Date with the Mediterranean sea, OMAM concert, and interesting cultural conversations

Hello, Málaga!

On March 13th, I took an early morning bus to Málaga, a city southwest of Seville. I thought I'd spend a half-day exploring the area before catching my flight to Copenhagen. After arriving around 10am, I found a delicious breakfast spot and then walked to the city center to grab a map. I had tentative plans to walk along the beach and visit the Picasso museum, but first, I wandered around and found a cute park to sit in. I sat on a bench for a while, listening to bird sounds and enjoying the weather.

I then decided to walk to the beach and challenged myself to find my way there the old-fashioned way. I enjoy navigating a city without a map or phone in my hand whenever possible because it simply requires me to use my brain a little bit! If I have my phone in my pocket or purse, I somehow default to Google Maps because it's a time saver, allows for mental shortcuts, and feels impossible not to use when at my disposal. It reminds me of watching a TV show or movie with subtitles on: you can understand the dialogue just by listening but somehow you find yourself reading the captions anyway.

As I approached the water, I was practically running so I could take my shoes off and feel the sand on my feet. Being at the beach in Málaga reminded me of days at the playa del Pinar in Castellón. I didn't realize how much I missed having the beach close by until that moment. Last year, I would take the bus to the Grao and sit by the water to journal or think, even in the winter. More than once, I sat in the sand with a winter coat on.

I plopped down by the water in my jeans and shirt, resting for about an hour. I then found my way to the Picasso museum, which was awesome. Since the famous artist was born in Málaga, it felt special to visit a museum in his birth city. However, I thought a lot more about his art in relation to his controversial personal life (which I've recently learned more about).

Art versus the artist

After visiting the Picasso museum in Barcelona and Park West Gallery in Royal Oak, I developed much more knowledge of Picasso's career, his works, and his lovers. However, what I learned through my own research was his history of misogynistic and abusive behavior, often engaging in power dynamic relationships with very young women and maltreating his muses. I was super surprised by this because of how much the museums tend to highlight his admiration for the women in his life. Going into the museum in Málaga, I analyzed his work with a completely different perspective and grappled with my feelings about him as a result.

Nowadays, there is this popular conversation of whether we should separate the art from the artist; This topic brings to mind singers like Kanye West and Chris Brown, or the iconic designer Coco Chanel, all of whom have controversial pasts or presents. There are some who agree that separating the artists' work from their personal lives is possible; others believe that the artists' work reflects the essence of who they are, and that supporting their work means enabling the artists' words and actions.

After more research and reflection on Picasso (I found these three articles to be interesting), I determined that: it is very important to emphasize the cruelty and wrongness of his actions while being able recognize his originality and influence on art during the 20th century. I personally think Picasso's true character should be mentioned in museums; I think if we are highlighting the muses and women who were present in his life, we owe it to them to make sure their stories are told. It would allow us to understand a fuller picture and form opinions based all the facts (that we have about him).

I'm lucky I get to visit these museums and have this sort of mental discourse as I learn more about Spanish history and figures. I enjoy developing informed opinions (especially now given the echo chamber effect of social media and the internet).

Now, let's talk about Denmark!

Copenhagen

I made my way to the airport on Friday afternoon and landed in Copenhagen close to midnight. Mira met me at the airport and then we took the train to her family's place! I met her mom and she showed me around the apartment. I chatted with Mira and her mom before crashing early in order to get some sleep and prepare for the weekend ahead.

On Saturday morning, we ate eggs and homemade buns (multi-grain breakfast rolls) with homemade jam from Mira's grandparents. Mira's mom made the buns, and I learned that it is very typical of Danish parents to do on weekends. She told me that baking is a very important part of Danish culture and that bakeries are everywhere!

After breakfast, we set off on bike to go vintage shopping. I was amazed at how effective and respected the bike lines are in Copenhagen; apparently, over half of people bike to work on a daily basis. We checked out some shops, looked at vinyl, then went to a cafe for another coffee and a cardamom bun. Apparently, cardamom is a super popular spice in Denmark! Mira showed me some beautiful apartment buildings and then we biked to TorvehallerneKBH, a cute market with fresh foods and yummy spots for a quick bite (however, we didn't end up buying anything because Mira told me it is a tourist trap).

It was so nice to experience Copenhagen from a local's perspective. Mira showed me some cool underrated sights and she knows the best restaurants. Since she lived in Spain for three months, she was also able to help me out with the currency, being able to do a rough conversion of krones into euros.

We also visited a bookstore, took some photobooth photos, and then rushed home to get ready for a concert later that night. We bought tickets to see Of Monsters and Men, a band I've been listening to for over a decade now. They're mostly known for a few viral songs in the 2010s, however they are so much bigger than that. Their music is phenomenal and they have such creative, unique music videos. That night, I was GEEKING OUT at the concert. Their albums have been with me through several formative periods of my life and it felt so full circle to see these cool Icelandic people in real time.

Mira and I met up with her boyfriend at the venue, Poolen. It's an awesome warehouse turned concert venue that holds about 2,5000 people. I had a few culture shocks at the concert: 1) there were hardly any regulations on bags (people were bringing backpacks), and 2) they didn't even look to see if you had anything on your person when going through security. I thought I saw someone putting their arms out for a pat-down so I followed suit; the security guard looked at me oddly and said, "What, do you want a hug or something?" I was laughing as I entered the venue, and Mira shot me a weird glance before questioning me on it later.

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The concert was intimate and wonderful. It was surreal seeing OMAM in the flesh! Their performance was electric and much more rock-esque than anticipated; it felt like I was listening to each song for the first time again in a different form. After, Mira and I got the bus back to the city and chatted with this random group of people at a bar: four people from four different countries. Traveling is so cool.

Sunday, we rode our bikes to the Glyptotek, a museum with French and Danish art along with Greek and Roman sculptures. I learned that the museum was originally designed to be a daylight museum, due to its architecture. It features a "Winter Garden," an indoor greenhouse type area, which was my favorite part of the Glyptotek. Even the gift shop was thoughtfully designed.

Mira and I ate dumplings afterwards, sat next to a famous Danish comedian in a café, and then met up with Lukas again to try Flødeboller, this popular chocolate marshmallow delicacy. We explored a Danish grocery store upon my request (one of my favorite parts about traveling), and then went to Nyhavn, this street full of colorful buildings that looks out onto the canal.

Later that day, I went out for dinner with Mira and her family. On the walk there, they asked me about my favorite American TV shows and what it was like growing up in Michigan. They taught me more about the Danish healthcare system and elections, which were approaching at the time. Their political system is quite different from ours, so we had a fruitful discussion about their political parties and current events overall.

After dinner, Mira, her mom, and I went to the store to grab ingredients to make Koldskål, this buttermilk soup that Mira (and most of the Danish population) grew up eating in the summertime. She insisted on us making it because they have a nice recipe. Mira put on some Danish music and we were cooking while listening to some local artists from Copenhagen.

The Koldskål was delicious! I was skeptical at first but it was wonderful. It tasted like a diluted, liquid version of a lemon bar.

The rest of the family shared the Koldskål with us and I showed them some of my most "American" photos: high school, cheerleading, my house... they flipped out, especially when exploring my neighborhood on Google Maps. They also scrolled through a house tour presentation I made last year for the Sant Mateu kiddos, and loved it. I was laughing so hard because they were elated to learn that some of the movies are not just stereotypes.

Monday morning, I left Denmark feeling enlightened and grateful for Mira's family's hospitality. It was so cool to see how such a small country operates, even for a weekend. I was especially excited to see Copenhagen after all the cultural discussions Mira and I had while she was living in Spain, and it did not disappoint!

Back to reality

I got back to Seville on Monday night and then spent the week doing the usual! The weekend of the 20th, I went to a flamenco show and dinner with friends on Friday, walked around the city on Saturday, and picnic-ed on Sunday. My friend Ayla organized a picnic as a last hurrah for our friend Kate because she went back to the US last week.

This week consisted of tacos, classes, and mental preparation for tourist season. Semana Santa, or Holy Week, just kicked off this Friday.

Thanks again for being here.

With love,