Swede Life

  Just got back from a weekend of hiking, canoeing, rappelling (or abseiling for those of you who prefer that term), and orienteering across the sound in Sweden (or Sverige, if you will)! It was an amazing (and surprisingly short/action-packed) weekend. Sweden is gorgeous and I definitely got to try some new things! We left early Saturday morning and took the 15 minute ferry ride from Helsingør (in Denmark) to Helsingbor (in Sweden). We then did a three hour canoe ride, before starting our hike down to Nimis in the Kullaberg Reserve on the Southeast coast of Sweden. Nimis is an extremely awesome rock beach littered with what is best described as driftwood structures. Thirty years ago, a Swedish man decided to take the driftwood he found on the beach, and nail it all together, into what is now essentially an adult-sized playground. We spent about 2 hours climbing all over the (surprisingly solid) structures, which are actually a lot taller and cooler than the pictures give them credit for. Unfortunately, nobody really thought about the hike back up...

The view from the top of our rappelling cliff

  After we survived the hike (and somehow all 33 of us did), we went to the nicest hostel I've ever seen, in the middle of the Swedish countryside. We had a barbecue, talked, and played card games, before heading to sleep and getting ready for today.

One of the many Nimis driftwood structures

And his newest project, involving little stones

Me at the top of one of Nimis' driftwood structures!

Climbing at Nimis

A single changing tree on the canoe ride

Bridge on the river

The rowboat Odysseus on the river

   So our Sunday started out with a delicious breakfast (because they were also really good cooks at this hostel) followed by a return to the Kullaberg reserve, where I tried rappelling! There were two cliffs, one 15 meters and one 30 meters above the ground, the taller one being nearly vertical. While I didn't quite reach our guide Christian's level of 5 seconds to get down in 2 jumps, I did manage some pretty impressive baby hops. It was a really thrilling experience, and I definitely want to try it again!

Some of our group with our awesome guide Christian

   After rappelling we had two hours of orienteering, which consisted of my group (who proudly named ourselves The Swedish Meatballs) deciding to sort of do the tasks but mainly wander around. Which, in my opinion, turned out great. We definitely won, even if Christian gave us zero points...

New friends with cake!

   The day ended with carrot cake at a great cafe, followed by our return bus ride. All in all, it was a pretty great trip! 

Sweden's kind of pretty

Svanesøen

  Well the past few days have been rather full of classes and homework, but I have had some time for fun too. On Tuesday night, I went with four of my friends to the new Royal Opera House, opened in 2005 and built with a $500 million dollar donation to the country of Denmark from a grateful wealthy oil magnate. That's one way to show your appreciation... We went to see the ballet Svanesøen, or Swan Lake as we know it in the States. One of the great things about the opera house is the $10 tickets for students. Technically its 'standing' tickets but they let you sit in any empty seat- we got the 9th row! The ballet was absolutely incredible. I've seen ballets at home before, but nothing remotely like this. I don't think it was necessarily the skill of the ballerinas, but something about the choreography, the music, and the way they seemed to be almost effortlessly invoking a swan in every movement, was breathtaking. The end was the best part! Unfortunately, it's a long ballet, and my commute is currently over an hour each way to and from Birkerød because of construction on the train lines. A very nice bus driver dropped me closer to home though! AND, we've been told construction ends on Tuesday, and I will then be biking to the station nearby, shortening my commute by a good 30 minutes at least.

Swan Lake!

  For those of you surprised at my mention of biking, let me say I have become quite proficient. My host dad and sister Maja took me out on a ride my first weekend here- despite it being well over 6 years since I've been on a bike, I survived! And have been biking ever since. I am nowhere near the level of the danes (I write this post on the train, on the way to which I saw a 7 year old biking through traffic in the middle of Copenhagen... I was terrified!) but I can almost signal my intention to turn. By the time I come home I will be biking everywhere!

me on my bike! courtesy of host dad

  On Wednesday, I met with a girl in my Copenhagen class to work on our second project- go to 6 buildings throughout the city, photograph them, and analyze the styles they were built in and what aspects of the building's facade reflects those styles. My teacher is so enthusiastic its hard not to catch on. Our jaunt around Copenhagen reinforced once again how incredibly walkable the city is. The city center is so easy to get around, you can wander quite far without even realizing it! It was also gorgeous yesterday so when I got home I went for a run by my house- past fields of cows, through a small forest, and around some of a gorgeous (but big!) lake. That was breathtaking (literally, probably because I am not anywhere near the 13K-running tendencies of my super-fit host father).
  I ended the day making dinner for my host family- chicken wrapped in bacon with an orange marmalade sauce, and wild rice. Before I let them eat though, I made them all try a small piece of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! While slightly horrified, they all did, and even admitted it was not as revolting as they had expected. Huge triumph for me! They also really enjoyed the dinner I made, going so far as to say I was allowed to make dinner for them any time I wanted. AND, they said I was their favorite American. Bigger triumph than the pb&j, I think. After dinner, my host family always has tea and chocolate upstairs, where they watch tv, chat, and generally relax with each other. I try to join them whenever I can, and they've even introduced me to Numb3rs, a show I never watched in the States but am starting to like quite a lot. I think another episode is on tonight, so vi ses! (see you later in danish)

My Life in Pictures

now that i am finally on my own computer, i decided to upload pictures of my life in Copenhagen. because i know you are so interested, carroll.

My friends Ashley and Christine, who live in Birkerød with me!

A house in Christiania, the self-proclaimed independent hippie commune in Christianshavn

Copenhagen's Amalienborg Palace at dusk

A statue of H.C. Andersen in front of Odense's City Hall

Students in the Danish Language and Culture class were given tickets to the F.C. København vs. Brøndby football game. These two teams hate each other, and when they match up it's the most intense game in Denmark. After the game, fights broke out and police escorts were needed! Lots of fun but very intense!

FC København fans (so intense!)

And the opposing Brøndby fans, with their smoke. and fires.

And the ensuing police escort/tear gas after the game was over

Christiansborg Palace, home of the Danish Parliament

 This past Sunday I went with my host dad, host cousin and her boyfriend to Kronborg Castle. We toured around the creepy underground casemates, the royal apartments, and the beautiful chapel.  

Kronborg Castle in Helsingør (aka Hamlet's Castle)

Holgen Dansk, the sleeping giant under Kronborg Castle who, according to legend, while awaken to protect Denmark in a time of need.

My host family also took me to Tivoli last Sunday, the oldest amusement park in Europe. It's beautifully landscaped and full of fun rides, good food, and cute buildings. I had a blast!

^ Me with my host mom and sisters!

My three host sisters! Stine on the left, Maja, and Anja

My host sisters and I on Rundebanen, one of the rides in Tivoli

Tivoli at dusk, including Daemonen- the roller coaster I actually went on!

my whole host family, in front of Nimb in Tivoli at night!

Ode to Carroll

  My dearly missed roommate at Richmond, Carroll (whose blog is carrollabroad.blogspot.com) has somehow convinced me to start a blog of my adventures in København, Danmark. I've already been here a month, and I have to say, Denmark is an amazing country. It is vastly different from the States, which I kind of expected and yet didnt realize the extent of until I got here. My host family says that politically, their conservatives are our liberals. The danes are huge on eating dinner together as a family, and are always on time. Punctuality is taken very seriously. Drinking, not so much. You can drink when youre 16 in Denmark, 2 years before you can get an (extremely expensive) drivers license. And everyone drinks in public, just walking around on the street. My friends here and I have taken this to mean that pregaming at 7-11 is the best idea we have ever heard of. There are also SO many bikes. My host family got me on one of their old bikes, and I am rapidly getting better- I was even able to signal a turn once! My host dad took pictures of the first time I practiced (since I hadnt been on a bike in about 10 years) and I think he was almost disappointed I didnt fall... pictures will have to come later since I'm writing this first post from my school library.
  DIS is in the heart of old Copenhagen (within the medieval wall if you want to get really specific, according to my professor for my Copenhagen: History and Contemporary Urban Issues class). There are lots of shops and a square nearby, leading to Strøget, Copenhagen's big shopping street. The city is truly gorgeous, and I could walk around it forever. My Copenhagen class is introducing me to different architectural styles, so by the time I leave I will supposedly be able to look at a city map and tell where parts come from and what styles their buildings are. oy.
  All my other classes are so far, very enjoyable. I am taking a Danish language class which has helped a lot, although my host family still likes to laugh at me when I try to pronounce things. My oldest host sister Anja says that I look like a confused kid when I pronounce a new word. And my youngest host sister, Maja, discovered my (I thought) foolproof tactic when dealing with confusion- smile and say "okay" a few times while sort of nodding. I'll have to come up with a new one now...
  Speaking of which, my host family is incredible. Excluding the fact that they think peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sound revolting, of course. And that they do not know what s'mores are, apparently. I have 3 host sisters, Maja (17), Stine (22), and Anja (27). They're so friendly and always want to make me feel at home. Maja even took me to a house party the first weekend I was here! (Also, the danes are crazy partiers. starting when they are about 15...). My host mom is super-sweet, very talkative, and a clinical immunologist at Copenhagen's biggest hospital (Rigshospitalet) so I get to learn a lot about that from her. And my host dad is incredibly active and so so nice. He bought me peanut butter my second day here because I mentioned I liked it! And, since my incredibly healthy host family does not apparently eat or even like sweet things (but they know I do!) I am the victim of a fair amount of (friendly...I think) mockery. I bear with it though because every weekend my host dad gets me a fantastic pastry! What we call danishes at home are referred to as wienerbrød here, and they are all delicious! And the food my host dad cooks for dinner is always fantastic. I made them macaroni and cheese for dinner one night, which they had never had before (surprising, because they love cheese here) and I think they liked it. I have another cooking adventure coming up wednesday so we'll see how they feel about that!
  Well, this has been my introduction to my past month in Copenhagen. I'll put up pictures soon and more about my friends here, and what we've been up to lately. Goddag!