When I moved to Denmark in autumn 2015, one of my plans was to get a foothold in the oil and gas sector in the region and end up moving to Norway. Ever since my uplifting trip to Norway years before, Norway became the promised land for me. I tried to apply to jobs there ever so often and I tried to go study there. In Denmark I felt so close that I could smell the salt water of the Norwegian fjords. Yet as I spent more time adjusting to Danish life it grew on me more and more.
A forest path somewhere around Hillerød, Denmark
After coming back from our geological field trip to Gran Canaria I had gained a new level of respect and appreciation for the Danes and their country. I could now see myself calling Denmark a home for the foreseeable future. Thus, my plans shifted away from Norway and I decided to better integrate into Danish society. The first and main step would be to learn the Danish language. Luckily as long as you have a CPR (local ID card) Danish language classes are free and offered across the country by the local municipality. I didn’t waste any time in signing up and from May 2016 I would being my late afternoon classes at Studieskolen.
Spring cycling
Spring had settled in and the fields and trees began blooming with flowers across the Danish lands. However, April weather was as schizophrenic as it could get. The daily recipe was a couple of hours of warm, beautiful sunshine, followed by half an hour of hail/rain and chilling winds.
On one of the better days I had planned a long cycling trip to the town of Hillerød, 36km north of Copenhagen.
Spring of 2016, Denmark
I was going to visit one of my Danish friends and colleagues, Jesper who lived in Hillerød. This was also my first time venturing well out of the Danish capital to explore new terrain. New places, adventures and things like that always got me excited.
The cycling lane pretty much followed the main vehicle road going north out of Copenhagen, all the way to Hillerød. On the way I got to bike around and explore new neighborhoods of the busy capital, followed by long stretches of calming countryside.
On the road to Hillerød
Patches of green, sprouting forests were often interrupted by small towns and villages. The road also presented three major hills to conquer. Despite what one would expect from a map, the Danish landscape isn’t as flat as you may think.
Hillerød
After a few hours of cycling and sweating, the final stretch of forest revealed the entrance sign to Hillerød. This final bit of the road to Hillerød with its many nature paths and tranquil forest was always my favorite.
The all too familiar gas station at the entrance to Hillerød
I soon met up with Jesper and we walked to the iconic landmark in the town center: Frederiksborg Castle. Built in the early 17th century, this elegant castle served as a summer residence for the Danish royal family for decades before being turned into a museum. With its numerous bedrooms, dining rooms and various chambers, the multistory castle is the largest Renaissance complex in the Nordic region.
Frederiksborg Castle entrance, Hillerød
As impressive as Frederiksborg may have been on the inside, this wasn’t the time for me to explore it. Unfortunately my financial issues turned me into the ultimate penny-pincher. For the time I would only enjoy such places from the outside where they were free of charge. Besides, the castle grounds and outside decorations were probably just as impressive as anything on the inside.
The victory pose returns!
Indeed, the gardens which are open to the public are a must visit to anyone around Hillerød. Some of the best spots include the cascading fountain – a series of terraced pools and waterfalls, the emblematic rose garden and the scenic Lake Slotsø with its family of white swans. Side-note: for some areas like the rose garden, it’s best to visit during the summer when all the flowers are in bloom.
Frederiksborg Castle gardens
My little one day trip to Hillerød was a much needed respite from my daily thoughts regarding increasingly troubling financial times.
The financial front
There was still no improvement on the money front. I believe it was around April when I had to pay the final installment of my rent and I was pretty much out of funds by that point. Despite my newfound ambition and zeal coming back from Gran Canaria, I was still unable to find a job. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to resort to the only person in my family that could help me stay afloat during the time… my geologist cousin living in Canada, Lucian.
Growing up, I had always looked up to my cousin and his successes. Heck, I even chose to follow the same career path as him. I knew that if I ever got into a really tight financial spot, all I had to do was ask and he’d help me out. Still… I really hated asking for help. Call it stubbornness, call it pride, call it whatever you want. This whole thing I was doing by moving to a completely new country and forging my path, I wanted to do it completely on my own. In my view, any outside assistance would just invalidate my one-man mission. However, by the spring of 2016, I was out of options.
As much as I loved my trusty, rusty ‘Shame”, I looked forward to the day I could afford to buy a new bike
I strictly asked my cousin for just the amount I needed to cover my final rent. I was going to take care of the rest myself, I told him. Of course he helped me out immediately.
It would take quite a long time for me to grow out of this prideful mindset. Well… to be honest, I can’t really say if I ever truly have. But at least these days I’ve come to accept that it’s ok to ask for help from others every now and again.
As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, Gran Canaria to me was a sort of eye opener to a different world. A world of constant warm climate, sunshine, beaches, palm trees and luxury tourist resorts. A sort of idealized island paradise world, where, at least in the moment, one doesn’t care about money anymore. That’s because presumably one already has enough money if they end up in a place like this.
Well I didn’t have money… But I felt like I did. This feeling is what I mean by I got a small taste of “the good life”. Something I’d never felt before. I relished the feeling and wanted more. My experience in Gran Canaria ignited an ambition for success that would shape some of the most momentous decisions later on in my life.
The landscape of Gran Canaria
But I’m getting ahead of myself now. Let me first tell you about our adventures on the island.
Road trips across a volcanic island
We spent most of our days in Gran Canaria on the road. Driving around and across the island to observe its magnificent geological features.
Like the rest of the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria is a volcanic island made up of various volcanic rocks ranging from basalts to rhyolites. This range of rock types from silica-poor to silica-rich represents the typical evolution of ocean island forming magmas.
A rocky wall showcasing two generations of ignimbrites delineated by a scorched contact margin
Another typical rock type in Gran Canaria are ignimbrites. Ignimbrites are basically hardened volcanic tuff formed as a result of pyroclastic flows. For those unaware, pyroclastic flows are those superheated “grey avalanches” of gas and volcanic particles moving down the slopes of an angry erupting volcano at very high speeds. They are probably the most dangerous features of a violent volcanic eruption. Their direction is very hard to predict, you can’t outrun them and they incinerate and carbonize everything in their path.
The master volcanologist and igneous petrologist himself in action, Paul Martin Holm.
In the end, all that violent rocky and gassy outburst, coupled with erosion leads to some really unique rock formations.
Fuente de los Azulejos
The name of this colorful geological formation literally translates to the fountain of tiles. Located in the municipality of Tejeda in the center of the island, los Azulejos are a result of hydrothermal activity and oxidation, coupled with erosional features.
The colorful rocks of Los Azulejos in Gran Canaria
The rocks at los Azulejos are primarily composed of basalts. The green and blue colors come from an abundance of copper minerals such as malachite and azurite. Water and erosion over time contributed to the distribution of these colors across a large area.
A close-up of Los Azulejos
Roque Nublo
Another geological feature and major tourist attraction in the municipality of Tejada is Roque Nublo. Translated to “Rock in Clouds” this 80 meter high rocky monolith towers over the surrounding landscape.
Hiking towards Roque Nublo we got a view of these clouds rolling over the jagged landscape
One of the most iconic landmarks of the island, Roque Nublo offers spectacular panoramic views of the rolling hills and valleys of the Gran Canaria. On top of that, you get a spectacular view of Tenerife island in the distance.
The neighboring Tenerife island popping up in the distance above the clouds
Initially a landscape made up of various lava flows, ash and pumice, was shaped over millions of years by wind and water. In time, erosional forces have erased all but the most resilient of rocks which today make up the core of Roque Nublo.
The towering Roque Nublo
Dragon Tail cliffs at Mirador del Balcón
Located on the western coast of Gran Canaria, the Dragon Tail Cliffs at Mirador del Balcón are geological formation renowned for their dramatic appearance and panoramic views. The epic name was derived from the jagged, serrated edges of the cliffs, which resemble the tail of a dragon in silhouette against the sky.
The Dragon Tail Cliffs at Mirador del Balcón
The cliffs at Mirador del Balcón are composed of basaltic lava flows, which in time have been carved and sculpted by winds and waves. The dramatic shapes of these cliffs are a result of the high durability and resistance to erosion of basaltic rocks.
Bandama Caldera
Measuring approximately 1000 meters in diameter and 200 meters deep, the Bandama Caldera is one of the Canary Islands largest volcanic craters. Located near the town of Santa Brígida, the caldera offers yet more stunning views and geological features.
It was impossible to capture the sheer size of Bandama Caldera in one photo
The Bandama Caldera is the result of a massive volcanic eruption that occurred thousands of years ago. The subsequent collapse and erosion of the caldera left a large depression in the landscape.
On the road from the Bandama Caldera towards the coast you can find some of best examples of pillow basalts. These structures form during underwater lava eruptions, as a result of rapid cooling.
The perfect pillow basalt
Mapping ignimbrites
On one of the days we split into multiple teams and did a field study of different rock formations. My hotel roommates and I were assigned to map ignimbrites. As such, Nigel, Søren, Michael and I spent one day in the scorching sun noting down the features of this huge wall of rock along a sloped road.
Søren discovering a perfectly preserved volcanic bomb between the ignimbrite layers
Below us, in the valley, there was a raging pool party at one of the resorts. Not having an ounce of shade the whole day, we became quite disgruntled with and jealous of the people below. They were also playing that damned “Tunak Tunak” song on loop the whole day… To this day I can’t stand listening to that song because of this!
Hearing the Tunak Tunak song for the millionth time
Despite our complaints, we still had a great time doing fun geology things while sometimes stopping to admire the views of that incredible place. Later on we would compile a report of our findings, which would contribute towards the final grade of the course.
The tempting view while working in the hot sun all day
Leisurely evenings
After our daily road trips, sight seeing and geology work, we would spend our late afternoons and evenings doing various activities. Be it a dip in the pool, a walk across town, or a night of drinking on the terrace, there was always something to do.
Finishing up a long days work on the rocks
One of my favorite nights was poker night with my roommates. Søren had brought a poker set with him, so the four of us sat down for a very serious game of Texas Hold’Em. The stakes were high as we were playing for drinks. Losers buy the winners one and two beers respectively. After a crafty combination of luck, aggression and bluffing, I had managed to secure my second place and one free beer. However, my luck was up as the most inexperienced of us actually managed to win the big pot! Regardless, I was quite pleased with my results.
During the last evening, Paul Martin took us all out for a game of mini golf. This was after we had a few drinks. Among them a couple of shots of true Absinth. The 89.9% alcohol drink that gives you brain damage. To my surprise it tasted better than some other dreadful things I drank in my life – hint hint, Swedish bitter and Stroh rum… Ugh…
Tasty liquid death
On top of all this we had an incredible varied buffet dinner each night. I will never forget the seafood themed one. Just the variety and the taste of it all was so good! Suffice to say the nights were a blast.
Final thoughts on our trip
As a holiday trip and adventure, Gran Canaria is up there on my list with some of my most memorable trips. However, as part of a university field course? Hands down the best course I’ve ever taken!
Field courses are always more fun than just sitting in the class, or lab all day. I’ve done quite a few back in Romania during my Bachelors days. But of course the level of financing and opportunity between my Romanian and Danish Universities was incomparable.
Our geologist version of ‘The shining”
I mentioned how my trip to Gran Canaria turned on an ambition switch in my head that would pave the way for future decisions and successes. However, there was another thing I gained from my field trip there. An immense gratitude and respect towards my professor, Paul Martin, the University of Copenhagen and Denmark in general. So much so that when we flew back to Denmark I decided that I would sign up for the state offered Danish language classes and I would try to make Denmark my permanent home.
The first month of 2016 passed by quickly with reports and exams. As bad as my financial situation was, I had to brush that to the side for now. My focus was fully on university work. It payed off too. I received good results on my exams. In fact, to my shock, I had even scored close to the top grade in my geochemistry class.
Changing of the royal guard at Amalienborg
Meanwhile we had to sign up for our optional courses in the upcoming semester. One of the options was a field course with my future thesis supervisor Paul Martin. Participants would travel a week to Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands and work on volcanic flows. Most of the trip would be covered by the University. Even with my money issues, this was a no-brainer for me.
On the other hand, there was another fascinating field course that would entail a trip to the USA. However, this would be more costly to the students. As much as I would have loved to sign up, I had to pass. One field course was good enough.
Sanctuary
February started off with a post-exam break. I was back on my job-search duties. I kept on asking around for opportunities and sending out swarms of emails. At one point my strategy became that with every rejection I got, I’d send out another three job applications. It was a number’s game, I thought. Something had to give at some point.
Copenhagen’s winters were generally rainy and grey, but occasionally we’d get a thin blanked of snow
Otherwise I regularly went out on my cycling trips, exploring the city and its outskirts. This was my way of recharging mentally. Just me, my thoughts and my music. I ended up finding this lovely strip of coastline around Charlottenlund, just north of Copenhagen. It had a wide-open beach park and a motte with rusty old cannons pointing towards Sweeden. This place became my sanctuary. My favorite daytime, or nighttime retreat to relax and clear my mind.
My sanctuary: Charlottenlund beach park during fall
Other times I would venture in other new directions within and out of the city. Every time seeking to explore a new place. Mostly parks, or nice neighborhoods. I would have loved to visit some of the castles, or museums, but most of these cost money. So with my tight budget, I had to settle for just the outside views for now.
The winds of change
Sometime around February, Paul Martin called me in for a meeting regarding the Argentina project. He had some bad news. He couldn’t go through with the project that year due to a mix-up at the financial department. As it turned out, he wouldn’t have the necessary funds. He was incredibly regretful and apologetic. Then almost immediately, he offered me another project if I were interested.
Specifically, a fully funded research project for one Master’s thesis, with two-weeks field work together with him in Iceland. I was blown away. I actually had to make an effort to hide my excitement in light of the unfortunate news about the Argentina project. But this? Iceland? Fully funded? One huge financial burden gone and I get to go to freaking Iceland!? Holy shit this was amazing! I immediately accepted and with a huge grin on my face we shook hands.
My financial problems weren’t gone yet, but this was at least one less burden to deal with. A step in the right direction. I could feel the winds of misfortune slowly shifting away.
A rare snowy day in Copenhagen, Denmark
Apart from my routine, the rest of February involved preparations and an increasing anticipation for the upcoming field trip to Gran Canaria in early March.
A taste of the good life
We departed Copenhagen late in the afternoon and by the time we reached Gran Canaria it was already night time. This was my first time going to a subtropical destination, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean we all see places like this in pictures and movies, but it’s always quite a bit different experiencing them first hand.
I didn’t get to see much during landing, as it was mostly just a lot of darkness suddenly followed by the glimmering lights of the airport below. Then we entered the terminal, got our luggage and made our way to the basement parking to pick up our rented cars.
Night time view from our hotel room balcony in Gran Canaria
The realization of where I was only started sinking in once we drove out the airport. Warmly lit highways with palm trees stretching along the roads. Luxurious resorts with inviting swimming pools all around. Then our own resort hotel, with elegant rooms and balconies overlooking the gorgeous valley below and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. Later still, the food… Oh that magnificent food! Each day a different themed buffet diner…
On the surface I was acting all calm and collected. However, on the inside I was so giddy at everything around me! Up until that point, I was never one to really yearn for tropical paradises, but… now I was experiencing one and it was AMAZING!
Day time view from our hotel room balcony in Gran Canaria
I was getting a small taste of the good life. A hypothetical life where financial worries are a part of the past. A life where I could actually afford to enjoy places like Gran Canaria on my own dime. A seed had been planet in my mind. A desire that would later turn into a grand ambition and would once more reshape the course of my life in the years to come.
For now though, I was there. Enjoying the moment and looking forward to the rest of our days in Gran Canaria.
A few years before my decision to move to Denmark, during what I would call my years of stagnation, I had a strange dream. This was perhaps a year, or so after I had graduated from University in Romania. The plans I had fell apart and I was caught in a loop of waiting on other people’s promises. Waiting for some miracle opportunity to fall into my lap.
It was at this point that I had a dream where I seemingly met up with a divine figure. It had no visible face in the dream, just a human-like outline radiating light. In the dream I acted as if this was some great old buddy of mine from past times. I told the figure that things had been quite dull and bleak for a while, and then asked when will things pick up again? The figure then replied “2015”. Then the dream just faded away. I had had all sorts of fascinating, insightful and strange dreams before. But never did I get a response like that to a legitimate question. I didn’t dwell on it too much, but it did leave me with a renewed sense of hope that things will work themselves out.
Waking up to a winter morning in the Danish countryside
I certainly didn’t plan on things going the way they did, but 2015 did indeed end up being the year that changed everything for me. It was toward the end of 2015 that I recalled that old dream. Mostly because a few months before I had another interesting one. In this one I was climbing a steep hill at night in a dark forest. It wasn’t just me alone, there were a bunch of people around me all trying to climb up this hill. It was hard and I kept sliding back constantly. Finally, a tall, smiling, short gray-haired blue eyed man extended his hand and helped me reach the top. It felt like a nice wholesome dream and I didn’t think much more of it at the time.
Knowledge shock
Before I started my studies at KU, I had to choose my specialization. The University offered four options for Geoscientists. I was debating between two of these. One was a sedimentary rock specialization, which was focused towards the oil and gas branch of geology. The other one was is igneous rocks and geochemical processes. This would somewhat touch upon economic geology and the mining industry, but was mostly a purely research oriented path. I thought back to how much I enjoyed the igneous classes from my Bachelors days. Sedimentary I always found a bit dull, but I wanted to keep my options open for practical reasons. I ended up choosing the igneous specialization, but also signed up for the sedimentary classes for my optional courses.
Nordhavn (North port), Copenhagen, seen from somewhere up the north coast
It was the most practical decision. I would give both specs a chance in my first semester and then decide which one I will focus on later. Regarding the igneous specialization, the one thing that I somehow glossed over was the “Geochemistry” part of the title. I was terrible at geochemistry. Not only that, but I severely lacked any good basic chemistry foundation. The result of too many different teachers replacing each other in middle school and high school.
At the start of my first geochem-heavy course called “Core to crust”, my huge knowledge-gap was immediately obvious. I recall our first professor, Robert Frei, stared off the course by quickly scribbling down an equation on the board and just causally stating “Well, everyone knows the decay equation, so…” and he keeps on going. I took a look at this never seen before scribble and my immediate reaction was , “Woah woah woah! What’s “e”? Euler’s number. The mathematical constant “e” obviously. Everyone knows that, right? Yeah… “Right”.
A steep learning curve
The first three weeks of courses at KU were brutal. I was trying to understand. I was listening and focusing during classes more than ever before. But some of the stuff just seemed so advanced to me that it was impossible to understand. My head felt two sizes too big after each geochemistry class. The sedimentary classes on the other hand were way easier to grasp and follow. Yet as frustrating as the geochem class was, it kept challenging and intriguing me. The topics were fascinating and kept me engaged.
A rainy Østerbrogade in Coepnhagen, Denmark
It wasn’t until we had to work in groups and make a presentation based on a scientific article that I finally started getting it. After all my Danish colleagues formed their groups and picked their topics, the two foreigners, Nigel and myself teamed up to take the scraps. I don’t recall the exact topic of the article we got, but I know it took us two solid afternoons to chew through the material. Re-reading paragraphs dozens of times to try to understand what the heck the author is saying. Deciphering scientific sentences word for word at times. Then there were all these “alien” elements that I never heard of. Like Yb… Huh, Yb? Ybbibidium? What? How about Tb? Teletubium? Ugh…
We did our best to present what we learned. A big part of it just felt like the author arguing for some things while acknowledging that it could be this way, or that way, or another way. It turned out to be a great presentation. This was what our professor was trying to show us. How so many of these processes are still not well understood. Yet how researchers keep pushing to find different ingenious, indirect ways to make sense of what we can’t see, or directly measure. It was fine to not understand everything. You just had to continue persevering, asking questions and researching. There were never any wrong questions. Maybe just wrong answers.
Enter the smiling, gray-haired, blue-eyed man
One month in, I was feeling a lot more comfortable in classes. The geochemistry class had won me over. I was now keen on sticking with the igneous rock specialization. The next step was to find an Master’s thesis project and I didn’t want to waste any time. I asked my friend Jasper about any ideas of whom I could talk to. I told him I’d love to work on volcanoes and magmatic processes. He then told me a professor Paul-Martin Holm, who had a project in the Cape Verde islands. Incidentally he was going to present the second part of our geochem class, so I’d have the chance to meet him soon.
Somewhere on a farm in Ballerup, Denmark during winter 2015
There were a few rumors’ coming from some of my Danish colleagues that Paul Martin was this mean professor. That he was very demanding and harsh during exams. The class starts and in enters this smiling, kind looking, tall, gray-haired, blue-eyed Danish man. I didn’t think of it at the time, but in hindsight, he looked eerily similar to the man extending his helping hand in my hill-climbing dream.
The moment we took a break, I walked up to him and introduced myself. I mentioned that I had heard of a potential Cape Verde project he has and that I would be interested. He replied that sadly he already has another student for that project. However, he had this other geochemistry project in Argentina that would require a Master’s student if I’m interested.
Wow… Argentina?! Heck yeah I was interested! But the geochemistry part again… I told Paul Martin I had a severely week geochemistry background and wasn’t sure if it was wise to sign up for a geochem focused project. His reply was “But you can learn!”. Nobody could have given me a better answer in that moment. I felt challenged in the best way possible. I was given a golden opportunity here and it was time to show what I could do!
Just one little problem…
The Argentina project sounded incredible, but there was one little problem for me. It wasn’t entirely covered by Paul’s research funds, so the students would have to pay a portion of the expenses. This was highly problematic given my dubious financial standing at the time. Well, I still had time to find a better paying job, I thought. So, I accepted. This was around mid-October.
Fast-forward to December and how “well” my job-search was going. Add to that the SU-grant rejection and you can now imagine that I wasn’t in the most cheerful of holiday spirits.
A gloomy winter holiday
I had no plans for the school break. I was just sulking in temporary defeat.
At the same time an old high school friend from Romania, Vlad, was living and working on a farm in Ballerup, Denmark. He invited me over for Christmas dinner with him and the farm-owners. So I went over to pay him a visit. We ate and drank, talked and laughed. His employers were very nice people. They even gave me a gift. The topic of a job came up too. They weren’t really hiring, but I also couldn’t exactly take on a full-time farm-job half an hour away from Copenhagen either.
A Danish Christmas dinner prepared by my high school friend, master chef Vlad
Vlad was a good friend. A great friend. He did what he could in his old way to cheer me up. I felt bad for bringing down the mood, but I told him too that it was just a really shitty period for me. As always, I had to dredge through this on my own.
Despite the struggles, it was a wholesome end to a life-changing year
By the time December 31’st had rolled up, I felt I had enough time to recharge mentally. I spontaneously went out with a group of dorm-mates to have a few drinks in the chaotic streets of Copenhagen on New Years Eve. I hyped myself up and prepared for the next year. Determined to fix my financial issues, prove that I could stand on my own two feet and then succeed in my challenging academic pursuits!
On January 1’st 2016, I received the following email from David, the website owner I was writing for:
My last line of income was cut. I burst out into hysteric laughter.
About a month after my arrival in Copenhagen, Denmark, I was comfortably settling into my new life. I now had a solid group of friends, I had a good means of transportation and had become familiar with most of the city. I was also adapting to the steep learning curve at KU. However, time was ticking on my limited finances and the pressure was on to find a local job.
My accommodation was covered for half a year and I was earning a small wage through my online content writing job. This was enough to cover my monthly costs for now. Nevertheless, I had to find a better income to be able to survive long-term.
Statue of famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen in Rosenborg park, Copenhagen
I had begun asking around about jobs and grant opportunities within my new circle of friends and colleagues. I soon learned about the SU-system that all my fellow Danish students were on.
The SU-system
The Danish SU-system is a state educational grant and loan scheme for people over 18 following a youth educational system and students enrolled in a full-degree program of higher education.
It’s basically a significant government financial support system for all Danes enrolled in Universities across the country. Foreign students are technically not eligible for SU, unless they apply for equal status with Danish citizens. As always, this is easier if you come from an EU member country. You can read more details about applying for SU as a foreign student here.
My road to SU
I began looking into the SU eligibility as soon as I had heard of it. From my research, I found I had to have no other foreign educational support grants and show that my income was meager enough to merit financial aid. Then the SU-grant would be significant enough for me to cover all expenses. It seemed like the perfect solution to my financial problems.
Amazing mural in the courtyard of Sølvgades Elementary school, Copenhagen
The problem was that I had a foreign job with no tax contribution to the Danish state. The only way this could potentially work was for me to open a company in Denmark and register as self-employed. My English colleague and good friend, Nigel who had experience in registering businesses in Denmark helped me set up “Odyssian Translations”. A one-man translation and content-writing firm registered in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was now the official boss! The boss of me, myself and I.
Now I just had to ask the website owner I was writing for to kindly reword some things in our contract agreement so it would all fit with my new company name. He was kind enough to oblige. Of course now my minimal income diminished further because I had to start paying tax on it. Still, with everything in order, I could finally take my shot at applying for SU in November.
Ongoing job-search
Even though I was banking on the SU-grant coming through, I was still adamant on finding a local part-time job. Mostly because any job in Denmark would pay way more than the content-writing income I had. If I had enough time, I could even do both, I thought. So off I went to ask around for jobs.
My frequent bike trips through north-east Copenhagen helped clear my mind
Ideally I would have loved to get a student-job on campus, or maybe an internship at a company relevant to my field. These were ambitious “big balloon” dreams that were unlikely to materialize. The reasons being that these jobs would be limited and require some level of nepotism and, usually, Danish fluency.
The nepotism part really irked me, because I had just left a country where nepotism was the norm everywhere and I was completely fed up with it. I always dreamed of an ideal meritocratic system where one proves themselves objectively based on skill, action and experience. However, when one has little past work experience and there are dozens, or hundreds of similar applicants for one position, the hirer will most often take a subjective approach and choose the one that had been recommended by a friend/colleague.
The problem for me was that this simple reality was colliding with my “do it on my own” mentality. My whole job application process in those months was as much of an internal struggle as it was an external one.
Expanding, adapting
As time passed on and no sweet and easy jobs were coming along, I had to adapt and expand my approach. I had exhausted my options on campus and it was time to broaden the search. Since my main weakness was lack of Danish fluency, I thought to seek out jobs that shouldn’t require it. I began looking up lists of hostels, hotels and other such businesses that would mostly have foreign clients. To most of these I just sent out swarms of applications through online portals, or email. Some of them I went off to visit in person, hoping that the extra personal step could land me a brief talk with a hiring manager.
When all this didn’t seem to work, I stepped it up a notch. I began going from door to door to stores, gas stations, bicycle repair shops and other businesses around me. Whatever I could think of that may offer a part-time job.
Svanemøllen bike-shop where I got my flat-tires fixed up and also tried to get a part-time job later
This, together with my studies became my daily focus in the final months of 2015. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy. Every rejection was a let down and just made me want to crawl back into bed and forget about all of it. I didn’t though. I simply couldn’t afford to.
In that regard, this multi-month period was quite similar to early 2015 when I had went through the same thing, but with university applications. I kept telling myself that if I had done it before, I can do it again! I was once more conditioning myself to become immune to rejections. The more you reject me the more aggressive I will become in my job search! That was the mentality I had adapted by the end.
The SU decision
Around late November/early December, I received a reply from the state regarding my SU application. It was rejected… The reasoning was absolutely ridiculous: my income was too low to be eligible for SU.
Gloomy, rainy walks in Nyhavn
So a grant meant to provide financial help for struggling students with low income actually had a cap on how low that income can be. Any lower and NOPE! No grant for you! You’re income is now so low that you don’t even register on our radars!
It was sad and frustrating… Everyone I talked to about it was equally dismayed. Yet there was nothing I could do. Even if I contested their decision, the result would be the same because of their rigid “box-mentality” rules. It was now very clear. I HAD to get a Danish job. That was the only way I would get the grant and survive my coming years. However, after a whole year of fighting and struggling, I was mentally exhausted by that point.
There was also another potential financial burden waiting for me the next year. This was related to my newly proposed Master’s thesis project. However, I will elaborate on this more in my next post.
I’ve finally gotten around to writing again and I thought I would continue on my past journey in Copenhagen, Denmark. In this post I will focus on my overall student life and some of the hurdles I had to overcome as a foreign student in Denmark. I hope this post may still be helpful for people today, but do keep in mind I am writing of my experience from 2015, so some things may have changed since then.
The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark (spring of 2023)
I’ve already stressed the importance of having a bike in Copenhagen in my previous posts and I’d go as far as saying it’s an essential part of KU-student life in this city. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just a metal frame with a steering handle, a couple of working wheels and ideally some breaks. I, of course had my trusty rust-bucket “Shame” from day two. Without a bike you’d be wasting so much time and money by just traveling between the spread out KU-campuses in the city.
Paperwork
Moving on to everybody’s “favorite” thing in the world… paperwork. No matter how much we hate it, it’s an intricate part of moving and settling down in a foreign country. For EU-member state citizens like myself, the Danish process was fairly easy and straightforward.
The beautiful old Copenhagen Stock Exchange building
The main thing I needed to do after arriving in Denmark was applying for the Danish yellow card (sundhedskort). The yellow card entitles you to medical treatment in Denmark and also serves as a local ID with CPR number, name and address. The card also shows the name and address of your designated doctor. As a foreign student at KU, you could either apply for a yellow card by yourself, or go to a KU-organized yellow card registration event for their students. I did the latter and I ended up in enormous que for the better half of a day before I got to put my name down on a piece of paper. However, once that was done, I received my card in the mail within the following weeks.
Late autumn’s sunset over Frederiksberg Park
The second important document was the student card. Getting this took a bit of campus hopping across the city. This was because most, if not all of KU’s administrative offices are scattered across Frederiksberg campus. My faculty, however, was near city-campus, in the Geocenter building, about a 10-15 minute bike ride away. The process was fairly easy and straight-forward and I got to explore their beautiful Frederiksberg campus at the same time.
With these two pieces of ID, plus my EU-passport, I was pretty much set. At any point in time if I ever needed deal with more bureaucracy I would just head over to the International House Copenhagen. I can’t think of any examples right now, but I remember things usually didn’t take long and went fairly smoothly whenever I went to this place. They also had a free to use printer in the waiting area, which was super handy.
The modern Copenhagen Opera House
Rejsekort
The Rejsekort is Denmark’s main travel card and can be used for busses and trains all over the country. In fact, you can even use a Rejsekort to travel to Malmö, Sweden. I haven’t used busses much, but I did use trains quite often. Especially in my later years, when I lived outside of Copenhagen. Since all of their train cars have designated bicycle spaces, the train plus bike combo pretty much guarantees you can get anywhere around the country. Well, at least around the eastern island of Zealand, where I lived out my years in Denmark. I can’t speak for the west-side. In any case, I find the Rejsekort to be another essential part of life in Copenhagen.
In 2015 getting a personal Rejsekort required a little trip to the central Copenhagen train station. Mostly because of the on-the-spot photo they required. These day’s it might be easier with all the new digitalization. For detailed information on Rejsekort be sure to check out their webpage.
Railway-crossing walkway near Østerport station (spring of 2023)
Bank account
Last, but certainly not least, I needed to open a local bank account. There are several large banking institutions to choose from in Copenhagen. Some of the larger ones include Danske Bank, Nordea, Nykredit and Jyske Bank. After doing some basic research on the internet, I chose to go with Nordea. I never had any issues with them. Whenever I needed some information regarding my account, they were always quick and helpful. For my little student needs, they were an excellent choice.
The imposing Grundtvig’s Church on a late November’s day
As much as I dreaded the paperwork aspect of my move, I had to admit, I was surprised how smooth and fast it all went. Coming from Romania, I was used to having to go everywhere in person, at least three times before having a chance to get anything done. Not to say that there weren’t the rare instances in Denmark too where people would send me from office to office, because nobody was sure of what “box” to fit me in. However, this was rare and generally the Danish system seemed very efficient. I also highly respected their punctuality. For whatever paperwork, appointment, or anything of the like, the Danes were always on time.
Accommodation
I’ve covered the primary paperwork and transportation aspects of life in Denmark, but as a student there’s another organization you’ll likely have to deal with. Namely, the Housing Foundation.
Let me start by pointing out that finding decent accommodation in Copenhagen as a foreign student can be an extremely lengthy and painful process. Prices are very high, so most student’s won’t be able to afford a studio apartment for themselves. Then, apartment sharing requires either having friends who can vouch for you, or registering for an accommodation service like Boligportal. Even then, most people looking for a flat-mate will want to meet you in person before considering accepting you as a tenant. This is obviously impossible when you’re looking to move to Denmark from abroad.
Hellerup neighborhood, Copenhagen
That leaves you with student dorms. Now, to me, the dorm situation in Copenhagen was always a bit confusing. To my understanding, all dorms are private, not owned by the university centers, so each dorm has its own application and selection process. Some dorms are clearly focused on certain faculties, being closer to a certain campus. So you need to know ahead of time where your campus will be and what dorms are in the area. Then you can apply and expect to be told that unfortunately there are no available rooms for the year, or that you have not been selected for the available rooms.
Your second option regarding dorms is to register for a waiting list website like KAB. Here you are expected to sign up at least one year in advance of your stay, before you know if you’ve even been admitted to a study program. Then if you’re lucky you might get a spot in a dorm in the next 2-3 years. It’s fantastic.
Old residential buildings near my student dorm in Østerbro neighborhood, Copenhagen
The Housing Foundation
Your last resort is the Housing Foundation. This organization is linked to and advertised by the University of Copenhagen, but to my knowledge they are a separate entity altogether. Again, I am not 100% clear on the way this works, but from my and some of my fellow student’s experience these guys lock down a certain number of rooms from various dorms across the city. Then they offer these to first-year students at a higher price. A bit douchy, but considering the lack of options as a first year foreign student, you don’t really have much of a choice. Oh yeah, they also ask for three-months worth of rent as a security deposit, which is super harsh when you come from a poor country.
Another thing is that they’ll also potentially attempt to withhold some, if not all of your deposit for whatever reason they can find. Usually this will be related to cleaning. If you didn’t leave your rented bed/area/room in pristine perfect condition when you leave, they will keep some of your security deposit for cleaning costs. In some cases I heard they expect you to repaint the walls before you leave. Now I don’t want to vilify the Housing Foundation too much, because apart from the ridiculously high rent I payed for a bed, I haven’t had any issues with them. I even got my full deposit back because I had heard of their practices, so I made sure everything was spotless. However, most of my fellow foreign students had a lot of problems with them.
Rain clouds over Copenhagen harbor
To summarize my thoughts, it’s fine to use the Housing Foundation as a student during your first year in Copenhagen. Just be sure you can pay your rent on time and take extra care when you leave your place so they don’t have any reason to keep your security deposit.
Cafes, bars and events
All I’ve talked about so far in this post is work-work-work. But a student needs a place to relax and hang out after dealing with all of the above. Luckily, KU has that covered. Each campus has their own student gathering places. I can only talk about the ones I frequented, which were Studenterhuset in city campus and STENO and the Geobar in the Geocenter.
I’ve mentioned Studenterhuset in my previous post as being one of our favorite meet-up places in Copenhagen. Studenterhuset is located in the heard of the city, near the old KU administrative building. The drinks and snacks are generally cheaper than in most other bars and they offer various events and activities like concerts, dace sessions, yoga and flea markets. The vibe is great and best of all, it’s so near to central museums, castles, parks and, of course, the Geocenter.
Rosenborg castle and park in the heart of Copenhagen
Located a stone throw away from the Danish national gallery, the Geocenter is… well, was my little student home away from home. It’s a large building complex that houses the Geoscience faculty of the University of Copenhagen, as well as the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland and… the GEFION high school? Yeah that last one’s a bit weird, but yes, indeed the Geocenter is also home to a high school. Segregated into its three different wings, the Geocenter is where I had my daily classes, labs, exams, thesis writings and down right fun for a big portion of my time in Denmark.
The Danish national gallery (spring of 2023)
The Geocenter
Within the Geocenter, we had two main student hang-out places: STENO and the Geobar. Named after a famous Danish geologist, STENO is a student organization for geologists. They have study rooms, meeting rooms and a kitchen area and host various events throughout the year. However, most of the events and talks are held in Danish, which is totally understandable as foreign students are a small minority. Despite that, I did go to a couple of their dinner nights and the atmosphere was great!
Main hall in the Geocenter with that weird magnetic pendulum that was broken for years
Finally, there’s the Geobar. A bi-weekly Friday-bar held in the Geocenter, the Geobar is hands down the cheapest imaginable bar in the entire city of Copenhagen. You wanna have one drink and chill with friends? Go to Studenterhuset. You want to get shitfaced? Go to the Geobar! It has worn out couches and beanbags, a foosball table sticky with last week’s spillage and a stale smell that will sick with you for the rest of the night. It’s grunge-central and I loved it!
Each time I went to the Geobar the evening would start out super chill with a few colleagues and friends and then it would explode into a huge late-night party tentatively spreading into the hallways. Also, since it’s off the beaten path of the main campuses, not many students know about it. So it’s kind of this hidden gem, tucked away in the Geocenter.
The old grungy, nostalgic Geobar
Anything else?
Aside from the obvious studies, there’s one more crucial part of a student’s life in Denmark: a job. Yep. A job. It might sound normal to some and strange to others, but in an expensive city like Copenhagen, you really want to have a part-time job if you’re a student. However, this is a lengthy topic and I want to address it in its own separate post.
For now, I hope you enjoyed my walls of text and random Copenhagen photos and I will see you in the next post!
I had arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark for the first time around mid-August 2015. I was about to begin my two-year Masters program in Geoscience at the University of Copenhagen (Købehavns Universitet) in September. Prior to the start of the semester, KU, short for Købehavns Universitet, organized a two-week welcome and introduction program for international newcomer students. This started off with a big amphitheater presentation and welcome event and then branched out into multiple trips and tours across campus and the city of Copenhagen.
Frederiks Church seen from the waterway, Copenhagen, Denmark
Another part of their international students program was what they called the mentor program. This program basically paired volunteer second-year students with newcomers to form groups where the veterans could propose, organize and lead social/cultural events. All with the intent to help newcomers familiarize themselves with the local culture and help them settle into their new lives. This was all sponsored by the university.
Hanging out with the mentors group in Frederiksberg Park, Copenhagen, Denmark
Regarding their treatment of international students, I have nothing but praise for KU. Their international student integration programs were the best I’ve experienced. I’ve not only felt welcomed and at home from day one of stepping foot on their campus, but have made dozens of friends from across the world through their programs and events. That being said, for anyone reading this and considering applying for a study program at KU, I would highly, highly recommend it! Seriously, BEST University hands down!
Those first weeks at KU
One of the first mentor program events I attended was a cultural boat trip along Copenhagen’s canals. There I met up with a couple of students, Bjørn and Martin, whom I befriended during the welcome event. We got a full tour of the city sights along the canals and old city port.
Bjørn, Martin and I taking the boat tour across the city canals, 2015
The last week before September, KU held their annual welcome event to all students in their main courtyard on Nørregade 10. Since the university has four campuses spread across the city, it can be hard to track what’s going on where. But Nørregade 10 is where they have their old administrative center, student center and big library. It’s a beautiful old building with rich history, dating back to 1479, the founding year of the University of Copenhagen.
A winter photo of the University of Copenhagen’s old main building located in central campus, downtown Copenhagen
A friend for life
The dean gave his annual speech to a big crowd of local and international students after which we were free to roam around. Here I met up with other fellow students from the welcome event. One of them was an American guy by the name of Leo, whom I kept calling Steve, because I kept forgetting his name. I told him that I thought all Americans were called Steve. He loved it and suggested I instead call everyone Chad, just to annoy them.
Inside the university’s main building, exploring the lavish wall-covering paintings
Another student was a Nigerian guy name Oluwaseun Edward, who was also there to study Geology. I remembered him from back at the welcome presentation. He was the guy waving at me from a few rows away in the big amphitheater pointing to his tag and yelling out GEOLOGIST! We walked around exploring the halls of the old KU building together. Later on we grabbed a kebab from my favorite Turkish kebab place in Copenhagen. Afterwards we went on to discover every KU-students go to bar/café meetup place, Studenterhuset (Student House). My brother from another mother, father and continent, Eddy would become one of my best friends to date.
Eddy, myself and Christian rocking Nigerian colors
Several weeks later, Eddy and I would take the opportunity to visit Møns Klint through another KU mentor’s event. One of several “Klints” Møns Klint is a famous coastline on the island of Møn, a couple of hours south of Copenhagen. A favorite leisure destination for locals and foreigners alike, Møns Klint offers rocky beaches and hiking trails along a series of impeccably white chalky cliffs meeting the Baltic Sea.
The chalky cliffs and beaches of Møn’s Klint, 2015
More friends
Throughout that first semester, as well as the coming years, I’ve had endless memorable moments and stories from KU. There was the time I met Bjørn’s computer scientist gang during a tour of KU’s Frederiksberg campus. Among them were Ivo and Venko from Bulgaria who named my shitty bike “Shame”. Bogdan and Raluca from Romania and Martin and Klaudia from Slovakia.
Celebrating our friend Venko’s birthday with the entire computer scientist gang, 2018
We were quite a large group of students on the tour. At one point we were all heading towards one of their buildings on campus. If memory serves, the building had a set of revolving doors and a couple of normal ones. So for no apparent reason everyone starts lining up to those revolving doors and it’s just taking forever to get everyone in one by one. Baffled by this, I simply step out of line and head towards one of the free doors to go through. Later on I meet Raluca and Bogdan and when she finds out I’m from Romania she starts laughing out loud. She says she could have sworn I was Romanian the moment she saw me bypass that pointless que and head for the free door.
My farewell dinner with the gang in 2019 before I moved away from Denmark
KU campus rocks!
There was another time when I found out about the “do-it-yourself student run bicycle repair shop” on KU campus. I briefly mentioned this in my previous post. After having some issues with my rusty old bucket of bolts bike named Shame, I ended up going to this shop quite a few times. I learned from other students there how to maintain and fix up bikes. There were a bunch of abandoned old bikes that could be scavenged for parts. Soon enough Shame had a shiny new chain, slick new rubber tires, a working hand break and a few other much needed components!
An upgraded Shame that I had enough faith in to let my mom use while she was visiting in 2016
Even after finishing our studies two years later, my friends and I still spent time on campus and Studenterhuset. One of those times we had met a fellow aspiring guitarist from Hungary. After jamming out, we went to Studenterhuset for a few drinks. Once there we overheard that a girl at a neighboring table was celebrating her birthday. I don’t remember how, but so we ended up serenading her on the spot with a totally improv birthday song.
Guitar practice session with Bogdan on the beach
Truly I could go on and on… But at the heart of each story lay a common theme: Amazing people and fantastic friends!
The mentees become the mentors
Eddy and I began our first student semester as mentees at KU. We both participated in several fun events, like the ones I mentioned above. During this time we had the chance to meet a lot of new people, see new places and really get accustomed to Danish life. We both wanted to have a chance to help other newcomers and give them the same welcoming treatment that we got.
At Møn’s Klint during fall 2015, back when Eddy and I were mere mentees
Thus, one year later, Eddy and I volunteered to be mentors at KU. Together with our common friend Irene, a Danish girl we met during our mentee days, we helped create and host various events for the new batch of mentees in 2016. From drinks and dinner nights, to Lego building and bike trips through Deer park.
At Bakken in 2016 when we were now full-blown mentors guiding our newcomer international students
Once more, we had the chance to meet a bunch of new people and forge even more friendships with students from across the world.
What about the Danes?
Thus far, I’ve mostly mentioned international students, but you might ask, what about the Danes? You may have heard, or read that Scandinavians in general are more cold and distant. Perhaps even unfriendly? Well, that’s completely false in my opinion.
Eddy and my Danish friends supporting me on the day I defended my Masters Thesis, 2017
Yes, as a foreigner you tend to find it easier to befriend other foreigners that are like you, alone, in an unfamiliar land. Also yes, Danes might be a bit more reserved, but not because they’re cold, or unfriendly. But because they grew up there and already have their friend-groups and all. You as the foreigner usually need to make those extra steps in the beginning to integrate into their world. But once you do, you will find that Danes are some of the nicest people you could ever meet.
Danish friends
My first attempt at befriending Danes was during one of our classes. We had to work on a task in groups and I ended up in a group with three Danes who were clearly good friends, Glenn, Jesper and Jonas. We were supposed to interpret a series of squiggly seismic lines. I made a stupid joke about how some of those lines looked like Batman. The three Danes laughed and said I joined the right group. Next thing I knew, Jesper and Glenn gave me gift for my birthday a couple of months later. This simple kind gesture will stay with me forever.
Me and Jesper checking out the displays in Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød, 2016
Then there was Lasse Gram, my good friend who in 2016 when I couldn’t find a place to stay after my dorm contract was up, offered me a room in his apartment. Then he would kick me out half a year later… No, no, I’m joking haha! I love ya Lasse old buddy! As I’m writing this, I recall one of my fondest memories with Lasse. It was years later at Copenhell Festival in 2019. After a long couple of days of concerts and drinking, we met up towards the end of last show. We sang along to Scorpions live performance of Winds of Change with our broken, tired voices. Brothers in arms and drinks forever!
Lasse and I at a Devin Townsend concert in Copenhagen, Denmark
There were many others, but I would also mention Irene again. The Danish girl I met through Eddy and the mentor program. Even though she moved to the UK for a while and later on I would move away from Denmark, we stayed in touch. In fact, we are in touch to this day and send each other memes on a regular basis.
The best period of my life
Years after moving from Denmark to Canada, I still think of my “Danish” years as the best period of my life. It was certainly not all sunshine and rainbows. I will touch upon the hardships of those years in some of my next posts. Yet still, I generally felt a lot happier than.
I’ve had these past years to reflect on why that is. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that it was because of all the amazing friends I had.
Lost in thought in the “wilds” of Bakken
Don’t get me wrong, I had friends in Romania too and I now have friends in Canada. But Denmark was something else. I had groups upon groups of friends. From my Danish fellow Geologist friends, to the dozens and dozens of friends I made through Eddy and the mentor program, as well as my amazing computer scientist friends that I met through Bjørn.
The Machine thirsts for one more beer!
When I started taking Danish classes in 2016, I met even more people there. Some like Thomas from Germany, or Subi from Nepal would leave and return to their countries soon after. But others like Marios from Greece would stick around long enough for us to hang out and become good friends.
Going for drinks with Marios, Subi and Thomas after our first Danish language class in 2016
In my last year in 2019, I had to attend a job center training course for a few months and even there I made new friends. I will never forget the laughs I had with Makis and Anestis during those days. Without even trying, I was more socially active those years than ever before and ever since.
Having a BBQ with my Greek friends in 2019
Nothing lasts forever
Even the best of friendships can end in a glimpse. One of my best friends from Romania, would end up joining me and moving to Denmark in 2017. I couldn’t wait to integrate him in all of my friend groups. We had a great time for over a year. Yet something happened in 2018 between us that I still don’t fully understand. A falling out that broke what I thought was an unbreakable brotherly bond.
Rip friendship – 2018
Without him ever fully explaining his reasoning, my understanding was that he had gotten upset over something I said during one of our nights out. He walked off and refused to speak to me, even though we had been close friends for a decade and lived together at that point in time. On my end I felt confused and disrespected. Then I felt betrayed. I became angry and unforgiving.
Later, I tried to make amends and to a certain degree it worked. Then one day he left and went back to Romania without ever telling me. Before all ties were broken forever, I sent him one last farewell message where I wished him the best in his future.
Just like that a decade-long friendship had been extinguished. Indeed, nothing lasts forever. My time in Denmark wasn’t destined to either. Not because I didn’t want it to, or try, but fate it seems had other plans. To end on a positive note however, I’m happy to say that all of the friendships I forged during my years in Denmark have stayed intact to date.
It’s been quite a few years now since that magical late-summer day in 2015 when I moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. I can’t recall much of the days leading up to my move. I assume it was just “business as usual” like it tends to be with me. Meaning that I don’t really spend much time thinking about it. Helps with not getting stressed and losing any sleep over such things. Then suddenly I’m one day away from the move, or whatever other given big event, and that’s when I “wake up” from my dormant state and start preparing. I do, however still remember in great detail the evening of my arrival and the day after.
Prior to my departure, I had managed to arrange a half-year accommodation contract through the student Housing Foundation. I recall it was a bit of a convoluted way of getting a place, but as I would learn later, it is really hard finding an affordable place to live in Copenhagen. I will come back to this discussion at a later point.
My cat’s long face when he found out I was leaving
For now, I had a roof over my head. I also kept working on my part-time job as a content writer. The pay was ok for Romania, but for Denmark it was little to nothing. Still, money is money and at least it would help cover some of the monthly food costs. The rent costs, however, I have my mom to thank for that. We had a little money put aside from a few years prior when my grandmother had died. She gave me all of that to cover my rent for half a year and help get me started until I would hopefully find a student job and survive on my own.
Luckily there were no tuition fees, as all education in Scandinavia is covered by the state. Still, I knew this would be the biggest challenge of my life so far and I was eager to prove that I could succeed.
The trip
There were no direct flights from anywhere near my hometown to Copenhagen. The nearest “big” Romanian international airport is in Cluj Napoca, my old university city. However, the closest you could get to Denmark is to take a flight to Malmö, Sweden, and then take a bus to Copenhagen. Another option was to take a shuttle minivan to the Budapest international airport and then take a direct flight from there. I chose the latter, because it seemed to involve less logistics.
High above the clouds on my way northwest
The flight was during the day, I believe sometime around the afternoon. A fairly short 1.5 hour flight. Not like the drive to Budapest, which took around 5 hours. Even though I was excited and mentally at peace, there was still an unconscious level of stress in me. My stomach was in a knot the whole day.
Arrival
My only contact in Copenhagen was my mom’s former work colleague’s son, Balint. I chatted with him before the trip and he offered to wait for me at the airport and help me get to my place.
I remember I was so disoriented when I got off at Copenhagen. Don’t get me wrong, I could navigate the airport just fine, but I was just so out of it all. I guess even without realizing it, or acknowledging it, the stress must’ve been quite high. I finally met up with Balint after checking multiple times his Facebook photos so I could recognize him. We then took the metro from the airport to downtown Copenhagen. That was Nørreport station, right in the heart of the city. There we had to get on one of the S-trains, but first Balint wanted to take me topside to have a quick look around. I’m fairly sure he kept pointing things out left and right, but I was like a brain-dead zombie, just smiling and nodding with nothing registering in my head.
A short train ride later we had arrived at Østerport Station. From here it was a short 10 minute walk to my dorm in Østerbro. On the way Balint gave me a bunch of life-tips like which were the better and cheaper supermarkets, or where to get a sim-card. Above all else, he emphasized on getting a bicycle as soon as possible. This is the number one advise I would also give to anyone moving to Denmark. Especially Copenhagen, which is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world. Get a bike. You’ll need it!
Somewhere in Copenhagen…
Finally, we had arrived at my dorm where I met my new roommate for the next six months. His name was Nao, short for Naonori. He was a young exchange student from Japan. Very nice guy. Balint then handed me my keys and gave me more helpful advise, which I immediately forgot because I was so zoned out. After he left, I surveyed my new temporary little home with a smile, and then immediately rushed to the bathroom with intense diarrhea. That lasted throughout the whole evening… Yeah… I think the excitement/stress was a bit much.
My first day in Copenhagen
Before heading out anywhere, I needed to get my stomach back in order. So I went out to buy some rice to cook. There were quite a few supermarkets in my area and I had forgotten which one Balint was telling me about. I remembered he mentioned something about Irma, so I decided to give it a shot. I ended up buying the most expensive pack of rice in my entire life. As it turns out Irma is this kind of an exclusivist, all organic-type of supermarket. He had likely warned me that it’s extremely over-priced and I should try to avoid it. Ooof… Good start, good start.
Good old exclusivist Irma, where even a pack of rice will make your wallet bleed.
The next order of business was to get a local sim-card for my phone. The weather was nice and sunny, so I decided to just go out for a city walk and start exploring my new town. I had also talked with Balint about meeting up with him and some of his friends. They were going to be somewhere around the old port, a place called Islands Brygge.
Red bricks and Danish flags everywhere.
I headed out and started walking down the big nearby boulevard Østerbrogade towards the city center. On my way I purchased my new Lebara sim card and was once more connected to the world. I was delighted by everything! The red-brick architecture, the beautiful green areas, the funny-sounding Danish language in the background, it all felt so cozy and welcoming. I would later learn a famous Danish word for this feeling: hygge.
My first time walking along the Copenhagen port.
After a couple of hours of walking and still far far away from Islands Brygge, I realized I wasn’t going to cover much ground by foot in Copenhagen. Balint was right. I needed a bike asap!
Enter “Shame”
I went back to my dorm and started joining various Facebook groups for buying and selling second-hand bikes. It didn’t take long to pick a few out from the sea of posts. This one guy I had contacted said he could meet on the same day. So in the afternoon, I went out again to check out his bike. It was a simple looking little thing with a rusty chain and a damaged seat. His asking price of 700 DKK wasn’t exactly low, but he was hyping up the speed, quality and resilience of the bike. It was actually very light indeed… Oh, and the security lock was included.
Back to walking across the city
I decided to buy it. My first Copenhagen bike, with a simple word written on the frame: Sram. I never heard of this brand, but later on I would become friends with a Bulgarian fellow named Venko and he pointed out that Sram means “Shame” in Bulgarian. It would sure live up to its new name in the coming months!
My shitty little gem of a bike “Shame”
From crappy breaks to losing the chain in mid-traffic, Shame and I would end up going through quite a few adventurous months. But after discovering a free student-run do it yourself bike repair shop later that year, I would start upgrading Shame and turning it into a true joy to ride! I still left the chipped off seat as it was, just for nostalgia’s sake. Besides, who would even think of stealing a shitty looking bike like that? Little did they know, this shitty little bike was a true gem that I’d end up keeping up to my last day in Denmark four years later.
The months following the decision to move to Denmark were filled with elation and renewed excitement. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of failed attempts, I was going to leave my birth country behind for good. It was now time to go out there and find my place in the world. A place I could one day call home.
The final north-Transylvanian adventure
During the spring of my last year in Romania, my good buddy Daniel and I planned a little road trip across Maramureș County. He and his girlfriend at the time came over to visit a couple of monasteries and take a steam train ride along the Vaser Valley. For me, going on one last Transylvanian adventure with my best friend was a fitting way to part ways with my past.
The trip took a little over two hours by car from my hometown of Baia Mare. On the way we made a stop in the town of Săpânța to visit the Merry Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel), famous for its brightly colored tombstones with paintings and poetic descriptions of the past lives of its residents.
A sea of color at the Merry Cemetery, Săpânța (2015)
Northeastern Maramureș
Late in the afternoon, we arrived at Vișeu de Sus where we would spend the night in the Mocănița train yard. The train yard has multiple parked train cars with sleeping compartments. These compartments are rented out to visitors staying the night and have all the necessary amenities of a hotel room.
The over-night train cars in the the Mocăniță train yard
There are several picnic tables next to the train cars to enjoy an outdoor evening dinner and breakfast. There’s also a couple of old refurbished locomotives on display that you can view and explore.
Big old steam-powered locomotive on display
The next day we briefly visited the Bârsana Monastery to the south. Home to the tallest wooden church in Romania, Bârsana Monastery is situated in the centuries old settlement of Bârsana, dating back to the 1300’s.
Bârsana Monastery, 2015
The outside courtyard has many walkways across the Monetary gardens and boasts a couple of beautiful peacocks. The wooden buildings are decorated with wooden carvings and religious iconography.
Peacock at Bârsana Monastery
In the afternoon, Daniel and I took a little road trip to the city of Borșa situated at the foothills of the Rodna Mountains. As we saw the mighty snow capped mountain peaks in the distance, we felt them calling to us. Teasing us, daring us to attempt a little adventurous hike. We couldn’t refuse, however, after a short half an hour walk up the slope, a wet chilly breeze coming down from the mountain reminded us of our past reckless experience in the Făgărăș Mountains. So we decided to play it safe this time around and returned to the safety and comfort of our train yard in Vișeu de Sus.
Mocănița
The following morning our little steam powered train was all ready to take us up the Vaser Valley.
Grumpy morning face
Mocănița, which roughly translates to the little shepherd is a narrow-gauge railway built around the mid 1930’s. The railway is serviced by several steam engines two of which were built in Germany in the early 1900’s.
Chugging along
Partially destroyed during World War II, the railway was later rebuilt and mainly used for logging until 2004 when work began on turning it into a tourist attraction. The 47 km main line runs from Vișeu de Sus to Comanu near the border with Ukraine. However, the service usually terminates at Faina station due to ongoing rehabilitation work on the line.
Our steam powered locomotive
The train made a few stops on the way for fueling, or repositioning. The trip took a few hours both ways and crossed the exceptionally scenic Vaser Valley home to a variety of wildlife, including brown bears and deer.
Along the Vaser Valley
As the trip progressed, the valley became increasingly narrower, with the rolling hills turning into steep mountain cliffs flanking both sides of the track.
She’s getting pretty tight
Around noon, we arrived at Faina station in the heart of the Maramureș Mountains Natural Park. After having a quick snack, we spent the afternoon roaming around the gorgeous landscape before heading back to Vișeu de Sus in the evening.
In the heart of the Maramureș Mountains Natural Park
We spent the final night drinking and laughing, reminiscing and goofing around the train yard. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer farewell and ending to this first big chapter of my life.
Beyond the threshold
As my departure date came close, I recall a now familiar feeling I then felt for the first time. It’s hard to describe this feeling, but to me it’s like a “life threshold”, a point beyond which you can’t see anymore.
Perhaps it was the fairly repetitive nature of my life up to that point that made things fairly predictable. Being in the same places around the same kind of people, there’s always a type of familiarity in your life. I always yearned for more. To explore new places, meet different kind of people and experience new things. This is why I loved traveling so much, especially aboard, since this opened up a whole new world for me. Even so, as exciting and memorable as each of my travels was, they were just that. Short episodes in an ocean of fairly mundane, predictable days and weeks.
However, this time it wouldn’t be a short episode. It would be a complete overhaul of my day to day life. Everything would change. I simply could not imagine what my future looked like after moving away from Romania. I couldn’t see beyond the threshold, but I had a gut feeling that it’ll all be ok. Thus, there was no fear, no anxiety, just a calming inner peace and a trust in myself that I’ll figure it out. I was ready to embark on a new journey and begin my Odyssey from East to West.
One final look back before departing on the train of life in search of a new home
In my previous blog posts I’ve mostly focused on my travel and adventure episodes from my young adulthood, which for me were the highlight of those years. However, I’ve also sporadically mentioned that these were not great years for me. Today, I wanted to briefly retell my story from those years and the life changing decision I was about to make, which also inspired the name of my blog.
After graduating from university, my dissatisfaction with my country and surroundings only grew with each passing year. Each trip abroad I was fortunate enough to go on, would only reinforce my desires to leave Romania behind more and more. For years I kept trying out various ways of finding work abroad, either through contacts, or constant job applications. Despite my efforts though, by 2014 it had become clear this wasn’t going to work.
I ended up working for a Romanian oil and gas exploration company in the south of the country. The job wasn’t easy and the pay was laughable. However, I tried to make the best of it and put on a positive attitude. That lasted about a couple of days into my first shift.
My “lovely” work site sometime in autumn 2014
Now I don’t want to get into the details of all of my gripes with the company and my time there, but suffice to say, this half-year stint only served to amplify my already highly negative feelings towards everything around me.
The winds of change
Finally, by the start of 2015, I had decided that I was going to try a new approach to leave. I was ready to go back to school and thus, began a personal campaign of relentless university applications across Europe. My main target country was Norway, which had left e tremendously positive impression on me when I visited it a couple of years prior. I’m pretty sure I sent out an application to every Norwegian university I could find. However, I was not going to limit myself to just one country. My war on stagnation had begun and my barrage of applications was going to blanket the continent!
My cat as I was telling him of my glorious plans to break free and escape
A couple of months into 2015, I parted ways with my employers in a fairly explosive telephone conversation. Although that unfortunate moment of emotional meltdown left a very bitter taste in my mouth and a dent in my wall, I also began feeling surprisingly relieved. Like some invisible chains shackling me down were starting to break. Within a few days I somehow managed to find a freelance writer gig for an upcoming travel-tourist website. Ironically the pay was almost similar to my previous shitty field job, while the work routine was incomparably better. This little job would end up being a life saver in the months to come.
A surprising outcome
Amid my application frenzy in early spring, friends and family sometimes pitched in with additional ideas for places I could try to apply to. One of them came from the most random of sources: a former work-colleague of my mom’s, who had a son that had moved to Denmark a few years earlier. I knew little to nothing of Denmark apart from its common history with and proximity to Norway. So I applied to a couple of Universities in Denmark too. Although my hopes and dreams still laid with Norway, I was going all in. Something surely had to work out!
As the application deadlines for each university went by, I began receiving the decisions day after day, rejection after rejection. I wasn’t phased anymore. “Reject me all you want, I will never give up!” – became my new attitude. A couple of weeks in, all of my Norwegian applications had been rejected. Yet in the email sea of hopelessness, two shining jewels emerged out of nowhere.
I made sure to re-read these emails multiple times to be certain I wasn’t misreading something, but the message was true and clear. My applications to the Masters programs at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark had been accepted.
