Rain and sun in Copenhagen

In the end of March I participated in a great training course on migration, which is my field of work for more than two years and also one of the topics of my PhD research. It took place in a beautiful Swedish countryside (about which I will tell you a bit later, because for a week I was in my own personal aesthetic heaven), and on the way there and back I had a chance to visit also a bit of Denmark, particularly Copenhagen and Helsingør.

I know people who love Copenhagen, I know people who hate it. I honestly cannot tell you if I liked it or not. On one side - it's absolutely beautiful and doesn't look like anything I've ever seen before. On the other - as a city it gave a sense of anxiety and uneasiness. Everything is under construction now (I checked - it will be like this for at least 2-3 years), so there's a lot of dust, a lot of noise and a lot of inconvenience.

Going to Scandinavia!

Yes! Finally, for the first time in my life, I'm heading to Northern Europe!

Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I'm traveling to Milan, where I'm going to spend one day - to see my Milan-based friends and to see more of the city, because my first and only visit there lasted for 8 hours. 

On Wednesday morning I'm flying to Copenhagen where I plan to go on a walking tour and then explore the city on my own. In the evening I'm taking a train to Örkelljunga, Sweden, where I'm going to stay for a week-long seminar on the topic of migration. On my way back I will also have a full day in Copenhagen, and then a day in Milan, before coming back to Palermo.

Confession time - even though I've traveled quite a bit during the last three years, by any means of transportation (well, except maybe a helicopter and a hot-air balloon), traveling still gives me a bit of anxiety. 

Ever since I almost missed my flight from Moscow to Kyiv about 6 years ago, I always have a bit of fear of missing a flight - oversleeping, getting into a traffic jam, missing a bus. Ever since my 2014 trip to Budapest for a Council of Europe study session on gender-based violence, when my suitcase was one cm bigger than is allowed on a WizzAir flight and I had to pay twice the price of my ticket to take it with me, I'm a little scared of being over the luggage limit.

It doesn't matter how much experience you have (traveling, studying, working, etc) - it's normal to feel anxious from time to time. Important thing is not to let this anxiety or fear control your life and take away opportunities from you.

Do I feel anxious about getting up at 3 a.m. too take a bust to the airport at 4 a.m? Yes. Will it stop me from seeing another beautiful parts of Europe? No way in hell!