A Piece of Home in Copenhagen

My sister and me looking for skipping stones at Møns Klint

Inevitable Homesickness

Whatever home is to you, it is inevitable that leaving it for a long amount of time will leave you feeling off in some way or another. Even though I have considered Copenhagen my home away from home for the past three months, there have definitely been times where I have simply wanted to just be sitting on my couch at home surrounded by the people that I know and love. I miss my friends and I miss my family, so whenever I see something that reminds me of them, I can see how I retreat from this city and from my experience here.

There is no easy trick to get rid of this feeling, and I think sometimes embracing homesickness can help you to be more comfortable in whatever foreign setting you find yourself in. I have personally found that when I catch myself missing home, it has been nice to just be with myself and either listen to good music or watch a movie that reminds me of something or someone back in D.C.

I guess what my main advice would be is to acknowledge, in any way you can, that homesickness is a good thing. It just means that there is something in this new place that is letting you test your comfort level. Change can be hard, and being in a foreign country for a whole semester can be even harder, so rather than ignoring homesickness, try to embrace it in any way you can.

Family Visit

Of course, a good way to put away this feeling is to have people you love come into this new world with you. I had the awesome chance to have my parents and two of my siblings come and visit me over the second travel week, and boy was it nice to see them! This was one of the longest times I had gone without seeing my parents, and it felt so amazing to get to share my abroad experience with them. I was proud to show off what I had been up to this semester, and excited to be with them in this new setting!

The eventual day my family arrived, there were gusts of wind so strong that they almost brought me off of my feet at times. It didn’t matter how cold we were or how much the wind stung our breath, because I finally had a piece of home in Copenhagen. I met them all halfway between their Airbnb and my apartment, and as I turned a corner I saw my dad’s obnoxious orange jacket glow out of the crowd of black and dark gray coats. I ran up and hugged them probably more dramatically than 3 months apart deserved, and then turned away into our week, sightseeing and bracing the cold together.

A lot of what we did that week were things I had already done, but it was still really cool to be able to be more of the tour guide rather than the tourist. They all saw me as a local (always cool to say), and in that way I could lead them through some of the highlights of Copenhagen. Here are some of the things we were up to, and maybe it will be helpful for anyone who has either friends or family coming to visit them during their DIS semester!

1. Getting a Good View

The first place I recommend getting a great view of Copenhagen is the Round Tower. This is not as tiring as some other tower view spots since it is mostly a ramp up to the top, rather than stairs. There was also a cool exhibition on Nordic Noir art which was a welcomed detour on our mission to the top.

Another great (and equally touristy) spot to get a great view is The Church of Our Savior. My dad, sister and I woke up on the early side to walk up to the top of this church, which ended up being great because we largely missed the crowd. Although it was a lot of stairs, and included some slightly terrifying heights, this ended up being one of my favorite things I did during my week with my family. The church is in Christianshavn, so from the top we got a great view of the city center!

Andie and I at the top

Amazing view!!

Looking out form the historic church

2. The Grandeur of Castles

When I first came to Copenhagen, I was very quickly enchanted with the Castles that are scattered in and around Copenhagen. They are not hard to fall in love with since they were literally meant to show off the excesses of the Danish royalty and power. By the end of their week long stay we ended up visiting Rosenborg, Kronborg, and Frederiksborg Castles, and even though I had already been to the first two, it was still really fun to get to see them again through my families eyes. They also make great day trips when pared with a museum. Here I talk about some of my favorite museums to go to in Copenhagen. I specifically think that doing a day trip to Louisiana Museum and Kronborg castle is super doable!

Frederiksborg

@ Frederiksborg

Frederiksborg

3. Day Trips Out of the City

There is definitely no shortage of things to do in Copenhagen, but if you want to get away from the city center, there are some other places to go to in and around Zealand that are super cool! Of course, you could head to one of the above mentioned castles, or to a neighboring city like Aarhus or Malmö. One of the day trips that we did was one to Møns Klint (The White Cliffs). Other than the sheer beauty of this area, it was also really cool to be able to rent a car and drive out to this spot. It’s around a two hour drive south of Copenhagen, and in that time we drove out of the city, onto a highway, and through the hilly picturesque island of Møn. It’s safe to say that in the low altitude country of Denmark, cliffs seemed a little surprising, but all the while beautiful!

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Top Museum Picks // Cph

Just as I pass the halfway point of my semester (she said while crying to herself), I thought I would reflect on some of my favorite museum experiences I have had so far in Copenhagen. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but rather just a taste of some of the cool places to visit in Copenhagen, on a more than likely rainy and gray afternoon. Plus I still have so many places I still want to visit, so expect more reviews of museums! Since you don’t really pay for museums in D.C., I find it a little hard to motivate myself to go out and pay for the whole experience, but when in Copenhagen…

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Probably within the first week I was here, I was immediately told that the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art was a must see in Copenhagen. Although technically a 40 minute train ride out of Copenhagen, I still consider it a part of the greater area. It can definitely be made into a day trip with little to no real planning. Just get on train from Copenhagen central station, and enjoy the quant coastal views on your way up to Humlebaek, Denmark.

What is really cool about this museum is that the area surrounding the museum is just as beautiful as the art just inside. On the walk from the train station to the museum you can enjoy the quant architecture that lies in this small town. Also, just by stepping outside of the museum, you can enjoy the sculpture garden that leads you to a beautiful view over the water.

While I was at the museum, there was an exhibit for the performance artist, Marina Abramović, and while some of her work left me feeling overwhelmed and slightly anxious, there was a part of the her work that was very meditative and quite relaxing considering the amount of sensory overload in the previous room.

“Depart”

SIghned by Marina Abramović

Another amazing draw to this Museum is their permanent exhibit, Gleaming Lights of the Souls, by Yayoi Kusama. It’s hard to really capture the beauty of standing in this room for a minute, but wow just magical! This artist has a similar exhibit at the Hirshhorn, so I will definitely be stopping by that when I get home!

Design Museum Denmark

I went to Design Museum Denmark on a Wednesday field study for my Meaning of Style class. Our class got a tour of the I am Black Velvet exhibit, which features Haute Couture fashion from designer Erik Mortensen. Since he was a designer mainly from the 80’s, a lot of the garments on display were VERY 80’s! I mean a ton of shoulder pads, ruffles, and puffy sleeves. Oh and did I mention almost all in black because, well he was a Dane after all!

Although, for my class, we mainly focused on the fashion parts of the museum, I also was interested in the Danish Design Now exhibit and the Danish Chair exhibit, which features a really cool tunnel lined with different Danish chairs from the 20th century. Unfortunately, after a long day with two field studies planned, I did not have that much time to explore, but that just means I have to go back. Also there is free admission for students (or under 26), which is always a plus!

Rungstedlund/ The Karen Blixen Museum

Located in the old home of the famous danish writer, Karen Blixen, is the museum dedicated to the woman herself. During a weekend trip with my Creative Writing LLC, we all got to travel up to Rungsted, Denmark to learn more about the writer that has usually just been mentioned to us as the woman Meryl Streep plays in the movie “Out of Africa.”

Inside we got to see the rooms in which the writer grew up in, and returned to later in her life. The house itself is beautiful, and the letters and stories about Blixen located in the museum are just as beautifully presented. We spent about 45 minutes inside, and then our coordinator, Karina, gave us some sandwiches which we all ate by the beach nearby. Here, it was cool to experience a more “literary” centered museum with my writing community!

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Still More to See

With just about two months left to go, here is a little bucket list of museums I hope to see soon. Let’s see if I make it to all of them!

Long Study Tour // St. Petersburg, Russia

I am currently writing this post almost a week after my long study tour that I took with my core course to St. Petersburg, hoping that I am able to really put into words all of the amazing experiences from this once in a lifetime trip! Along with my core course, I was there for about a week, and in that week we did everything from the classic sites, like the Winter Palace, to more unique tours, like our one to a Russian communal apartment. It is rare that I have a week so filled with moments where I am just absolutely sure that it will be a moment I will remember forever, but I truly feel as though this was one of those weeks.

Although I would love to go through every day and every single activity, I think it would be better to just highlight some of my favorite events, tours, and moments from the week as a whole. So from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg, and back again, here are some of the unforgettable moments of my week spent with my fellow literature students!

The Russian Museum & The Hermitage

After a long and rainy first day where we spent most of it in transit, we started our first evening with a trip to the Russian Museum. On the top floor, they have their permanent collection of modern Russian art (19th-20th century). I walked through this section with my friend Rodlyn, and we were both just in awe of how amazing every piece was. After going to several museums together, we have both learned how picky one another is especially with art museums, but for obvious reasons, we really were taken aback by this amazing curation.

Me & Art

Rodlyn & Art

This museum also had a special exhibit dedicated to the 100th year anniversary of the Russian Revolution. On the red walls of this exhibit were different propaganda posters from this time, and because Rodlyn and I took so long on the permanent exhibit above, we got to meet up with our instructor, Mette, who pushed us to try out some of the Russian we had been learning. Although it took some time, we were able to make out words and phrases like “Lenin,” and “revolution.” I can only imagine what it looked like to have 2 adults slowly sounding out letters in the cyrillic alphabet surrounded by native speakers.

The next day we went to the Hermitage museum, which is a collection of four building including the Winter palace, which show off some of the opulence of the times of the monarchy in Russia (prior to the revolution in 1917). Everything was in the beautiful and ornate baroque style, which meant that we all couldn’t help but let our jaws drop as we walked in and out of each room.

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“The Twelve” at the Alexandrinsky Theatre

When our instructors told us that we would be seeing a play exclusively in Russian, I think it’s safe to say that many of us were not expecting to really follow along that well. As a student who studies text and the words used in a text, I was definitely nervous to see what I would get out of a performance in a language I did not understand. Prior to the showing, we had a long seminar dedicated to the poem “The Twelve,” by Alexander Blok, which the play was based on. In that moment we all really delved deeply into the text. In hindsight I am so happy that we spent time doing this because that probably made this play so amazing to me.

Walking into the theatre itself, I immediately realized this would not be like any other performance I had ever seen. The chairs in the small theatre were situated in the middle of the room, and then surrounding those chairs where four screens that blocked us all into the experience. When the play started we had a quick prologue from some of the actors, and then just like that, all of the lights in the room were turned off. I could not even tell whether my eyes were open or closed because that was how incredibly dark it was! The entire first part was spent in this darkness with just the sounds of the actors coughing and humming surrounding us.

The rest of the play flew by quickly, and throughout it I was just amazed at how unique and overwhelming it all was. When would I have ever had the chance to see a Russian play in that kind of a situation! After the play, we all walked back to our hotel just recapping everything that had just happened. I honestly don’t think I have ever been to such an immersive and experimental play.

Our Night With Russian Students

We had the amazing chance to meet up with some Russian students, where they invited groups of us into their homes to eat dinner. Although at first I was super nervous due to the immediate culture difference between a group of Americans versus our Russian counterparts, I soon realized just how similar we all were.

It is hard for me sum up everything that was so amazing and special about this night, but one great thing was just how comfortable we all were with one another so quickly. I was in a group of 3 of my own peers and then 3 of the Russian students. Immediately we talked about the obvious which was our similar interest in art, literature, and the humanities, then we headed into the seemingly uncharted territory of Soviet Russia, and their current politics. This was interesting because not only do they, as young people, have such a different opinion than what I was expecting, but it was also just refreshing to hear such relatively “progressive” opinions coming out of this country. After this heavy conversation, and a glass of wine or two, we got to talking about where we all grew up, our friends from home, and some funny stories.

The Good & The Bad

I think something that is so important to mention in this post is not just the amazing and seemingly “perfect” moments, but also some that left me feeling not so great. There were time we all got lost, times we had trouble with the language barrier, and times where the remnants of the soviet union seemed to haunt its way into all our views of the city. On our first drive into the city, the sky was quite gloomy form the rain and I think travelers fatigue began to set in. While in our stale-aired tour bus, we drove down streets that felt as though we had somehow stepped back in time to Soviet Russia from the 1980’s. Filled with unimagined excitement, it was a little strange to have this be my first impression of the cit, which has been called a sort of “unreal” replica of Europe.

With that aside, I did find that just in the next day I became enchanted with this quality, and was obsessed with the almost subverted Parisian feel that many of the streets had. So, on that note I leave you with some of the only pictures I took of the city, but with the disclaimer that this was one of the only days of “sunshine” that we got on our long and busy week trip.

Pushkin statue

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The Bronze Horseman Statue on a very rainy and cold day

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Canal’s that made me excited to go back to Copenhagen

City Sights & Busy Nights // London

Good old Big Ben, taken purposefully without the scaffolding.

This weekend was my first time going on a trip that required a little more travel than just an hour train or bus ride: I went to London, baby!!!! Two of my best friends from UMD are currently studying abroad there, so I of course took advantage of that and booked a flight to see them in their city. A weekend trip to London sounded pretty daunting to me, since it is a place I have always wanted to go to, and I knew I would want to do everything. Luckily for me, I had two local tour guides/ my best buds to show me around, and let me be the tourist they would be too embarrassed to take places. Well, at least that’s what I thought beforehand.

One thing I have really realized during my time abroad is the type of traveler I am. I think what I have mainly come to realize is that I like the idea of being that cheesy tourist a whole lot more than I actually do in reality. London is quite a bit bigger than Copenhagen, and I could feel that right away.

Lots of walking. Lots of people. Lots of confusion!

Friday

Due to my frugal spending habits, I ended up buying the cheapest tickets I could find, which unfortunately meant that I was leaving Copenhagen at 10 pm. In hindsight I think I should have splurged and bought an earlier ticket, and here’s why:

So, what should have happened was that I would land at the airport around 11:30 pm in London, and then make it to my friends apartment about an hour later after a train/underground ride. Instead, I ended up taking the wrong train to the wrong place in London, and didn’t end up seeing my friends until 2:30 am… not fun. I ran all over each station I got to trying to find lines that were running this late. I had to figure out the London Underground, sleep deprived, and surrounded by drunk Brits, and of course my last train ended up being a 20 minute wait in the claustrophobic and hot station. When I finally got to my friends station I literally ran out to hug them and immediately forgot about my traveling stress.

Saturday

First step on our itinerary was seeing all the classic London sites. I was really not expecting to be that shocked by all of it, but as we casually turned a corner, Big Ben popped up into the skyline and I think I audibly gasped. Even though there is a lot of construction being done on it, I was still obsessed.

We walked a ton after that, making sure I got to see as much as possible. Just in that short morning walk I got to briefly see Parliament, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower Bridge. All very beautiful and very grand. These parts of the city reminded me a lot of New York, with its high rises and tourist filled streets, and although I loved being able to see all of these things in real life, I was excited to slow down the pace of the day after all of this.

After this we went to Borough Market to eat lunch, where I got an AMAZING falafel wrap! So thankful for my fabulous friends who were my tour guides. I would not have thought to eat at an outdoor market while I was in London, but it had such a cool vibe, and I literally wanted to eat and drink everything.

Even though I really did want to do a ton, I was just so happy for the more chill moments just chatting and eating with my friends. We all decided to study abroad in the fall semester, and it has been a little weird all being separated. It’s hard to really describe what studying abroad is like over Skype or text, so being together with them laughing at moments we have felt confused and insane culture shock was great! Honestly, it’s weird not seeing them everyday, so it was just great to spend some quality time with them. Also London was not a terrible setting to do that in!

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The rest of the day we walked around with less of an agenda, which I really appreciated. Sometimes I think we go to these cities expecting to cross off everything from our bucket list, but truthfully that just isn’t realistic. At some point in my life I will go back to London with more time and hopefully more money (currently living on that student budget), and get a different experience in this city. The moments where we were wandering the city was honestly the best part for me. I’m definitely not into huge crowds, so being a little away from the city center was really refreshing.

Sunday

My late flight on Sunday allowed us all to enjoy a long brunch with some well earned coffee and eggs benedict. The place we went to was in a super cute area, and I was obsessed with the ceiling, which had a ton of vintage mirrors on it. We walked home from the restaurant and at that point was just sad to see that my weekend was almost over. Even though it was quick, I had a blast and I will definitely never forget moments like getting lost in the Underground at 1 in the morning or walking through the streets of rainy London!

Ceiling in the brunch place… So cute!

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View on the double decker bus

The train station I left from was the setting for Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter!

And just like that I was back on a bus heading back to the airport to go back to Copenhagen. I was a little ready to be back in the city I have been calling home, but sad to leave my friends from my other home. Super thankful for the weekend I had, and looking forward to my friends visiting me in Copenhagen in October, where I can show them the city I love so much!!

Mad About Food in Fanø

Time for a quick Danish lesson! The word for “food” in danish is “mad” (loosely pronounced “mel”). So now you can either laugh or roll your eyes at my attempt at a pun in this title.

That being said, I seriously was going crazy over the food I had in Fanø over core course week. Even though our instructors built all of it up before hand, I definitely did not expect the insane quality of the meals we had. There were three meals we had that were honestly amazing, and those are what I want to share here. So, without further ado, here is my novice attempt at food blogging.

Dinner At Sønderho Kro

The charm from this 18th century Inn would alone leave me speechless, but the meal here was unlike any meal I have ever had. After a long day exploring the Wadden Sea and the town of Sønderho, we got to eat a locally sourced and beautifully crafted four course meal. That’s right four courses! As each course was brought out, I don’t think I have ever felt more classy.

Smoked salmon fillets with a smoked cheese sauce and topped with shaved fennel

Beef tenderloin with dried chanterelle mushrooms, roasted parsnips, pearl onions, and a potato and pea cake

Dessert! Pound cake with mango and seaberry sorbet

We all crowded into the inn, and I was lucky enough to sit in this super cozy room that was lit up by beautiful candlelight. The setting was just amzing, and I also had a fabulous view out the window of the slowly setting sun off in the distance. Throughout the dinner the waiters brought us out endless amounts of bread, which filled us up so much, but even so we all still stuffed our faces. Trust me, we did not waist any food during that meal. As we ate and drank some delicious locally brewed beer, we all chatted endlessly. It was so great to finally get to know the people I had been sitting with in our classroom for the past month. Thinking back to this meal I feel as though it was all a blur. I don’t want to sound too dramatic about it, but I think this GIF really speaks for all of us at the table that night.

himymGIF

Dinner With a Local

For our second night in Fanø, we got the amazing opportunity to eat a home cooked meal from a local woman in Sønderho. As we walked up to her home, I began to question how all of us were going to fit in this quant home, but was then quickly distracted by the the high energy dogs that bolted out the door. Getting to play with these adorable dogs for a little was already a great start. Later that night one of the dogs kept coming over to me while I was eating… I think she could tell she could get some food scraps from me.

Our host greeted each person as we walked in the door with, “Hej, velkommen,” and then showed us around to our spot at the table. All of the ingredients she cooked with were found locally on the island, and she even told us some unwanted details about the freshly butchered chicken that we were about to eat. Her presence came in and out of each room throughout the meal, urging us to continue eating and drinking.

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Cute puppy!

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This was my first experience with danish comfort food and a home cooked meal here. It was so delicious (I say this about every meal), and I was so thankful that this woman welcomed us into her home. As much as I love going to fancy restaurants, there is nothing better than a home cooked meal!

Goodbye Meal in Esbjerg

On our travel day back to Copenhagen, we took a ferry from Fanø to Esbjerg, which is an industrial town on the mainland of Jutland. As we took our ferry, we were all sad to leave this beautiful island we called home behind us. We left our picturesque island, and sailed into a town that was the definition of industrial.

Our instructors really did not hype up this lunch in Esbjerg at all, telling us that there were not many options for good food, but wow I had some of the best seafood of my life! My family will probably be shocked to hear me say that, because other than some Maryland blue crab, I am not the biggest fan of seafood.

On my plate there were four different types of seafood- smoked salmon, fried cod, tilapia, and shrimp. I was so filled up with fish by the end of the meal, and it definitely made me leave on a happier note. I then passed out immediately on the bus and was happy to wake up back in Copenhagen.

** On a final note- Mom don’t worry I still think your food is better… no doubt!!!

Core Course Week // A Sense of Place in Fanø, Denmark

Heading Cross Country!

This past week, I spent the whole time traveling with my core course, A Sense of Place in European Literature. The week was split into two main sections. The first part of the week we were in Copenhagen, where we spent most of the time understanding the city though the lens of the novel, The Prophets of Eternal Fjord. On Monday we went on a guided walking tour of the city and stopped for a while in the North Atlantic House, which helped us understand the complicated and nuanced relationship between Denmark and Greenland. On Tuesday we then got to meet with Kim Leine, who is the author of the novel we read in our class. It is always cool to be able to hear from an actual author since many of us, as writers, hope to follow that path one day.

The second half of the week was dedicated to our short study tour in Fanø, Denmark. On Thursday we all got on a bus and headed west to this island ,which is in the most western part of Denmark. It’s strange, however, to think that going cross country in Denmark only means 4 to 5 hours of travel. Driving 4 hours back at home would only bring me to the next state!

As we drove away from Copenhagen, the more suburban and rural areas of Denmark stared to open up to us, and almost immediately I felt like I was so far from my apartment in the city. Then a 4 hour bus ride and 20 minute ferry ride later we were on the island of Fanø. There we went to the southern most town of Sønderho, which has a population of about 270 people. So, very small and very different than what I have experienced so far in Denmark.

Highlights of Fanø:

Nature & the Wadden Sea

Once we got settled in our cabins (pictured above), we met our tour guide, Marco, who is a local nature guide and artist. He took us to the Wadden sea, which definitely deserves its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Wadden sea has sea beds that stretch for miles, and is home to a ton of different sea and land animals. Standing in the water, I was in awe of the sheer beauty of everything. It was such an amazing place, were I found that looking down was just as amazing as looking up. There were little crabs that came in and out of the sand, and birds that flew over our heads. We were able to wander around for a while, and I think we were all just in shock of the beauty of this place that we were introduced to.

Just incredible!

Looking back.

Looking out.

Grooves in the sand formed by the changing tides

Our guide, Marco, drawing a map of Denmark in the sand

Me looking all artsy. Thanks Ashley for this picture!!

While in Copenhagen, there have not been many times where I feel this strong connection to the nature around me, which is why I felt so lucky to go on this short study tour. As a girl from Washington D.C., I always relish in any opportunity to get away form the hubbub of the city, and enjoy a place that is really off the beaten path. Fanø was a place I would probably never have had the opportunity to go to if it weren’t for DIS, and I am just so grateful that I could experience this little place for a little while.

We were told to try to “gain a sense of place” in Fanø, and for me the nature around us was such a large part of my understanding of the area. Since it has such few inhabitants, the natural surroundings really speak for the town itself. It was impossible for me not to constantly look around and feel this overwhelming calmness, which was provided by the never-ending dunes, wild flowers, and surrounding water. A lot of aspects reminded me of certain places I have been to in the states, but all together it was so incredibly unique and special.

Horses! (A joke for my family)

The Homes.

Sonderhø has this special quantness about it that is so incredibly infectious. I felt like I was in this fake fairy tale town, and I had a hard time imagining real people living here year round. As an avid HGTV fan, I am always on the lookout for cute homes, and there was no shortage of that here in Sonderhø. Almost all of the homes and buildings have thatched roofs, low ceiling, and colorful exteriors. I am only 5’6″ and I had to duck through every door way.

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“Roses, of course, grow in Øster Land/ and a yellowwashed wall.”

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Academics.

Being able to travel with my peers and instructors was such an incredible experience. Because we are traveling as a group of literature students, we got to experience this place in such a unique way. During our stay, we read the poem, “Øster Land,” which allowed us to understand this place with the guidance from our text. We had two seminars which allowed us to really delve into the poem, and gain a better understanding of the town we were in.

I know I probably brag about DIS a lot, but I truly do think they do such an incredible job of structuring a study abroad semester. My two instructors, Karen and Mette are so knowledgable, and it’s amazing to be able to talk to them in more casual settings to hear what they have to say about art, literature, politics, and Danish culture. This week was planned out so well, and our time in Fanø had the perfect mix of studying and travel.

We also had some time to ourselves, where we could explore on our own more. During this time they wanted us to write about Fanø, and to reflect on the place itself. We then had a small workshop where we were able to hear from a couple of different voices in our class. For this writing assignment, I was able to write a short reflection, and I will put it down below if you want to read it! I feel like I have so much more to saw about my short study tour, but I’ll leave it here fore now without rambling on further. More about the food from this trip later…

Reflection in Sønderho

Rain Rain & More Rain // Malmö Sweden

Within the first week or so of being here, we were all a little spoiled with the weather. I had nothing to complain about; high 60’s and sunny everyday! Then on Monday it started to rain… and it has not stopped since then. I think I may be forgetting what sunshine looks and feels like! Because of the sort of gloomy weather this week, I found that I spent most of my time either sitting in cafes doing work, or cooped up watching Riverdale with my LLC. As much as I love exploring Copenhagen, there was something kind of nice about our lack of agenda and desire to be indoors. Is this what hygge is all about???

By the end of the week I was feeling a little stir crazy, so when one of my floor mates suggested a day trip to Sweden, I was ready rain or shine. We were headed to Malmö, which is the capital of Scania in Sweden, and thanks to modern transportation, is only a 40 minute train ride from Copenhagen. So, with my passport in hand, I was all set to go to Sweden for the time.

Trip to Sweden

My LLC rallied a group of seven to go on our little adventure, and around 11 am we headed to the train station, which is so convenient and close. Seriously though, the public transportation in Copenhagen is the best. 10 out of 10 would recommend! Of course we wouldn’t be a stereotypical group of American travelers without running all over the station trying to figure out how to buy tickets and desperately running to buy coffee and catch a train. We were a bit of a mess to be honest. Just to give you an idea we missed our first train, and Michael got pooped on by a bird! But eventually we did make it onto a train, and then we were off to Sweden!

We got there at around 1 pm, and we were all a little disappointed to find that, of course, it was still raining. I’m not sure why, but you kind of just assume that all trips/adventures will be met with perfect weather, but instead we got rain. The rain did not really bode well for wandering around the city, so instead we headed to the closest museum. We ended up going to the Malmö Castle Museums, which is one of the oldest renaissance castles in northern Europe that now houses many different exhibitions and museums. It was quite an eclectic mix of things. At one point we were walking through an exhibition on Swedish design, and then wandering through narrow hallways with old armor and guns used in battles. Oh and there was an aquarium!

After the museum, we all got some lunch at this Italian restaurant, because when in Sweden, why not eat Italian food! Rodlyn and I died over the Tiramisu we ordered, and we all laughed at the strange interactions with the old Italian man who worked there. After the meal we wandered around a little until we got back to Malmö Central Station. Then at the train station, we once again struggled so hard to buy tickets (I somehow ended up paying for two tickets 😦 ). I was super exhausted once we sat back on the train, and it was nice to chill and just look out the window as we crossed the Øresund Bridge back to Denmark. High point of the trip home was Emma’s childlike excitement when we saw the sun peek out of the clouds for a couple seconds.

The rain was a little annoying as it kept me from taking a lot of pictures, but maybe it’s nice that it will really just be in my memory. It’s hard not to want to take pictures of everything, and instead just be present. However, I did get a couple good ones that I can share.

Emma, Ashley and me trying to look cute and candid in the rain (photo credit to Michael)

Day trip // Kronborg Castle

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Wednesday’s at DIS are devoted to field studies, which are little trips you take with one of your classes here in order to explore places in and around Copenhagen. This Wednesday, I had no field studies planned, which gave me a good excuse to step away from the bustle of Copenhagen to go explore another part of Denmark. Some girls from my LLC and I went to Kronborg Castle, which was about a 50 minute train ride out of the city into Helsingør, Denmark.

One of the main attractions to this site for a literary nerd like myself is that it is the setting for Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, written in the 16th century. When walking up to the castle itself, it is not hard to imagine how inspiring this setting would be for a writer. The castle is sitting just on the water, and is surrounded by beautiful sites into Sweden and Denmark. The exterior of the castle itself is breath taking, and I could not stop taking pictures of it as I got closer and closer.

There were a ton of cute shops lined just outside the castle that were just as beautiful, though slightly more quant

A moat outside the castle gates

Ships surroundig the castle remind you just how much of a seafaring country Denmark is and was

Although the weather forecast did not predict rain until 5 p.m., it started pouring down rain just when we got there. Due to this rain, we immediately went inside the castle to explore. Inside we got to wander around and discover the extravagance that the Danish royalty once lived in. It’s hard to walk through a castle and not be in awe of the kind of opulence that those at the top .0001% of society got to experience.

We also got to explore the casemates, which were a series of underground tunnels built in the 1500’s and used for housing soldiers and prisoners. I learned that they are what protected many soldiers lives from bullets that were aimed at the castle. The picture below does not quite do the sort of creepiness of the hallways justice, but it does kind of lend itself to the claustrophobic feel of them. At most points it was so dark, I could not even take pictures. Mollie and I just kept joking about how “spoopy” it was (no that was not a typo), and that this was how every scary movie started. Walking in these dark hallways with water dripping from the ceilings, due to the rain, was probably a one time experience for me… no more casemates for this girl!

Inside the square

The Casemates

Tapestry

Town just outside the castle where we got some delicious lunch

We visited this place at a really prime time because it was during the season when they do live Hamlet performances throughout the castle. We got to catch a couple scenes, which were super fun! Hamlet is my favorite Shakespeare play, so I was definitely geeking out pretty hard. It was a little strange, however, that the actors came up to people still in character. It was funny seeing the King take a selfie with a woman, acting like it was a mirror. There was also a little exhibit on the actors and actresses who have famously played these characters which I also loved. So, on that note I will leave you with my favorite performance by David Tennant! Here is a Scot, acting as a Brit, playing a Dane (Hamlet), who is being as melodramatic as always.

Enjoy 🙂

Anything But Routine

Culture Shock

People talk about culture shock like it is a negative thing, but just within my first week here, I am finding it somewhat comforting. I think there is comfort in the enjoyment of what is unknown, and there is definitely a lot I don’t know about the city of Copenhagen. Culture shock let’s you know that what you are experiencing is exciting, and I want every second of my time abroad to be filled with overwhelming joy and excitement. There are big things that I am discovering are new like the bike culture here, and small things as well. Who knew that the paper here is an inch longer or that at Starbucks they actually give you mugs? I know it will be tempting in the near future, once I get into the rhythm of daily life, to want to call my parents during my free time, or obsess over what people in College Park are up to, but until then I am going to try my best to live in the moment.

Classes started last Thursday and I have already completed one assignment and finished my first round of readings. The other night I was sitting in my room finishing a particularly dense reading for my core course, “A Sense of Place in European Literature,” and I caught myself endlessly checking to see how many pages I had left. Getting stressed by work already caught me off guard, but then from the bar across the street I started to hear a live acoustic version of “Hallelujah” echoing through the streets. I took a break from my reading just to listen and was struck by that feeling of comfort I mentioned. Back at home, I would be doing my reading in my small dorm or in the emotional prison my school calls McKeldin Library, but instead I am reading with the sights and sounds of Copenhagen surrounding me.

There is also no shortage of amazing places to read/do work here. Again, at home my friends and I would be struggling to find a fun place to study, but here there is a café on every street corner, and I have the ability to walk to some amazing places. So as a rule to myself, no complaining about doing work here! One day a group of us headed to Rosenborg Castle to find a spot outside to do work. I am always on board for any adventure, and to my surprise it was literally a 15-minute walk from our apartment! I grabbed some coffee from a street cart, an Americano of course, and we plotted out a spot on the grass to lay out in the amazing 70 degree sunshine.

Sitting on the lawn of Rosenborg castle doing some reading

Mollie and me admiring the perfectly trimmed trees

Still cannot get over the gardens here with these building in the backdrop!

Rosenborg Castle… I mean come on!

Say No To the Daily Grind!

Of course I am still in awe of every single building I walk by and I genuinely hope I never get used to the beautiful architecture here. I live for the aesthetic here, and I am a firm believer that being around beauty, whatever that means to you, makes any moment amazing. I am trying to soak in all of this, and as I turn around every street corner I can’t help but say, “ahh look a that building!”

We have done so many amazing things just within this week. I have accomplished my first two days of classes, went on our first trip with my LLC to Christiania (the free town), explored the Copenhagen food scene at paper island, and had my first experience on the Metro here, where I think the D.C. Metro could learn a thing or two from. I am still just as excited to wake up in the morning as the day I arrived. Let’s hope that never goes away, and let’s hope my academics here bring something new to this experience!

Ma, I Made It!

Today is my third day here in Copenhagen, and oh boy does it feel like years since I left the states! I landed on Saturday morning, and ever since then I feel as though I have been in almost like a dream state trying to soak in every moment. I don’t know how well I can explain what every day has been like because even I don’t really know how to comprehend it myself. Just briefly skypeing with my family earlier, I found myself rambling on from excitement. Anyways, let’s get on with my first couple of days here!

Day 1: Arriving

The name of the game this first day was simple- meet my new floor mates and don’t fall asleep. The latter of these two was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve experienced. At DIS I am living with 13 other students in the Creative Writing LLC, and jet lag hit us all real close and real fast. I am calling this day the day of a million hours, because truly it felt like that.Having never traveled to Europe before, I did not know what to expect with jet lag, and let me just tell you… I felt a little crazy. Even though it was like we were all having a countdown to post meal passing out, having intense jet lag was kind of a strangely fun way to bond with everyone.

It was so great getting to know my roommates and hearing about everyone’s home and university life. One of the really cool things about arriving when we did was that it was the day of Copenhagen’s pride festival. After lunch we all headed around the block and got to see some of the parade. Later we had a group dinner, and by then I already felt like we had been together for weeks.

My room is probably the nicest room I will live in for, at least, the next 10 years of my life. It has such European charm, and the view out my window is onto a busy Copenhagen street. Just a quick walk across the street and I am at the academic buildings, which is great for a late sleeper like myself.

Day 2: Rested and ready to go!

After a much needed nights rest, which was briefly interrupted by some late night chanting in the streets from pride, I got started on my next day. Most of this day was spent, again, getting to know everyone in my LLC, which included breakfast and a scavenger hunt activity.

During the scavenger hunt, four of us attempted to get to know our immediate neighborhood. All of us were pretty directionally challenged, and got lost a couple of times. However, this kind of gave us a good excuse to find a fun place to sit down and get some food. Pizza and a cold drink can solve everything.

Day 3: DIScovering Copenhagen

Monday (today as I am writing this) started off with our opening ceremony, which was at the beautiful Royal Danish Academy of Music. I was proud that we could pretty much get ourselves there and back with minimal utterances like “is this right?” or, “do we turn here?”

We also had the DIScover Copenhagen event, which lead us on a mini tour of Copenhagen. So finally, I could whip out my camera and be the tourist I have always wanted to be! Here are some shots I took of some of the many things we saw today on our walk:

The famous Nyhavn waterfront. aka the place with all the colorful houses

Amalienborg- Home of the Danish royal family

Ceiling of Frederik’s Church, and what one of the guides described as “tasty” architecture

Monument of Christian X

Christiansborg Palace

My roommante and I in Nyhavn

A photo my roommate took of us wandering around Christiansborg Palace

As I am writing this, I am just coming back from this walking tour. My feet feel the 4 miles they just walked, and I was anxious to upload some of these pictures. I am already so excited to see what everyday after this has in store, and let’s hope I have more to report back about.