Sunday Dinners

Tomorrow is the first day of school, and in preparation my roommates and I had a Sunday dinner at our apartment. Mike and his girlfriend Danielle were nice enough to cook us the best Mexican food in town! There are international restaurants around, including a Greek restaurant around the corner (yay!) but none of them are known to be very authentic. Going out in general here is very expensive. I went once to get traditional Danish food and was shocked by the prices. They even charged a dollar for a glass of tap water. As an alternative many of the Danish students here get together like we did for dinners to enjoy good company and save money!

Danish Folk Dancing!

Hi everyone! The last couple days have been very busy with more sightseeing and a cultural day put on by my school, Copenhagen Business School. We visited Frederiks Church, also called the Marble church or Marmorkirken in Danish. There is a picture of it here. It is modeled after Michelangelo's dome in the St. Peters church in Rome. We almost went to the top of a tower to get a view of the entire city which I've also included in the blog. We saw the changing of the guard in Amalienborg Palace where a little old man carefully explained to me what the guards were doing and their purpose. Supposedly he comes everyday at noon to watch, and I think he really enjoys speaking to tourists!

That evening we watched a traditional Danish folk dancing performance and got to learn the dances as well! They are as simple as Greek folk dances, but they use smaller circles and prefer to do a polka step in partner formations. Most of the members are older and travel all over Europe to perform. They told us that in total there are 800 Danish folk dances! I had a blast learning and was really happy that all of the exchange students were eager to learn as well.

More around Norrebro

Yesterday I walked more around my neighborhood to get a feel of what is close by. I was happy with what I found! Within a few blocks I found the cemetery where Hans Christian Anderson is buried, as well as two little lakes. There is a street of cafes and restaurants along the way. These pictures are of the grave site and shots from when I was relaxing by the water.

A few things I've noticed of the Danes within my first few days here: they are very happy and family oriented. I always see young families taking a walk or chatting with friends on the street. If you want to stand on escalators you must stand on the right but if you want to walk up the escalator you must go on the left side. If you do not follow this you will get yelled at by an irritated Dane. I have also heard that stealing bikes is common. If you find one without a lock, it is up for grabs. Many people do not find this at all wrong, but I prefer not to try it!

Today I traveled to Christianborg Slot, home of the Christianborg castle. From there I went across the bridge to quiet Christianhavn. The apartments here are beautiful and overlook the canals. Also located here is Christiania, a place that seemed like another world to me. It is filled with nearly homeless Danes who sell crafts to tourists and smoke constantly. Up until 2006 they had no electricity. Don't bring a camera here, the people of Christiania will get angry with you if you try to take pictures of the area. Although I was a bit frightened while visiting, the ponds around Christiania made up for it. I enjoyed sitting out in the sun to eat my packed lunch! The pictures here are of the Stock Exchange building in Christianborg Slot, the canal directly across from it, and the entrance to Christiania.

I'm sorry about the underlined text, I'm having difficulties with the text options! Anyway the pictures in the previous post show Nyhavn, the popular canal of Copenhagen, as well as the view from my bedroom in Norrebro. The pictures in this post are of my neighbor Sofie from Belgium and I in the Botanical gardens as well as one of the Rosenborg Castle of King Christian IV. Out of all the castles in Denmark today, this is the only one passed from monarch to monarch while the rest are considered state property. The Danes come to this castle at night in the fall to view the rooms only by bike lights. I hope to do this eventually, it seems like it would be scary but fun! Hope all is well, I will write again soon!

Made it to Copenhagen!

       Hello everyone! I made it safely to Denmark and am already enjoying my time here. I live in an apartment with four other exchange students in the neighborhood of Norrebro. It is known for its diversity and cheap rent, so many of its residents are young scholars although I have seen many families out and about.