As 2019 is on its last legs, I’ve been thinking. It has been without a doubt the year I spent the most time in a hospital, since my own health issues, back in the early 2000s. After looking after Dad a good part of March and April, I accompanied Chéri to as many of his countless appointments as I could.

Today was one of those days. And after a first appointment with our equivalent of Dr House (by the way, the news are pretty good, and it was totally worth getting up before dawn!) we stopped in the hospital’s coffee shop.

And the above sight caught my attention right away!

I think it is safe to say that most people have seen a picture of this famous canal, and its colorful buildings before. But almost none of them can tell where you can find this mythical place.

You’ve probably guessed, but that’s because you know me well… Ok, and the title might have given you a clue, too.

As soon as I entered the café, I pointed to the frame on the wall, trying not to let out an excited shriek (that would have made Chéri uneasy).

Look! Looooooooooooook!! It’s Nyhavn!!!!!…. !!!!!!!

When I first landed in Copenhagen, in May of 2016, Nyhavn was my first official stop. After dropping my backpack on the boat were I was to spend the night, I took the metro and stopped at Kongens Nytorv station. From there, I walked, almost instinctively towards the canal. When I spotted the brightly colored buildings, I suddenly realized I was really standing in this country I had fallen in love with, although thousands of miles away, many years ago.

Nyhavn certainly isn’t the most beautiful place I’ve seen in Denmark. It is far too touristic to be my number one location. Nonetheless, it remains a magical view, that I have the luck to encounter, in the most unusual places, like this hospital Café.

I’ll always prefer the scenery from the top of Møns Klint, the waves of Klitmøller or the yellow shades of Skagen. But I am grateful that Nyhavn is a proud representation of Copenhagen, and Denmark in general. Even in a little hospital, in Montreal.

And I can’t wait to see it again. And again…