i can't tell whether copenhagen is actually giddy or whether it's just me giddy to be back. it's a glorious 15 degrees here and on my way home i kept looking up at apartmenters reclining on balconies and over at kids playing soccer. i rode the bus back with kris on the top decker with our feet on the railing feeling quite regal and accomplished indeed. what a break it's been; what hopping i've done.

friday nite we went to see the bolshoi's production of swan lake. i figgered it was most likely the best ballet production occurring that moment anywhere in the world, altho i have to admit it wouldn't pass the ms. test. do all ballets and operas end with dead women and mourning men, or the just the last three i've seen? doesn't that get old? gorgeous production anyway, very much quieted my doubts about the art form.
unfortunately, unlike friday, saturday felt like rather a waste to me. another guided tour of another picture gallery in the morning wherein we nearly o.d.ed on icons -- the jesus story doesn't pass the ms. test either --, a trip to another tourist trap in the afternoon. kris and i had wanted to go to the revolution museum, but we decided to try, along with a swarm of others, the open market we'd heard so much about. discouraging as it turned out: the same old junk, nesting dolls lined up like dominos, fake-fur hats, t-shirts. i'd developed this desire to carry around an old-fashioned cigarette case. couldn't find even one of those.

dinner was more successful. we found a hole-in-the-wall that led to wonderland, complete with pesach-friendly food options, live music, and cheap drinks. jess kris and i hung around for hours partaking thereof. then we met other DISers at another bar. whether because i was out of money at that point or just because i wasn't inspired by the fake-spanish music and skankilydressed 30-somethings dancing as though john the baptist's head depended on it, i got bored and left around 12:30. until 2, i ate matza and watched CNN's actually decent coverage (both sides presented!) of the mideast developments. woke up and watched more, packed, planed.

it's been so long since i've been able to sit at a computer without rushing. i have so many emails to write; i have two letters -- one from lananomijamie, one from darling liz -- to read; i have to shoutout HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY to pennbecca; i have to call andrea to congratulate her on her various french exploits; and i have to figure out how i'm going to feed myself for the next four days. thanks for the lovely thoughts, by the way, throughout the week. they made me grin even if i didn't have time to respond straight away.