Long Study Tour, Part One

AND- after that slightly-too-long (ok, WAY-too-long) interlude, I will return to blog postings.  I don't even know where to begin again, because it has been such a busy/hectic/crazy/adventure filled couple of weeks.  I suppose the best thing to do is start off where I left off: the Long Study Tour- Germany and the Netherlands.  For the sake of clarity, I will try to go in chronological order, and try to keep from getting toooo long.  But I warn you- I took 900 photos on that 7 day trip, so there is a lot to talk about.

We left on Sunday night on the 3rd of October.  Why night, you ask?  Well, there were two study trips going to see the same places, and heaven forbid we ever see each other, so we went in reverse order.  One group started nearby in Northern Germany and then worked away, while the other group started in far off Holland, and worked back.  We were the 'lucky' group which started in the Netherlands and then came back.  This actually could have been a good thing, given the right circumstances, but it meant that we left the night before the other group so we could 'sleep' (and yes, the quotation marks are intentional) on the bus.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don't sit like a normal person.  I curl up into a ball even when eating dinner.  Well, when you sleep on a bus with someone next to you and someone putting their seat back ALL THE WAY all night long, curling is a problem.  And keeping your legs straight means that you, as a midget, can't touch the ground and they dangle all night.  Neither is a very comfortable option.  So, I didn't sleep all that much.  On the plus side, the really exciting part about the path from Denmark to the Netherlands from Sjælland is the ferry ride from Lolland (the island just south) to Germany.  I mean, granted, we would go on this ferry ride either way, but it broke up the night bus travel at least a little bit.  It is just a HUGE ferry boat- one that cars, buses, and A WHOLE TRAIN drive right on to.  And then, the ferry pulls out of port, you get out of your car/bus/train for 45 minutes, and go up the the decks.  Just like any other international cruise, it has a duty-free shop, a cafe, etc.  And it's pretty fun to experience the sea wind on the open decks, if you brave the cold.  After, back onto the cars/buses/trains, and off again.  That part isn't as exciting.  Nor is the rest of the 11 hour drive.  Ew.  They put on a couple bad movies.  But all I really wanted was a bed, and to not have a person slammed up against me who I didn't know at all.  Oh well.  I think by 3 AM I actually fell asleep.  Until we pulled into Rotterdam, NL at 7 in the morning.  A whole 4 hours of sleep.  Go me.

On the ferry!  I think Bryan looks a little tired.

So... Rotterdam.  Yeah.  How to explain it?  From the standpoint of an architecture student, it's like they took all the models that students made in their first second-year studio (the ones that their teachers looked at, and sympathetically nodded at, knowing that it could never ever be built because it looks so ridiculous and would cost so much to make) and then decided it would be a good idea to blow them all up and set them down in one place.  Architectural vomit capital of the world.  Although I think segments of China are now on the verge of surpassing it.  Anyway- some background on how anyone could ever let this happen.  Rotterdam is in a particularly bad place if you happen to have a crazy national-socialist dictator who is currently trying to take over the world (and the only people really opposing him are in Britain).  The Netherlands border Germany and are a short boat ride away from the UK.  Not a good seat they chose (and... they really did CHOOSE it, but I'll get to that later).  So, like many of the cities we visited, large parts of the city were completely destroyed.  But from how I understood it, Rotterdam may have been one of the worst. Something like 95% of all of the buildings in the city were gone at the end of the war.  This meant that in order to go on living, the entire city had to be rebuilt.  Starting in the 1950's and 60's.  NOT a good time to be building anything, from a stylistic point of view.  We were well past the clean-cut modernists, and not even close to the technological streamlined age.  So, a bunch of silly buildings with ridiculous shapes and colors (they love orange) began to emerge.  Our hostel was no exception.  Imagine my surprise to awake in the city of orange, twisting, turning, 1960's decorated skyscrapers after 4 hours of sleep to be told that THIS was where I would be spending the night:

'The Cubes', as they are called.  I wonder why...?

We were so tired at this point that, had we been allowed to go put our stuff down, I think we would have all gone back to bed.  But, being 7 in the morning, the hostel wasn't exactly down for that.  SO, instead, we were given a room to toss our stuff in, and then we were fed breakfast.  A good idea.  It was what I have come to recognize as a pretty standard hostel breakfast.  Cereals, coffees, breads, jams, etc.  Delicious.  And exactly what we needed (except for the sleep thing).

Then we were right away to see the Van Nelle (pronounced a little bit like 'vanilla') factory, which was a factory for a very large Dutch company which made tea, coffee, and tobacco.  Aside from the Bauhaus (for non-architectural people, that is the famous founding school of the modern movement in architecture, in Germany), it is probably the best example of truly modern architecture in Europe.  So much so that it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was beautiful!  A super white building, separated into 3 sections, one for tobacco, one for tea, one for coffee, as well as other buildings which house all the other processes (administration, packaging, etc).  There are also these really cool sky walks which stretch over the main road through the site from production to distribution.  I guess they were something of an afterthought, but they really make the project.  And honestly, with all of the glass and water, it was essentially a bunch of reflections, forcing you to look back in on yourself.  I could have walked around there for HOURS.

The Van Nelle Factory.

After, we headed back into the city center, and were let out to go see the Rotterdam Architecture Center, which was under construction, so we missed out.  Instead, the people at RAC were really nice, and gave us free admission to one of their associated buildings, the Sonneveld House.  It was designed in the 30's, I think, and again, was an incredibly modernist building.  What was really cool was that they had preserved all of the Sonneveld families furnishings for the house, and had made the entire building a museum to the original design.  And, like most modernist projects, it was a real gesamtkunstwerk, which translated from German to 'total work of art', and means that every aspect of the building, from the walls, to the sinks, to the furniture, and even sometimes the residence's cloths (!) were designed.  Because it was so old, we had to wear these cool blue booties when we walked around inside.  After, a bunch of us headed through the nearby park as a group.  Just like pretty much everywhere in Europe, Rotterdam was undergoing construction, and unfortunately the park was being renovated when we went through it, meaning there were janky walls blocking many of the beautiful views, and our ability to navigate.  But somehow we made it to the other side, which is the where the Rotterdam Kunsthal (designed by the famous Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and his firm OMA) lies.  We were supposed to meet the tour leaders and the other students at the Kunsthal (by the way, kunsthal means art hall), but we were early.  So, we went to the cafe and enjoyed some delicious food and drinks out in the beautiful Dutch weather.  Oh, I forgot to mention that.  Holland is NOT that far south from Denmark, and, as it was starting to get ever so nippy in Copenhagen, we mostly assumed that it would be chilly in Germany and the Netherlands as well.  Well, for some reason, Holland happened to be having something of a heat wave while we were there.  It was RIDICULOUS how hot and humid it was.  I mean, given the clothes that we were wearing, we were burning up!

The inside of the cafe at the Rotterdam Kunsthal.

Then, of course, we met up with the group and went inside.  Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in the galleries (which is a shame, not for the art, but for the building itself- there was a lot happening!)  I did snap one photo in the auditorium, and I guess it's at least a hint of the way OMA designs, and the attitude of the Dutch people in general.  Apparently, after WWII, with basically nothing left of any major city, the Dutch people were at a crossroads.  They could give up, in complete despair, or they could roll up their sleeves, grow a big sense of humor, and start all over again.  Obviously, they chose the second.  Dutch architecture (at least, post-war architecture) is very fun, playful, and honestly, ridiculous.  But that is sort of the national view on life.  Why do it if you can't have a good time doing it?  As they are constantly reminded, life is short, and it can end at any moment.  Anyway, the building itself is always toying with the viewer.  As you walk through the rooms, various elements play with you, trying to change how you see your self (specifically your size and your orientation) in the space.  In one room, there are tall, wide tree trunks, exposing their texture, making you feel tiny.  The walls where the art are hung are GIANT, and do the same.  The next room is incredibly narrow and tall, and is composed of two floors- the second of which has a floor made of metal mesh, as so you can see the people walking below your feet!  The whole room is incredibly bright, and it has the weird sense of floating on a cloud.  Finally, the third gallery is really low-set but wide, and it has walls all over like a labyrinth.  After all of this, you find yourself back at the auditorium, the beginning of the museum!  It was incredibly bizarre.  I actually had no idea how to navigate the building as I was doing it.  I just sort of happened upon the exit.  I don't love OMA aesthetically, but I have to admit I was perplexed and amused by this project.

The auditorium.  You have to LOVE the Dutch sense of color!

When we were all done here, we walked back to the hostel, which was surprising not that far away.  We were then given a few hours before dinner to do what we wanted.  To be perfectly honest, I am a little disappointed in myself.  Instead of going out with some of the others to see more of the city, I stayed in the hostel and worked on my sketches from the day and RESTED.  I was pretty tired.  But looking back, there were parts of Rotterdam I never got to see. 

Dinner was hilarious.  I will try to be brief about the dinner adventures, but some of them really are worth noting.  And this was one of them.  Below our ridiculous sideways cube hostel, there was a restaurant facing one of the many (many, many) Dutch canals.  We went inside, and because there were so many of us, were separated into two tables.  We were STARVING!  And so, when we ordered drinks, we all jumped on something sugary (I got iced tea), hoping food would come soon.  And, after about 15 minutes of waiting, we all got really fed up and got ourselves some beers.  I tried a Palm, which was actually quite delicious.  And, after maybe 25 more minutes, our first course (this was a 3 course meal) came out.  It was beef carpacio, which made the 40 minute wait hilarious.  I mean, you don't even COOK it! Plus, they knew like weeks in advance that we were coming.  Oh boy.  But is wasn't over there.  After a good hour more (and I'm really not exaggerating, we kept track) our second course, halibut with vegetables and a delicious cream sauce came.  Now, don't get the impression that this was a large second course though.  It was a serving of meat.  Meaning, about the size of a deck of cards.  But, it was also delicious.  Finally, another hour later, dessert was served.  I believe it was spice cake and banana ice cream, although that is just a guess based on the taste and texture.  I know it sounds weird, but I could have eaten an entire tub of it.  And not just because we were still starving at the end of the meal.  What was nice about dinner being that long was that we actually all TALKED with each other, a habit I think most Americans have lost.  We are kind of an eat-and-run nation, but here we got to know each other better, chat, laugh, and TASTE.  That part of the meal I did like.

Dessert.  Ice cream, whipped cream, and a paint stroke of Nutella.  Yum!

I was pretty exhausted by the end of that meal (it was like 10 by then) so I headed off to bed.  The next morning... Adventures in Amsterdam!

Bright and early, we were up, had our tasty tasty hostel breakfast, and then walked all the way to the other side of the city to catch a train from the Central Station.  I guess they wanted us to see the station, but, eh, I wasn't that impressed.  We got a train to Amsterdam (they come at least once every hour) and in 45 minutes, pulled into ANOTHER central station.  This one was a lot nicer, considering it was really old- like a traditional industrial age train station.  The light inside of the main hall was fabulous at this time of day, streaking though the wrought iron arches above us.  The first part of the day we spent in a group, seeing some important architectural places that, let's face it, we would have ignored otherwise.  We took a tram across the city towards the water to the residential islands.  Specifically, we went to Java.  But what is funny is that these DUTCH islands (and I don't mean like an island out in the ocean, they are just separated by small canals from the rest of the city) are named after African and East-Asian places- Java, Borneo, Suriname.  I realize, of course, that is has to do with the Dutch traders, and their presence all over the world.  But still, it was odd to go to Java, Amsterdam.  Anyway, the islands, specifically Java and Borneo, were designed by one firm, but with the intent to create as much diversity as possible, and to create a sense of small scale urban fabric.  To do this, they broke of the facades into smaller blocks with unique textures and colors.  It was a very colorful place!  Also, there were canals running through the neighborhoods, with a water on either side of the buildings.  After walking through Java, and then Borneo, we went to the Lloyd's Hotel, which is now a hotel, but has changed uses several times.  Originally it was actually the Dutch equivalent of Ellis Island!  The Netherlands, by the way, is an incredibly diverse country.  There is a very large non-ethnically-Dutch population, and a great deal of them are Muslim or Arab.  We ate lunch at the Lloyd's Hotel, which was great, because the eating room is a large white atrium facing the water, with plenty of natural sunlight.  It was a very pleasant place to sit!  After, we were guided back to the city center, and then LET LOOSE, which, for a lot of people meant- coffee shops.  And no, for those of you who don't know, you don't buy coffee at coffee shops.  I can't be entirely certain of the validity of this assumption, but I gather that: when pot was made legal in the Netherlands, coffee shops were licensed to sell it.  A some point, a schism occured which split coffee shops into those that sell pot and those that do not.  Those that do kept the name of coffee shop, and those that do not switched to 'cafe'.  Or it could have been the other way around, or something completely different, I don't know.  But suffice to say that coffee shops sell pot, and cafe's sell coffee.  An important distinction.

Anyway, when you go to Amsterdam with a bunch of young Americans, it's rather difficult to find company if you don't plan on smoking (as was my case).  Even for those who have never smoked before, being in Amsterdam almost 'requires' that you try.  In fact, of 25 people, I think only 5 decided to avoid the coffee shops.  And, I personally don't care if the others want to go smoke or not, but 1.) the smell of marijuana makes me nauseous (yes, I know this is counter-intuitive), and 2.) even if it didn't, being around a bunch of high people when you are not is not that interesting.  I am from Boulder.  I have experience.  Luckily, one of my friends, Bryan, who I enjoy a lot, wasn't into it either.  We split off from the group and went to look for a cafe.  We were tired and wanted to sit down, and figured caffeine was the perfect antidote.  So, we wandered through the canals that run through the older part of the city (take a look at a map of Amsterdam- it is a fascinating set of rings formed by canals!), peaking into the shops, and trying to find a nice cafe.  The shopping didn't go so well, unfortunately.  We discovered that in this part of the city (which is mainly residential on the upper floors, and shops or cafes or restaurants below) had very expensive independent shops.  Which meant that the clothes were very nice, but typically cost about twice as much as I would have been willing to pay for them.  We had better luck with the cafe.  We found one right along one of the more beautiful private canals, and although a small road separated the cafe from the water, all of the outdoor tables (and remember, it was really warm in Holland) were right next to the canal.  We went in, very excited, and found a menu.  There weren't really any coffee selections on the menu (it wasn't an Italian of French cafe), but we did see "hot chocolate"... followed by "hot chocolate with whipped cream"... followed by "hot chocolate with whipped cream and rum".  We, obviously, chose the last one.  Then, we took our drinks out to the tables, which were all full.  Rather than go back inside to a table, we just sat down on the wall of the canal and camped out.  It was amazing.  From there, we could see all the way down the water, and the leaves were turning colors, and falling in.  And, our rum/chocolate creation was SO good.  And, surprisingly (for the price) very strong.  I tasted a lot of rum.

The best hot chocolate. EVER.

When we finished savoring the moment, we headed back to the heart of the city where the main shopping street is.  Now, these are not the classy independent shops of the canal districts.  These are chain shops.  But come on, I'm a college student.  I can't afford all of the really nice stuff.  And I wanted to shop in Amsterdam.  So, Bryan and I split up for about 45 minutes, and I went to the women's H&M to power-shop.  I bought 4 things for 65 euros in that amount of time.  I rock.  We met back up when I had finished, and proceeded to get lost- on purpose.  We wandered the canals looking for interesting things, which, of course, we found.  There were beautiful views and house boats and apartments.  But, I will be honest, I didn't feel entirely comfortable.  The sidewalk is next to the buildings, and the street parking is up against the canals.  So, you walk right up against someones living-room window and can't see the water.  Plus, being past tourist season, most of the streets were deserted.  I felt like an intruder.  That doesn't take away the fact that Amsterdam was beautiful.  When it began to get dark and cold, we decided to find dinner.  We found a tiny Italian restaurant which was pretty cheap but delicious.  Love it.  Afterwards, we explored the streets just a little more, and then, being tired, and some might consider boring, we caught a train back to Rotterdam around 10:30.  But, then again, that means we didn't get back to the hostel until around midnight.

The Cathedral in Amsterdam at night.

In the morning, we got BACK on the bus (oh bus, how I love and hate you), and drove off to Utrecht.  Unless you know a lot more about the geography of Holland than me, you probably don't know that much about Utrecht.  BUT, it is a small city with a very beautiful Cathedral, and a very large University.  Also, it is home to the Rietvelt Schröder House, essentially the epitome of De Stijl architecture.  De Stijl was a Dutch style of art and architecture which developed in the 1910's, and focused heavily on the use of lines, planes, and the colors red, blue, yellow, and black.  We went to see the Schröder House first, and really- this is any architecture student's dream.  We see it in class, and learn over and over again how influential it has been on the way we look at building, and then- there it is!  We got a tour through the house, which, like the Sonneveld House, has been restored as a Museum to its original state, and got to wear cool blue booties again too.  The top floor is especially impressive because it was designed to be completely flexible.  The walls are all non-perminent, and fold up into themselves.  So, the floor can be open as one big room, or closed off into a kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms.  Our guide went through the process of closing up the floor for us.  It was so exciting to see!  Again, we weren't allowed to take pictures of the interior, because the images are sold in order to keep the museum open.  But, it meant I had to focus on what was actually happening around me instead of seeing through a lens.

The Schröder House from the outside.  An icon, for sure.

After, we were taken to the University, which was ANOTHER project by OMA.  I went on a sketching 'scavenger hunt' with some other students, and we went to three buildings in the process.  We had a lot of fun attempting to make sketching a collaborative activity.  The campus, espcially because it was in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, was very active.  I wished I could have seen a little bit more of it honestly.  But then, back on the bus and off to the Old City, where the Cathedral is.  What is really cool about the old city- well, let me start again.  There are a few things that are really cool about the old city.  First, the Cathedral has an incredible tall tower.  So much so that you can see it from almost anywhere.  It is therefore a strong orienting landmark as you walk around.  Second, the Cathedral as bombed (like everything else!) during WWII, and the Nave (that is, the main part of the church) was separated from the tower.  Rather than rebuild, they have left it open , letting trees grow and putting up a statue.  This space is now a very important plaza at the heart of the city.  Finally, the canals in Utrecht and lower than in most Dutch cities.  In fact, they are a full story below street level.  This was done on purpose because the canals were once the main shipping route to the city, and lining the canal were a bunch of below-ground warehouses.  So, if you take the stairs down to the water, there are buildings all along the water under the road!  Most of them have now been converted into basements for the residential apartments at street level, or restaurants and shops.  We were left to wander the city on our own until dinner.  And it was by far the most beautiful place I saw in the Netherlands.  I would go back in a heartbeat.  Dinner was delicious, and by the time we were done it was very dark.  We got back on our wonderful bus, and headed back to our last night in Rotterdam.

The canals of Utrecht.

Well.  I am out of time.  And I leave for my travel break (for TWO WEEKS!) in a couple of hours, so we will finish this when I get back.  For you- on to Germany.  For me, on to the Czech Republic!

Western Denmark

Hello again- I'm sorry this is coming so late (2 weeks later, in fact) but life has been very very busy since my short study tour (to Western Denmark) thanks to studio.  Ooooh architecture!

Anyway, DIS is designed specifically with study ABROAD in mind, and so our semester is set up to allow for 1 short study tour (with our core course), 1 long study tour (with our core course), and 2 weeks of travel break, where we can take part in DIS sponsored trips or go do our own thing.  Anyway, that adds up to almost 4 weeks of travel specifically planned into our curriculum.  Perfect.  So, the first study tour, the short one, is (pretty much for everyone... although, I heard of a few core courses that went elsewhere) to Western Denmark- specifically, Juttland (the peninsula) and Fyn (Funen in English... the island just to the left of Sjælland (Zealand, in English... that is, where Copenhagen is).  Each core course goes to see (unsurprisingly) things related to their field of study.  So, that meant I went out for 3 days and saw a LOT of architecture.  It was actually a very stressful 'vacation' because part of what we are required to do is sketch.  And I don't mean lazily or casually, or even relaxingly draw.  I mean speed sketching for accuracy and detail in a giant building, get sections, plans, elevations, perspectives, diagrams, etc etc ect- OH and don't forget to think about how you are laying out the page so there is some sort of organization to it.  You have 45 minutes- GO!  Not to be highly negative, but basically, you get to choose to SEE the building, SKETCH the building, or look at what's IN the building.  We went to a lot of art museums/galleries, and it came down to seeing the art or seeing the building.  Very sad, because typically (not always) they were both beautiful.  But, on the bright side, I think I have improved my drawing skills significantly, and my speed has probably quadrupled or more. 

Oh the places you'll go!

Ok, enough ranting.  (Although, now that you mention it- I'm very, very tired.  I have not slept much here.  But that's another story... mostly about studio, so you probably are not interested to hear it.)  Now down to business: the short study tour.  Essentially, I am going to briefly run down all of the stops we made, with one or two photos for each.  Like I said, if you want to know where these places are- go look it up yourself, you'll learn it better that way anyway.

1.) Orbæk Kirke, Orbæk, Fyn

Our first stop- a very, very traditional (and old!) church in a fairly small town.  Apparently, the sign of a church in Denmark is a stepped roofline.  Of course, new churches don't frequently do this, but being a few hundred years old, this was a good example of the style.  Apparently, however, it was not a static style, and traditional Danish churches typically underwent several constructions over the course of their lifetime- beginning with the basic nave (the long, tall part where people usually sit), then side entrances and spaces (usually making the building look like a cross in plan) as well as rooms for the priests, etc etc etc.  They are almost all white with a red tile roof, and- I learned this later, in Greve, but it's interesting anyway- the pulpet isn't at the front on axis as is typical of Latin or American churches.  The pulpet is off to the side in the middle of the congregation.  This means that people sit in front of and behind the priest while he gives his sermon.  Weird!  There were two things that I found especially nice about this church.  First of all, since Christianity was an imported religion (think of how far north this is!) the local peoples, who had their own sacred traditions, myths, and beliefs, interpreted the Bible and Christian ideals through the lens of their local worldview- aka, a world created by vikings, believing in Norse mythology, and having a very deep connection to the mystic and sacred forest.  The result of this is a very, very interesting translation of Christianity, which is apparent in the murals on the ceiling of the nave.  They include flowers, animals, the mother tree, and a really cool version of Jesus.  Secondly, the cemetery (and as I've learned, all traditional cemeteries in Denmark) was BEAUTIFUL!  I know, that is a strange thing to say, but trust me on this.  Each headstone got a little plot of land, differentiated by cute, short hedges, and then inside of the plot, there was room for personal decorations- flowers, vases, bushes, and even some ornamental trees!  So, it wasn't a field of stones, but a maze of intricate, person remembrances.  Some were very old, some very new, and you could always tell by the age of the plantings.  So cool.  I could have walked around and admired them for a long, long time,

Outside.  The stepped roof is the sign of a traditional Danish church.

The painted vaulted ceiling.  Now look very close to the center- this is Jesus. So completely cool.

2.) Fåborg Museum, Fåborg, Fyn

Quite obviously, a museum.  But specifically, an early century art museum, built by a man named (aptly) Fåborg.  He was good friends with a bunch of artists and sculptures, and he had a great deal of money. Unable to make it big elsewhere, they asked him to create a space to exhibit their work. And that he did.  It is designed in a very odd mish-mash of classical styles, using domes, vaults, arches, columns, long sight lines, level changes, and sudden turns.  It was sort of interesting to walk through, but also convoluted in a non-purposeful way.  The walls were especially interesting, because they were BRIGHT colors- bright blue, bright red, bright yellow, even black in a few places.  It was ostentatious in a minimalistic way.  I know that makes no sense, but it's hard to explain.  The art, in general however, was very beautiful, and the lighting qualities worked very well- particularly for the sculptures.  A few had very delicate lines which the direct light expressed quite nicely.  Post museum visit, we were invited to go explore the 'town' which was very awkwardly made so that it's only attraction (the museum) is on the other side of a long walking street from the town center where everything else worth seeing is.  Which meant with our limited time (and the slow steady rain outside) that most of us just stayed nearby and found a covered nook in which to eat our lunches.

I have no idea who this is a statue of, but he was so epic under this oculus.

Pretty typical of the museum- axial view to the distance and walls that are way too loud.  But, beautiful art.

3.) Trapholt Museum, Kolding, Juttland

This was one of my favorite stops of the trip- a modern Scandinavian furniture and art museum.  Like the Fåborg, constant level changes, and sudden and unexpected turns, but in such a clear way that it worked perfectly.  I felt to curious and playful the whole time I was in that building- I loved it!  Plus, the main axis (which was not a straight axis, but more of a bent line running across the site) was this amazing concrete vault that reminded me of the delicacy and understanding of Kahn.  As it went away from the main entrance, it got lower and lower (in response to the sight, sloping towards a large lake off in the distance).  The ceiling, however, stayed at a constant level- meaning that by the end of the museum, the vault is monumental- at least double height- and all the more forceful because the width has not changed at all.  The other rooms responded to this code, getting taller and taller as you move through the museum.  And, these rooms were all full of nooks and cracks and stoops, so that the furniture was incredibly playful with the building.  At times, the building becoming the artwork, and times the artwork becoming the museum.  I could have stayed there for hours upon hours.  But we only had 45 minutes there.  What a pity.  Some day I will have to go back.

The main spine through the building.

4.)  Glasmuseum Ebeltoft, Ebeltoft, Juttland

Just so you know- this happened on day two.  We got to Ebeltoft in the evening, found our hostel, was served a delicious Hostel mean (who knew!) and went to bed.  Early the next morning we packed up and were off again!  First stop was the nearby Glass Museum, which functions as an art museum which a permanent and rotating collection but ALSO as the studio for many local glass artists.  There are, therefore three main spaces- a rotating gallery, which is a new building, a permanent gallery, which is a very old (1920's) building which has been repurposed and linked to the new gallery, and a work studio, detached from the rest.  The buildings I thought were interesting at some level, but nothing really special.  It was the back greenspace and the artwork in the buildings that I really enjoyed.  The glass was AMAZING.  The rotating gallery contained a set of hyper-realistic plants- specifically, a cabbage field.  It was great.  In the permanent gallery, there were some great blown-glass pieces too.  If we hadn't been on a guided tour with a guide who was very adiment that we keep up with her, I would have broken off and enjoyed them.  The back yard was really nice too- especially since it had been raining on and off, making every color seem SO poignant.  The grass was amazing.  But what was really interesting was how geometric it was- with square plotting beds and very strategically planted trees.  It was such a change from typical gardens- it had the strong signs of human input.  At the end of tour, we got to go into the artist's studio where some glass blowers were making goblets.  I had never seen the process before and couldn't even believe that what they did was possible!  I love it.  This is something I really want to try myself now.

Those are the hyper-realistic cabbages.  On real peat moss.  See her diligently (er- frantically?) sketching in the background?

5.)  Design Højskolen, Randers, Juttland

Let me begin with some history (oh god, I know, not more history- I'm sorry, it doesn't make too much sense without it).  Once upon a time there was this very special Danish man names Nikolaj Gruntvig who did far too many things for Danish Enlightenment for me to go into.  He hated the way that traditional western schooling worked, and having seen alternatives in England, decided to develop his own.  He thought that everyone, especially common people deserved to learn about the world and study, in depth, so that they could experience worldly-, as well as self-, discovery.  So, he created this school in Rødding where people of any age (although mostly young people... and at the time only men... he wasn't THAT enlightened...) could go learn about STUFF.  It wasn't about grades, or tests, or competition, it was really preparing people to go out into the world.  It was called a folkhøjskole (this means "people's -aka common man's- high school"), and pretty soon they were all over.  Most Danish people who have just graduated from Gymnasium (there high school, essentially) go to one for about a semester before going on to further education (such as university, vocational school, or even
apprenticeship for a job).  There you can study whatever it is you want to study, with a GOAL in mind, but not exams, no grades, and no real pressure.  You have an open and equal relationship with peers and professors, and it's kind of like 6 months in an educational commune.  But, most people feel more prepared for the real world after it.  Anyway, they sometimes have themes.  The one we went to, for example, was a design school.  There were 3 fields of study to choose from- graphic arts, fashion, and architecture, and you spent 6 months there basically getting hands on experience about what it's like.  They say the focus is on process, not product, but there were some COOL things happening there.  The fashion students were hand screenprinting jackalopes.  Anyway, we were given a tour of the facilities, which I would say at least rival both my DIS and Cal Poly facilities (see- sometimes socialism works), and met a few professors and students.  It was a great place- out in the countryside on an OLD farm which had been converted (barn and all) into art spaces.  Loved it.  And to common facilities- like the cafe, central lawn, and lake were very nice as well.

The architecture experimentation room in the old barn.  Hilarious!

6.)  ARoS, Århus, Juttland

I will point out two things before I begin: 1, Århus is the second largest city in Denmark at 250,000 people.  2, Århus is pronouced "Or-hoos", which reminds me of the song "Our House" by Madness from the 80's.  And everytime I saw a sign that had the name the whole tour I got the song stuck in my head.  ANYway: So, ARoS is perhaps one of the more famous art museums in Denmark.  It's rather new, completed in 2004, and designed by the prominent Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL), who also designed the Danish Royal Library (the Black Diamond) in Copenhagen.  Anyway, it is a BIG BRICK BOX.  And really.  I mean all three with capital letters.  It was pretty fun to look at actually, the texture and the weathering of the brick was nice (although after 6 years, there should NOT be that much discoloration on those bricks).  Plus, when you go inside the feeling completely changes.  It is starch white, and the atrium goes from the ground floor to the top floor- 5 stories up!  To be honest, as a museum I found it quite stupid.  As a sculptural piece it was great- I was awe inspired.  But the galleries became something completely other, disconnected from the narcissism of the atrium- like literally separated by big, thick walls.  It was as if the art were an afterthought.  I will say, however, that if you are ever in the 'big city', you should go just to see it- even if you just walk through the atrium and leave.  But if you go in, go to the bottom floor, where they have a standing exhibition called (at the moment) de 9 rum (the 9 rooms).  I was told by a fellow student that the space gets re-divided every year, adding a new room.  So, soon it will be de 10 rum... although I'm only passing on what she said.  I don't know that for certain.  All I DO know is that that exhibit was INSANE.  It was like being in a haunted house- I have never felt so uncomfortable walking through a gallery ever.  There were hallways that led from room to room, but everything was so dark, and you had no idea if there were people around you or not.  It was just blind movement, hoping you would stumble upon something.  And when you did, you weren't sure if you should look or run past.  I went by one room which was fitted out like a 1950's living room, with a couch, tv, ugly throw pillows, the works.  And, two motionless people watching the tv.  There was about a 10 cm level change up to go into the room, so I didn't really know if I could go in or not.  And, not going to lie- the two people, pale in the tv glow and motionless looked like eerie wax figures.  So I stood and watched anxiously for like 4 minutes trying to decide if they were real.  In the end, they were actual human people, but the suspense killed me a little bit.  And... immediately after that, I ran away, out of the gallery, out of the basement, out of ARoS.  I had a very bad case of the jitters.

The beautiful narcissistic atrium at ARoS

7.) The rest of Århus (in the middle of the street...)

So, I went out to sketch the building from the OUTSIDE and get rid of my dread of those damn 9 rooms, and met up with a fellow student, Helen.  The two of us strolled around the nearby buildings (the Music Hall, which was beautiful, the grounds, etc) and then met up with a few more students.  We actually had plenty of time, so we went into Århus proper.  There is a very nice walkable downtown area, and we headed that way, over the river through town.  We enjoyed a very cute sandwich shop/cafe and had some warm drinks.  We also bought our dinner (sandwiches) to take back to the Hostel.  Which we did- and then were told that the bus driver would take us back into the city to find dinner!  Oh well, we got to wander with portable inexpensive (for Denmark, mind you- it was like a $12 sandwich) meals.  It turned out the river we passed is actually very much a river walk like in San Antonio, Texas.  Although not quite as active (what can you do, this 'metropolis' is tiny, far from Copenhagen, dark, and cold... even in September), but equally as beautiful.  We also went ahead and just got plain lost in the city, finding the harbor and sea by night, as well as a night club (called 'Spectrum) on a CRUISE SHIP (we would totally have paid the cover and stayed all night if we hadn't had to leave the hostel at 8 the next morning). We then had an adventure navigating the bus back to bed.

Riverwalk.

Walking Århus at night (Linsdsay, Helen, Willa from left to right)

The harbor.

8.)  Århus Krematorium Kapel

I bet you can guess what this is.  But for any of you without intuition, that means Crematorium Chapel.  And yes, there were totally dead bodies in the building in the back room while we were there.  They basically just let us wander the small building for the hour we spent there- like they gave us a key in advance and never came to supervise the visit, and I went to the back room, which turned out to be the home of the filled caskets.  Ew.  But, aside from that brush with the dead, I really really loved this building.  It's definitely up there with the Trapholt for best part of the trip.  The chapel was really just one tall cubic room, which had a manipulated ceiling to create a beautiful stream of light onto the front wall and alter.  With the electrical lights turned off, and natural daylight streaming in I felt so at peace just sitting there.  I can imagine being there for a funeral and having that beautiful light bring life and clarity to the situation.  I'm sure for such a solemn occasion that is the perfect, perfect, perfect space.  A lot of people didn't seem to like it, but I feel like they were maybe uncomfortable with the sparseness and the simple, almost imperceptible detail.  The lines of the concrete in this project were so precise.  And the light- oh the light!  I wish I knew how to get a building to do that!  Anyway, the grounds were equally as solemn and soft spoken and beautiful.  The building was protected by the most delicate birch trees, swaying softly, and a change in elevation- a sinking below ground level.  Out in front of the chapel stretched the most enormous cemetery- with the same detailed plots and hedges as the other church.  It was such clean and formal and serene as a whole.

The amazing quality of daylight in this space- keep in mind that Danish light isn't that bright.

Even with the lights on, still beautiful.  Also, what cool chairs!

9.) Århus Rådhus (also spelled Raadhus, pronouced roll (with a gutteral r) hoos)

This one was pretty old- funny, of course we went to 600 year old buildings, and this, built in the 30's, strikes me as the old one- in a style so very familiar to anyone who has looked towards Germany.  This was a MODERN building, with prefabricated structural components, clear lines, and tons of glass.  At the same time, it has a very nice intimate and human interior- with so much detailing, and such amazing Danish designed furniture and fixtures.  As the Germans would like to call it- a Gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art- look it up if you don't know the term).  Oddly, dealing with Germans, it was bombed TWICE during WWII and has somehow managed to survive unharmed.  Really, it's in great condition for a 1930's European building.  Anyway, it was so very open inside, with these massive atrium spaces and hallways that ran along side them.  I won't lie though, it was a little scary to be on the top level (4th floor) and look back down.  It was very high.  Again, I loved the grounds as well.  We were in kind of a hurry so didn't see them in depth, but there were some great copper sculptures of very classical women all over the walking spaces.  Also, the CLOCK TOWER was so cool.  I guess the original plan didn't have one at all but the people in the town were so adamant that there be one that the architect changed his mind and gave them an unfathomably cool modern one.  It looks like concrete, which would have won me completely over, but I guess it's actually just marble veneer which has become extremely dirty over the years.  Still cool in spite of itself.

See the cool mural in the back?  Naked people.  Also, this is the vertigo top floor of the atrium.

One of the great statues on the lawns- dripping with dew. And the awesome clock tower behind.

10.) Koldinghus, Kolding, Juttland (yes, again... on the way back home)

By this point, I want you to know that I was tired- very tired.  But I liked the building anyway.  It is actually a very old castle (at least from the 1600's but maybe earlier).  I guess what happened was that Denmark was fighting with someone (one upon a time they were a very large country with lots of land and fought just about everybody) and the Spanish decided to help them out for whatever reason.  They came and stayed in Koldinghus... and through Spanish sleepiness of something, they managed to accidentally blow up the whole building.  Well, that was the end of the Danish ever asking the Spanish for help with anything ever again.  But so yeah, the castle became a pile of ruins, and layed dormant for some time.  It was later discovered by Danish artists, and became a common place of discovery and experimentation, and a common icon in Danish painting.  Eventually, however, they (whoever they are) decided that they wanted to restore the castle, and began a process that took a hundred years or something similarly ridiculous.  The final installment of this renovation just occurred within the last 20 years, so you can read many different time periods in the walls.  The best part of the place was that Great Hall, which had been completely blasted to pieces, and had entire walls missing.  In the most recent renovation a very distinct thin wall was put for the rest of the facade... almost like a mask.  It is read from inside and outside, but makes for a very interesting space inside, when coupled with the circulation and structural solutions.  Structure- amazing GIANT glulam trees, which stretch up above the space and hold up the applied ceiling.  Circulation- a series of hanging red catwalks which guide you from the upper floors down to the bottom.  Happily, the space isn't just a tribute to itself.  It is actually a gallery space!  At the moment, they were having the end days of a Beatles (yes the band) tribute.  There were posters, clothes, memorabilia, music, etc.  It was hilarious.  In the middle of Denmark.

Me at Koldinghus.  The picture you send home to Mom to show what her money paying for.

11.)  So after that, we SHOULD have gone straight home.  BUT we made a surprise stop in the middle of no where.  And when you are tired and hungry and expect to make it back in time for a delicious Danish dinner consisting most likely of pork and potatoes, you get grumpy.  Which we all were.  But we stopped in the middle of no where and they told us to get off the bus (without sketchbooks!).  They then proceeded to make us climb over a barbed wire fence, and walk a great distance through a green field.  At the end, we found a longhouse.  Yes, like a Native American long house.  Except, that it was a Viking long house.  Inside, it was cold, dark, and damp.  There was a tiny window, and a long bench.  On the bench- shot glasses full of hard liquor.  This, it turned out, was a surprise celebration stop!  We toasted, which in Danish is called "skol!" Everyone raises their glasses (or shots) at once, makes eye contact with others, and cries "skol", then takes the shot en masse.  It was terrible alcohol if you want to know the truth.  I have no idea what it was, but bad was what is was.  Fun anyway- i mean, taking a shot in a viking longhouse? Yes please.  Then, we walked out and were told to wander.  Wandering took us to a bigger field which had big round stones hammered into the ground, making the oblong shape of a longhouse in the ground.  These, it turns out, were the burial site, so to speak, of past longhouses.  Past the initial burials was a circular earthen wall which gave way to a circular valley which contained 16 more burial sites.  In the end, this place turned out to be Trelleborg, in Slagelse, Sjælland.  It is a the best example of a Viking city, and very well preserved. It was breathtaking is so amazing to see, even when tired.  The ages were weathered into the stone, and the earthen wall, and the grass, again, so green.  Plus, sheep were grazing casually all around, and it was the most picturesque and Danish end I could imagine for this long (but short) adventure.

Skol!

One of the entrances into the valley through the earthen walls.

From Field to Food

I thought maybe this post would be a good time to take a (mostly) break from all of the cultural sites and sounds of Denmark, and explore a little more in depth the tasty side of life.  Well... that's not entirely true.  For this to be even remotely relevant, I have to give a back story, which I am quite sure will spiral into an in-depth Danish exploration.  Oh well, enjoy it while it lasts.

My Sustainable by Design class at the Frilandsmuseet.  On the left, in red/pink shirt is our very attractive Danish professor, Christian, who led use through the zoo of buildings.

I hate to say it, but this is coming pretty late, because the story begins on August 29th (aka, 2 weeks ago), when I went on a mandatory field trip (called a 'field study', and they are very fond of them at DIS.  Good and bad.  Good because it means we get some context and actual experience with what we are learning in class.  Bad because they can schedule them for any time- weekend, Wednesday- our day of rest- or any other time in the week) to the 'Frilandsmuseet', known in English as the Open Air Museum.  The best description I have heard of it is a VERY big zoo (like 200 football fields) for buildings- let me be more specific: senile old buildings.  The kind that act a little funny in front of your friends when they come over to visit, and still manages to think that you are your aunt Suzie who looked like you 40 years ago, but now lives in Nigeria with her husband and three children.  Just kidding.  But really, they are REALLY, REALLY old.  Most of them date from 200 to 400 years ago, and considering that they are vernacular buildings (that is, a building made for necessity, not design), mostly houses, and many have thatch roofs and stone walls, it is pretty remarkable that they are still around.

One of the VERY old buildings of the Museum- this is from inside the stable... which the animals shared with the humans!

You see, the founder of Tivoli (yes the amusement park), Georg Carstensen, thought it would be a good idea to preserve the history, culture, and building traditions of Denmark for future generations.  In 1901, he opened the Frilandsmuseet, which contained original structures from all over Denmark, it's territories, and former lands.  This means that Western Sweden and Northern Germany are also highly represented in the buildings of the museum.  And, most amazingly, they have been shipped, often piece by piece to remain their original integrity, to the site.  To explain what a task this is, many of the buildings have loose, round stone foundations, which were numbered so they could be perfectly placed when they got to their new homes.  Some of the roofs are also incredibly ornate (such as the 'smurf house' from one of the many nearby islands, who's roof is made of a dense dried and woven seaweed thatch), and some of the structures are very, very large.  Being vernacular buildings, they also typically were built to respond specifically to their site (a tract home does nothing for a farmer in the middle of nowhere who is trying to keep his family dry and warm), and so the museum has actually recreated many of the conditions of the buildings, such as hills, marshlands, and rivers, so it is clear how the buildings actually functioned.

The seaweed thatched 'Smurf' House!

 But, this is getting off-topic.  Like I said, the museum was also intended to preserve the cultural traditions of the region.  It does this by being a 'living museum', much like you would find on the East Coast at many of the important historical sites- with people dressing in costumes and acting as if they were from that time period.  Except not that kitschy.  Why?  Well, because these people aren't just going through the motions of living that life.  They actually ARE living that life.  I got the distinct impression that many of them live on site.  And there, they farm (vegetables, grains, and animals for meat and dairy), sew, weave, and make traditional foods.  I got to try some bread that was baked in an earth oven!  YUM.  Plus, I think these people must have very specific skills to be able to work at the museum doing this.  I saw an old woman sitting alone in the courtyard of one of the buildings with a spin making wool yarn.  I don't think many people even know how to do that anymore.

The cute little old lady making yarn!

Aside from all that, the museum has a very special food/architecture surprise: working mills!  There are two windmills on site, one in the Danish tradition, and one in the Dutch style, as well as a water mill (which, again, think of the work required to make it usable on a new site!).  The day we were visiting, it turned out that the water mill was in use, meaning that they were actually grinding grain (rye in this case) on it.  When you stepped inside, it was dusty with flour, and people in adorable white uniforms were performing the duties of mill-people. 

The men in the white uniforms at work!

 They had to do the grinding in loads, so when we first went inside everything was quiet (dusty, but quiet).  Then, all of the sudden, the beautiful, polished, hardwood cogs above our heads started to spin (sending even more flour all over us), and a sifting table began to shake.  After a while, a man came up with a HUGE bag of flour, and they filled paper sacks and gave them to us FOR FREE!  Yes, I got a FREE bag of FRESHLY GROUND rye flour.  How cultural is that?  And, bonus: it was like taking fresh copies off of a copier.  Still warm!

The spinning cogs of the mill.

The rest of the museum, I dare say, was pretty boring.  After 5 hours of walking around looking at 200 year old buildings, everything starts to look the same.  I even stopped taking pictures at some point.  But, in spite of the boredom that eventually took over, I had a good time.  And came home with a pretty awesome souvenir.  Now all I had to do was find something to do with it.  Now, I could have made bread.  As you know, if you have read the older posts, rye bread is practically a religion here (in fact, given the fact that only about 5% of the 95% Lutheran population are actually practicing Christians, and they are that passionate, maybe it is their real religion).  And, I even got a recipe for "Ullas gode rugbrød" (Ulla's good rye bread).  But, it required yeast, which takes a long time, and also translating all of the directions and ingredients.  SO... I went searching for something more exotic.  And found... wait for it... cookies.  Yes, rye cookies.  I promised Inga and Henning that I would cook them an American meal, and apparently, cookies are really American.  Shelley's Danish roommate told her that she had never made cookies before, only bought them premade (like, in a box) or 'fresh' from a cafe.  Sad day.  So, to accompany the chicken-fried-steak and mashed potatoes that I cooked up, and went with rye chocolate chip cookies.  In spite of a few calculation mix-ups, not all of the proper ingredients, and the fact that it was, originally, a vegan recipe, I was pleasantly surprised.  Anyone who would like to give rye a chance, here it is (with some personal side notes from me):


3/4 c freshly milled rye flour
3/4 spelt flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) salted butter (this was originally a vegan butter substitute- ew)
1 c dark brown sugar
1 ripe banana (I used the banana, but I would most certainly go with 1 large egg next time.)
1 tsp vanilla extract (that doesn't exist as far as I've seen in Denmark.  We had vanilla sugar instead)
chocolate chips (again, not something you can get here. We bought Smarties, like European M&M's)
*Also, I added a tad-bit of milk to make up for lost liquid from the vanilla extract.


Preheat oven to 350 F. (175 C)

Line baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl, set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter on low speed until just blended, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, mixing until just combined. Stir in vanilla (and milk).

Add dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until flour is barely combined. Stir in Smarties.

Form dough into balls, place on baking sheet 2 inches apart.

Cookies: Pre-Bake.

 Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the cookies have spread and cracked, the tops are dry and have browned a bit. Cool on baking sheet.

The finished product.

And then, of course, enjoy with a glass of milk (or if you're Danish, coffee... which I find to be a really funny mixture) while watching the evening Nyheder (news... and note specifically the verb I chose: watching.  There is hearing, but no listening to the news.  I have no idea what they are saying... YET)

Noteworthy Adventures (Part III and Part IV)

And now- the exciting continuation of my overly long blog post!

Adventure number three: Greve Strand.  Greve, as you know, is the village I live in.  Strand, in Danish, means beach.  So yes, this is the local beach.  I've been told that nowhere in Denmark is more that 20 km from the water- be it a sea or strait.  At first, I found this kind of an amazing thought.  But there were too geographical facts that need to be kept in mind.  First, Denmark is composed of a series of small islands, as well as 1 peninsula (Jutland).  Of course, with this shape, proximity to water is a given.  Also, the scale of this country is astounding!  I always think of European countries in terms of what I learned in French class- "La France est à peu près la même taille que le Texas." Aka: France is about the size of Texas.  The is also true of Germany, Spain, Poland, etc.  But Denmark?  Denmark ranks somewhere between West Virginia (on the bigger end) and Maryland (on the smaller end).  It is a TINY country.  In spite of all of the islands and distances between areas of the nation, to travel to Jutland takes only a few hours- thanks to the AMAZING bridges that have been added, including the second longest suspension bridge in the world, from Sjælland (pronounced Zee-land, where Copenhagen is) to Fyn (pronounces Foon, the island just to the West, which separates the capital from Jutland and the rest of Europe).  Anyway, this is a small place with a lot of beaches.  And, given the short distances to the water, the beaches are well used in the summer.  By this time of year, people have mostly given up on them, except for the polar bears (called Vikings here!).  Not that the beach is so cold, but the water is icy.  Anyway, my village, Greve, is only 5 km from the Strand, and so I hope to take advantage of it as often as possible.  You see, there is an incredible biking culture here, and most roads come equipped with either very nice, wide bike lanes, or separate bike roads all together.  Getting to the beach is pretty much a straight shot, right past the Greve Train Station.  I was briefly introduced to the Strand with my parents when we came to have dinner with Henning, Inga, and Katrine.  But it was very quick, and late in the afternoon.  So, I had to go back.  I decided that I could probably handle a 5k on my own if I took my time, and on Sunday morning, jogged out there- and made it successfully!  (Bolder Boulder, here I come!)  Unfortunately, it was difficult to document how beautiful it was... I don't typically bring my camera or my sketchbook out on my runs.  So, I came back the next morning (yes, somehow I got Labor Day off again this year!) by bike.  It's really amazing, because you can't see the water at all until you are RIGHT there.  This is because a natural thin layer of forest grows right up along the coast here- it is dense but, like I said, maybe only 30 feet deep.  Just enough to keep the beach invisible from an unknowing observer.  

My bike at the edge of the 'forest'.  The beach is just about 30 feet to the right through the trees!

Once you get through the narrow trails of the forest, the wide expanse of the water opens up before your eyes!  The sand is very, very fine and incredibly white, and in the morning, the semi-low fall sun makes the still water glimmer playfully.  Because this is a strait, not open water, there are few big waves, just a gentle ebb and flow of the natural tide.  On this particular bit of beach, right as you pass through the trees, there is a tiny little pier meant for sitting and descending into the water, if one is willing to brave the cold.  As you walk onto it, there is the most bizarre feeling that you are not walking on a solid object, like a pier, but rather some invisible force like a cloud, holding you suspended by just a few feet over the water.  And it feels that if you keep walking, you could walk the same way, all the way to Sweden, which, by the tiniest hint of a black line on the horizon, and a few even tinier vertical lines like boat masts, seems to be waiting somewhere far off.  To the left of the dock, one can see the gray silhouette of a power plant, with a trapazoidal main building, and thin, sleek wind blades turning slowly and silently.  On the right, a small jetty, where boats have been tied up on either side.  Off behind it, the silhouette of further coastlines.

The view to the South.

I sat on the pier for some time, sketching for my Visual Journal class.  Although, when I first arrived on the beach, there was already someone on the pier, and from the experience I had had the day before, I wanted to be able to approach the water and follow the path to the terminus on my own.  So, I sat in the sand for 15 or 20 minutes on my own, taking pictures, pondering, and beginning my drawings.  You can imagine (given the Danish way of dealing with strangers) my surprise when the woman who had been on the pier approached me, speaking Danish, and smiling.  I explained my lack of proficiency in the language (I am working on that, I promise!), and so she began to speak somewhat choppy English to me.  She asked me what I was doing (I showed her my sketchbook) and why I was here.  I explained that I was a foreign student, and we then determined where, in the city, I went to school.  She then asked where I lived, and I was, happily, proficient enough to properly pronounce "Greve Landsby" (again, pronounced Gray-veh Laands-boo.  The word Landsby means "village" and differentiates where I live from the Greve Strand, as well as the new community that has developed near the station, adopting the name of Greve).  She, apparently, had a relative living in the village, so we happily drew a map in the sand showing roads, the Greve Museum, the local church, the village store, and my house. 

Our beautiful map in the sand.  My house is the big circle in the upper right corner.

The woman, Linda, then happily explained that her relative, Susanne, lived very close to me- in a yellow house!  And... just as quickly as she had approached me, Linda was gone, running off to receive a phone call.  After she was gone, I finished what I was sketching, and because the pier was finally vacant, approached it again.  And yes, it was as magical the second time as it had been the first.  The same sense of floating, the same amazing openness. 

The pier.  I swear, some magic power would take me all the way to Sweden.

Happily, I sat at the end of the pier and sketched and took pictures.  But, surprisingly for a Monday morning, the beach was actually fairly active.  In fact, people came and went, most of them coming onto the pier at one time or another.  And despite the very solid construction, every time someone walked down the catwalk, the entire pier shook in a mini earthquake.  So it was when a quiet old man, wearing a purple robe and using a walking cane, came out to the water.  And... imagine my surprise when the old man, completely without hesitation, put down his cane, threw off his robe, and completely naked jumped into the water for a quick swim.  I did my best not to look, but he definitely wasn't wearing anything.  And again, with the same straightforwardness as he had entered the water, he climbed back up the ladder, put on his robe, picked up his cane, and went walking back towards shore.  Next came a woman to swim (thankfully, she wore a bathing suit), and just as she was finishing up her routine, a large group of people- mostly young women about my age, but of all ethnic backgrounds (it was incredibly diverse for Denmark) came through the trees onto the beach.  They walked around looking like this was a new and splendid wonder, and so, it seemed to me that they were foreigners.  The woman must have thought the same, and said to me something in Danish, ending with a chuckle in the word "turister", which means tourists.  I chuckled too, knowing what she was thinking, and muttered the only word I could think of in Danish- "ja".  Quickly, the swimmer went her own way, and I, ignoring the tourists, went back to my drawings.  

Back to shore and the North from the pier.

Until, of course, I was approached again.  This time is was a man- probably 35 or 40, bald, with olive colored skin.  He spoke to me in Danish (which surprised me, because he was part of the tourist group) and then, again, I had to explain, embarrassed, that I don't speak Danish.  So, he switched to English and asked me what I was doing, and where I was from.  I explained (again) that I was a foreign student from the United States, studying architecture, and was drawing for one of my classes.  He replied with two comments which I found equally surprising.  First, he told me that he had thought I was Russian.  (Random!) Second, that he was Afghani, and that he loved the United States, and that they were doing very good things for his homeland.  Honestly, I have NEVER been told by a foreign person that they a. liked the US or b. thought they were we doing good work in the Middle East.  It made me really happy, because I had gotten used to being sort of silently disapproved of here.  Well, after that I had to head out.  I needed to do some shopping at Wave, the second largest mall in Scandinavia, in Hundige (pronouced Who'n-dee).  

Waves!  Beautiful but eerily empty.

In case you are wondering, I bought a headband (short hair and strong winds do not mix!) and a scarf for 120 DKK (kroner), approximately $24, at H&M.  The mall itself was very big, and really quite beautiful, very open and clean-cut and light.  But, it was also sort of depressing, because it opened 3 years ago, in the midst of a financial meltdown... and I've got to say, it really hasn't gotten that much better.  Large portions of the mall were closed or empty, and all of the walking space was being taken over by signs of "unsalg" (sale).  After getting what I needed, I didn't really stay that long.


My fourth adventure was a family outing- the annual DIS Housing Picnic.  It took place at Staunings Plæne (plæne means lawn) in Klampenborg, a city just North of Copenhagen.  It was a really beautiful park RIGHT on the beach, amptly called a lawn, because the grass was amazingly green and very expansive.  

Across Staunings Plæne to the beach.

I came with Inga and Henning, and we brought this really cute picnic set- a green backpack full of plates, knives, forks, napkins, and a really classy thermos, plus a picnic blanket- an American flag one!- as well as a barley salad to share with everyone else (we all had to bring something to share) and pork cutlets and sausages to grill.  We also got one free drink each (of course I got a Carlsberg... I mean free beer.  Really?  Who would pass that up?).  Everything was delicious- fruit salads, pasta, couscous, bread, and the sausages!  Mmmmm.  Plus, we had these mini chocolate chip cookies (the cute round packaged kind) to have with coffee at the end.  How Danish!  What was also really nice was that it was an institute-wide picnic, so I got to see a bunch of people with their host families or Danish roommates.  

My many many salads at the picnic!

 Eva, for example, has a VERY cool older (like 30's) guy roommate, who I think is the editor of a magazine.  Also, Kelton, who is from Boulder (went to Fairview) and goes to Cornell (studying architecture too), introduced me to his host family.  I guess his host dad loves pizza, so he went to Italy to buy an Italian pizza over, disassembled it, shipped it all to Denmark, and reassembled it in his back yard!  They, obviously, have pizza parties with it, and I (hopefully) will be invited to one in the future!  And finally, I met a girl named Tally, who sat down with her host family right next to us.  What was funny about this is that our host parents (and her host sister) recognized one another immediately.  They live in completely different areas of the Copenhagen region, but I guess their daughter went to school with my host sister, Katrine, and they are really good friends.  Katrine wasn't there because she is already at school, and this girl was about to leave in a few days I think, also.  But to run into these people, who were also very nice, was pretty cool.  

Look at all the people!!!

After we finished lunch (before coffee) Henning and I went down to the water to walk around.  And what did we find but a bunch of kayaks brought specifically be someone (I'm not sure who... I think a host parent) for DIS students to use in the water!  So, I got to suit up in a life jacket and sea kayak for a few minutes.  I hit a bunch of SUPER big waves because I boat had just passed by- it was so fun.  It was even more fun because there were 20 or so kayaks in a very tight space, so everyone kept running into everyone.  Not great for the kayaks, but kind of a fun bonding activity for us.  Not that I will ever see those people again, but the sense of group good spirit was very nice.  

Action shop of me at the end of my kayak adventure!

 Finally, maybe the highlight of the day for me, even above the great food or kayaking, was sitting and drinking our coffee to the music of the fødselsdag (birthday) song.  As opposed to English, where we all wearily sing a very boring song off key, the Danish birthday song seems to make everyone smile.  Why?  Because it's ridiculous, that's why!  Basically, I gathered that the song entails naming the birthday person (ex- Tiffany har en fødselsdag)in song, and then naming an instrument (also in song).  You then proceed to sing a little jingle in the voice of that instrument.  The song starts again at the beginning, and goes on as long as the song leader continues to choose instruments.  I think we heard a piano, a trumpet, and a trombone.  It was super funny.  The girl who's birthday it was laughed and laughed.  I would have too.  And, her cake was basically a giant gingerbread man cake covered in icing and licorice.  Oh, and Danish flags.  They like those here.

Inga, me, and Henning at the end of our wonderful picnic day!

Well, I leave for Western Denmark and Jutland tomorrow morning at 8.  And by 8 I mean I leave here at 7 so I can be at the bus in Copenhagen at 8.  I get back Saturday afternoon, and should have lots more to tell!