Combining Intellect With a Sense of Adventure

I sit at my computer and continuously ponder how to sum up my study trip. Finally I have concluded that the only thing to do is to start typing and hopefully I will find the pebbles I left along my travels to bring back to you. As I travel I constantly think that I have to remember to tell someone this, or I will take a picture that I know I want to show. The perplexing thing after traveling is to look at all these tidbits (or pebbles) and arrange them in a way where Hansel and Gretel do not end up at the witch’s cottage, but rather end up seeing through my eyes.


Though the Study tour was only three days, I believe that this is likely to be my longest post yet. The study tour kicked off Thursday morning with a tour of Storebaelt Bridge. Never before have I been on the inside of a highly trafficked bridge and my foremost observation was the noise. The public is not typically allowed to go off the beaten trail to this island, which is the headquarters for the bridge, but when your teacher is the former Danish Minister of Transportation you receive not only an extensive tour from the bridge director but a wonderful meal cooked by the staff. Here are some pictures of the bridge, and the lighthouse on the connecting island.

The Bridge Right before we went inside of it

Taken from under the Bridge looking at the Light house.

After our terrific lunch we headed to Dybbøl Banke, a battlefield where the Danes faced the brute force of Bismark’s army in 1864. It was in this war that Denmark lost its southernmost province of Schleswig-Holstein and the area of the nation was decreased by a third. This is what helped define the type of nation-state that Denmark has become and their political position in the world. The pictures from this battlefield may be slightly fuzzy due to rain. The picture from Dybbøl Banke is following on the right.

That night we stayed at a hostel in Haderslev. It was an amazing hostel, I was quite impressed. Thursday evening after our group dinner we went to a Danish Pub and got to know each other since the rest of the day had been so rushed.

When we woke up Friday morning we ate the delicious breakfast that the hostel gave us and headed off to Germany, Kiel to be exact. There we met with the head of the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of internal affairs, where he told us about the modern Schleswig-Holstein.

Ministry of Internal Affairs for Schleswig-Holstein.

After the meeting at the ministry we had a German lunch. To the left is a picture of my amazing hot chocolate. (If anyone goes to Europe you have to get a hot chocolate at some point in time)


Next we headed to the Christian-Albrechts-Universitat in Kiel where a Professor there met with us and explained the German consensus on EU policies from an analytical point of view. This was a superb talk, and I feel like he really gave good insight. Looking back on it, I think that he was our best presenter throughout the tour.

Despite feeling that riding the bus was getting to be quite repetitive we loaded onto the bus, and drove the our last stop on the tour, Lübeck Germany. This stop was not centered around the EU but rather history in general, since Lübeck is considered to be one of the most historical cities in Germany. Many historical towns and cities were destroyed due to air raid in Germany, but Lübeck only received one bomb courtesy of the Allied forces, since the captured Allied forces were mainly kept in Lübeck. However, when we arrive there at 7 o’clock at night we did not know this and would not find out until the next day. What we did know though, was that there was a variety of music blaring from different parts of the city and we wanted to know why. Following both our noses (we were hungry) and our ears we turned the corner from our hostel and found a massive German street carnival, with food and drink, games, and party towers. From an American point of view it was an amazing party that would never have occurred in the states, while to the Germans around us it was just their annual street carnival, no big deal. Here are some glimpses of the night’s adventure to the left and then below.

Saturday morning bright and early we were strolling around Lübeck with an expert on the history of the city. Though it is a relatively small city (compared with Copenhagen) the tour lasted around 2.5 hours. Needless to say we hear countless tales of a Lübeck of old, and saw many aspects of the city that I may have otherwise not known to see. Here is my tour of Lübeck.

I don't think that many tourists go to Germany to see a chair suspended in clothesline next to the familys' Germany flag four stories up, But none the less here it is.


Below is one of the main streets leading up to the Cathedral.

Believe it or not this is the entrance to one of Germany's first retirement communities.

The beautiful church of St. Mary's. It is listed by UNESCO for Cultural Significance.

After eating lunch at a famous Sailing association, now turned restaurant, and shopping in the famed Marzipan shop and shop of solely German Gummies, we headed back to the bus to return to Copenhagen. I thought that we would get off the bus to go on our scheduled ferry. You can imagine my astonishment and my neighbors’ laughter as I came to the realization that the Whole Bus was going on the ferry!

Well that is all for now. Vi Ses!

EU, German, and Danish Flags - Appropriate ending to the study tour!

Bicycles, Picnics, and Castles

On Friday Ole and Birgitte, my host family, bought a third bike that I can use. By Saturday I was more than ready to try it. I can't remember  specifically when I last rode a bike, so I was a little nevous before I set out on my ride. I didn't do anything embarassing, like riding the bike into the only car around, so I consider my initial test to be a success. A little bit later Ole and Birgitte were going on a bike ride and invited me along, so I went along in order to learn the bike paths. We had a nice bike ride, but I don't think I am directionally capable yet to ride around the neighborhood on my own,or I may end up in another town. It will take a little bit of time to get used to riding a bike again, but that is all part of the adventure.

Sunday was the DIS picnic for host families so our daily preparations were centered around that. That morning I cooked some banana bread for my host family, and we brought some with us to the picnic. Sunday was a beautiful day for a picnic, so we had a great time.

From the picnic we headed down to a marina and enjoyed some ice cream while watching the boats. After enjoying the marina, we headed back to the car and I thought we were heading home. But Ole and Birgitte surprised me when we pulled up to Fredensborg which is a royal palace where the crown prince and his family have been living while their Amalienborg palace is being renovated. Ole took the picture of me with Fredensborg in the background and conveniently a guard was passing behind as well.

 Here is a close up of one of the Guards protecting the palace.

After Fredensborg I thought for sure we were heading home, but nope. Before I knew it we were pulling up to Frederiksborg Slot. We have plans to go inside Frederiksborg another weekend, so we wandered the gardens since it was such a beautiful day.

This is a picture of the front side of Frederiksborg slot.

The garden was absolutely
 incredible. They had actually recreated it in a style similar to the way Christian IV would have had the gardens. (He was the one who built Frederiksborg slot along with a myriad of other famous sites, such as Rosenborg slot)

Here I am in the Gardens with Frederiksborg slot in the back.

So that was my amazing weekend. Monday night I went to Tivoli, which is the world famous amusement park. Being from Florida I appreciate how much charm this park has. I went with Ole and Birgitte directly after class, and I had forgotten my camera at home, so no pictures of this adventure, Sorry. Do not fret though I will surely go again within the next two weeks before they shut down for the season, so I will supply pictures then!

Wednesday I am supposed to go to Christiania and the Danish Foreign Ministry. Thursday through Saturday I will be with my European Union class exploring Haderslev Denmark and Lubeck Germany so keep checking in for that adventure!

Paintings, Jewels, and History Galore! A Day at Rosenborg Slot

Wednesday this week, the first of September, I did not have any field studies for DIS, so I had the day to do with as I pleased. Being such a newcomer to Copenhagen I have a list of sites I want to see and things that I want to do. My host Mom made a few suggestions and I decided to go to Rosenborg Slot (Castle). It is quite close to the train station, Norreport that I use when I go to DIS, so contrary to the popular belief of those who know me well, I was able to find my way to Rosenborg Slot or Rosenborg Castle quite easily. I arrive about 11 o’clock, and was immediately awestruck by the gardens. With the Rose Garden and the rest of the park next to the castle it is quite beautiful. It is definitely something that would be difficult to find in the U.S. and it is simply tucked away in the city of Copenhagen. I had no idea how close it was before Wednesday. It just affirms a prior observation that Copenhagen is a city in which the ultra modern is woven within such a vast history.


For those of you not acquainted with the history of Rosenborg Castle I will give a brief Natasha version of the vast history that this castle embodies (I wasn’t familiar before I read my collection of tour books, and got a handy information sheet from the ticket booth). The Crown started building Rosenborg Slot (slot means castle) in 1606. King Christian IV had a hand in the design of the castle since he was the one who commissioned it to be built. After Frederiksberg castle was built in 1710, Rosenborg castle was not used as frequently, and it eventually became where heirlooms, including crown jewels and thrones, of the royal family are stored.

So being the historically mesmerized person that I was, I methodically went through the castle’s many rooms taking pictures. Therefore this post will be more of a pictorial story of my day at Rosenborg Slot than a tale of my mesmerized wanderings.

This is the summer house of King Christian IV, known as Rosenborg.

The park connecting to the Castle.The Rose Garden

This is not a throne room, just a "typical" castle room. There was not a single room without either a beautiful painting on the cieling or magnificent molding.

Another of the many rooms of opulence.

The Thrones and one of three silver lions protecting the Throne.

One of the many cases of Royal Jewels... these are considered jewels of state

Royal Crowns

And that concludes my day's adventure at Rosenborg Slot!

Medieval Mud and Games

Yesterday, Sunday, I went with a group of DIS students to Esrum Abbey. Called Spears, Arrows, and Abbey Ale, there was plenty of all three, and mud aplenty to go around. At Esrum Abbey we were divided into teams for playing medieval fighting games. From a lettuce throwing Trebuchet, to throwing spears at scarecrows, lifting rocks, balancing on a log over a ditch, fighting a knight, and shooting a medieval long bow, none of the challenges ever seemed the least bit easier. Add it the rain and you have a new level of Medieval challenges. Instead of balancing on the log for fear of falling in the dirt, you have to balance on the log or fall into the creek which suddenly appeared in the rain. I actually think that the rain made the games more authentic. Particularly since I am sure medieval knights could not balance an umbrella while swinging a sword, though the image would be quite amusing.


Out of all the activities, my two favorite were probably the trebuchet (who doesn’t want to see lettuce launched across a field) and the sword fighting.

When we walked up to the sword fighting activities, we quickly realized that this was going to be an embarrassing experience for all of us. None the less, we all took our turn in facing the “Sword Master” at the abbey. By the time it was my turn the ground was extremely muddy. Being so slippery extremely quick footwork was a definite no go. Shortly I was done with my turn in the square of competition, and left to watch the sword matches morph into wrestling in the mud.

At the end of the day outside playing in the rain, we were all wet, and tired. We were led back inside the Abbey where there was Ale, and Snacks available for us. Overall it was a fun day, a great experience, and another thing that shall stand in my head as unique to Denmark. There are not too many abbeys made in 1150!

Hvad er Klokken? (What time is it?)

When you head overseas it is not the time alone that changes. From the way that a stall door in a typical bathroom opens, to the general atmosphere, language, and everything else that makes a place just that, one can not expect things to be the same as home. I have now been in Copenhagen for three full days, and it really is great! I have spent the better part of those two days wandering around the city for Orientation. The first day I and whoever I was with at the time would wander with our noses in maps. By the third day it was a little bit better. (Given I still got lost once in 8 hours) Believe it or not I am learning how to use a map fairly well.

This week has mainly been orientation, learning how to survive in a different culture, which includes not getting run over by bikes, and not getting lost. The school sent us twice on scavenger hunts around the city, which has been extremely useful in learning how to get around and understand the history of the City where I am now living. For those of you who like google maps, the main street I am using on a daily basis is Nørregade.

Classes started on Thursday without a hitch. There are two things I will have to get used to from classes in Copenhagen. First, the morning commute which makes your 8:30 class seem earlier since you have to leave by 7 to make it there. Near the end of September this should get better as the construction on the S train near where I am living finishes. The second thing is that professors are quite informal, every one of my teachers asked us to call him/her by their first name.

This semester and next semester should be really great! Tomorrow I will be going to Esrum Abbey with DIS, which I am extremely excited for. I will definitely make sure to take lots of pictures.

Hej Hej!