiddos around. Always thankful for all the precious time families make for us! ☺️