Blending In

Everyone will no doubt be overjoyed to know that, aside from the trifling matter of something called a 'language barrier', I am now completely indistinguishable from the Danes. That's right ladies and girls, boys and men; I have purchased A BIKE.


It's not a nice bike. In fact it's fairly hideous. And was designed for a teenage girl. But, it's not pink and it gets me from Point A to Point B faster than any other transportation available inside the city. And that means freedom. 


To inaugurate my proud new purchase, I went and sat across the canal from here:

The Royal Library aka The Black Diamond.

And drew this not-very-good picture of the city skyline.

My poor effort at the Black Diamond and assorted buildings. The spire in the background is Chrisiansborg Palace.

I love the juxtaposition of ancient and modern in Copenhagen. History and evolution side by side, somehow coexisting in a remarkably beautiful way. I also made friends with this chappie:

My buddy Frank.

Longhouses

Today, in keeping with the recent trend of micromanaging the weekends of students here, us architecture kiddies were bused off to the Frilandsmuseum just outside of the city. First of all, doubledecker buses. Pretty cool.


The museum is large. Very large, as we discovered by wandering around it all day. Basically it's an enclosure in which numerous traditional Danish dwellings have been assembled. It's such a change from the U.S. where there is really no cohesive architectural style. Here houses are easily distinguishable by geographical location, based upon materials, roof pitch, colors, and so on.

There was a plethora of windmills.

Vibrant, no?

Something about this scene is indescribably European. 

A storage building from the Faroe Islands.

Almost every building had a thatched roof, and those that don't have terracotta tiles. The style of building is called a længe, which means 'long'. So essentially I spent the day checking out Viking longhouses. That's a Sunday well-spent if I do say so myself

In A Danish Home

I made my first foray out of Copenhagen today. Negotiating the transportation system was, well, difficult. We may have gotten on the wrong bus at one point, but we eventually got where we were going, with literally minutes to spare.

If we hadn't gotten on the wrong bus we would have missed out on seeing this awesome sky view.

The purpose of this excursion was not merely for fun. Oh no. It was for an assignment, for which we had to travel up to Holte in the northern part of Seeland to visit a 1950's housing development called Parcelgården. The customs for visiting peoples' homes here are fairly strict, and of course we had been given widely varying advice. (Take off your shoes. Don't take off your shoes. Bring a gift. Et cetera.) Being late here is frowned heavily upon, as it indicates that you value your own time more than that of the person you're visiting. So that was definitely something to avoid. 

Definitely European looking.

It was a very nice house, very different than most in America. Simply furnished, uncluttered, and very bright and cheerful. The family was fantastic and gave us a full tour, house plans and coffee and cookies. I like Denmark.

Cultural Immersion (Literally)

In an effort to combine two necessities in my life, the need to stay in shape and the need to interact with real live Danes, I joined the local swim center, which is essentially the Danish equivalent of a YMCA. This morning I made my first expedition to this mysterious place.

Thanks for the picture Wikipedia. I forgot my camera this morning.

Negotiating this Mecca of Danish fitness at 6:30 in the morning was, well, a great way to jolt myself into full consciousness. Successfully made it through the turnstile AND located the proper changing room unassisted, both accomplishments of which I am quite proud. It wasn't until I entered the changing room though that I was reminded of the European custom of disrobing in the open. And apparently bathing suits are optional... 

Credit to Klubpiraten.dk. Cameras are probably frowned upon in the pool area.

This place really is cool though. My favorite feature is the elliptical pool: a 100 meter oval complete with current to swim against. I find this extra-excellent as I am completely incapable of doing flip-turns in a lap pool. A bit difficult to negotiate though- in keeping with the local custom of going nowhere in a hurry, no one swims quickly, and there is no system to accommodate those who do. This creates an obstacle course-like atmosphere, which is actually quite fun. It adds to the exhilaration.

Getting Oriented

Copenhagen, or København as we locals say, is a confusingly laid out city. We're living in the old part of the city, the street layout of which dates back to as early as the 9th century. It's hard to tell from the poor quality of the picture, but there's really no rhyme or reason to the streets. 

The orange spot is the rough location of our humble abode.

So to make our lives a little easier and force us to get to know the city, DIS gave us a scavenger hunt to do yesterday. Found some great spots that definitely merit closer inspection in the future.

That's Frederick VII, famous for giving up the throne, making way for democracy in Denmark.

This statue stands in the Christiansburg Castle Square (Christiansburg Slotsplads). The castle and surrounding gardens are fantastic, but the coolest part is what's under the castle. There are ruins of the original building that stood on the site, Bishop Absalom's fortress, that are open to the public. Will definitely be checking that out in the near future.

Living in IKEA

If anyone's ever wondered what it would be like to live in an IKEA display, I advise moving to Skindergad 40. Just as you might imagine, everything is pretty modern and clean and kind of sparse. It's a good thing I brought minimal clothing, as there is minimal clothing storage. By far the oddest thing about our room is the complete lack of drawers- everything's just hanging out in the open. I guess this makes my living arrangements sound fairly wretched, but I actually am a big fan.

This is our room. Can you tell which side is mine?

Not having drawers is already forcing me to be more neat and organized. And while the furniture isn't necessarily the style I would have chosen, it's pretty cool from a design standpoint to learn to adapt to it. (Here's where my inner design nerd comes out to play.)


Most notable differences from American residences:

• No screens in the windows, which are pretty funkified in their own way. Lots of hooks and hinges.
• No top sheets on the bed.
• Stairs far too steep and narrow to be up to any sort of code.
• We have our own enclosed courtyard. Coolest thing ever.

Even the silverware is from IKEA.

My Illustrated Air Journey

Altogether an uneventful journey. Not precisely relaxing, but far from harrowing. Icelandair, I give you a B for this trip. If you had provided me with some FOOD during my 8 HOURS of flying, maybe that grade would have been a bit higher. Consider this for the future.

Take-Off: JFK Airport, NYC, USA. 20:15 EST.

Land: Keflavik Airport, Reykjavik, Iceland. 2:30 EST.

Take-Off: Keflavik Airport, Reykjavik, Iceland. 3:45 EST.

Land: Copenhagen Airport, Copenhagen, Denmark. 7:00 EST.

Packing, Part II

Previously on "Got My Towel": Our heroine was contemplating the seemingly impossible task of compressing her life into 63 lbs or less, and the almost-as-impossible task of creating a packing list to facilitate this. Is she doomed to failure? Or will she come through with an unexpected burst of organization? Find out today.

Shockingly, a list of things that I might reasonably expect to pack has coalesced in the past day. It wasn't easy. 

The first attempt didn't go terribly well, as you can probably see. But I persevered. After realizing that I didn't actually need to pack a Viking (there should be plenty there for me to choose from), I got serious, and now that (not very good) original list of essentials looks more like this:

And you know something, I think this is actually all going to fit. To save weight I will even be relying on a native Danish towel. Among other things, I think it will help me blend in

Packing, Part I

Icelandair, the airline which will have the pleasure of transporting me to and from my temporary home in Copenhagen, allows travelers to bring two checked bags and a carry-on item. This sounds great, especially when you realize this means you get to bring a grand total of 113 lbs of junk with you.


Or it sounded great until I realized this would then require me to wrestle large awkward objects that weighing almost as much as me through unfamiliar airports and city streets. Obviously that wouldn't be the most auspicious or enjoyable start to an adventure. Forget the two bag + carry-on idea. I'll be limiting myself to one bag and a backpack. This affords me 50 lbs of clothes, shoved into a bag, the total dimensions of which cannot exceed 62 inches. And of course a backpack full of everything that didn't fit in there, I don't want damaged, and doesn't have a blade on it.


Well this should be fun eh? Time to make a packing list...

Welcome

Europe is expensive; I am cheap. Studying Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, an indispensable resource for seeing the Universe "on less than 30 Altairian dollars a day" has told me that all one needs for cheap travel is a towel. I will be attempting to see the wonders of western Europe for less than 30 American dollars per day (I don't think Altairian dollars are accepted in Denmark), armed with only a EuroRail pass, a camera, a handful of clothes, and of course, a towel. Hilarity will no doubt ensue. Stay tuned...