So when I got to Berlin, the U-Bahn strike was still on, and would remain on for the next couple of days. As a result, we took taxis for the next couple of days. I have to agree with Uncle Alex's assessment of where he lives -- it's in a fantastic location. For one thing, the market right across the street has just about everything one could need by way of food. It's even got a lot of other things, like some basic hardware, and toiletries, etc. And for that stuff you need a bigger store for, there's a supermarket right around the corner. Of course, there are the restaurants, also.
Living in the restaurant district certainly has its perks, what with there being probably thirty of them within a 20-30 minute walk around the block. And the best part is, staying with Uncle Alex, I got to have the expert's opinion on where to go and what to eat. This was especially important because I don't speak a word of German. I think my favorite thing we ate were the Tibetan momos. The Thai place we went to was also excellent. I could write much more about the food, but I think I'll move on.
The first day I was there we visited the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. I was really impressed with the size of it, but I think I was more impressed by the huge field out in front of it. I also liked the fact that you could go up and walk around on the roof and in the gigantic "fishbowl" on top of it. We we waiting on line to get in for kind of a while, but it was okay. About halfway through our time in line, a group of people came up, and were controlling a lifesize marionette. You can see in the pictures it greeting the people in line. What you don't see is the sheer coordination of the people in control. At one point the marionette did a cartwheel, and the people were stepping and jumping over each other, but it was very smooth. German precision, as Uncle Alex pointed out.
Over the course of the next days, we went to a bunch of museums. One of the first was an ethnological/anthropological museum, where we saw quite a bit of material from Incan/Aztec/Mayan culture, in addition to a ton of stuff about the islanders of the South Pacific. We also briefly went through a section about Africa, but we were pretty tired at that point. On our way out we stopped in a carved-out cave monastery which was in a section on Indian culture. That was quite interesting.
Speaking of huge structures brought to museums, we went to the Pergammon museum, where the entire front of the Pergammon temple (a Greek temple) was carved up and brought. A Babylonian gate lives at the museum as well, although it was under restoration while we were there, so it couldn't be seen so well. There were plenty of interesting statues and carvings too, as well as some very finely cut cuneiform in clay blocks. On the day we were out there, on Museum Island, the German History museum had free admission, so we went in there briefly and checked out some old Prussian helmets - the classic pointed helmets. They were pretty cool to see. Another stop on our museum trips was the Jewish museum. It was a great combination of informative and moving.
We also went to the Technical Museum, where we were able to see exhibits on the history of telecommunication, from telegraphs up to about 1950s era TV. It was a more captivating experience than I thought. From that exhibit, we went to see the development of German computers. From what I could tell, they trailed the United States in computer technology for a few years, although I must say I am more familiar with the history of U.S. computing. After that, we went to see the aeronautical exhibits, which covered flight from the beginning up until about the mid-70s. One of the more fun things to see was an explanation of the Berlin Airlift - what kinds of planes, what they brought, their flight patterns, etc. Did you know Uncle Alex lives right near the airport used for the Airlift?
The last museum I went to was the Checkpoint Charlie museum. It discussed the establishment of the division, escape attempts and the building of the wall. The exhibits also went on to describe people smuggling people out of East Germany, people trying to get out over or under the wall, the fall of the wall, and the end of the Cold War.
We did quite a bit that didn't involve museums, as well. One really interesting thing that we did was visit the Ministry of Justice where Uncle Alex's friend Andreas works. We were able to go on a brief tour and visit the library, where among other things they had old Prussian books and even a five-year plan from the East German government. Also, we visited a bombed-out church from WWII, and the Protestant Dome. The Protestant Dome is a bizarre anomaly in design, as Protestant churches - especially Lutheran ones - reject the ornate design of Catholicism. This, as my pictures show, is most certainly not the case here. Everything is gold-laden, but perhaps the most out-of-place things are the huge statues of Luther and Calvin mounted high up on the ceiling. The whole thing is even more bizarre when compared to the Catholic Church, not too far away. That church is quite austere. It would make more sense if they were the other way around, but they are what they are. There was also a Turkish market that we went to. It was really a lot of fun, with a street fully taken up on both sides with stands filled with people selling various things, but the highlight had to have been the fruits and vegetables. They were simply enormous. Apples larger than my fist and truly immense grapefruits. We bought a snack from one of the bakery stands. It can best be described as a ring of dough, somewhere between a bagel and a pretzel, and loaded with sesame seeds. It was utterly delicious.
When my week in Berlin was finished, I went to Prague. Prague, in a word, was great. For one thing, I got to see my friend Chris. He's studying in Salamanca this semester, but it was his spring break too. We decided to meet in Prague, and it was an excellent decision. I think I've only seen him once since 8th grade, before Prague. Our hostel was in an excellent location. It was close to most things, without being directly on a (too) busy road. So what did we see? The first thing we saw was actually not all that Prague-specific. An ad for a Museum of Torture caught our eye, and so we went in there. It had all sorts of actual instruments, along with descriptions of how they had been used. It was pretty rough, to be sure. Then we crossed the Charles Bridge, which is probably one of the most touristy places in the city, if not the most. It's lined on both sides by statues, most of which are rather impressive. The sides are also lined with vendors and caricature artists.
On the other side of the bridge was the palace district. It's defined by narrow streets, steep hills, and a lot of restaurants. In retrospect, it was a rather impulsive day, because as we were walking by, we saw an ad for a classical music concert, and decided to go. More on that later. But we continued up the hill to the palace gates itself, and went inside. The distinctive spires at the peak of the palace are not actually part of the palace, but of St. Vitus' Cathedral - a most impressive cathedral at that. Almost everything inside was photo-worthy, including one of the most elaborate tombs I've ever seen. The pictures I got of it didn't do it justice.
We actually didn't go into the palace itself, because by the time we got there it would have only been open for another hour, so we decided against it. Instead, we roamed around for a while, and then it was time for the concert. It was in a nice concert hall - not too big. I'm not usually one for classical music, but this was almost a "greatest hits" type of show, so I actually knew most of the songs. And the performance itself was excellent.
The next day was my tour of the Jewish Quarter. While the most famous part is the cemetery, that's only one of eight parts of what's called the Jewish Museum in Prague. I must say, though, the cemetery is an amazing sight. It's packed full. Also, there are little prayers stuck into the cracks of many of the headstones, very similar to the Western Wall. Some of the other parts of the Museum were the Spanish Synagogue and the Old-New Synagogue. I was the most impressed by the Old-New Synagogue: the central part of it was being used in the 1270s. In another part of the Museum, there was a memorial for all displaced Czech Jews; it was just the walls of a building painted with names. The entire Museum experience was very moving. I also learned that the name Brandeis comes from a Czech town called Brynds!
On a lighter note, I went to a wax museum! It was pretty small, and only took about 15 minutes to get through, but it was a lot of fun. Chris and I also climbed an old guard tower in the middle of the city. It was technically the new one, though, being rebuilt in 1475 or so.
On my way to the airport to fly to Madrid, a snowstorm whipped up. I thought I was going to get stuck in Prague, but I didn't. On the other hand, I think it delayed my connecting flight because I got stuck for a couple of hours in Brussels.
Madrid was nice; I met my friend Rachel from Brandeis there. She's studying there, and it was nice to go around some of the time with someone who can speak functional Spanish. I've got about enough to get by with the owner of my hostel, who didn't speak much English, but we got everything communicated and that was fine. I wasn't in Madrid for that long, but I did get to see some of the main sights. I went to the Prado and the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace was really impressive, especially when I realized the tour only takes you through about thirty rooms. The palace has several thousand. That was the first time I had ever been in a throne room.
I was also able to tour Real Madrid's stadium. They offer tours every day, in which you can go through and really get a feel for the experience. As can be seen in my pictures, they take you through all sorts of places, including the visitors' locker room. I think it's really great that they let people do that.
Rachel also took me to Retiro Park, the main park in Madrid. It's huge. You can stand in the middle of it and not see the city at all. It was beautiful, and most things weren't even in bloom yet. We also went to a bar one night and watched some futbol, with two games on: France and England as well as Spain and Italy. Interestingly enough, there was more excitement for the France/England game than the Spain/Italy game. Either way, it was a lot of fun.
What was not fun was on my way home to Copenhagen, my flight stopped in Barcelona, where I was supposed to have a 40 minute layover. My flight in, however, was delayed by about half an hour. And I was sitting at the back of the plane. Thankfully, my flight to Copenhagen left from two gates over, so it wasn't a big deal. But it was stressful.
Then I relaxed for a few days, and then back to class on the 31st!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Spring Break, Part 1
Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I meant to update before I left for the long study tour and spring break, but first I was sick for a week and then it was crunch time with midterms and papers and such. But, don't worry, I should be back to a more normal schedule now. You probably want to hear about my travels around Europe though. So I shall begin.
With a 13-hour bus ride to Brussels.
In order to get to our travel bus on time, Benny had to drive me to the train station on Sunday morning, the 9th of March. It was only about 7:00 in the morning, but the bus that runs by my house wasn't running yet. We departed Copenhagen at 8, and then went pretty much straight to Brussels, stopping only for EU-mandated breaks for our driver. We took a ferry to the German border, then drove through the Netherlands, and onto Belgium. My tour took us to Brussels before Amsterdam, so it required some doubling back, but it wasn't horrible. The difference between a ten and thirteen hour ride is somewhat negligible at that point.
Our hotel in Belgium was rather interesting. We stayed at the Maison du Dragon, a Chinese owned and operated hotel across from a couple of strip clubs. One of the other groups was able to stay at a different hotel, but I guess they didn't have space to book us there. No matter, it was fairly close walking distance from the main part of downtown, so it really didn't matter. While we were in Brussels, DIS took us to a couple of nice restaurants that we definitely wouldn't have been able to afford ourselves. We also went to the Delirium bar, one of the most famous in Brussels -- the sort of place the travel guides tell you to go to, for their wide selection of Belgian beers. They didn't disappoint.
What also didn't disappoint was Brussels' status as the 'Capital of Europe.' We started off by visiting the the Council of Ministers building, and we actually got a lecture and Q+A session with the personal representative of Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy. Solana is essentially the foreign minister of the EU (but don't call him that!), so man we met was a pretty big deal. We actually got to meet him in one of the conference rooms used by the Councils. It was only on the second floor, so the top meetings of the foreign ministers probably didn't meet there, but there was some sort of meeting going on in the next room over. The building was all abuzz because on Thursday of that week (it was Monday at that point) the European Council was convening. The European Council is the highest level of meetings, and is not technically part of the Council of Ministers. The European Council is the meeting of all 27 heads of state and government that make up the European Union. It was an exciting time to be there.
Across the street from the Council of Ministers building is the Berlaymont, where the European Commission has its offices. We didn't get to go there, but it was good to see. It was really nice to be in Robert Schuman Circle, and on Rue de Loi/Wetstraat, the main center of the European Union. Especially after studying the EU in some form or another since my freshman year, it was great to really be able to see it firsthand.
The next day, Tuesday, we had our political actor interviews. We were divided up into groups of four, and we were set up with interviews with people who worked with or lobbied the EU. Our job was, as our instructor is so fond of saying, to find out "how they play the game." My group interviewed Arni Snævarr, an Information Officer for the United Nations Regional Infomation Center in Brussels. In an assignment to find out how people lobby the EU, UNRIC was an anomaly. They don't actually try and influence the EU at all, and outside of handling dissemination of information, the only thing the Brussels UN office does is handle technical accounting aspects of EU development aid. As part of our assignment, we had to write a short report on what we found. If anyone is interested, I can provide the report.
Later that day, we went to the Danish diplomatic mission in Brussels, which houses both the Danish embassy as well as the offices of the ambassadors the EU. We had another lecture and Q+A session with the main Danish ambassador to the EU. These ambassadors are part of COREPER - the Committee of Permanent Representatives from each country to the EU. COREPER is attatched to the Council of Ministers, and take care of the technical and day-to-day affairs. A lot of decisions are made at this level, and then simply approved by the relevent Council. He was definitely a diplomat, giving very long-winded answers to seemingly simple questions. It was interesting, but he lost the interest of a lot of people. In addition, it was very hot in the room.
For the previous meeting, we had met up with the group that had gone to Amsterdam first, and then on Wednesday we went to NATO headquarters. There we had two lecture/Q+A sessions. The first was with a NATO PR official. It was an interesting point he made. While he was an American, he had to speak with whatever NATO's viewpoint was. He said this put him in an unusual position, when, on a week-long trip to Macedonia, he was not allowed to make any reference to the name of the country! The name controversy with Greece has put NATO in an awkward position. The second meeting was with an American Foreign Service official, who then did speak on the American positions within NATO. Both men talked about the challenges NATO was facing in the post-Cold War world. They also both agreed on the importance of success in Afghanistan as critical to maintaining the legitimacy of NATO.
As an aside, it is important to note that we went to NATO's political headquarters, not the military headquarters, formally known as SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). SHAPE is also in Belgium, however.
From NATO, we went back into Brussels proper and visited the European Parliament building. In a nutshell, it's huge and elaborate. The EP was not actually there, however. That week they were in Strasbourg. For those not in the know, the EP splits its time between two seperate buildings. Three weeks in Brussels, and then they pack everything up and go to Strasbourg for a week. Then they pack everything back up and return to Brussels. It's hilariously inefficient, but is a somewhat intractable political problem, as how do you convince France to give up ownership of one of the European institutions? We were able to see the plenary chamber in use anyway, though. Because the Parliament was in Strasbourg, some sort of seperate economic committee was meeting, and they follow parliamentary procedure as well. Sitting on the observation deck, we could see the members voting, flipping through papers, and the like. We also had access to the simultaneous translations into many different languages. The European Parliament is actually the largest employer of translators in the world, and not the UN as might be expected.
That night we left for Amsterdam. Upon waking in the morning, we went to The Hague, where we visited the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. This is actually the shortened name, which in full is The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991. I will accept their nonclamenture and simply refer to it as the ICTY. We got an overview of how the tribunal functions and the like. In addition, we got to sit in the public gallery and watch a trial in session. There was a witness testifying about the measures taken to ensure the safety of civilians (or lack thereof). The other group apparantly heard a witness testifying about being subjected to torture. Even though our witness did not have the emotional impact of the other one, I still felt it was really important to see the ICTY actually functioning. These are truely international courts, trying cases of crimes against humanity...and their building used to be a big insurance office. Just so you know.
The last academic stop on the tour was at the University of Amsterdam, where we had yet another lecture and Q+A session. This time, it was with a Dutch professor, who talked about the Dutch rejection via referendum of the 2004 Constitutional Treaty of the EU. Our instructor took a few shots at the professor, making fun of the fact that it was The Netherlands' first referendum and they 'screwed it up' (the Danes have much more of a tradition of referenda). The professor explained that the Dutch government is not as well connected to the people as it may seem, and the anti-EU vote can be partially seen as a rejection of the government. He stressed the point that the Dutch specifically, and most Europeans generally, are not against the EU.
Going back in time slightly, while in Brussels we did go to a chocolate factory, which was not actually as interesting as you might expect. On the other hand, the free samples were excellent. In Amsterdam, we got to go to a Vincent van Gogh museum, and we also got to take a boat tour of the canals. The canal tour was in a glassed in boat, and the glass was somewhat dirty, so the views weren't as nice as they could have been. Still, it was nice. When all was said and done, some people hung around the city for a few hours and then went back to Copenhagen on the bus. Others, like me, took off from Amsterdam.
Flying to Berlin was straightfoward; Schipol airport is quite nice. And so the 'vacation' part of my spring break began.
With a 13-hour bus ride to Brussels.
In order to get to our travel bus on time, Benny had to drive me to the train station on Sunday morning, the 9th of March. It was only about 7:00 in the morning, but the bus that runs by my house wasn't running yet. We departed Copenhagen at 8, and then went pretty much straight to Brussels, stopping only for EU-mandated breaks for our driver. We took a ferry to the German border, then drove through the Netherlands, and onto Belgium. My tour took us to Brussels before Amsterdam, so it required some doubling back, but it wasn't horrible. The difference between a ten and thirteen hour ride is somewhat negligible at that point.
Our hotel in Belgium was rather interesting. We stayed at the Maison du Dragon, a Chinese owned and operated hotel across from a couple of strip clubs. One of the other groups was able to stay at a different hotel, but I guess they didn't have space to book us there. No matter, it was fairly close walking distance from the main part of downtown, so it really didn't matter. While we were in Brussels, DIS took us to a couple of nice restaurants that we definitely wouldn't have been able to afford ourselves. We also went to the Delirium bar, one of the most famous in Brussels -- the sort of place the travel guides tell you to go to, for their wide selection of Belgian beers. They didn't disappoint.
What also didn't disappoint was Brussels' status as the 'Capital of Europe.' We started off by visiting the the Council of Ministers building, and we actually got a lecture and Q+A session with the personal representative of Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy. Solana is essentially the foreign minister of the EU (but don't call him that!), so man we met was a pretty big deal. We actually got to meet him in one of the conference rooms used by the Councils. It was only on the second floor, so the top meetings of the foreign ministers probably didn't meet there, but there was some sort of meeting going on in the next room over. The building was all abuzz because on Thursday of that week (it was Monday at that point) the European Council was convening. The European Council is the highest level of meetings, and is not technically part of the Council of Ministers. The European Council is the meeting of all 27 heads of state and government that make up the European Union. It was an exciting time to be there.
Across the street from the Council of Ministers building is the Berlaymont, where the European Commission has its offices. We didn't get to go there, but it was good to see. It was really nice to be in Robert Schuman Circle, and on Rue de Loi/Wetstraat, the main center of the European Union. Especially after studying the EU in some form or another since my freshman year, it was great to really be able to see it firsthand.
The next day, Tuesday, we had our political actor interviews. We were divided up into groups of four, and we were set up with interviews with people who worked with or lobbied the EU. Our job was, as our instructor is so fond of saying, to find out "how they play the game." My group interviewed Arni Snævarr, an Information Officer for the United Nations Regional Infomation Center in Brussels. In an assignment to find out how people lobby the EU, UNRIC was an anomaly. They don't actually try and influence the EU at all, and outside of handling dissemination of information, the only thing the Brussels UN office does is handle technical accounting aspects of EU development aid. As part of our assignment, we had to write a short report on what we found. If anyone is interested, I can provide the report.
Later that day, we went to the Danish diplomatic mission in Brussels, which houses both the Danish embassy as well as the offices of the ambassadors the EU. We had another lecture and Q+A session with the main Danish ambassador to the EU. These ambassadors are part of COREPER - the Committee of Permanent Representatives from each country to the EU. COREPER is attatched to the Council of Ministers, and take care of the technical and day-to-day affairs. A lot of decisions are made at this level, and then simply approved by the relevent Council. He was definitely a diplomat, giving very long-winded answers to seemingly simple questions. It was interesting, but he lost the interest of a lot of people. In addition, it was very hot in the room.
For the previous meeting, we had met up with the group that had gone to Amsterdam first, and then on Wednesday we went to NATO headquarters. There we had two lecture/Q+A sessions. The first was with a NATO PR official. It was an interesting point he made. While he was an American, he had to speak with whatever NATO's viewpoint was. He said this put him in an unusual position, when, on a week-long trip to Macedonia, he was not allowed to make any reference to the name of the country! The name controversy with Greece has put NATO in an awkward position. The second meeting was with an American Foreign Service official, who then did speak on the American positions within NATO. Both men talked about the challenges NATO was facing in the post-Cold War world. They also both agreed on the importance of success in Afghanistan as critical to maintaining the legitimacy of NATO.
As an aside, it is important to note that we went to NATO's political headquarters, not the military headquarters, formally known as SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). SHAPE is also in Belgium, however.
From NATO, we went back into Brussels proper and visited the European Parliament building. In a nutshell, it's huge and elaborate. The EP was not actually there, however. That week they were in Strasbourg. For those not in the know, the EP splits its time between two seperate buildings. Three weeks in Brussels, and then they pack everything up and go to Strasbourg for a week. Then they pack everything back up and return to Brussels. It's hilariously inefficient, but is a somewhat intractable political problem, as how do you convince France to give up ownership of one of the European institutions? We were able to see the plenary chamber in use anyway, though. Because the Parliament was in Strasbourg, some sort of seperate economic committee was meeting, and they follow parliamentary procedure as well. Sitting on the observation deck, we could see the members voting, flipping through papers, and the like. We also had access to the simultaneous translations into many different languages. The European Parliament is actually the largest employer of translators in the world, and not the UN as might be expected.
That night we left for Amsterdam. Upon waking in the morning, we went to The Hague, where we visited the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. This is actually the shortened name, which in full is The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991. I will accept their nonclamenture and simply refer to it as the ICTY. We got an overview of how the tribunal functions and the like. In addition, we got to sit in the public gallery and watch a trial in session. There was a witness testifying about the measures taken to ensure the safety of civilians (or lack thereof). The other group apparantly heard a witness testifying about being subjected to torture. Even though our witness did not have the emotional impact of the other one, I still felt it was really important to see the ICTY actually functioning. These are truely international courts, trying cases of crimes against humanity...and their building used to be a big insurance office. Just so you know.
The last academic stop on the tour was at the University of Amsterdam, where we had yet another lecture and Q+A session. This time, it was with a Dutch professor, who talked about the Dutch rejection via referendum of the 2004 Constitutional Treaty of the EU. Our instructor took a few shots at the professor, making fun of the fact that it was The Netherlands' first referendum and they 'screwed it up' (the Danes have much more of a tradition of referenda). The professor explained that the Dutch government is not as well connected to the people as it may seem, and the anti-EU vote can be partially seen as a rejection of the government. He stressed the point that the Dutch specifically, and most Europeans generally, are not against the EU.
Going back in time slightly, while in Brussels we did go to a chocolate factory, which was not actually as interesting as you might expect. On the other hand, the free samples were excellent. In Amsterdam, we got to go to a Vincent van Gogh museum, and we also got to take a boat tour of the canals. The canal tour was in a glassed in boat, and the glass was somewhat dirty, so the views weren't as nice as they could have been. Still, it was nice. When all was said and done, some people hung around the city for a few hours and then went back to Copenhagen on the bus. Others, like me, took off from Amsterdam.
Flying to Berlin was straightfoward; Schipol airport is quite nice. And so the 'vacation' part of my spring break began.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Three Tours and a Lot of Pictures
It's been a week and a half since my last post, but it's been a busy week and a half. Where to begin? I suppose I will start with our field trip two Wednesdays ago to the Folketing, the Danish Parliament. We met with the Chairman of the European Affairs Committee. We sat in their committee room, and he talked about how integrated the Danish Parliament is with their representation in the European Union. No Danish minister is allowed to negotiate in any of the councils in Brussels without their position being approved by the European Affairs Committee. One of the major problems that the European Union Faces is that of disconnection from the people, termed the "democratic deficit." While this is a hotly debated issue, it is important to note that Danish representatives to the EU are very strictly limited in what they can do as a result of their ties to the Folketing. It was a very interesting perspective.
A week later, I went with six other people to the Carlsberg brewery and museum. I would have to say the most impressive part of the self-guided tour was the display of approximately thirteen thousand different beer bottles that Carlsberg has produced over the years. The total collection is over seventeen thousand unique bottles, but not all of them were on display. The museum/brewery is no longer one of their main breweries, but it does actively produce Jacobsen beer, which is one of their premium brands. The price of admission included two free beers at their bar at the end of the tour, and I must say they were absolutely delicious.
In between those two trips, I went with Benny and Vivi out to the town of Roskilde. Of note in Roskilde is the Viking ship museum. Viking ships were discovered a few decades ago sunk in Roskilde Fjord. Through a long process of restoration, the ships were partially rebuilt. Based on that knowledge, several models of Viking ships were reconstructed. The replica of the ocean-going warship actually sailed from Roskilde to Dublin last year, and will be returning this summer. You can see the pictures of the rebuilt and replica ships starting here.
Before I talk too much about the study tour, here's a shot of me in front of Rosenborg Castle, as discussed earlier in the blog. As much as I was mentioning how bad the weather has been, the past couple of weeks have on the whole been pretty nice. And the weather for the tour was absolutely fantastic, which was great. It could have been a lot worse if the weather was poor. But, it wasn't. Let me fast forward a second, though, and mention that on the ferry back to Denmark at the end of the tour, you could look up at the sky and see that in Germany the sky was clear and bright; when you looked over to Danish skies it was dark and heavily overcast. Anyway, to return to the picture at hand, I am standing in Rosenborg Have, or Rosenborg Park. There are a number of public parks in Copenhagen, and this is one of them. It's quite pretty, even with the whole lack of leaves thing. I am sure it is quite gorgeous once the season's change a bit. There are wide paths, a couple of fountains, and some old bunkers and fortifications. It's really a nice place, and it's only about a ten minute walk from the DIS buildings.
So now, on to the study tour. You can see a photographic slide show of the tour, but I suggest you read about it first, then watch the show. Of course, you can do what you like. I'll never know. First stop along the way: The Storebæltsbroen, or the Great Belt Bridge. This bridge's pylons reach 833 feet in the air, making it actually the tallest structure in Denmark. The bridge connects the islands of Fyn and Sjælland (where Copenhagen is). The large suspension bridge and railway tunnel actually only connect Sjælland to the tiny island of Sprogø. This island was originally used as a women's prison and lighthouse post. During the construction of the tunnel, the material dug out was used to artificially triple the island's size. Connecting Sprogø to Fyn is a much lower bridge that carries both rail and road. The island has its own radar tower, and there is a small naval base on the Sjælland coast in case of emergency. The Great Belt Bridge is one of the only two toll routes in Denmark. The other is the bridge to Sweden. Absolutely the best part of the visit to the bridge was the fact that we were able to go inside it. The bridge is, as can be seen in the photos, smooth on the outside. All of the structural elements are inside. It is built from concrete and untreated steel; there is a huge dehumidification system inside the structure. Being inside a bridge and hearing the cars drive a few feet above your head is totally surreal. We learned that this was an exclusive tour: the island itself is only open for tourism by one busload of passengers a week, and they certainly don't get to go inside the bridge. Such are the perks of having a former Transportation Minister as an instructor.
After we left the bridge, we went to the offices of the only German-language newspaper in Denmark. We learned a lot about the culture of the German minority in Denmark. It is, however, much smaller than the Danish minority in Germany, but more about that later. Then, after that, we went to stay in a nice small town for the night. The hostel was very nice, and the next morning we left for the next stop along the tour.
It was battlefield of Dybbøl, where the Danes lost a war against Austria and Prussia back in 1864. It holds the distinction of being the first battle at which the Red Cross was present. We went on a guided tour, and a few people got to dress up in Danish and Prussian uniforms, which was kind of interesting. Then we went outside where a fortress has been reconstructed. It was pretty interesting, but it lacked authenticity, I felt. Still, there were some incredible views.
From there, we went to Kiel, which is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. We visited the Landerstag, or the state parliament. It was just recently rebuilt, and the room was very nice, with a fantastic view of the water. We had two brief lecture/question periods with two different people. The first was with one of the representatives of the SWW, which is essentially the party for Danish minority representation in the Parliament. One thing I found very interesting was that the SWW gathers some (not many, but some) votes from non-Danes who prefer the Scandinavian schooling model to the German school model. Scandinavian schools are more similar to schools in the United States, where up to around ninth or tenth grade students are kept together. In German schools, children are identified and separated at young ages. The second person we met with was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein European Affairs Committee. Interestingly enough, Schleswig-Holstein, together with Hamburg, has an EU office in Brussels. Thus, Schleswig-Holstein's interests are directly represented, together with - or sometimes in opposition to - German interests. Of course, Schleswig-Holstein does not have any direct representation, but they have their own group of lobbyists. It is important to note that lobbying does not have the same negative connotations in Europe as it does in the United States.
After spending the night in Kiel, we spent Saturday in Lübeck. We went on a combination bus/walking tour, and our tour guide was something else. He was an old German man with an intense mustache, a deep voice, and an interesting sense of humor. The first sight was St. Mary's Church. Connected to the church is the Town Hall of Lübeck, and the town square, where our tour guide showed us where we were on a metal map of the town. Then we went to Niederegger, a famous marzipan shop. Downstairs is a store full of marzipan and chocolates, and upstairs is a museum where they have all sorts of marzipan art, including a a ship and several life-sized statues. After that we went back inside the church, which was amazing. In one place there was a fallen, broken bell. It had been left in place since the bombings in World War II, as a reminder. Then we went and saw a statue of the devil, and then we went to eat in a restaurant that used to be a sailor's hall. Apparently the sailor's guild had a form of social security established in the 1200s! A woman whose husband died at sea was entitled to payments for the rest of her life. Quite progressive. On our way out of the city, I was able to get a few good photos of the city's skyline.
It was a great trip, and exhausting, too. I had a lot of fun. I think the best part was the exclusive bridge tour, simply because I know that's one of the things I - without a doubt - would have been unable to do without being on this program. More to come as it happens!
A week later, I went with six other people to the Carlsberg brewery and museum. I would have to say the most impressive part of the self-guided tour was the display of approximately thirteen thousand different beer bottles that Carlsberg has produced over the years. The total collection is over seventeen thousand unique bottles, but not all of them were on display. The museum/brewery is no longer one of their main breweries, but it does actively produce Jacobsen beer, which is one of their premium brands. The price of admission included two free beers at their bar at the end of the tour, and I must say they were absolutely delicious.
In between those two trips, I went with Benny and Vivi out to the town of Roskilde. Of note in Roskilde is the Viking ship museum. Viking ships were discovered a few decades ago sunk in Roskilde Fjord. Through a long process of restoration, the ships were partially rebuilt. Based on that knowledge, several models of Viking ships were reconstructed. The replica of the ocean-going warship actually sailed from Roskilde to Dublin last year, and will be returning this summer. You can see the pictures of the rebuilt and replica ships starting here.
Before I talk too much about the study tour, here's a shot of me in front of Rosenborg Castle, as discussed earlier in the blog. As much as I was mentioning how bad the weather has been, the past couple of weeks have on the whole been pretty nice. And the weather for the tour was absolutely fantastic, which was great. It could have been a lot worse if the weather was poor. But, it wasn't. Let me fast forward a second, though, and mention that on the ferry back to Denmark at the end of the tour, you could look up at the sky and see that in Germany the sky was clear and bright; when you looked over to Danish skies it was dark and heavily overcast. Anyway, to return to the picture at hand, I am standing in Rosenborg Have, or Rosenborg Park. There are a number of public parks in Copenhagen, and this is one of them. It's quite pretty, even with the whole lack of leaves thing. I am sure it is quite gorgeous once the season's change a bit. There are wide paths, a couple of fountains, and some old bunkers and fortifications. It's really a nice place, and it's only about a ten minute walk from the DIS buildings.So now, on to the study tour. You can see a photographic slide show of the tour, but I suggest you read about it first, then watch the show. Of course, you can do what you like. I'll never know. First stop along the way: The Storebæltsbroen, or the Great Belt Bridge. This bridge's pylons reach 833 feet in the air, making it actually the tallest structure in Denmark. The bridge connects the islands of Fyn and Sjælland (where Copenhagen is). The large suspension bridge and railway tunnel actually only connect Sjælland to the tiny island of Sprogø. This island was originally used as a women's prison and lighthouse post. During the construction of the tunnel, the material dug out was used to artificially triple the island's size. Connecting Sprogø to Fyn is a much lower bridge that carries both rail and road. The island has its own radar tower, and there is a small naval base on the Sjælland coast in case of emergency. The Great Belt Bridge is one of the only two toll routes in Denmark. The other is the bridge to Sweden. Absolutely the best part of the visit to the bridge was the fact that we were able to go inside it. The bridge is, as can be seen in the photos, smooth on the outside. All of the structural elements are inside. It is built from concrete and untreated steel; there is a huge dehumidification system inside the structure. Being inside a bridge and hearing the cars drive a few feet above your head is totally surreal. We learned that this was an exclusive tour: the island itself is only open for tourism by one busload of passengers a week, and they certainly don't get to go inside the bridge. Such are the perks of having a former Transportation Minister as an instructor.
After we left the bridge, we went to the offices of the only German-language newspaper in Denmark. We learned a lot about the culture of the German minority in Denmark. It is, however, much smaller than the Danish minority in Germany, but more about that later. Then, after that, we went to stay in a nice small town for the night. The hostel was very nice, and the next morning we left for the next stop along the tour.
It was battlefield of Dybbøl, where the Danes lost a war against Austria and Prussia back in 1864. It holds the distinction of being the first battle at which the Red Cross was present. We went on a guided tour, and a few people got to dress up in Danish and Prussian uniforms, which was kind of interesting. Then we went outside where a fortress has been reconstructed. It was pretty interesting, but it lacked authenticity, I felt. Still, there were some incredible views.
From there, we went to Kiel, which is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein. We visited the Landerstag, or the state parliament. It was just recently rebuilt, and the room was very nice, with a fantastic view of the water. We had two brief lecture/question periods with two different people. The first was with one of the representatives of the SWW, which is essentially the party for Danish minority representation in the Parliament. One thing I found very interesting was that the SWW gathers some (not many, but some) votes from non-Danes who prefer the Scandinavian schooling model to the German school model. Scandinavian schools are more similar to schools in the United States, where up to around ninth or tenth grade students are kept together. In German schools, children are identified and separated at young ages. The second person we met with was a member of the Schleswig-Holstein European Affairs Committee. Interestingly enough, Schleswig-Holstein, together with Hamburg, has an EU office in Brussels. Thus, Schleswig-Holstein's interests are directly represented, together with - or sometimes in opposition to - German interests. Of course, Schleswig-Holstein does not have any direct representation, but they have their own group of lobbyists. It is important to note that lobbying does not have the same negative connotations in Europe as it does in the United States.
After spending the night in Kiel, we spent Saturday in Lübeck. We went on a combination bus/walking tour, and our tour guide was something else. He was an old German man with an intense mustache, a deep voice, and an interesting sense of humor. The first sight was St. Mary's Church. Connected to the church is the Town Hall of Lübeck, and the town square, where our tour guide showed us where we were on a metal map of the town. Then we went to Niederegger, a famous marzipan shop. Downstairs is a store full of marzipan and chocolates, and upstairs is a museum where they have all sorts of marzipan art, including a a ship and several life-sized statues. After that we went back inside the church, which was amazing. In one place there was a fallen, broken bell. It had been left in place since the bombings in World War II, as a reminder. Then we went and saw a statue of the devil, and then we went to eat in a restaurant that used to be a sailor's hall. Apparently the sailor's guild had a form of social security established in the 1200s! A woman whose husband died at sea was entitled to payments for the rest of her life. Quite progressive. On our way out of the city, I was able to get a few good photos of the city's skyline.
It was a great trip, and exhausting, too. I had a lot of fun. I think the best part was the exclusive bridge tour, simply because I know that's one of the things I - without a doubt - would have been unable to do without being on this program. More to come as it happens!
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Morning After
Well, I'm sure some of you were excited by last night's game, and some were quite disappointed. For those of you who were disappointed, take solace in this: at least it wasn't 4:00 in the morning when the game ended.
So, outside of that, how's Denmark? Well, the weather has been pretty nice for the second day in a row. That's the first time that's happened since I've been here. My classes are still going well, especially my class on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. Last Thursday we observed a protest group during class.
About a year ago, the "youth house" was torn down by the Copenhagen government. A lot of young squatters lived there, some probably more permanently than others. Regardless, there were not a lot of people happy about that. Since that time, every Thursday night they hold a demonstration. They plan on doing this until they get a new house. However, one of the things we learned from talking to them was that if their demand is not met by snowfall, they plan on rioting. When it does snow in Denmark, it usually snows in February. We'll see what happens.
On Saturday, I went to a couple of museums. First, I went with Benny and Vivi to the Aarken modern art museum in Ishøj. They had an exhibition of decidedly not modern art, with a large collection of the Skagen painters. Skagen is the area on the northern tip of Denmark, and around the turn of the 1900s it was home to several painters. Their works tended to focus on the fishermen as well as themselves. In addition to the classic Skagen works, there were two exhibitions of modern art, as well as some permanent collections. It was weird, but it certainly got a reaction from me, so I guess it succeeded at that.
The second museum I went to with a friend. We went to the Museum Erotica in downtown Copenhagen. It was certainly an experience, but the highlight was a room detailing the sex lives of such figures as Charlie Chaplin, Benito Mussolini, Hans Christian Andersen, Sigmund Freud, and Marilyn Monroe, to name a few.
Sunday was Fastelhavn, a Danish children's holiday much like Halloween. We spent most of the day at Benny and Vivi's daughter Susana's house. I don't remember exactly what town they live in, but it's about half an hour away from Ishøj. Ishøj is suburban, but where Susana and Johnni live is definitely rural. Most of the homes out there are only two years old at the most, and there's lots of open farmland. There's still quite a bit of undeveloped land in Denmark. It was quite nice. What was not so nice was being surrounded by four and five year olds who have a ton of energy and don't quite understand that you don't speak Danish. I got quite a look from one of Julia's (Susana's daughter) friends when I couldn't answer her question. On the other hand, lunch and dinner were quite good. Then we came back home to Ishøj, and I hung out for a few hours until midnight, when the Super Bowl started. And it was all downhill from there.
So, outside of that, how's Denmark? Well, the weather has been pretty nice for the second day in a row. That's the first time that's happened since I've been here. My classes are still going well, especially my class on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. Last Thursday we observed a protest group during class.
About a year ago, the "youth house" was torn down by the Copenhagen government. A lot of young squatters lived there, some probably more permanently than others. Regardless, there were not a lot of people happy about that. Since that time, every Thursday night they hold a demonstration. They plan on doing this until they get a new house. However, one of the things we learned from talking to them was that if their demand is not met by snowfall, they plan on rioting. When it does snow in Denmark, it usually snows in February. We'll see what happens.
On Saturday, I went to a couple of museums. First, I went with Benny and Vivi to the Aarken modern art museum in Ishøj. They had an exhibition of decidedly not modern art, with a large collection of the Skagen painters. Skagen is the area on the northern tip of Denmark, and around the turn of the 1900s it was home to several painters. Their works tended to focus on the fishermen as well as themselves. In addition to the classic Skagen works, there were two exhibitions of modern art, as well as some permanent collections. It was weird, but it certainly got a reaction from me, so I guess it succeeded at that.
The second museum I went to with a friend. We went to the Museum Erotica in downtown Copenhagen. It was certainly an experience, but the highlight was a room detailing the sex lives of such figures as Charlie Chaplin, Benito Mussolini, Hans Christian Andersen, Sigmund Freud, and Marilyn Monroe, to name a few.
Sunday was Fastelhavn, a Danish children's holiday much like Halloween. We spent most of the day at Benny and Vivi's daughter Susana's house. I don't remember exactly what town they live in, but it's about half an hour away from Ishøj. Ishøj is suburban, but where Susana and Johnni live is definitely rural. Most of the homes out there are only two years old at the most, and there's lots of open farmland. There's still quite a bit of undeveloped land in Denmark. It was quite nice. What was not so nice was being surrounded by four and five year olds who have a ton of energy and don't quite understand that you don't speak Danish. I got quite a look from one of Julia's (Susana's daughter) friends when I couldn't answer her question. On the other hand, lunch and dinner were quite good. Then we came back home to Ishøj, and I hung out for a few hours until midnight, when the Super Bowl started. And it was all downhill from there.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
A Little More Comfortable
First of all, I've set up a flickr account and you can see the pictures I took before here, or at least you should be able to. If that doesn't work, my flickr username is jordan.goodnough and you should be able to find them that way.
Yesterday I went with a friend to the Free Town of Christiania. It's in Copenhagen, located on the island of Christianhavn. Until 1971, it was army barracks. After that, it got taken over by squatters. From what I can tell it's like a hippie commune. There are some shops and cafes and such. One of the cafes proudly calls itself the safest cafe in Denmark, what with over 6000 armed police inspections since 2004. It's certainly a very unusual place. Christiania has a population of about 800 people. It used to be a haven for drugs, but in the past year or so there's been a significant crackdown. Still, I saw a stand advertising hash pipes for sale. On the back side of the main gateway, when you leave, there is a sign that says "Now Entering the EU" so that gives some perspective. Anyway, I will be going back there with my Danish class at some point. I felt pretty creeped out walking around there.
Today is Wednesday; there are no classes on Wednesdays. They are reserved for field studies for various classes. There weren't any field studies today, but I still had to get up and go into the city at the same time I do for classes. I'm working on a group project already, and this was the only time we could get together and meet. So of course this was the first day that there were any serious delays in my commute. The signal at the Sydhavn (su-houn) train station was broken, so that caused about a thirty minute delay. I wasn't late, though, because as a result of the way the bus and trains match up I usually get in pretty early anyway.
On my way back, I met Vivi at Ishøj Bycenter (bu-center), which is a shopping center connected to the station. There, I registered with the Kommune office in order to receive my CPR number. Your CPR number is the equivalent of your SSN, Health Insurance number, and Library Card, so it's pretty important. Then we went to do some food shopping at the connected Bilka (beelka), which is pretty much the equivalent of a Wal-Mart. Interesting note: if you want the store to give you bags, you have to pay for them. This is true pretty much anywhere, I think. Then we got home, ate some lunch, and then I started writing.
Yesterday I went with a friend to the Free Town of Christiania. It's in Copenhagen, located on the island of Christianhavn. Until 1971, it was army barracks. After that, it got taken over by squatters. From what I can tell it's like a hippie commune. There are some shops and cafes and such. One of the cafes proudly calls itself the safest cafe in Denmark, what with over 6000 armed police inspections since 2004. It's certainly a very unusual place. Christiania has a population of about 800 people. It used to be a haven for drugs, but in the past year or so there's been a significant crackdown. Still, I saw a stand advertising hash pipes for sale. On the back side of the main gateway, when you leave, there is a sign that says "Now Entering the EU" so that gives some perspective. Anyway, I will be going back there with my Danish class at some point. I felt pretty creeped out walking around there.
Today is Wednesday; there are no classes on Wednesdays. They are reserved for field studies for various classes. There weren't any field studies today, but I still had to get up and go into the city at the same time I do for classes. I'm working on a group project already, and this was the only time we could get together and meet. So of course this was the first day that there were any serious delays in my commute. The signal at the Sydhavn (su-houn) train station was broken, so that caused about a thirty minute delay. I wasn't late, though, because as a result of the way the bus and trains match up I usually get in pretty early anyway.
On my way back, I met Vivi at Ishøj Bycenter (bu-center), which is a shopping center connected to the station. There, I registered with the Kommune office in order to receive my CPR number. Your CPR number is the equivalent of your SSN, Health Insurance number, and Library Card, so it's pretty important. Then we went to do some food shopping at the connected Bilka (beelka), which is pretty much the equivalent of a Wal-Mart. Interesting note: if you want the store to give you bags, you have to pay for them. This is true pretty much anywhere, I think. Then we got home, ate some lunch, and then I started writing.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
First Week - Arrival and Adjustment
It's Sunday the 27th, and I've been in Denmark for just over a week now. Five hours more than a week, to be exact. I landed in Copenhagen Airport at 7:15 am local time, or 1:15 am EST. We went to Copenhagen University at Amager for orientation. After a few hours there, I met and was picked up by my host family.
I am living with Benny and Vivi Hansen, 60 and 61 years old. Vivi is retired, and Benny is getting there, only working four days a week now. They, or I guess now I, live in Ishøj, a suburb of Copenhagen. It takes me about 40 to 45 minutes to get into the city, by bus and then train.
The public transportation here is quite slick, especially compared to the T. The trains are quiet and clean, and actually quite comfortable to sit in. But I digress.
On the way back to Ishøj (pronounced EESH-oi), Benny and Vivi were pointing out some landmarks and points of interest to me, but I didn't absorb much of it, as I was falling asleep after travel. It was mostly Vivi doing the talking, though, as her English is significantly better than Benny's. I managed to stay awake for most of the day, though, and when Monday rolled around I didn't suffer from jet lag. That was quite nice, as the days have been pretty long, so far.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wedneday were more orientation and some survival Danish. Probably the the most important thing I learned in that was to say "Jeg taler ikke dansk" (yie tal-eh eega dahnsk): "I don't speak Danish." On Tuesday there was a sightseeing tour, and I took some photos. I'm still figuring out the best way to let everyone see my pictures. I'll probably set up a flickr account, or something. Tuesday's the only day I took any pictures so far, because the weather has been pretty bad.
It's been mostly around 40 degrees, rainy, and windy. There have been comparisons to Seattle, but I've never been there. It's like what I hear Seattle is like, anyway. It is warmer than I expected, though, which I guess is kind of nice. Apparently it doesn't ever snow very much here at all. I was surprised to hear this, given that the latitude approximately matches up around with Juneau, Alaska, and Hudson Bay. I guess the jetstream flows right in and keeps things warm. I have heard, though, that sometimes the winds change and we get the Arctic winds from Russia. Then it gets cold. That hasn't happened yet to me, but I'm sure it will at some point.
Thursday and Friday were the first days of classes. On Thursday, I have International Law, Danish, and Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Europe. Danish was canceled because the instructor was sick, so I haven't had that yet. On Friday I have European Politics: The European Union and Global Business Strategy. International Law is going to be quite interesting, I think. I suppose I could say that about all of my classes. Maybe it was because it was the first class I went to, but I don't have as much of an impression of this class as I do the others. Terrorism and Counterterrorism is shaping up to be my favorite class so far. It's being co-taught by a couple of members of the Danish intelligence services, so these guys know what they're talking about. We spent the first class trying to define terrorism. Coincidentally, near the end of class, there was a loud demonstration outside. I was told that it was the weekly demonstration of the Copenhagen anarchists. Funny how that works out, huh? The course on EU politics is going to be nice, because last semester I took a course on the EU as well. This course should cover some of the same information, and then go much further. During the travel tour, we are actually going to Brussels and the Hague. I'm really excited about that. Global Business Strategy is slightly intimidating, because I've never taken any sort of business class before at all. The instructor is quite good, it seems (as are they all), and I think that I'll get more comfortable with it after another week or so.
Friday night was the wrap-up of orientation, and the program sponsored everyone going out to a club. That's not really my scene, but it was fun nonetheless. Yesterday I went on a walking tour of some of the trendier spots of Copenhagen, to see the "other side" of the city. The tour was great, the weather was about as bad as it has been since being here. Oh well. Then, Benny and Vivi picked me up from the city and we went to one of their daughters' apartments, where she was having a birthday party. I met their three daughters' families there, as well as Benny's parents. It was pretty fun.
Then we came back and watched the handball game. It's like a combination of lacrosse and basketball, and I believe you can find out more on the rules by searching Wikipedia for Team Handball. Anyway, the European championships are going on right now, and Denmark was playing Germany in the semifinals. Germany won the tournament last year, but this time Denmark won. It was a very tight game, with Denmark winning on a literal last-second penalty shot. The final is today, the 27th, at 3:50pm local time. The opponent is Croatia, and I'm going to watch. It's quite exciting.
Today is somewhat relaxing, for a change. Benny's parent's stayed the night, and we just finished lunch. They left to get home for the handball game, and we may take a brief walk, as the weather is quite nice today. I'm not sure, though.
As I spend more time here and get more comfortable with the city, I'm sure things won't fail to get better and better!
I am living with Benny and Vivi Hansen, 60 and 61 years old. Vivi is retired, and Benny is getting there, only working four days a week now. They, or I guess now I, live in Ishøj, a suburb of Copenhagen. It takes me about 40 to 45 minutes to get into the city, by bus and then train.
The public transportation here is quite slick, especially compared to the T. The trains are quiet and clean, and actually quite comfortable to sit in. But I digress.
On the way back to Ishøj (pronounced EESH-oi), Benny and Vivi were pointing out some landmarks and points of interest to me, but I didn't absorb much of it, as I was falling asleep after travel. It was mostly Vivi doing the talking, though, as her English is significantly better than Benny's. I managed to stay awake for most of the day, though, and when Monday rolled around I didn't suffer from jet lag. That was quite nice, as the days have been pretty long, so far.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wedneday were more orientation and some survival Danish. Probably the the most important thing I learned in that was to say "Jeg taler ikke dansk" (yie tal-eh eega dahnsk): "I don't speak Danish." On Tuesday there was a sightseeing tour, and I took some photos. I'm still figuring out the best way to let everyone see my pictures. I'll probably set up a flickr account, or something. Tuesday's the only day I took any pictures so far, because the weather has been pretty bad.
It's been mostly around 40 degrees, rainy, and windy. There have been comparisons to Seattle, but I've never been there. It's like what I hear Seattle is like, anyway. It is warmer than I expected, though, which I guess is kind of nice. Apparently it doesn't ever snow very much here at all. I was surprised to hear this, given that the latitude approximately matches up around with Juneau, Alaska, and Hudson Bay. I guess the jetstream flows right in and keeps things warm. I have heard, though, that sometimes the winds change and we get the Arctic winds from Russia. Then it gets cold. That hasn't happened yet to me, but I'm sure it will at some point.
Thursday and Friday were the first days of classes. On Thursday, I have International Law, Danish, and Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Europe. Danish was canceled because the instructor was sick, so I haven't had that yet. On Friday I have European Politics: The European Union and Global Business Strategy. International Law is going to be quite interesting, I think. I suppose I could say that about all of my classes. Maybe it was because it was the first class I went to, but I don't have as much of an impression of this class as I do the others. Terrorism and Counterterrorism is shaping up to be my favorite class so far. It's being co-taught by a couple of members of the Danish intelligence services, so these guys know what they're talking about. We spent the first class trying to define terrorism. Coincidentally, near the end of class, there was a loud demonstration outside. I was told that it was the weekly demonstration of the Copenhagen anarchists. Funny how that works out, huh? The course on EU politics is going to be nice, because last semester I took a course on the EU as well. This course should cover some of the same information, and then go much further. During the travel tour, we are actually going to Brussels and the Hague. I'm really excited about that. Global Business Strategy is slightly intimidating, because I've never taken any sort of business class before at all. The instructor is quite good, it seems (as are they all), and I think that I'll get more comfortable with it after another week or so.
Friday night was the wrap-up of orientation, and the program sponsored everyone going out to a club. That's not really my scene, but it was fun nonetheless. Yesterday I went on a walking tour of some of the trendier spots of Copenhagen, to see the "other side" of the city. The tour was great, the weather was about as bad as it has been since being here. Oh well. Then, Benny and Vivi picked me up from the city and we went to one of their daughters' apartments, where she was having a birthday party. I met their three daughters' families there, as well as Benny's parents. It was pretty fun.
Then we came back and watched the handball game. It's like a combination of lacrosse and basketball, and I believe you can find out more on the rules by searching Wikipedia for Team Handball. Anyway, the European championships are going on right now, and Denmark was playing Germany in the semifinals. Germany won the tournament last year, but this time Denmark won. It was a very tight game, with Denmark winning on a literal last-second penalty shot. The final is today, the 27th, at 3:50pm local time. The opponent is Croatia, and I'm going to watch. It's quite exciting.
Today is somewhat relaxing, for a change. Benny's parent's stayed the night, and we just finished lunch. They left to get home for the handball game, and we may take a brief walk, as the weather is quite nice today. I'm not sure, though.
As I spend more time here and get more comfortable with the city, I'm sure things won't fail to get better and better!
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