So there are hills in Copenhagen! I run in two parks here and in one of the them there are quite a number of hills! This is all too exciting. I thought training for the Mayberry half and Thunderroad half were going to be in vain and flat. I also run by zebras. (pictures to come)
Another observation is never run with or race a Dane. Thay are very fast with their long legs. I looked like an an old man trotting next to the Danish out running.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Triple A, Sleep, and Dogs
my work desk kitchenette
The past two days have been just what I needed to learn my new part of town. I moved in to my dorm yesterday. The Danes really do care about style and looks more than anything. I think my furniture all came from IKEA, there are wood floors, I have my own kitchenette, and an Electolux cooktop. Much less of a Fire hazard than the open burners in the States. I really haven’t had any great adventures over the past two days. Today I was in the Grocery and a guy in front of me asked if I was from the US. I said yes and he spoke English remarkable well. That meant he was also from the States. At last someone you spoke English. He said he had noticed my Triple A card and was pretty sure that Denmark didn’t have the same thing we had. That is reassuring to know that he had to see my triple A card to know that I was an American. I at least don’t stick out like a sore thumb, and to be honest he didn’t either! Not too sure it is reassuring to know he saw inside my wallet, but then again when you are a tourist you divert your eyes in every which way hoping to find something familiar. In chatting I learned he was from Oregon State (dad you will be proud I mentioned the wine) and he was living in the same dorm I was living in. It was wonderful to actually have conversation in English for longer than 2 seconds!!
My bed! They supplied the black and White and I brought a fitted just in case! I didn't like the way their fitted sheet felt! I think it works nicely.
After making my way back to my dorm I decided it was time for some coffee. I had gone all day without it. I went out searching and found a great little place that will probably be a regular stop for me. The prices were reasonable and staff was friendly. However, I forgot to ask for mini maelk, so I am pretty sure the reason my latte tasted so good was b/c it had whole milk in it! Yummmm
My bed! They supplied the black and White and I brought a fitted just in case! I didn't like the way their fitted sheet felt! I think it works nicely.I then walked to the park and just sat looking up and Frederiksberg Castle taking the past week of my life in. I still have not been here a week, but I feel like I have been here two!
Ferderiksberg Castle
One more observation before I end this journal. Do not read murder mystery books before you go to bed at night. I have not fallen asleep before 3 am any this week. My brain is racing, but my body is worn out from all the walking I do.
Oh and I guess one more observation the most popular pups over here are spaniels, westies, beagles, jack russels, (really terriers). That little post was for Chloe and Mason!!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The Witch is scared away!
Mid Summer’s Eve Festival
I am quite impressed. I visited three mid summer’s eve festivals last night and am sure that witch has been scared away so we in the States need to worry that she may be flying around our part of the world. As you can tell from the pictures many of the locals take this festival very seriously. They bring their children, their friends, and most importantly their Carlsberg. The first two festivals I happened to stumble upon were taking place on the lakes. The lakes are not like Lake Tillery or Norman. They more resemble Freedom park or the mall lake in Washington DC. There are 5 lakes in total and they split the city into Vest (west) and Ost (east). Once you realize that then the city starts to make more sense. I didn’t make it to Faelledparken like I had hoped, but I did happen to find a kick “art” mid summer’s eve celebration. There was a band singing in Danish and the crowd was rocking out as a bonfire larger than any Tiger Burn I have seen was burning in the middle of them all. Amazing. After snapping some photos I headed home about 11pm. It was still light outside and my body felt like it was only 7pm b/c of the light.
June 24, 2008
Today I slept in until 11 am. This is really not normal for me, but I had nowhere to be so I slept! I decided that today I needed to get out and run a little. A little turned into a 40 minute jog around all five lakes. If anyone was paying attention they could tell I was the American with my white socks on. I laughed every time a Dane ran by in their tennypumps (for Drew’s mom) and black socks. It felt good to get out and do something other than walk.
I got back to the room and mapped out my day. My plan was to learn the metro and S-tog(S-train) system. It didn’t take that long. Kristin told me before I left that her and her brother were able to understand the train system when they were kids so I should be fine. She was right. I asked for directions the first time and now I know.
My next stop was Frederiksberg which will be my home for the next six weeks. According to my map book Frederiksberg is a classy upscale neighborhood blessed with spotless streets, tree-lined avenues, theatres and many green areas, including Frederiksberg Have (garden). I am not sure why the rest of Copenhagen isn’t called classy and upscale. I have yet to see a part that is a dump, to me it is all pretty classy and upscale. My goal of this excursion was to find out where I needed to be tomorrow. I found the school and kept walking to the Garden. On the way to the Garden I found my home. Porcelaenshaven is the dorm I am living in this summer. It was once a old Porcelain factory which is located next door to Royal Copenhagen. Not even a minute from my dorm is Federiksberg Have which more resembles Central Park except more green. There is even a zoo at one end and today I happened to walk right by the brand new Elephant exhibition. I will be running by elephants every morning, so you might think I am in Africa not Scandinavia. There is one hill in this park and I will be running it hopefully on a daily basis so I will be ready for the Mayberry half come November.
After a late lunch I hopped back on the metro and got off at Kogens Nytorv Station. This is within walking distance to the most famous street in Copenhagen. Nyhavn. (havn means bay) Anytime you see a picture of Copenhagen then you probably will see this street and canal. I was impressed, I just can’t wait to go back with Erin and others to stop for a beer at one of the sidewalk cafes.
On my way back to the hotel I stopped for some much needed Gelato and a quick email check.
Some things I have noticed. I had not real expectations of Copenhagen perhaps because I had to find it on the map when the study opportunity was brought up back in early spring. I knew very little and still feel like I know very little about this town, but I try to learn something new everyday. The people here are extremely friendly even though they may act or seem rude at first glance. Never bring up taxes unless you want to buy the round of beer. Apparently they tax 50% of you income at least no one really goes without, but still 50%. Most of the women and men are blonde, pale, and thin. I keep trying to find someone that resembles the Vikings but I can’t seem to find one. I guess thanks to all the walking and bike riding the Danes do keeps them thin. I have seen a couple redheads, no freckle though. I did see two people today with Freckles not including my own! And I will never be able to learn any Danish.
I am quite impressed. I visited three mid summer’s eve festivals last night and am sure that witch has been scared away so we in the States need to worry that she may be flying around our part of the world. As you can tell from the pictures many of the locals take this festival very seriously. They bring their children, their friends, and most importantly their Carlsberg. The first two festivals I happened to stumble upon were taking place on the lakes. The lakes are not like Lake Tillery or Norman. They more resemble Freedom park or the mall lake in Washington DC. There are 5 lakes in total and they split the city into Vest (west) and Ost (east). Once you realize that then the city starts to make more sense. I didn’t make it to Faelledparken like I had hoped, but I did happen to find a kick “art” mid summer’s eve celebration. There was a band singing in Danish and the crowd was rocking out as a bonfire larger than any Tiger Burn I have seen was burning in the middle of them all. Amazing. After snapping some photos I headed home about 11pm. It was still light outside and my body felt like it was only 7pm b/c of the light.
June 24, 2008
Today I slept in until 11 am. This is really not normal for me, but I had nowhere to be so I slept! I decided that today I needed to get out and run a little. A little turned into a 40 minute jog around all five lakes. If anyone was paying attention they could tell I was the American with my white socks on. I laughed every time a Dane ran by in their tennypumps (for Drew’s mom) and black socks. It felt good to get out and do something other than walk.
I got back to the room and mapped out my day. My plan was to learn the metro and S-tog(S-train) system. It didn’t take that long. Kristin told me before I left that her and her brother were able to understand the train system when they were kids so I should be fine. She was right. I asked for directions the first time and now I know.
My next stop was Frederiksberg which will be my home for the next six weeks. According to my map book Frederiksberg is a classy upscale neighborhood blessed with spotless streets, tree-lined avenues, theatres and many green areas, including Frederiksberg Have (garden). I am not sure why the rest of Copenhagen isn’t called classy and upscale. I have yet to see a part that is a dump, to me it is all pretty classy and upscale. My goal of this excursion was to find out where I needed to be tomorrow. I found the school and kept walking to the Garden. On the way to the Garden I found my home. Porcelaenshaven is the dorm I am living in this summer. It was once a old Porcelain factory which is located next door to Royal Copenhagen. Not even a minute from my dorm is Federiksberg Have which more resembles Central Park except more green. There is even a zoo at one end and today I happened to walk right by the brand new Elephant exhibition. I will be running by elephants every morning, so you might think I am in Africa not Scandinavia. There is one hill in this park and I will be running it hopefully on a daily basis so I will be ready for the Mayberry half come November.
After a late lunch I hopped back on the metro and got off at Kogens Nytorv Station. This is within walking distance to the most famous street in Copenhagen. Nyhavn. (havn means bay) Anytime you see a picture of Copenhagen then you probably will see this street and canal. I was impressed, I just can’t wait to go back with Erin and others to stop for a beer at one of the sidewalk cafes.
On my way back to the hotel I stopped for some much needed Gelato and a quick email check.
Some things I have noticed. I had not real expectations of Copenhagen perhaps because I had to find it on the map when the study opportunity was brought up back in early spring. I knew very little and still feel like I know very little about this town, but I try to learn something new everyday. The people here are extremely friendly even though they may act or seem rude at first glance. Never bring up taxes unless you want to buy the round of beer. Apparently they tax 50% of you income at least no one really goes without, but still 50%. Most of the women and men are blonde, pale, and thin. I keep trying to find someone that resembles the Vikings but I can’t seem to find one. I guess thanks to all the walking and bike riding the Danes do keeps them thin. I have seen a couple redheads, no freckle though. I did see two people today with Freckles not including my own! And I will never be able to learn any Danish.
The Longest Day
June 23, 2008
It is longest day of the Calendar Year and the Danes know how to celebrate it. (more on this later) These long days are taking a toll on me. This morning I woke up at 3:30 am and looked out my window and could see that the sun was coming up. Great I thought. When I am at home in Charlotte the sun shines right in my window and then I wake up. So, of course this morning was no different even though I had about 5 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours. I decided to make the most of my time by reading my Copenhagen maps and guide books I feel like everything is sinking in and making sense. I found that as I walk around I begin to absorb how this city is laid out. It is not complicated only a little daunting due to the large bike lanes. You think Charlotte is bad and over run with bikers on the loop, well Copenhagen is a city full of bikers. Biking is one of the major modes of transportation and there are wide bike lanes made especially for bikers, not cars or pedestrians. If you happen to find yourself in this lane you will get mowed down. This has not happened yet, but is very easy to see how it might before my time is up here. I really think that Charlotte city council could learn a lot from these bike lanes and many Charlottean bikers could just come here and bike in proper lanes instead of the car lane. Everyone has their specific lane and the must stay in it. Novel Concept!!!!
Well now after that little side note, once I finished reading my maps and figuring out where I wanted to go today I still couldn’t sleep. It was now 4:30 am and the sun had been up and light was flooding into my room, so I read some of my book True Evil which takes place in Mississippi, mentions Charlotte, and Denmark. I am finally sleepy again about 6:30 am and I fall asleep until 11:00. I force myself out of the bed so I can begin to adjust to the time.
After a trip to the corner coffee shop I ventured to the Internet café. As most of you know I was able to email loved ones. I can’t call yet, but a few more days and I will hear your voices.
Today I wanted to explore the canal area of Copenhagen. The official name of the neighborhood is Slotsholm, Stroget and the Latin Quarter. Slotshholmen is the seat of the Danish government and located on a small island surrounded by canals. I plan on going back to all these places during my stay. I am just trying to get my bearings and I don’t really know what I am looking at in most cases.
For lunch today I dined at Café Sorgenfri (b/c Bill has a friend with that last name) and it was a cheap eat. Cheap is relative in Copenhagen. I haven’t found much that is cheap here. Be glad we live in the US where you can get cup of coffee under a dollar or under two dollars. Here it is more like $2 for small and $4 -$5 for a large. I might get off caffeine while I am here. Any way back to lunch, I finally had my first Smorrebrod, which is a traditional Danish open-faced sandwich. I opted for the roast beef, pickle, lettuce, some un-identifiable sauce, cheese, and herbs of some sort. It was actually very good. I will survive on Danish food not Quaker granola bars and Lance crackers.
After that I stopped in a shop to pick up some much needed peanut butter, bread, and cereal. I also went to the Apple store to pick up a charger that I would be able to use here. Now I have adapters for China, Korea, Australia, UK, Europe, US, and some other random country. Let me know if you need to borrow them ever.
As I mentioned before the Danes know how to celebrate the longest day of the calendar year. This evening I am going to venture pretty far north of the central city to a park called Faelledparken to celebrate Midsummer’s Eve. No need to worry about me though b/c I will be walking the entire way there and back in the daylight! My hope is to finally get a decent night sleep by staying out a little later. Midsummer’s Eve is held on June 23rd every year and is also called Sankt Hans Aften. The Danes light bonfires at the beaches and in the parks. Remember Niels from yesterday . . he told me they light fires b/c they are scaring away some witch or bad spirits. Hopefully I can report on the accuracy of this after I have attended the festival.
My plan is to leave around 8:45- 9:00 to head to the park. Right now I am listening to thunder in the distance and watching clouds roll in. The weather here is a bit unusual, well not to the Danes, but to me it is. I can’t quite figure it out, because this morning b/t 3-6 the sky was clear of clouds and by the time I woke up clouds were rolling in and haven’t stopped. It does rain, but not too much, you just don’t want to be caught off guard with out a rain jacket or a place to duck into. If it is not raining then the wind is howling. But no complaints from me, because this is a much needed break from the Southern summers I am so accustomed to.
It is longest day of the Calendar Year and the Danes know how to celebrate it. (more on this later) These long days are taking a toll on me. This morning I woke up at 3:30 am and looked out my window and could see that the sun was coming up. Great I thought. When I am at home in Charlotte the sun shines right in my window and then I wake up. So, of course this morning was no different even though I had about 5 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours. I decided to make the most of my time by reading my Copenhagen maps and guide books I feel like everything is sinking in and making sense. I found that as I walk around I begin to absorb how this city is laid out. It is not complicated only a little daunting due to the large bike lanes. You think Charlotte is bad and over run with bikers on the loop, well Copenhagen is a city full of bikers. Biking is one of the major modes of transportation and there are wide bike lanes made especially for bikers, not cars or pedestrians. If you happen to find yourself in this lane you will get mowed down. This has not happened yet, but is very easy to see how it might before my time is up here. I really think that Charlotte city council could learn a lot from these bike lanes and many Charlottean bikers could just come here and bike in proper lanes instead of the car lane. Everyone has their specific lane and the must stay in it. Novel Concept!!!!
Well now after that little side note, once I finished reading my maps and figuring out where I wanted to go today I still couldn’t sleep. It was now 4:30 am and the sun had been up and light was flooding into my room, so I read some of my book True Evil which takes place in Mississippi, mentions Charlotte, and Denmark. I am finally sleepy again about 6:30 am and I fall asleep until 11:00. I force myself out of the bed so I can begin to adjust to the time.
After a trip to the corner coffee shop I ventured to the Internet café. As most of you know I was able to email loved ones. I can’t call yet, but a few more days and I will hear your voices.
Today I wanted to explore the canal area of Copenhagen. The official name of the neighborhood is Slotsholm, Stroget and the Latin Quarter. Slotshholmen is the seat of the Danish government and located on a small island surrounded by canals. I plan on going back to all these places during my stay. I am just trying to get my bearings and I don’t really know what I am looking at in most cases.
For lunch today I dined at Café Sorgenfri (b/c Bill has a friend with that last name) and it was a cheap eat. Cheap is relative in Copenhagen. I haven’t found much that is cheap here. Be glad we live in the US where you can get cup of coffee under a dollar or under two dollars. Here it is more like $2 for small and $4 -$5 for a large. I might get off caffeine while I am here. Any way back to lunch, I finally had my first Smorrebrod, which is a traditional Danish open-faced sandwich. I opted for the roast beef, pickle, lettuce, some un-identifiable sauce, cheese, and herbs of some sort. It was actually very good. I will survive on Danish food not Quaker granola bars and Lance crackers.
After that I stopped in a shop to pick up some much needed peanut butter, bread, and cereal. I also went to the Apple store to pick up a charger that I would be able to use here. Now I have adapters for China, Korea, Australia, UK, Europe, US, and some other random country. Let me know if you need to borrow them ever.
As I mentioned before the Danes know how to celebrate the longest day of the calendar year. This evening I am going to venture pretty far north of the central city to a park called Faelledparken to celebrate Midsummer’s Eve. No need to worry about me though b/c I will be walking the entire way there and back in the daylight! My hope is to finally get a decent night sleep by staying out a little later. Midsummer’s Eve is held on June 23rd every year and is also called Sankt Hans Aften. The Danes light bonfires at the beaches and in the parks. Remember Niels from yesterday . . he told me they light fires b/c they are scaring away some witch or bad spirits. Hopefully I can report on the accuracy of this after I have attended the festival.
My plan is to leave around 8:45- 9:00 to head to the park. Right now I am listening to thunder in the distance and watching clouds roll in. The weather here is a bit unusual, well not to the Danes, but to me it is. I can’t quite figure it out, because this morning b/t 3-6 the sky was clear of clouds and by the time I woke up clouds were rolling in and haven’t stopped. It does rain, but not too much, you just don’t want to be caught off guard with out a rain jacket or a place to duck into. If it is not raining then the wind is howling. But no complaints from me, because this is a much needed break from the Southern summers I am so accustomed to.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The longest day in my calendar year!
June 21, 2008-June 22, 2008
Touchdown in Copenhagen was quite uneventful we flew over Sweden (it is flat and green) and we flew over lots of water. I didn’t really feel as though I was on European soil, well minus the language barrier, but I felt completely relaxed about my travels ahead of me. Maybe it was because my new friend Niels insisted he get me to where I needed to go before getting himself home to see his family. That my friends is some southern Denmark hospitality. I let him no use in arguing a Dane. We did have to make a smoking stop for him so his jitters would calm down. . After all he was going way out of his way to help me. The train ride was quiet and by quiet I mean the train is almost soundless. Niels gave me the lay of land by marking out things on the map and then we embarked to find my hotel. Of course my hotel was not open or ready for luggage to be stowed, so we in good Dane fashion went next door to the café. I hade had some Orange juice and coffee, while niels enjoyed coffee Carlsberg at 8:30 am. (Only a Dane). I finally insisted after he paid for my coffee and juice that I would be fine waiting on my own, and he said I think you are now ready too! I guess I had to pass a test or something. Now I know what most of you are thinking at this moment is that oh my Vaughan you could have been murdered or something . . . Really never felt threatened and no warning flags went off in my head. The Danes are just that nice. And the rest of my day proves it!
To sum up these past two days in your lives and the past long long day in my life . . .
Reassuring, comforting, and spiritually moving and the Lord is Good!
And I say to all of y’all back home . . . Welcome to Copenhagen!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Oh those Summer Nights
Well if you check the weather report for Copenhagen you will notice that their summers are much cooler than those southern summers we are all accustomed to. The temperature at 3:40 pm is 52 degress F. Burrr thats cold for a Mississippi girl. I won't complain since it is 80+ degrees in Charlotte this morning!
It's the final countdown da dadadaa
I will bewhere my
Stickfigure is!
Six days till I leave for Copenhagen. I am not ready to leave. I still have to pack, go to campus, make copies, purchase krones, update my address list, charge my camera, map out locations, learn a little danish(not happening), say goodbyes, and take my Dramamine.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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