A feeling of losing control

Three weeks ago we could still travel domestically and abroad. One day at a time, the usual choice to do what we like is diminishing. I believe that one day in the future things will go back to normal.

Waiting for my daughter and newest granddaughter at a square in central Copenhagen, I realised that my purse had disappeared. At a shop on the corner, they told me that this square was notorious for pickpockets.  With a sad feeling inside, I called my bank to cancel my credit cards. Driving licence and other personal cards were lost. My leather purse was 25 years old and was still completely intact. I battled the sense of how I had let anybody come so close to succeeding in taking my wallet. It was hidden deep down inside my handbag.

There was no time to retrace my steps as I was going to take care of the new-born at my daughter’s education. She is re-educating to become a teacher as so many of my ancestors.

How to buy a bus or metro ticket without your credit card? It should be easy to do on your mobile phone. I spent half an hour more than once buying a ticket during that stay in Copenhagen.

The next day, I sat sleepily in a dark corridor of a sporting venue waiting for one of my other granddaughters to finish her gymnastic training when a message showed up on my phone.

A guard from our Botanic Garden in Copenhagen had called to let me know that my purse had been delivered to their flower shop. Everything turned into bright colours in my head, and I wanted to share the news with everybody who would listen.

On the day, I had lost it, I had sat on a bench for a few minutes before meeting my daughter where I waited, and somehow,  my bag had turned upside down without me realising it.

We still have good people in Copenhagen though I wasn’t able to thank the person who found my treasure.

Not once in my lifetime have I been restricted from travelling. Only lack of money and time off have hindered me in going abroad. The many new directions we get every day on how we have to live without being too close to other people is something unheard of.

My credit cards got re-activated, and one day we will be able to go where we want to again. We will value the freedom a lot more, knowing how quickly it’s lost.

Here are some photos from this trip to Copenhagen in early March.

This Bispebjerg cemetery is known for the cherry blossoms in the area of Copenhagen where I was born

The old part of Bispebjerg hospital (1913), where I trained to become a nurse. The buildings are preserved.

The old part of Bispebjerg hospital (1913), where I trained to become a nurse. The buildings are preserved.

A sculpture of two lions in a Copenhagen park

Flats in Copenhagen from the 1930s in Art Deco style or Funkis Style

A street in Copenhagen with rows of flats from about 1920

To show my grandson, I took a walk in the area where I was born to show my grandson

Flats in Art Deco style in Copenhagen

Flats in Art Deco style in Copenhagen

Flats in Art Deco style in Copenhagen

2 Corinthians 4: 17-18
“For our light affliction and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”