The European Union from the inside!

The purpose of our long study tour was to observe the "playing of the political game" from within, by meeting with representatives from various countries to the EU (including the US), a representative from NATO, the EU commission, EU parliament, the European Council, as well as conduct a one on one interview with the  representative from a member state. With such a hands on approach to learning about the concepts in our books it becomes easy to make the connections which are necessary to understand the European Union.  What follows are pictures highlighting the trip to the European Union. Hopefully one can make sense of the various parts of the Union, the three most important being the commission (representatives appointed by national governments), the parliament (elected by the member state's population), and the Council (composed of head of state).

Flags of member states outside European Parliament

In the European Union Parliament building, this is my class and the other European Union class at DIS.

 We were able to sit in on a session of Parliament that was occurring, which was on biodiversity. Those areas that look like enclosed VIP boxes to the left and right of the chamber are translation areas for the different languages used.

We also were able to go into one of the chambers where the European Council holds meetings. Unfortunately, there was not a meeting going on at the time besides ours. What looks like the glass tank in the back is one of the areas in which the translators sit. There was another area akin to this one on the opposing wall.

Of course our study tour was not all lectures, and that is all to follow in a subsequent post. But to spark your curiosity I will give you a quick "bite" of my cultural experiences in Belgium.

 

Peace and Justice in The Hague

A unique part about the DIS study abroad program is the integrated traveling with your primary or core class. From the 3rd to the 9th of October I was travelling with my class on the politics of the European Union to The Hague (Netherlands) and Brussels. In contemplating my strategy for telling my adventures I thought about writing one massive post and then decided against. Instead I will tell the stories chronologically, which is also according to location.

Our long study tour started off the way that study tours typically do, with a long bus ride. After driving all day Sunday we arrived at our hotel at 8:30pm. Not wanting to waste any of our short time in the Hague everyone in the class dropped off their luggage in their room and headed into the city. It being a Sunday evening there was not too much going on, but we did manage to find a plaza with some bars and cafes.Monday morning we were all up for breakfast at 8 am and were on the bus by 9 to head to our various meetings.

Before these meetings we had some time to explore the city. We discovered things like royal palaces, royal stables, churches, Netherlands government buildings, a plaza dedicated to William of Orange and of course a good amount of cafes. Below is a picture of a beautiful canal that we came across..

Below is a picture of another place we found while wandering. Here are The Hague government buildings.

After making many discoveries within The Hague, we headed to the Peace Palace where we were to have a tour. The Peace Palace is home to the International Court of Justice, which is the highest judiciary organ within the United Nations, and the Court of Arbitration. Walking up to the Peace Palace one notices extreme amounts of security measures, the gorgeous yet powerful structure which is the palace, and the World Peace Flame. Around the flame are stones with UN member states names, which are subject to the rulings of the ICJ and court of arbitration.

I apologize for it being hard to see the flame. The significance of the flame with the surrounding stones should not be lost due to the flames size.

This is the Peace Palace past the various stages of security. It is absolutely stunning both inside and out. I do not think that I have ever seen a more beautiful building, and within its construction what is designed to be so beautiful is also symbolic of the peace which is the goal of this structure. For example on the outside there are carvings of owls and doves instead of gargoyles; the doves representing peace, and the owls representing wisdom.

Due to security reasons and confidentiality reasons we were not allows to take pictures inside, but oh do I  wish I could of. Imagine yourself being in a marble foyer next to a 8 ft stone vase which was a gift from the russian czar in front of marble double stairs that sweep elegantly downwards towards a marble statue of american lady justice in all her glory, standing before italian stain glass windows on an elegant persian rug that has supported the weight of the world's struggles for generations past. That is what it is like to take in the inner sights of the peaces palace. All carpets, art work, and other decorations are donated by member states, containing a large amount of stories in these pieces. For instance there is a statue overlooking the stairs of Jesus. When asking why the ICJ seems to be endorsing one religion over another, a story is told. Two unnamed countries engaged in the elimination of the other's power went to the Court of Arbitration. Here the conflict was settled eliminating the need for further lose of blood. As a symbol of good faith towards the world community and each other, they melted down ammunition from both sides, and created the statue of Jesus which sits at the top of the Peace Palace stairwell. It is for this reason, displaying success of the court that the statue was given such a prominent location within the palace. Below is a picture of myself in front of the peace palace.

After a quick cup of tea in the belly of the Peace Palace, we headed to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Unfortunately no form of electronics are allowed into the building so I was not able to get any pictures. After a lesson on the events leading up to and in the war, we went up to the court to watch a witness testify in the current case before the court.

The observation room was separated from the court proceedings by a bullet proof glass wall. The witness was additionally protected from identification by being curtained off from the observation section. not only this but the voice of the witness was modified to the point that you couldn't tell if its owner was male or female. They really went to extraordinary measures to make sure that this man would be able to testify in the case without fear of being hunted.

After these unique experiences we headed on the bus for Brussels, with a unique experience of a different sort along the way.

In the world of beer there is a type called Trappiste beers. Trappiste beers are made at 7 monasteries within the world. 6 are in Belgium, and 1 called La Trappe is brewed in the Netherlands. On our way to Brussels we were entertained for two hours by the monks at La Trappe, complete with a three course dinner and beer tasting. Needless to say it was a great experience!

 Here is the monastery from behind the gate. Being one of the 7 makers of Trappiste beers they are able to maintain wonderful grounds.

The visit to La Trappe ended our class's adventures in the Netherlands. As we traveled contently in our bus away from the monastery we headed across the border, and into the realm of the subsequent post.

Going into my Third decade with a Hoppy taste!

As some of you may know, October 1st was my 20th birthday. Not being a huge fan of drawing attention to the fact that I can not stay a kid forever, which is what I wanted to be when I grew up, I didn't organize anything special for my birthday. Yet it was so special that I really can not thank my host parents enough.

Ole and Birgitte met me after my last class on Friday, and we started walking, to where I had no idea. Eventually we stopped in front of what looked like a restaurant with a sign saying Nørrebro Bryghus. Entering into the building I was informed that is was a brewery. Having been living with two beer connoiseurs my curiousity deepened as to what they had planned. And for good reason, for how many other 20 years are given a private tour of a brewery for their birthday! I learned quite a lot about the process of making beer by getting to look into the tanks( I didn't have to stand behind the usual barrier) , seeing what is actually going on, and having everything personally explained to me.

After the tour we headed upstairs to the magnificent restaurant. Here Ole ordered us all the five course dinner, with six beers paired to the dishes. The waiter brought a Danish flag to our table to pinpoint us as being the location where someone is celebrating their birthday or fødselsdag. (Danes use their flag for all sorts of special occasions, including birthdays.)In the midst of  salmon dishes, pork dishes, cheese dishes, beef dishes, and lemon meringue pie there was raspberry beer, german pilsner,  oktoberfest beer, hoppy beer, amber beer and chocolate beer for dessert. For an American who never knew there was more than a single taste of beer one is always amazed at the variety, or at least I still am. I am learning that the world of beer is similar to what one typically thinks of as the wine world, where beers are matched to dishes for their taste and quality. This restaurant definitely matched things perfectly in my mind.

The dinner was absolutely amazing, the food was perfect and I had such a good time with Ole & Birgitte. The celebration of my birthday this year was something totally different than anything I had ever experienced. All in all my birthday was amazing!! I am looking forward to seeing what life will bring in this new decade. Kicking off my next decade in Copenhagen is the perfect start!

Thanks Ole and Birgitte for the amazing Birthday!

Prehistoric Ice - The Earliest Time Capsule

Part of the DIS program is that on Wednesdays you do not have regular classes. Instead you go on Field Studies with your classes.This past Wednesday the 29th of September I had a field study for my class entitled, Greenland a Scientific Expedition. In this class we are learning about the past and modern Greenland in preparation for our trip to Greenland in November. As you can imagine the majority of your course material is science oriented, so when it came to our field study I wasn't too shocked to find out that we were going across the city to look at ice. But not just any ice, 200,000 year old ice!

 

As you can probably tell from the above picture, 200,000 year old ice looks much like the ice of today. (I can't tell the difference) But what is difference is what the scientific make up of the ice tells you. It reveals how our climate in the past has changed to our climate today, which is quite essential to understand when faced with the climate problems of today.

I actually found the visit to the Ice and Climate Center to be quite intriguing. The pictures in this post are of me holding a 200,000 year old ice core sample. The price for seeing such ice is standing in a freezer set at

-20 celsius, with your class as your teacher and a guest lecturer tells you the journey of the ice.

I suppose it is appropriate that I have gotten around to posting about the Ice and Climate Center on my Birthday. As I learn more and more about climate the natural history of the Earth, ice included, it makes me seem extremely young. =D

Jutland - Family style! Food, Fairytales, Vikings, and More Food!

When Ole told me about a family get together that his family was holding in Bording, Denmark (a town in Jutland), I was excited to go see Jutland and meet some families living outside of Copenhagen. On Saturday (the 25th) we kicked off our adventure to Jutland. Instead of going directly to Bording we stopped at Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christien Andersen. The house or hus where he was born is still there, and now part of the H.C. Andersen Musuem. For those of you that don't recognize the name H.C. Andersen, it is the author of tales such as Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, and many more. Between his fairy tales and novels it is suffice to say that he is an extraordinary figure in Danish literature. The picture to the right is the plaque that Odense put on the house that H.C. Andersen's family lived in and where he was born.

Here I am in front of the H.C. Andersen's House!

Next to the life size model of H.C. Andersen, the teller of tales. He used tp entertain the children of his friends with stories, and paper cut outs. How lucky those kids were who got to hear the tales from the teller himself.  

After spending time at the Museum, we went to lunch in Odense and I got to try Flødebolle. This is a very Danish chocolate. It is a dome of chocolate that is filled with almost a marshmellow substance made of egg whites.  The bottom of the dome is a wafer cookie. They are really delicious, but something I have to learn how to eat. If you look them up you will be able to see why it is hard to eat them neatly.

From there we continued on to Bording where I got to meet a lot of Ole's family. They really are such nice people. People often say in the U.S. that the Italian families are all about showing that they care through food, but those people must have just been to Italy and the U.S.. During the whole trip to Jutland there was always so much food. I have gotten some emails inquiring about the food so I will elaborate during this post.

As soon as we entered into the door at Ole's cousin's house we were served a dessert. It is a kind of rice pudding, though it has more cream than in the US. It was served with hot cherries in a syrup on top. This is something that they typically eat at Christmastime. So if you want a new twist to your rice pudding try adding hot cherries, I can vouch for it being a great combination.

During our visit with Ole's family a lot of the time I was not completely sure what was going on, but it was wonderful none the less. (Oh how I wish I knew Danish) Ole's Aunt had just come back from living in Canada, thus the get together, so there were family members that I was able to talk to. However, I loved just listening and trying to figure out what is going on. Later in the afternoon tea and cake was served. Though they had a layered cake, and cookies I preferred the dessert which was the mix of a sweet bread and a pastry complete with raisins. It was absolutely delicious. It was shortly after this that we left Ole's cousin's house, and heading to Ans (another town in Jutland) where we were to stay the night with Ole and Birgitte's friends' family.

This was a great experience, we were at the table from about 7 to 12, talking, eating and enjoying each others company. I had a terrific time, and I learned a lot about Danes (everything I learned was good). Over the time span we were at the table we had homemade pizza with sausage, ham, and vegetables, fruit, a brownie and ice cream dessert, chips (much later in the evening), tea, beer, and wine. Needless to say I was not starving as I went to sleep saturday night.

The next morning we had breakfast at nine before leaving. The breakfast buffet was complete with breads, cheeses, fruits, sausage, bacon, eggs, liver pate, tea, orange juice, and apple juice. It seems like it would be impossible for someone to leave Jutland hungry, or at least I didn't!

After leaving this amazing family, we stopped by Moesgård Museum, which my Aunt Laura would have adored. It is jam packed with historical archeological finds from Denmark, including Grauballe Man which is a body that has been preserved in a peat pit from the Iron Age in Denmark. Thought to have been a sacrifice to the gods, he was found almost perfectly preserved.

Continuing on from the museum we had one more stop to make before heading back to Copenhagen, and this was another great part of Danish history, the Jelling Stones. These are two stones erected in the 900s. The first was erected by King Gorm the old in memory of his wife Thyra, and the second was erected by his son Harald Bluetooth in honor of his parents The large stone in the following pictures is the one erected by Harald, while this smaller was done by his father.  This is significant since it is one of the earliest writings about Denmark. UNESCO has made this a world heritage site, and the stones are soon to be sealed in a glass container to prevent further deterioration. So it is very special that I was able to get up close and personal with these pieces of history.

Here I am with the Jelling stones.

Thus concludes my trip to Jutland. My thanks go to Ole and Birgitte for including me in this adventure, among other adventures. I also must give credit to Ole for the amazing photography.