A sunny day in Copenhagen

The short version of the story is: I met a Swiss girl. Fell in love. Asked. She said, "Yes", and then she screamed! Pure joy and excitement. The longer version of the story includes a weekend getaway to Denmark.

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Neither of us had been to Copenhagen and she had been told by friends that it was a beautiful and charming city. So, I planned a romantic trip that included a very special surprise.

We left on Friday, May 26th 2006, flying from Zurich to Copenhagen. All the week before I kept watching the weather reports as it was supposed to be summer but Europe hadn't gotten the message yet. It had been cold and rainy in Switzerland (and most assuredly farther north) for days. I had packed for summer weather not winter.

Luck being on my side, the weather turned and we were in for two sunny and warm days in Denmark - an extremely fortunate coincidence as it happens. We learned later that the reason the Danes are such heavy drinkers (of beer not wine) is that the weather is horrible most of the year and they have little else to do but stay indoors and drink mightily with their friends. When it comes to the weather in Copenhagen, England is a tropical island.

I had booked a quaint little hotel, the Hotel Skt. Petri, (which turned out to be much bigger that I imagined) in the old part of town, rich with historic buildings, points of interest, little cobblestone streets and sidewalk cafes. I had also booked (online) the "Make-Love" package offered by the hotel - which was supposed to include rose petals strewn about the room, massage oils and breakfast in bed. I confirmed this the day before only to find out that it was a national holiday and the goodie basket of extras wasn't available as all the (flower) shops were closed; but that I could have it on Saturday as the shops would re-open. Having decided that I wasn't going to pop the question the first day and would wait until we were sitting in a romantic spot on Saturday, I thought this was a fine turn of events and agreed.

The flight was a short hour and a half and the ride into town was colorful. But, the first thing we noticed was that everybody spoke absolutely perfect English - better in fact than most English or Americans. It was the preferred language as there are so many other tongues its better to simply use English. Odd, but it worked for us as Sybille doesn't count Scandinavian languages in her repertoire and I'm still struggling to pick up the basics in German.

The second thing we noticed was that Copenhagen was dirty. Too many people and not enough trash cans, apparently. The streets were filthy. And the way you could tell that there was an empty table at a cafe was if there were dirty plates and glasses on it but no people. That's the one you grab, waiting for the waiter to clear away the debris. Just don't expect him to wipe down the table. Instead, be happy that its free of used items and that the sun is shining in Denmark.

The third thing we noticed was the curious thing that happens when you order wine, such as by asking, "Do you have wine by the glass?" The waiter or waitress will say, "Yes," and then turn to your companion and ask, "And for you?" We shook our heads. What was that?!

"No wait, miss. What white wines by the glass do you have?," figuring this would clear up the miscommunication.

The (perfect English) waitress then understood and explained here selections, "Well, we have a chardonnay from Australia. I like it. Its good," she offered. "Umm. And that's it."

"Oh!" Now I understood. "OK. I guess that will be fine," I shrugged. 4-Star hotel, my ass. Can't get flowers. National holiday. One wine by the glass. Humph.

However, we quickly discovered that it is like that everywhere. If you hoping for a wine and romance weekend, Denmark isn't the place. They have two wines. Red and white. Period. Enjoy.

Day one was spent exploring the city, checking out the local offerings and the shops (that were open despite the holiday). We even went to the local amusement park and took on the rides. The roller-coaster was great but short. Sybille kept her eyes closed the whole time and then wanted to do it again. The next day gave us perfect weather and me the perfect timing. So, I suggested a walk to see more of the city - whereby I could spot the right setting - a street-side cafe or pigeon-free statue. But it just didn't happen. The streets were crowded and the cafes were teaming with tourists. Not even so much as an empty spot near the water's edge. But, we kept walking north toward the "Mermaid" statue and I spotted a wonderful garden path - a walk the guards took to patrol the old castle, church and barracks of times gone past. Along the path was the perfect spot. And the time was now...

Finally, with a moment of peace and isolation - just the two of us in the romantic setting - I took her into my arms and pulled her close, face-to-face and offered these words, "I love you and I trust you. But above all, I respect you. You make me happy. And I want that for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

There was a moment of confusion. Was I serious? Could this be happening? Was it real? Was I being romantic or playfully expressing my love and devotion? As she looked into my eyes, she knew that I was serious. Her eyes began to tear, she kissed me softly and whispered, "Yes."

Hugging and kissing me, she said, "Yes." And again, "Yes!," as if to tell the whole world, as I struggled to grab the pouch in my pocket which contained a ring. I offered it to her with, "I love you."

Then she screamed, nearly bursting out of her skin. This was real. And slowly she began to realize the reason for my walk in the garden, the perfect park bench, and the moments of quiet and nervousness before. She had mistaken them as something wrong; that I might me unhappy, or in need of a cookie to cure low blood sugar. Funnily enough, minutes before she had offered me some jellybeans and minutes before that had asked if everything was alright. It was. I was just nervous as all hell. And I was at the culmination of weeks and weeks of planning the perfect setting.

In fact, in our moment of glee and excitement - showering each other with kisses, hugs and collective cries of joy - I felt a mixture of elation and exhaustion. Its a lot of work planning the perfect moment on the most perfect day in the most beautiful and wonderful city known as Copenhagen. Thankfully the stars conspired in my favor and I will always remember Copenhagen as the city of candles and romance.

On a side note, it only took her half a glass of champaign before she was talking about the wedding; and it was halfway through diner when she started talking about children. She's a quick one, my little Swiss girl.

While writing this tribute to our special day, I played: Unchained Melody from the album "B-Sides 1980-1990" by U2 and loved every minute of it, mein kleine Zwiebel. :-p "God speed your love, tonight."

PS: I know that the photos showcasing the ring are her wearing it on the opposite hand, but don't knock my future wife's creative genus. I'm not sure why she did it that way either, but you don't see me complaining. Maybe its because she's left handed and they were self portraits. Who knows? But I'll happily take the next fifty years to find out.

PPS: OK, I found out that the Apple software <PhotoBooth> takes pictures in mirror image and she hadn't reversed it at all, the computer did. I'll still take the next fifty years.