Spoiled rotten, but finding a sweet taste in Danish ice cream

I admit it. I am a spoiled teenager. I have traveled quite a bit with my family, which is more fun than it sounds. Though everyone in my family loves to travel, my father and I appreciate every part of it, while my mother and little sister sometimes don't. It's not always quality family time since we sometimes go off on our own, but it is an experience the whole family can share.

We usually go on cruises when we leave the country. This August "the fam" and I flew to Copenhagen a couple of days before the cruise ship was scheduled to pick us up. We actually stayed in the same hotel my parents stayed in during part of their honeymoon — a slightly disturbing thought for me, but probably romantic for them. Though I have been to Europe several times — six to be exact — this was my first time in Denmark.

The first thing I discovered was the great shopping. The Strojet, a major pedestrian shopping street, was right outside our hotel. My mother could earn a gold medal in shopping — she made the rounds at least twice daily and dragged me along on each excursion.

However, I did get something out of our Strojet promenades — I noticed several Danish quirks.

People actually pay attention to the street performers there. The Strojet often showcases several varieties of street entertainment such as musical groups, spray-paint artists, puppet shows, chess players, living statues and a myriad of people selling useless toys and trinkets — bird-calling whistles, musical instruments, frisbees. Vendors often sell similar, if not exact replicas, of the goods. Amusingly enough, there are often large crowds of shoppers surrounding these displays as if these were unique.

I grew up near New York City and visited the Big Apple, where people are more likely to trip over street performers than give them a two-second glance. The fact that people — though probably mostly tourists — would give five minutes worth of attention to street performers in Copenhagen was highly unusual.

Also on the Strojet, as in most major metropolises, there are many eateries. But strangely enough, in front of almost every eatery was an ice cream stand. This may not sound like a big deal, and indeed it wasn't to me at first, but by the end of my first Strojet stroll, I had seen a Chinese restaurant, a pizzeria, a pub and a falafel house all selling ice cream in their front windows.

On the other hand, it didn't seem like this business was in a recession. Every time I blinked another person walked by with a huge waffle cone filled to the brim with ice cream. Some stores advertised nine scoops. One would think in such a northern location with such a chilly climate and salty sea breezes that the Danes would tend toward something warm and hearty. Yet it was apparent that ice cream was the favored snack. Everyone was eating it.

I also noticed the Danes are generally good-looking people. To some that may seem a gross generalization; all I can say is that while in Copenhagen, I saw so many attractive people. And it's not as if I have no other experience for comparison — I have been to countries all across the world. They have that Scandinavian look with the ash-blonde hair, ice-blue eyes and healthily athletic bodies. Even with all the ice cream they ate.

Vanessa Woods is a Princetonian Contributor from Ridgewood, N.J.

'A Glimpse Within' is a weekly column in which we ask members of the Princeton community to share personal experiences. The 'Prince' welcomes submissions of about 650 words to The Newsroom.