In the wild, wild West, the saying ‘round these parts’ referred to one’s land, town, or area of residence. In the summer of 2022, the term ‘round these parts’ refers to my stomping grounds for the summer: Stockholm. A notable difference between these definitions is that my ‘boots are not stuck in the ground’ as they would have been back then. I have the ability to explore my surroundings. Sadly, I do not have a horse to take me on my adventures as I would have in that time. I have no stallion to ride across hundreds of miles of open fields. However, for the sake of this post, let’s call SAS’s CRJ900 airplane my steed on which my reclining seat is the saddle, my seatbelt the reins, and my leg-rest the stirrups.
Before diving into the details of my travels, I need to talk about what in the world “Horse & Buddy” means. You have surely heard of a horse and buggy. But, I don’t have a horse so I don’t have a buggy. So, I swapped out the g’s for d’s and created an expression of my own. The wheeled carriage is now the friends I have made here: i.e., my ‘buddies.’ I made great friends in Session 1, some of whom I see our relationship stretching way beyond this summer. It is because of these bonds that I chose to ‘venture beyond these parts’ to Copenhagen: their ‘stomping grounds’ for Session 2.
Wild, Wild Copenhagen?
I absolutely loved Copenhagen. Centrum was my favorite neighborhood by far. It houses the top restaurants, stores, and nightlife. On my first night, my friend and I went to Skagen, a restaurant atop the Illum Rooftop. It had one of the most interesting menus I have ever seen. The monkfish burger caught our eyes. Do me a favor, do not look up a monkfish before ordering it. Save yourself the trouble. It is absolutely the most vulgar looking fish out there. However, it would be hypocritical of me to enforce that rule because I looked it up prior to eating it. Although that decision almost veered me away from the meal, I stuck with it and scarfed it down regardless. And wow was it good! It was easily in the top five list of burgers of all time.
The View from Skagen (& Me)
In the cover photo for this post, you see that I am joined by three friends. They define ‘buddies.’ We practically did everything together from eating monkfish to exploring Stockholm and Copenhagen to creating music—everything. The best part is that we never got sick of each other’s company. We bonded quickly and got along incredibly well. There was never a dull moment no matter where we were. We ventured to foreign lands and relished in our stomping grounds. I could not have asked for a better group of ‘buddies.’
While there is a difference between knowing where the local saloon was in the wild West and knowing where the nearest Espresso House is in Stockholm or where the nearest Joe & The Juice is in Copenhagen, the premise remains the same: stomping grounds are stomping grounds. Stomping grounds are great and all, but they are even better when shared with buddies. So, take your ‘horse and buddy’ and explore during your time at DIS. Get out there, get to know Scandinavia. Get acquainted with the land, and the land beyond your land. Take heed to the words of a real cowboy, Blondie, Clint Eastwood, in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, “I’ll sleep better knowing my good friend is by my side [no matter where I go].”
Kyle Wolf
DIS Stockholm
Summer ‘22