My fourth visit to Copenhagen cements it as one of my favorite places on Earth. Having explored much of the city previously, I’m elated to return with my nephews Ronnie and Jake for their first visit to this culinary, bicycling and hipster Mecca. Plus, Danes are happy, like Finns in Helsinki. We cop a fancy hostel dorm room, we rent bikes, we wait on line to eat fusion ramen, we dive deep in some serious agave based spirits. That’s day one. It ends with a ridiculously humbling sunset.

The next day, we hit Christiania. I explain separatist communities and my love of them. I am a habitual line stepper but also a genetic dissenter. That’s right, it’s in me genes to dissent.

For real though, Christiania is beautiful place. It’s not quite what it was when I was here ten years ago, but then again what place is? I can’t recognize my own city of Buffalo ten years later. If for example, in 2010 you had said that a hamburger in WNY would soon cost $18, there might have been riots. Real riots. Not anymore. The continued (and false) positing of “renaissance” and “resurgence” of Buffalo by everyone from civic leaders to Forbes magazine only rings true with the ruling class and those that make the decision to visit. Resident still deal with poverty, scarcity and one of the highest and most continuous levels of racism in the country. Probably the most of any town north of the Mason Dixon line. That’s the triple truth Ruth. You betta ask somebody.

Coming at the tail end of a month of traveling with family, I get time to finally unwind and unpack some of my thoughts. I’m enamored with my mindset while traveling and exploring. What delineates it from my mindset at home or work. I admit to creating the expectation of something so deeply intricate that I am unattendant of the present and then fear the missing of opportunity to attain the expectation. That’s a lot. I unpack and attempt to overcome these expectations. These fears. These insecurities. A moment. With nothing. No walks. No runs. No rides. No coffees. No beers. No food. No writing. No reading. No yoga. No music. Just the present moment. I’m talking to myself like I’m my own therapist. But I don’t have therapist so that certainly can’t be true. Ask my therapist who their therapist is, go see them, ask them the same thing until I get to the final boss therapist and defeat them with my train wreck of a life. All this thinking is disrupted by 500-600 people cruising by on rollerblades. It’s a skating slow roll! Yet another reason I love this city!! I take a deep breath breath and turn the music back on. Poignant lyrics push me along, to the next one…

“Suckers i clobber, because my town is full of cops and robbers. You’re not promised tomorrow in this little shop of horrors.” Kool G Rap, Ill Street Blues

“I try to keep it stress free, take every day at a time, make sure the family’s in place and let the music unwind” Double K, PUTS, Acid Raindrops