Rollercoaster at 1am in Nørrebro

Last night, we arrived off the metro from Copenhagen Airport to Nørrebro well after 1am. At our hostel, the reception stays open all night, with the caveat that you need to call after hours to be let in. Well, the trouble was: they weren’t on WhatsApp. That might seem trivial, but my SIM card doesn’t support regular calls. Essentially, we were stuck on a cold, dark street about two minutes after first stepping onto Danish soil. At least, that’s certainly the first conclusion out tired minds jumped to.

Without expecting much, I asked the very first passerby if he could call the hostel on our behalf. First win—he responded. Of course, getting that far is no given when approaching random people in the dead of night. It was a brief interaction, but what a rollercoaster it was.

He wasn’t Danish. Oh dear, we might be stuck here all night then. But, he spoke English! Well, that helps. He’s German. Okay, maybe he’s visiting as well. He isn’t staying at the hostel. No worries. After asking where we’re from he says that Brisbane is the best city in the world. Does he know anything about Brisbane? Is he drunk? He actually studied at QUT for a year! Wait that’s awesome, no way. Now he’s doing his postgraduate study in Copenhagen. Sounds amazing. His call went through! We’re not sleeping on the street! I thank him, shake his hand, and he vanishes off into the night. Shame. I never even caught his name.

It seemed like a fake interaction, such were the fortune, speed, and circumstances. I had been read to sleep hours prior. My body wasn’t ready for the sudden adrenaline jolt. Completely worthwhile, though. At least we had somewhere to sleep.