copenhagen is cool

as i sat in the wonderful torvehallerne with a book and a glass of wine one late afternoon last week, lazily reading, but mostly watching people and scrawling notes in uPad on my iPad mini (thanks moneek!), it hit me that copenhagen really has come a long way in the 16 years since i first visited. then, it struck me as a quasi-eastern european backwater and now it's been transformed into monocle magazine's most liveable city. it's hip, it's comfortable in its own skin, it's happening, but still small enough to be charming rather than intimidating. i'm way more in love with it now than i ever was then. then, it was a good thing i was in love with the boy, or i'd never have stayed. now, i wonder a little bit why we moved out to the countryside. copenhagen today has a pulse and a vibrancy you can feel as you walk down the streets (or even just sit and sip a glass of cold white wine and watch the people go by). but maybe the reason i feel it is because i don't live in the midst of it every day. and man, do i appreciate it when i am there.