KØBENHAVN: HOPE & HAVEN

"It is hope that gives life meaning. And hope is based 
on the prospect of being able one day to turn the actual world
into a possible one that looks better."
- Francois Jacob 

I will forever remember those days spent warm and toasty inside the cafe of Espresso House. And I will forever remember that  unexplanable sensation capturing my soul, the feeling of being inspired. Though gloomy on almost every day, and almost every hour, I did not feel depressed. Rather, I felt very... calm. Is it the fact that I am at the furtherest point away from home that I have ever been in my life? A young Australian girl across the oceans in Scandinavian land... Or maybe's it's just what Scandinavia does to you, the lifestyle, so restful and so tranquil. 

On the way to Copenhagen I had a moment of confusion as I stared into my phone's Google Maps. We were travelling on the train from Berlin, Germany, but there was a section in our path where there was only water... I thought the train was maybe going to go underwater through some tunnel but the most amazing thing happened: we found ourselves on a train 'parked' onto a ship. The speakers informed us to get off the train and onto the ship to roam around. I remember going out to the top deck and staring off into the pitch dark ocean horizon. Everything was so new to me. I did not feel scared. I felt liberated. I was staring off into the furtherest parts of the world I have ever been. Australia was so far away. I... I was so far away.

Copenhagen was by far one of the most underrated places I had been in this entire Europe trip. I decided to finish off the adventure with this city not because I knew how wonderful it was, but because of cheap flights home. Even my SO didn't know why I chose this place out of all cities. But we were both so so glad we made this decision, because it turned out to be our favourite destination out of all 10 cities we had visited in the past 5 weeks. It was the perfect way to end everything and return home. A new found love for a home in a new city. The tranquility sure stole our curious introverted hearts. For sure we will be back, maybe a few years from now... maybe we would be wanderers once more... or maybe we would move here (I can imagine sitting in Espresso House every day with my laptop, blogging and working online, and living a tranquil life in København). 

I look at life in this very moment and there is not a single fault I could bring attention to. Everything is great, and everything is progressing slowly. Work life, family life, love life, friends... everything is so perfectly aligned. The old me would be scared that this high means there will be a low coming real soon. But the new me knows I've endured some horrible things and survived, so there is no point in ruining what's great with the anxiety of what might never happen.  

This will be the last chapter on my Europe adventure 2017/18 and I hope to conclude with one of my favourite moments. On our train from Berlin to Copenhagen we were forced out of our seats because we didn't know we had to reserve them and it was so packed! Each new stop there were more and more people getting on. We ended up crowded in the exit area by the toilets and luggages. I even lost my seat to a bloody bike which took priority over me. But I raise this incident here because I remembered how kind my SO was which certainly made my heart skip a beat. 

He would volunteer to help an elderly woman onto the train. He would volunteer to help a mother of two take her stroller off the train. He would assist a girl to access a toilet. I've seen some of my friends do it too - be kind to strangers, and can I please say... no matter how ugly (in the superficial sense) a person in this world can be, Roald Dahl knew it best: “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” Kind thoughts won't touch everyone's hearts. Some may be too preoccupied with the superficiality to recognise kindness, but those are the people you don't need to worry about. 

No matter who you meet, be kind. It certainly brings meaning to your life. To know you walked this Earth and made someone's day brighter, that you made a difference no matter how big or small, that's something worth smiling for. This was one of the bigger lessons I had learned when becoming an entrepreneuer, to become successful you have to want to make your customers' lives happier. That should be the sole purpose of your business model.

Looking back at these photos, I feel it once more - that unexplanable feeling that took over me while I was in Copenhagen. The calm waters and crisp cold air definitely woke the soul up. I could sit here staring off into this clear view forever, with a hot drink in hand. I try to put the sensation into words but I do not believe it is possible. I mean, how do you describe the sensation of love?

And this concludes the Europe edition of The Faceless Style. And most likely concludes the fortnightly posts for a while as I will be busy working on this. The drop is soon (in the coming weeks)! And I am super excited! Hopefully, in between full-time work, love, family and entrepreneuring, I'll have some time to get back into some more editorial style photoshoots that I last posted back in December. Until then... vi ses snart.