3 Cities in 8 Days

Beautiful Prague Vista

        

        I just got back from a wonderful week outside of Denmark. My program took me on what felt like a whirlwind tour of Hamburg and Berlin, Germany and then I spent an equally packed weekend exploring the gorgeous and picturesque city of Prague. Despite starting my week off getting pick pocketed (so long cracked iPhone!), my time away from Copenhagen was a blast. Some highlights included a street art tour in Hamburg, a historical bike tour in Berlin, and a powerful visit to the Old Jewish Quarter in Prague. 

One of the oldest theatres in Europe, now a community center

        

The week started with a few hour train ride to Hamburg, a delightful and historic German city that is largely newer construction. On our tour, our expat guide discussed how intensely it was targeted during WWII and how this resulted in the largely new construction that we saw. Despite their history, the city is home to a vibrant street art culture on top of their traditional bent for great food and beer. It was exciting to see how the city has rebounded in the past few years.

German food = meat + beer

Soviet Space Needle!

        I had heard wonderful things about Berlin, so had high expectations, and they were exceeded. Berlin is one of the most important cities of world history in the past century and their full acknowledgement of their role on the world stage is impressive. Even the way buildings were restored after WWII and the fall of communism were done so in order to preserve the memories of the past. A perk of this cultural awareness are the many free museums that offer exceptionally well curated history lessons. On the sustainability front, Berlin is one of the greener cities of Europe. We got to experience it first hand on tours of many well known urban gardens as well as some funky and innovative takes on the intersections of art and green living.

         After a few days of studies, friends and I were treated to a phenomenal sunset viewed from a Prague-bound train. Our Airbnb left much to be desired but for under $20 a night, who can really complain? Prague is honestly one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. On our first full day there, our tour guide took us throughout the city, pointing out the main sights like Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, and the Jewish Quarter. Simply stunning. Another city that is closely tied to the rise and fall of communism, Prague's was largely preserved throughout WWII as its culture shifted. This has led to a truly unique blend of very old buildings (11th century plus) and a modernizing culture. The prices in Prague were also a welcome change to Copenhagen's overpriced food scene. 

Between this traveling and the time change, I am taking it easy this week. But, more travels await! 

Spanish Synagogue in Prague's Jewish Quarter

                             

The Namesake!

 




If you couldn't tell by the blog's name, I am a big fan of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Really, it's a play that's got everything. Ghosts, Incest, Plays within Plays, bloodbaths, and wordplay galore. What more could you ask for?! I have been a huge fan of it since performing in a comedic adaptation in high school, and the love has only grown. That's why last weekend't trip to Helsinor in northern Denmark to visit Kronborg Castle was such an amazing time.

For the uninitiated, Kronborg is a Renaissance-era castle strategically positioned at Oresund, the narrowest point between Denmark and Sweden. Originally, it was built as a place for Denmark's king and his men to collect dues from each boat passing through the sound. Over the centuries, however, the castle has been used as a royal residence and more recently a place for literary inspiration. Open for touring, visitors can go into the chapel, royal apartments, garrison, and cannon tower. All of which I found beautiful and worthy of geeking out about!

It is a popular tourist attraction just not for its age, but also for its status as Shakespeare's inspiration for Hamlet which, itself is also a derivitave of an old Danish myth of a prince driven to madness and revenge over the antics of his court. Since I know the play so well, it was wonderful seeing the many nooks and crannies that play such integral parts to the action of the show. For movie and stage buffs, the castle also includes an exhibition on some of the most famous individuals to stage the show at the castle. I mean, Kenneth Branagh AND Peter O'Toole?! Leapin' Lizards, Batman...

But, that's not all. Since it is one of the oldest castles in Northern Europe (an outer wall is still standing from 1420!), there is plenty of attention paid to the historical significance of the sound dues which, at one point, accounted for much of the wealth of the Danish kingdom. One of the coolest historical exhibits is actually one of the hardest to see. As many world traveling ships would pass through the sound carrying an array of goods and currencies, the kingdom began accepting in-kind payments rather than just gold. These luxury items furnished castles, of course. But, the surplus was stored in a labyrinth of underground rooms and chambers. Nowadays, these are open for the public to explore. Expect a not insignificant drop in temperature as you enter the pitch black maze. Don't forget your flashlight, or else you may miss one of the tastefully placed arrows.

In the labyrinth, there is another major nod to Danish lore. Legend has it that Holger the Dane was once a Danish king in the era of King Arthur. One day, Morgan le Fay sought his help to defeat the French. He was successful and returned to Kronborg. Here he is said to be resting until Denmark needs him again. To commemorate the hero, there is a massive and well lit statue of the sleeping king in the center of the maze. 

Many, Many Museums

Today is the halfway mark of my first independent vacation week! Unlike many of my peers, I decided to stay in Copenhagen and explore some of the many attractions I have had lingering on my list but hadn't gotten around to. What does that mean? I have spent most of the past few days buzzing around lots of museums! For your reading pleasure, I've made a list of the ones I have gotten to so far with quick descriptions and reviews.

Not an official museum-but funded by the same foundation as many!

1. The National Museum 

If you love history, this is the museum for you! Located just across from Parliament, this old royal residence houses the entirety of Danish history in one convenient building. This museum is medium sized, and could be done in a long afternoon. Literally spanning over 2,000 years, some of my favorite parts included the Viking and Stone Age exhibits because of the obvious Danishicana appeal. A highlight is the installations on bogs and artifacts that have been dredged up-including a person and a viking ship. When I was there, the special exhibit was on the museum's extensive ethnographic photo collection from around the world. As is the case with most of the major museums in Denmark, the explanatory plaques are translated in English. 

      2. Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket 

A large and lovely collection of art from the Ancient world and Impressionist France housed in a stunning building built by the Carlsberg Foundation and free on Tuesdays! If you can't tell, I like this one. Featuring plenty of sculptures from around the world, there is lots of fun to be had finding your favorites and mimicking a pose or two (or three...). Be sure to check out the Winter Garden which is a greenhouse-esque indoor plaza in the center of the museum. I went when the French Impressionism painting wing was under construction. But, I will be sure to return once it reopens mid-March. The building itself is a piece of art. From the colors of the walls to the ornate ceilings to the tiled floors, it feels like a fully immersive art experience. One very odd element: in these gorgeous details, there are many swastika themes with no explanation as to why. It was later on at the Carlsberg Brewery that I read that the swastika was indeed formerly the symbol of the centuries old brewery. Which brings me to the next attraction...

     3. Carlsberg Brewery

Though not an official museum, the self guided tour covers a lot of material from the history of beer as a beverage to the specific history of Carlsberg as a company. This is where we learned about the former symbol of Carlsberg. Since, it's been changed to a three leaf clover of sorts! The 70 dkk student entry price gets you a self guided tour of the exhibits, a look at their extensive bottle collection, into the stables of Jutland horses, and finally a sample of beer and a souvenir pin!

     4. Kastellet 

Another unofficial museum, Kastellet is an active military base which is one of the oldest in the region. Overlooking the ocean, this five point rampart is a delightful walk that is surrounded by small moats, bridges, churches, and a windmill! There is also a massive statue of a Norse goddess driving a team of oxen. It is also very close to another little known sculpture-The Little Mermaid!

    5. Den Bla Planet 

The National Aquarium of Denmark is a small building full of lovely oceanic treasures in the suburban area of Amager. Right on the ocean, the species inside hail from the waters just outside as much as from more tropical regions. This one is definitely geared more towards children and school groups. It's also a bit pricier at 170 dkk and doesn't offer a student discount. Nevertheless, was a delight to see the big tank with a swim-over tunnel portion. When I first stepped in, a massive ray was swimming over my head to greet me! The portion where you can stand on plexiglass over the tank and watch for critters was a bit spooky, if you ask me. 

Sleeping Turtle butts!

That about wraps up the official list of museumy attractions that I've been to this week. That's without mentioning a handful of lovely churches and strolls. But, more on those later! 

LLC Weekend

I live in a fabulous community of American students that are all interested in accessing Copenhagen's visual and performing arts scene. Last weekend, we were together all weekend exploring firsthand the funky corners of the city and making some of our own art, all planned by our incomparable  Living and Learning Community Coordinator-Sophie! 

My temporary bike friend

On Saturday, we began planning our LLC semester project. Making creative choices as a 24 person entity is always a challenge but we managed to choose an idea everyone is excited about. We are keeping it under wraps for now, but I'll be sure to share details once more become available. 

After our marathon planning meeting, we headed to Absalon in the Vesterbro neighborhood. Absalon is an old church reclaimed into a fun and fabulous community center! We went for one of the nightly community dinners. For just 50 dkk (about $7), you can be served an absolutely delicious meal and have the chance to get to know other Danes (or Americans) for the evening. The food was fantastic, and I was told they make a mean drink at the bar. But the real fun came when we realized we were there for George Michael tribute night! Between the whole group, we knew about three songs so the break between dinner and trivia we studied up. Which, is a pretty brilliant plan if the questions hadn't been asked in Danish! Our friend from dinner got the hosts to also ask in English after a bit, thank goodness for her! Once we lost trivia, we stayed for a bit of George Michael dancing. We were by far the youngest in the crowd. 

Absalon

Bright and early the next morning, we got together and made original stickers and fused bead figures for our later decoration of the city. Then, we hopped on bikes and began poking around in the wonderful multicultural neighborhood of Norrebro. I had been a few times before, but never like this. Sophie, in all of her infinite street cred, took us to an art lending library, a phenomenal falafel place, some funky and innovative public parks (one with goats), and an area of the city set aside for street and graffiti artists. This was probably the most exciting part of the trip for me, when our whole LLC collaborated and spray painted a large wall together. While we are by no means pros, the experience itself was truly something special. After we finished, our guide showed us some of his pieces and some of the best ones in the park. It is amazing that Copenhagen is a city that would allow for such a funky space to exist. Another fun fact: of the artified buildings, there is a youth community center and a dance club-great use of space! Once we finished, we hopped on our bikes and returned to the center of the city, sore and tired and happy artists. 

The mural-mid process

At the Ballet

A major facet of my ongoing education on all things Danish is my formal Danish Language and Culture course my home university required me to enroll in. In addition to making the slight language barrier a bit more navigable, I am gaining cultural insights the guidebooks just don't cover. Beyond the grammar lessons, my program arranges certain cultural events like last week's trip to the ballet.

I, along with about 50 other American students, trekked to the Royal Theatre that currently houses the Royal Danish Ballet. Formerly, this was the center for the national theatre and opera as well, but they have recently acquired their own buildings. The piece we was was entitled Dans2Go which took highlights from three longer dance pieces and condensed them for the nontraditional ballet-going audience. There were also videos of interviews with the dancers and choreographers that aired before each piece to incorporate an educational element. Or, at least I assume, my Danish isn't that good, yet!

The Royal Box

We students were treated to a discussion with former principal dancer before the performance. Crowded in one of the mirror-walled rehearsal spaces, he briefly explained to us the history of the world's third oldest ballet in addition to the pieces we were to see-a traditional one from France placed in a modern context, a piece from American choreographer Jerome Robbins, and a new one from an up and coming Danish dancer and choreographer. This third one was the longest, at about an hour, and was simply stunning. It had some of the most beautiful lighting I have ever seen and its new music supported the intense and layered choreography beautifully. It was a very symbolic piece and many of my fellow students left with different interpretations. Regardless, it was a beautiful night spent in a stunning proscenium theatre that gave me a taste of Copenhagen high culture.

Swede Emotion

Hey folks! It's been a while since you've heard from me, but I'm back and better than ever!

Over the past 2 weeks, I have been traveling all around Denmark's neighbor to the north, Sweden! One weekend was a wild adventure to Stockholm with some flatmates and more recently was a trip to southern Sweden-Malmo, Lund, and Rostanga- to study sustainable development with my class.

First, the first trip. After some craziness figuring out how to get there, we finally hopped on a night train from Copenhagen to Stockholm. For those of you who don't know, night trains rock. If you've ever seen White Christmas, picture the sleeper cars but with a triple instead of double bunk. Exciting! After spending 8 hours on the train trying to sleep, we pulled into the station around 6 and began what became a 20 hour marathon exploring Stockholm. We covered a lot of ground-12 miles to be exact- and saw so many of the great sights. My personal favorite was the Palace which, in its present incarnation, is in a style similar to 18th century France. At the moment, they have an exhibit on Royal wedding dresses, many of which are gorgeous with a few plain ones thrown in for good measure.

A big difference in Stockholm was the night life. It has a full range of options, from dive bars to touristy attractions. We opted for the latter and spent about an hour at Ice Bar which is exactly as it sounds-a bar made of ice! It was beautiful to see the carvings of animals in large chunks of frozen river water and meet some other college students visiting for the weekend. After our big adventure, we crashed in our hostel and flew back to good old Kastrup where, when we were above the clouds, we were treated to some much needed sunshine and blue skies.

Descending, we entered into a brief week of normal classes before embarking on core course week. With my study abroad program, each student is enrolled in about 5 classes, one of them being our core course. Mine is Sustainable Development in Northern Europe. That means that this past week, I have been exploring different ventures and aspects of urban sustainability in Copenhagen as well as neighboring Sweden. There is so much incredible work being done on both sides of the bridge. I was fortunate enough, through my program, to gain first experiences like hiking in a Swedish national park, take tours of developing green neighborhoods, gain access to green rooftops, tour an incredibly impressive dump, and even sit around a snowy campfire with fellow students and our professor just getting to know one another.

I am so fortunate to be studying in a country that makes it so easy for me to travel and experience different cultures and look at issues from multiple vantage points. Nevertheless, I am so happy to be back in my hyggelicious Copenhagen again! I am continuing to explore the city and even just found a fun new area yesterday. Adventures abound, now if only the sunlight would follow suit!

Strong Week

Alright folks! The first full week of classes is wrapped up and I, for one, am pooped!

In all honesty, this week was a lovely one full of small adventures. I visited the Arctic Institute, the Foreign Ministry, Copenhagen Street Food, Copenhagen Contemporary, a suburban high school, Saint Peter's Bakery, and saw a modern dance piece! And those are just the highlights.

What I am realizing is that Copenhagen is a small city by most standards but is quite tapped in to the larger world, more so than many American cities I have experienced. Take my visit to the Danish high school, for example. Not only did the 16 year old students speak fluent English (a second language), they were able to have insightful conversations on the state of both Danish, European, and American policy. Maybe it is because of my experiences with American high school students, but this struck me as exceptional. Since this week was such a blow to American freedoms on a legislative front, these students also were able to draw innocent comparisons between the two systems that resulted in comments like "I think Denmark has a better democracy than America" and "In Denmark, we really want everyone to feel safe". It stung, justifiably.

ART!!!

On a lighter front, I was also incredibly impressed by the art I saw this week. Copenhagen Contemporary is a smallish gallery in an area of Copenhagen called Paper Island. Outside, there was Yoko Ono's Wish Tree exhibit where visitors wrote their wish on a paper tag and hung it on a branch. These tags will next be delivered to Yoko Ono and buried in Iceland as a tribute to John Lennon.

Inside, there were different video installations as well as some pretty funky multimedia pieces-including tiny finches that flew around and landed on amplified electric guitars! Terrifying, if you are as skeeved out by birds as I am.

The dance piece, Vals was the first modern dance performance I have seen. It was beautiful, strange, technically amazing, and I don't think I understood it. But, that's art for ya!

FOOD!!!

I STRONGLY recommend Saint Peter's Bakery which is the oldest in Copenhagen. I went on a Wednesday but missed the famous "Wednesday snail" cinnamon rolls. Better luck next week!

Also: my first official street hot dog? Lovely and delicious from an eco-friendly stand steps from my dorm (dangerous for my budget!) and also offers vegetarian options. 8/10 mostly because my pickles fell off while I was eating it.

If you are a fan of Boston's Quincy Market, Copenhagen Street food is heaven. A bit pricey, but good deals are also available at this large warehouse full of stands with tastes from around the world. I got a piece of pizza (universal language) with eggplant and mozzarella and ricotta. Friends got pulled duck sandwiches and large plates of freshly topped pasta. Will definitely venture back to this lively spot on the waterfront, especially once it warms up.