From my days of journeying around I took random videos of my favorite moments and places. Here are some of those times collaborated into one, enjoy!
feet of the “men at sea” (and me)
Category: school
I always seem to forget (block out) the strange ending of how a camp, school year, travel seminar, or school trip feels. After making all these wonderful connections, and crazy memories you’re just expected to move on and away without much thought to the wonderful humans you have just met. Yes, Facebook is a massive convience these days, but it doesn’t make the distance of those bonds any less disappointing to leave behind physically.
So, this post is just a thank you to all of the wonderful people I’ve been able to meet through my travels. I have enjoyed coffee shop and brunch spot hopping. Running from different types of public transportation to the next. Hearing different perspectives, life stories, adventures and struggles.
Last night, my Danish class took a field trip to Tivoli. We were going to see a rock concert, Bo Kaspars Band. A group of us wandered around the park for the night, eating popcorn, playing on the playground, it was a wonderful first experience of Tivoli. While no-one in my crew went on any rides, they looked pretty extreme and it is no shock that Walt Disney was inspired by Tivoli.
“Miles from Budapest, my hidden treasure chest”- George Ezra
I completely agree with George Ezra, Budapest is a wonderful “hidden treasure chest”. I have now added it to my list of cities that have stolen a part of my heart, but that’s okay, I’m happy to leave it there.
Leg two of this long study tour was my favorite. The area was easier to get around, more friendly and had tons of graffiti (or color in general). Here are some of my favorite parts from the journey.
- Dinner Cruise on the Danube. We were able to see all the bridges (there are many) and see the skyline lit up, definitely a magical experience. Also, the food was delicious and included the traditional Goulash which was a spicier beef stew type dish.
Part of the “Pest” side skyline
- I just loved the BUDAPEST sign.
“the crew”
- My class was able to spend half a day at “the baths” or spa. One part of the experience was similar to jumping in the Baltic sea, in Malmö at the beginning of the semester, but much more Romanesque.
“The Baths” photo thanks to Rita
- Exploring the Buda Castle and the Fisherman’s Bastion was technically a fairytale.
- The Ruin Bar, specifically Szimpla Kert. I wish I could’ve gone and done homework and drink some coffee there, but it was a bar, and our days were planned and homework was not on such schedule, or even with me in Budapest. [can you tell I love graffiti]
![a woman actually came and offered carrots to us... [apparently they are a good food to intake water with after drinking?]](http://denmark.thebaileyplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/P4134960-768x1024.jpg)
a woman actually came and offered carrots to us… [apparently they are a good food to intake water with after drinking?]
- The Jewish Quarter. I was so happy that entire tour mainly because we saw so much street art and I learned that the Rubik’s Cube was created in Budapest!
cat’s cradle
Thanks to my teacher, Silvia and our travel coordinator, Peter for a wonderful study tour!
This week was my Core Course’s Long Study Tour aka traveling with my “Why Cities Matter” class to learn about new places and lifestyles. For my Urban Studies course we traveled to Vienna (and Budapest.. see next post). We were in Vienna for three days and now we’re on the way to Budapest via train.
- Vienna is most known for being the City of Music, mainly because Mozart is from and died there. However, no one knows where his remains are located.
- Blutgasse = Blood lane; which is what one of the streets we saw on a walking tour.
- People used to have three to four story deep cellars; they were ordered to close them by the government (but some still exist).
a beautiful square courtyard
- Demel Bakery ; It was the official bakery of the palace located across the street.An apprentice made a new dessert, the Sacher cake, because the main baker was sick the day the king asked for a new dessert.
- Sigmund Freud University ; I liked the architecture.
- “Startrek Library” Designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid
It has this vast atmosphere that has nooks and crannies of which it is unimaginable to think of how it was created.
“inner crannies”
- part of “playground city” a development project in Vienna
I call it playground city because the area had a slew of playgrounds that many of us enjoyed throughout the tour.
toggling on some springs
monkeying around
![thank goodness for whisper sets [ allow for playing and learning at one time ]](http://denmark.thebaileyplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/P4093594-1024x768.jpg)
thank goodness for whisper sets which allow for playing and learning at one time
One thing that I have taken for granted many times this semester is the amount of travel and questioning of differently constructed spaces I have been exposed to in my core course of Urban Studies.
Sluseholmen, Denmark
We have focused on different aspects that go into creating a livable space including (but not limited to) transportation, community, environment, general aesthetics, location, and the underlying politics.
Field Study to the Municipality Office (“heart of Copenhagen Planning”)
As an anthropology major I have found myself very interested in the reasons people choose to live where they live. This course has made me think even more about the underlying and more abstract components to planning out a space and the things that do matter in people’s individual, everyday lives.
As a person who lives in a suburb in Minnesota and/or Massachusetts, I rely normally on an automobile as transportation. This course, and living in Denmark in general, has really made me think about the underlying infrastructure that needs to be in place in order to have a fully functioning public transportation system.
“8Tallet” Building by BIG in Amager (part of Ørestaden)
Copenhagen is truly catered towards such a system through designated bike lanes, regional and suburb trains, the metro system, and bus lines. From seeing how relied on and reliable each sub-sect of the system is has changed my perspective of what makes a city “great”. So while good food, interesting buildings/museums, street art and cute shops are nice, transportation can make or break a city in the grand scheme of life.
Urban Studies Last (General) Field Study in Sluseholmen, DK
So while I sometimes dread the crazy adventures and various coordination I have to do early in the morning to get to some of these less centrally located areas, I end up being thankful for the sessions and inspired by the new ideas and questions they present. They make me think about life from a different footing literally each time.
I am also very thankful when there is a local coffee shop nearby to wake up my brain cells and introduce me to delicious tasting coffee and cute atmospheres (talking about Riccos Kaffebar from this morning!).
*all group/class photos courtesy of my professor Silvia Dragomir
Living in a new culture and trying to understand or spot differences in ways of doing simple things has been an important part of reflecting on my everyday experiences. Below is a list of some preconceived notions prior to my arrival, their transformations as well as things I hadn’t thought about prior to my arrival and their specialness through my eyes.
- When I thought of Denmark before coming I imagined Nyhavn as a central and mainstream location, where most people come to hang out. I understand this is a very silo-ed view of Denmark, which is why I am so happy to understand the general makeup of the country as a whole.
- While it is very bustling, beautiful and probably a wonderful place to hang out in warmer months [ i.e. summer] — it is not my favorite place to hang out. I have enjoyed exploring the “burrows” of Copenhagen, also called neighborhoods; and finding small coffee shops which are hopping with few foreigners and a vast amount of Danes.
- “I should probably make a budget section special to paying for bathrooms”
- I’ve been to Europe before with my family and a summer Archaeology Dig (via Ohio State University) so I knew about street bathrooms that require a fee. I was semi-worried about paying for something that is more or less a publicly given right in the United States. Luckily, I’ve been able to strategically plan my needs along with wanderings and find myself in coffee shops or nearby DIS buildings when nature calls.
- Goals for semester before arriving in Denmark: TRAVEL as much and as widespread as possible
- new goals; understand the culture beyond the “tourist’s perspective”, travel where possible (loads of study breaks) but also make time to explore Denmark in general, stay in my homestay/CPH area enough to feel like a local and part of my host family
- The arrangement and set up of streets is very strategically planned to be biker friendly or pedestrian friendly or both.
- Many places/streets are set up by those guidelines (much more than most large cities in the United States). As far as car usage, due to the fact I live in a suburb of Copenhagen, cars are a main form of transportation. Also through my Core Course Study Tour we were able to explore different neighborhoods and determine that not every place in Denmark (even very urban neighborhoods) focus on the biker/pedestrian culture. This means that many places are very unsafe to bike in, or require much more attentive navigation and much more understanding of one’s surroundings.
- As such a green country the way they reuse things must be SO innovative and utilize new ways to “be green”
- not quite. Yes, Denmark is very green, they have many Wind Turbines, very windy country. Things I saw as “basic” are not quite so basic. Recycling of bottles, paper, and cardboard is much trickier than expected and selective on terms of where to recycle and which bottles can be recycled– and normal paper is not recycled.
- “only bring simple, black and neutral clothing”
- NOT TRUE. the moment I got here I longed for my Pink Doc Martens and ended up having my mom [ thanks mom] send them to me. Bring clothes you like and be okay with re-wearing things a few times between washing. Also, comfy shoes are #1 essential item.
Some people have this fantasy or idea that study abroad is just “partying, sleeping, traveling, and eating” sorry to ruin the illusion, but school is a large chunk of the study abroad experience. This week is mid-terms week, for a majority of my courses which means busy (but not as stressful as you might imagine).
I’m surrounded by wonderful coffee shops and pastries to keep me motivated. Instead of feeling mad about the work, I’ve been able to see the milk-carton blue sky and just be happy to take breaks walking through the cobblestone constructed lanes. (sorry no pastry pics, needed a sugar rush faster than the photographic evidence)
no, the clouds aren’t painted
line jumping at a Nørrebro park
One aspect of studying at DIS that I haven’t really thought too much about is the class-free Wednesdays. This means that more often than not, you have a majority of your day to go and experience life in the area you live, or any part of Denmark. If you do have class, its a field study often to also experience Copenhagen with your class. Today, I took advantage of schedule freeness and explored Nørrebro with my friend Kristen.
building art (which reads “eye man”)
Nørrebro is one of the neighborhoods near the city center, sort of like the Brooklyn of Copenhagen. Which means that it has extreme amounts of culture, personality and is overall a nice place to wander and bike aimlessly!
One thing about Copenhagen is that the parks here are wonderful no matter what age you are. I have found a variety of playgrounds that have made me want to be a mini-human again. They are often colorful, uniquely designed and not full of colored metal bars or constrained by regulations (that I know of or can tell). They are much different from the ones I played on during my childhood in Minnesota. Please enjoy a brief video of trampoline jumping below.
In-ground mini trampolines of various shapes; circles or squares, are a normal feature found on playgrounds or parks.
When I stumble upon them, they add a delightful addition to my day!
This week instead of having normal classes I had my entire schedule devoted to my core course, which is Urban Studies. This “core course week” is a special feature of DIS and has been my favorite week thus far! My class went to Hamburg from Monday to Wednesday and then we have been back in Copenhagen Thursday and Friday.
Christiania, Denmark (Freetown Christiania)
This week was full of new experiences with being cold. While I am a Minnesotan the cold of wandering each city for hours each day was an adjustment my ears and toes weren’t so prepared for!
The various “field trips” were filled with new insights into urban planning and the interlayers contained within it including; community, transportation, environment, and the desired outcome or purpose of each project.
Speicherstadt (warehouse district) in Hamburg
Besides just learning about the areas we were in, this week was also about getting to know my fellow classmates. This included bonding through the hot coffee runs (to warm up), the train ride discussions, and complaining about our butts hurting after (and before) our bike tours of each city.
During our bike tour in Hamburg
Random facts I learned this week:
-Crosswalk signals are EXTREMELY shorter in Hamburg
(in large groups, it may take 2-3 signals to get the whole crew across without being hit by any vehicles, no-one got hit so all clear)
-German Beer is better.
-The functionality of a city’s various spaces is dependent on what it’s urban planner’s focus is on [understanding the people, the users of each space]
The Snake (bike bridge) in Vesterbro, Denmark
-Bike lanes are absent in Hamburg
(this was interesting, and it had a strange affect on the feeling and function of the city as a whole)
-there are 3-D maps of the city of Hamburg everywhere!
(or everywhere we took tours!)
-My teacher, Silvia is just as photo obsessed as me!
this was half of my class and Silvia after our first bike tour in Hamburg!
Overall, I am so thankful for the crazy jam-packed schedule of this week and can’t wait to learn and explore even more!