The propaganda of healthy lifestyle is all around us. We’re surrounded with slogans, such as: “Don’t wait for tomorrow – start today!”, “Leave your comfort zone!”, “Now or never!”, “Act now!” and so on, and on, and on. As much as these phrases might be helpful and inspiring, quite often they cause nothing but harm. Why? Because they make us taking everything to extremes.
Yesterday you were dining on the couch with Pringles and Coke in your hands – and today you decide go running for 10 km, cut off carbs, give up on drinking and do plank every morning for 10 minutes. But wait! You don’t have to take everything to extremes. If you really want to be a healthy person, and create life-long food- and fitness habits, keep in mind that it’s a long, yet pleasant process.
YOU NEED 66 DAYS TO CREATE A HABIT.
Despite the common thought that you need 21 day to create a habit, a new set of studies, led by Phillip Lally, show that, in reality you need 66 days for it. Moreover, the scientist asserts, that in order to create a new habit, you should give up the thought of “all or nothing” in your head.
So, if you found yourself chewing gummy bear after 2 days of dieting and fitness, it is not the reason to give up and keep on eating junk food. Remember, that a toddler cannot start walking without external support, and a new driver cannot be parking perfectly at the beginning – same goes to the healthy lifestyle. You need time and patience to get used to your new lifestyle.
CARDINAL CHANGES PROVOKE STRESS
You can’t fool your body. Every cell of yours works in a perfect harmony and, in time, gets used to a certain lifestyle. Obviously, if you start to exercise and diet overnight, it inevitably would provoke stress. As if your brain thought of upcoming war or hunger, it tries to conserve as much energy as possible to make you survive (yes, you should be thankful your body for it!) = you don’t lose weight. Try to be gradual instead. If you’re used to eat milk chocolate, do not switch to 99% straight away. Instead, gradually increase the percent of cocoa in it. Same goes to sports. And meditation. Take small steps and they inevitably will lead you to the biggest success.
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS
Some may say that, in order to start being healthy, you should just cut out pastries, burgers and soda drinks from your diet. I wish it was that easy! Few know that, actually, we do need fats in our diet, or, in you want to cut out on sugars, you should examine carefully the ingredients of every product in the supermarket, or sometimes, not everyone finds vegetarian or vegan diet for them. Switching to the healthy lifestyle – is a process that takes not only your willpower, but also a lot of theoretical knowledge. So, read and study a lot about nutrition, in order to avoid mistakes.
BE CONSCIOUS
Remember that healthy lifestyle – is not a trend (even though it might seem as one), it should first of all balance your body and spirit. So, don’t do determined things you don’t like just because everyone is doing them. It is all about pleasure and harmony, so find your way and be conscious about it.
ACQUIRING NEW HABITS IS AN ADVENTURE
At first it might seem like you’re losing yourself in the flow of information that is falling onto you. Don’t panic. The first step is always listening to yourself. Look at your new lifestyle as on an adventure of self-discovery. Enjoy every bite of the food, be mindful and conscious, create a journal to track your path and correct mistakes. Cause switching to new lifestyle should be calm and hurry-less. And I will try to help you in your beautiful journey!
As an experiences foodie, during my weekend in Rome one of my aims was, definetely, to eat well and try something new and interesting. It is not a secret that Italian capital is full with various restaurants, bars and gelaterias, offering uncountable number of types of dishes, that belong to any world cuisine.
However, living on the south of Italy, I do not feel lack of pizza and pasta in my life, so I truly wanted to try something… different. And here’s the selection of places I visited and am highly satisfied with. And I am not afraid to suggest them to you.
(n.b. – the pictures below are not mine, and were found on various internet pages simply to give you an idea of how the places look like.)
Situated in the heart of Rome, precisely right behing Piazza Navona, this place attracred me with that huge queue outside. At that moment I was searching for an ice cream place, and once I saw it, I ignorantly asked myself: “If the place was bad, would people even go there and wait all this time to eat exactly this gelato?”
The number of tastes was not THAT wide, however prices, portion’s size and paculiarity of the place – covering icecream with chocolate on top – are extremely attractive.
The chain of gelaterias (2 places, situated in various parts of the center of Rome), offer an extremely genuine, natural and tasty gelato. The place is cozy and welcoming. Adding liquid chocolate in a cone is a plus!
Situated on Prati district, the restaurant is designed with urban, North-european style. The menu offers a wide range of meat and fish dishes, that belong to traditional italian cuisine. Highly reccomended the “Danish Fillet” meat, one of the best I’ve ever eaten!
This restaurant is situated o the square next to Ponte Milvio, and offers, from 12 pm to 3 pm a special brunch – a sort of italian “al you can eat”, all included. Wide range of healthy italian dishes, vegatables, meats and grains. The place is styled with typically “italian” elements – wooden furniture, flowers on the walls.
Situated just some meters away from the Vatican, the place recalls any italian trattoria, where you can taste various types of pasta, meats and fish. Cozy, calm place with wide range of dishes in menu where you can feel yourself just like in an old italian movie.
For those of you who wants to try something different, I highly suggest this indian restaurant. It was the first time I tried Indian food and, I must admit I left this place really satisfied. Widest menu offers various dishes, both vegetarian and not, and more or less spicy ones. Anyone would find there something he/she would enjoy.
If you’re tired, try to stop for a cup of coffee or for aperitif on the spectacular terrace of Sofitel Hotel, right next to Villa Borghese, and enjoy the view on the Rome, St. Peter’s dome and Villa Borghese gardens.
Modern-styled place on the rooftop of Fendi Building. Zuma, which is restaurant and sushi-bar by day, transforms into a luxurious lounge bar by night, with huge terrace, situated in heart of Rome. Perfect for relax and a couple of drinks with friends.
Hey there! It’s time for my May list of good things. Some may seem banal, but for me they made huge difference and therefore I’m grateful for having had them in May.
Took a lot of photos of Italian places;
Paid my first car insurance myself;
Started to be more attentive towards who I spend my time with
1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world – start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.
2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier – start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.
3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it.
4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.
5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.
6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.
7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.
8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.
9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.
10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.
11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.
12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.
14. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.
15. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.
16. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.
Some time go I have discovered an amazing thing – “Good things list” in Anastasia’s blog which I have bee addicted to recently. Basically, it consists on elaborating and analyzing past months, and trying to make your life and lives of other people better. Focus on the good, be creative and mindful. (mindfulness – that’s exactly what I feel lack of recently). So, instead of waiting for 2018 to arrive and start this section, I would like to start now. From April. Cause there’s never a perfect time to start doing things. If you want to do something – start NOW.
April for me was a…
Found the inspiration for writing. I literally feel the need to write, in particularly in this blog, express myself, share knowledge.
Visited many Italian cities, such as: Pompei, Rome, Naples, Florence. It was a tiny tour around Italy. I have already been to these cities yet these trips were so eye-opening.
Made my mother happy by making her my first, adult present for her 45 birthday.
Visited TEDxRoma event.
Attended the meetup of Italian Instagrammers in Naples.
Met a “person from the internet”.
Got to know many new indie-rock bands.
Got to know the concept of ‘hygge’ and fell in love with it.
Made sushi for the first time.
Learnt a lot of new and important things for work.
Ate at KFC for the first time.
Reconsidered my life and the way I need to undertake for a better me and my better future.
Started reading “Good night stories for rebel girls” and realized that there’s nothing I cannot do.
I have always been a sincere person. Sometimes, even too much. And this blog, that no one reads, serves for me more like a personal diary rather than a way to emerge between millions of web pages. I don’t really care. I just write what pops in my mind.
And today’s entry I would like to devore to my eating disorders. Perhaps, talking openly about it, and actually express my thoughts would help me. Cause it can’t go on any longer.
I think, it started in 2015, when I had already lost waeight but it wasn’t enough. I was at my “normal” weight and it was almost impossible for me to lose it healthily, so I passed on “1000 kkal” diet. And lost some kgs more. It’s then when I started to have some mental problems and be overobsessed with food. Now it’s 2017 and I’ve been through starving myself, overeating, dieting, healthy eating, and so on and so on. Honestly, the only thing I haven’t tried yet is bulimia. But life is long.
Now I am going through compulsive overeating phase. I eat. A lot. I spend money on food. Im disgusted by it and by myself but I keep eating. I feel heaviness, morally killing myself but I keep eating. For example, today, apart from breakfast (the only healthy thing I do in my life is to eat oats in the morning) and lunch which is also kinda healthy (only thanks to my mother), I ate 200g choco bar and a pack of potato chips. And it’s only afternoon. Yesterday I did pretty muhc the same. I feel like a ball of junk food is exploding inside of me now but… I keep eating.
I wish this persistance in me was referred towards healthy choices rather than eating shit. Before, I was motivated to do some modeling, be light and easy, wear nice clothing. I still want it, but it feels like motivation is lacking a lot right now.
According to various self-help websites, I need to:
1). Find the reason of overeating;
2). Motivate myself;
3). Find a system to follow and create habits.
The reason is… I don’t know. I feel sorry for myself too often and consolate myself with food. I feel like a dog in such moments but that’s the real reason.
Motivation – perhaps, to be healthier. And to shouw the world I am strong. Cmon, there’s nothing I can’t do.
System? I’ll be back to my old 1000 kkal and excercise everyday, perhaps. That’s it.
Last, but not the least – I should start living and not finding excuses not to do something. I should celebrate my body, feed it well and keep it healthy. Easy to say, though.
Let’s start from the 1st of May and see what happens.
Today I stumbled upon the term “hygge” on the Internet. Being totally ignorant in Scandinavian languages, at first I thought it was a Swedish hipster-internet word that meant something fancy. Of course, I was wrong. After a small research (God bless Google), I learnt that it was a Danish word, with no exact English nor Russian translation, but its approximate meaning is: “a cozy, confortable atmosphere wherever you are, especially having your beloved ones next to you” or something like that. Not quite clear. After having read tons of articles on the matter, I came to some conclusions and would sumarize its meaning as followed:
Spending time in a coziness and comfort at home;
Surround yourself with your beloved ones, family & friends and spend quality time with them;
Enjoy small things, notice details, live in the moment;
Love yourself and be happy with yourself.
Treat yourself with a cup of tea, watching a movie, reading a book or anything else that puts you in pure tranquillity;
Share and give;
Pretty universal, isn’t it? The word has already been inserted in dictionaries and is being used all over the world, not to mention social media. But why did it emerge? As many of us know, Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world. For many years in the row, it is on the first places in the list of happiest countries. And, as Danes reveal, the secret is hygge. Because of the long Scandinavian winters, they usually stay most of the time home, with their families and friends, under warm covers and next to the fireplace. Home for them is a sort of temple where you can relax, relief stress, enjoy yourself and company of others. They watch TV, cook, dance and talk, all with passon and love – and that’s the secret of their unconditional happiness. Sharing, giving and relaxing.
Something similar happens in some parts of Italy. Although, Italy is not on the first places in the classification of the happiest countries, it is definetely one where people have the longest life expectancy. One of the zones belonging to this is Sardegna island. The locals revealed that the secret of their long lives is in the absence of stress and chaos of the modern world. They just calmly live their lives, enjoy them, work, eat healthy food and do not worry too much about the things. Some sort of “hygge all’italiana“.
Now, as I think about my personal past, and recall the moments of union with my family and friends, spending time enjoying a good movie with candle light, cup of tea and some chocolate – a warm and sooth feeling arises inside of me. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person who wants everything straight away and absolutely dislikes wasting time. But, paradoxially, the moments I felt my happiest happened exactly during hygge-ing. And today I asked myself, whether I’ve been living properly until now.
The concept of hygge does not mean “relaxation” only at home. It is penetrating now in every part of our lives, including cooking, design and music. Moreover, you can create this special atmosphere anywhere around you, even at work. In Russian we say, “it’s not a place that makes a person, it’s a person who makes a place“. If you’re hygge, you’ll bring it everywhere with you. Some tips to establish this soothing atmosphere in the office:
Burn some candles;
Buy a creative, giant and beautiful cup and drink aroma teas and coffies from it;
Surround yourself with plants and take care of them;
Add more colors in your office;
Turn on calm and soothing music while working;
Establish warm relationships with colleagues;
So, all things considered, it almost seems like we’ve found a direct way to longevity and happiness here. Many books were already written on the matter, and many people have already been practicing this dogma for a while, without knowing that somewhere, in a cold scandinavian country, they already invented a name for it.
So, are you practicing hygge or would like to start? Let me know, and meanwhite I’ll make some tea and go back to work, covering myself in a woolen poncho on this cold april day (which seems almost like december).
#shared – is a series of articles I found on internet, which I would like to share with you. I have taken the ideas from other websited (which you will see mentioned down below)
Today I would like to share with you guys some important yet strong relationship advice from Russian psychologist, Mykhail Labkowsky.
Mikhail Labkowsky is known for his sharpness in statements and outrageousness. A practicing specialist, with 30 years of experience, can surely afford some rigidity in his judgments, because his experience saves both families and lives.
For those, who are in search
No one needs someone who does not need himself. And the one who accepts himself as he is, lives a tasty, full life, despite all possible worldly problems.
If you are uncomfortable with a man on the first, second, third date, do not assign a fourth one. During the first dates a man usually shows himself the best way possible, and if you are already unpleasant to be with him, nothing good will come out of this relationship.
As for young, successful and beautiful women who can not find a partner because they have “high standard” – it is just the inability to keep a relationship and fear of them.
If you want to get married, you have to to stop thinking about it. The same goes to the desire to have a doll on the hood, veil and the rest of the shit. In healthy people’s lives, the situation looks a little different. First – they have a need to give love. With this need to give love, they can find a man who loves them.
You should never communicate with married men. Do not waste time. A married man does not need a wife, as he already has one at his house.
For those, who are in relationship
If you want to get married, you’re dating, or even living together for six months or a year and nothing happens, you need to ask yourself only once if he wants a family and a wedding. If a man is not ready to create a family, then it’s time to say goodbye to him. In an amicable way, of course. Kinda: “I have the warmest feelings for you and I will continue feeling them, but far away from you.”
Any – and I emphasize this – any woman who stays home and is only engaged in housework and children for years, is degrading. It’s unavoidable. And in the end the man becomes bored with his wife, he starts to consider her stupid, and just like that you’re halfway to divorse. And notice: initially the man never insists on anything, it is woman to decide to stay home.
If he strains you, just break up with him. Do not be afraid to be alone. No man in the whole world is worth ibreaking yourself, bend under him, neglect your desires and needs. No one.
It’s simple: he is the way he is. And there you are – such the way you are. You either are good together, or you need to disperse. And it’s better to do it before you take a mortgage and gave birth to three children.
Those, who are mentally healthy, focus on their feelings and always chooses himself. Neither beauty nor love require sacrifice. And if they require it, it’s definitely not your story. Run away. There is no such goal, for which there is something to tolerate in a relationship.
For everyone
You cannot play-prtend for the whole life, but it’s always more painful to be disappointed than to initially show your true self.
People who do not love themselves can not love each other, so they can not make a happy couple.
We must deal with out head and out thoughts, not with the grooms. When a woman says: “I have loved” – this is often a story not about love. This is the story of the dragdealer, who is supplying her with the necessary suffering. And healthy love is about how happy you are.
If you do not like how he treats you, or he does something unpleasant, you tell him about it once. If things don’t chane – goodbye.
A normal and clever person does not continue a relationship in which he is not respected. I’d say, he does not even begin them.
Perhaps, it’s about time to tell you about my trip to Copenhagen (which happened to be on the New Year’s period – but better late than never!). I was more than excited before this trip as it was my very first journey abroad which is neither Ukraine nor Italy. So, quite spontaneously, I just packed and off I went. (the post is long cause I cared about sharing every detail of it).
Thing you need to know about my trips n.1: I’m a budget traveller.
Thing you need to know about my trips n.2: I believe you can travel without spending huge amount of money.
Thing you need to know about my trips n.3: I’d rather prefer take a sandwich at Subway and explore a foreign city rather than eating at a fancy restaurant… in my hometown.
From the very first second of my flight to the moment I landed back to Italy it was perfect. Really. I didn’t actually expect this trip to turn out to be so educational, inspiring and profound. First of all, it was my very first flight in business (which I didn’t know about – discovered just at the airport and was pleasantly surprised). I was flying over Scandinavia on a December afternoon and watching those clouds and ships and islands was pure miracle. While on plane, a lot of thoughts were running around my brain – as I said before it was my first solo trip and all I could think about was “Damn, how many places are yet to be seen, how many people are yet to be met, how many books are yet to be read…“. I was overwhelmed by the dimension of our planet, its uniqueness and beauty and all I could have thought of (and still am thinking) is the fact that from now on I should travel as often as I can. As much as I can. ANYWHERE. Just travel, discover, explore.
Rosenborg CatleKongens Have
While landing in CPH I was overwhelmed with curiosity. I know basically nothing in Danish but the thought of people’s ability to speak english there comforted me. Okay, I landed. Walking through Duty Free zone I was literally smiling like an idiot. Perhaps, it was because I got a bit too much wine on the plane. Or, because I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t believe I was so far from home yet I wanted to go further. The thought of the moment – “life is given to us to move, not to endlessly stay at the same place“. Okay, next step was: to buy a metro ticket. I was surprised to discover that automatic card payment prevailed in this country. In Italy, everyone usually pays in cash. Anyway, I did it and get the metro to Frederiksberg where I was supposed to meet a friend of mine who kindly hosted me for these five days.
When I get out of the metro there (the metro exit happened to be a shopping mall as well), I was surprised NOT to find lots of Christmas decorations. Cmon, it’s the 29th of December, and just few shops were independantly decorated, the streets had minimum lights that could trasmit the spirit of Christmas. As I was explained later, after the actual Chridtmas day they take away the tree at the center of the city, many decorations, so the New Year’s day is pretty sober in Copenhagen. but who gives a damn about xmas lights if you’re in cph.
Night view on Opera House
Botanical Garden
Before my departure, I was told that one of the most used types of transportation in Copenhagen are bikes. “Bikers are everywhere!” – they said. So, I did expect bikers, but not thatmuch. They have special lines reserved only for their circulation (the thing that does not exist in Salerno) on wide, spacious roads of the city.
Another thing that I was warned about before my departure was the weather. “Dress heavily, it’s extremely cold!“. Yes, it was cold – but not as much as I expected. Perhaps, for Europeans, Denmark in winter is like North Pole, but for me it was okay. Objectively, it was freezing a bit, the temperature varied between +5 and -4 but it was bearable. Frankly speaking, that light freezing winter on my cheeks felt rather pleasurable than annoying.
So, the day I arrived I had a chance to try out local food. Or it is not exactly “local” – I tried out some burgers. As for lover of burgers, potatoes and cola – I was satisfied. It had nothing to do with classic Old Wild West or Roadhouse. Also, I was surprised by the wide range of italian places there. Some of them were opened by Italians, some of them – by danes, but there are so much there. Definetely, an Italian cuisine is popular there. Actually, food is not a problem in Cph. There are soooo many places to eat, for every taste and budget. Streets are full with tiny places, cafèes and restaurants with particular Scandinavian design, that strongly attract you to enter. I absolutely loved the design of their shops, restaurants, and other places. It looked “Ikea-like“, I’d say.
The same goes to coffee shops. Besides classical Starbucks (where I happened to taste an amazing xmas edition white hot chocolate with cinnamon taste – I sweat I still feel it in my mouth!), there were bunch of other, minor coffee shops around, with its special setting. Honestly, I’d like to live in that city only because of its atmosphere. Walking around the streets, especially in the evening, I felt like I was in an old movie: when the evening mist fell on the streets, I walked among the old buildings and churches, and it felt like I was in a mysterious place. Through the mist, you could have seen the light of the streetlights, outside some bars you could have heard the sound of music, the roads were wet from humidity, and people were scurrying back and forth from the restaurant to the bars. An inexpressible sensation, compared with “Midnight in Paris“, when the main character traveled in time on the same day in the same place.
Night Nyhavn
The first day I went around exploring the place. It was gloomy and cold, but it felt good. My hands were freezing – but I was enjoying it (weirdo) cause I haven’t felt this sensation since… winters in Ukraine. I suddenly felt like home there and it was a strange yet fascinating feeling. I wandered around the city center, get to the main canal, had a walk inside of Royal Danish Library, or the Black Diamond. The latter is a giant collection of various books in different languages. It has free entry, free wifi, and is just enormous, modern building. Inside of its silent library halls there were many students reading and studying.
The Black Diamond
Speaking of silence – danish people are indeed really silent. After 6 years of life in Southern Italy, where everyone’s screaming, emotionally gesturing, Copenhagen seemed like the most silent and calm place to me. I once was speaking loudly on my phone in the metro, didn’t notice the tone of my voice… never gonna repeat it again.
The same evening I visited for the first time Nyhavn. The “new port” has its particular charme in the evening: people walking along the main canal, boats and yachts decorated with some lights, atmospheric restaurants along the way. Magical.
Nyhavn
I then visited it once again, under the sunlight. It had even more attractive look: colors, colors, colors everywhere!!!
The same day I happened to have an amazing experience – assisting on a church concert laying on the floor. It sounds weird, I know, but just imagine – a small lutheran church with free entry (seemed like the church in “Home Alone” movie), decorated with Christmas trees. A woman, playing piano and singing slow, church-like songs. And mattresses on the floor. Just enter, lay down and enjoy the music. “No phones and photos!” the banner outside says. “Just come in and enjoy the music“. Damn, I wish more places put this rule! And it was an undescribably experience, when you literally feel like the music entered in all the cells of your body and filled your brain. I literally was laying there, unable to move, enchanted.
On the New Year’s eve off I went to the port and, finally, to the famous Little Mermaid. On my way, I passed by the Opera House and the headquarter of Maersk (and also learned a bit of its history on the way!). I was just about to get to the mermaid… but where is it? A tiny statue of the little mermaid was hidden behind dozens of tourists, and when I actually managed to get closer (walking around wet rocks by the canal), I took a photo and went away. It’s nice, but, in my humble opinion, there are more things to see in CPH.
The Little Mermaid
Amalienborg
The New Year’s eve was gloomy as well. In the evening, the plan was to go and see fireworks on the bridge by The Lakes. Even though I was being late and I should have run to get it in time (thank you, metro, that cirsulate 24/7, even on holidays!). I was staying on the bridge among locals and tourists, waiting new year to arrive. People were drinking, and laughing, and kissing. I looked down on the canal from the bridge – and that’s where the philosophy starts – the feeling of the freezing wind on my body felt just good. I was thinking about the future and the past, looking down on a deep black water, of how the new year is gonna be. I didn’t expect this year to be a year of great acomplishments, but I did want it to be the year of self-discovery and self-creation. “You don’t find yourself, you create yourself” – they say. I don’t know if I’m gonna acheive it cause, now it’s only April (but a loooot of things has already changed in my life), but looking back I hope to be able to say that I found myself. I would know now where to go.
The clock turned midnight and – hello 2017! I was admiring fireworks for about 40 minutes, (and, wearing just a dress, I didn’t feel any cold), and then it was time to party. That night I understood how the Danish night life works. First of all, I have never seen that much drunk people concentrated in one place. I am Russian and I indeed have seen drunk people in my life, but this was diffrent. People drinking on the streets from the bottle, smoking weed, unable to walk and to speak. Damn, that’s another reason I would like to live there! People in Denmark lead quite a systematic and organized life, the country works well and everyone follow the rules. No criminality, no disorganisation – buses and metro are always on time, people cross the road only on crosswalks, no one look strangely on another, no one judges you. So, leading such an organized and calm life during the week – people go mad on weekend. As I was told afterwards, they make this mess every weekend! Honestly, I like it when people know how to combine work and leasure, even though I am a bit disagree with the system “work-wait for friday-get drunk-sleep-work” and it goes on and on and on until pension. However, for someone it works and it’s great!
Speaking of mentality – i was pleasantly surprised to find this country such an open-minded place. No judging, no weird-looking, everyone follow the rule “do whatever you want just don’t hurt anybody“. I think it is right thing to do, as whether you’re poor or rich, dressed weirdly or ordinarily, gay or hetero, bald or hairy – it doesn’t matter! In southern Italy, unfortunately, things are being different – I’d say, complete opposite!
After painting the town red on the new year’s day – I went out in Christiania – or Freetown Christiania. It is such a picturesque place! Unfortunately, one cannot take photos ther – but it’s a place worth visiting. Graffiti walls, gloomy people with, I’m sure of it, interesting life stories, with their own tragedies and dramas… if only I had more time, I’d explore it better.
On the remaining day I went around again. I realized, that, although Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, it’s a pretty small city. You cannot get lost there, everything’s perfectly connected and it was in first hours of my stay there that I pretty much learnt the geography of the place.
To conclude (and I finally finished! Yay! 2 days of writing and editing photos!) I’d like to give you a life lesson I learnt on this trip. Life changes. Everything changes. Perhaps, I didn’t find myself on this trip but it surely got my horizons broaden. Just let it be. Flow, enjoy, love, hate, live your life. Do what your heart says and always trust your gut. Don’t overthink about stuff cause there are the things we cannot control. And always, always enjoy every moment of your life – even in times of sorrow, remember, that there are those days that make life worth living. That is what I said to myself while standing on that bridge 10 minutes before the New Year. And I still feel that breeze on my cheeks.
Fiat Lux. 