Last time I was looking forward to Copenhagen, about which more later. I have also had the first of my 3-monthly arch-and-wait checkups. Finally, I got to see the results of the CT scan I had in August. As my haematologist had predicted, the CT scan showed no sign of enlarged lymph nodes, which proves that both the chemotherapy I had in 2010 and just as importantly, the maintenance therapy that finished in July have both done their job. This is excellent news and means that I can, with a bit of luck, look forward to two or three years of respite from the treatment. I just have the watch-and-wait to think about.
The bad news is that my "man" is emigrating to Australia. Since he was the first sensible consultant that I saw, back in 2009 and has been instrumental in my treatment plan ever since, I am a bit disappointed. Very selfish of me, of course, as he is going to take up a Head of Department job in a large city main hospital. And it's in Australia. Even BUPA aren't that generous. So, in the New Year I will have to find myself another consultant. I will have one more check-up with him at the end of January, so maybe he will have a plan of action then. He did say that the next time I needed treatment, he would refer me to the Christie in Manchester, under one of their professors, but whether that's necessary for check-ups, I doubt. I will have to do some digging around myself, I think.
Now, then, Copenhagen. Cue a song with "Wonderful" in the title...
It is a wonderful city. The hotel we stayed in, the Copenhagen Strand was clean, comfortable and very well located. A bit pricey though, especially since breakfast (which was very good) wasn't included in the rate for the room. We were close to Nyhavn, the real hub of the tourist area and the scene you imagine when thinking about Copenhagen, if that scene doesn't have a mermaid in it. In fact, it looks a lot like this.
The quayside is wall to wall bars and restaurants, with some sort of dodgy looking club thrown in the middle for good measure. There is another hotel right at the end of the row and plenty of ships and boats moored alongside, some of which appear to be actually working.
Kulturnatten was a bit of a let down, I have to say. The bits we saw were more like any Friday night in Liverpool, but I'm sure that if you are a native, or least a Danish-speaker, things might have been more interesting.
Apart from the weather, we did have a very good weekend, but boy, is it expensive there. It was rare to get a two course meal with a bottle of wine for under £100, but we did eat in some interesting places, including Cap Horn, one of the restaurants on the strip above. I braved a herring starter - and wish I hadn't - but the rest of the meal was very good indeed and the place has a terrific atmosphere. We walked past Noma, one of the world's top 5 restaurants, but unfortunately it was closed. Also fortunately, we hadn't booked 3 months in advance either, so that wasn't a problem...
Finally, the mermaid isn't worth the walk in pouring rain. She might be worth it on a sunny afternoon, though.
All in all, a good weekend, even if the One Challenge competition proved to live up to its name once again - winning in Berlin seems like a very long way off now...
And now, at last, it's wedding time. 10 days to go and we found out today that the bride-to-be was in hospital last week with pneumonia... What a great way to start your preparations! As far as I know, however, all that side of things is properly sorted out and all planned and ready to go; we will find out the truth this Sunday.
All suits and shoes and dresses and handbags are bought. I do need to organise a decent taxi to take us to and from the hotel, though - a job for Saturday morning, I think.
There, that's it since the end of September.
Posts
