Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Busy, busy, busy.

I have to say for my first three days in Denmark, they sure have been busy. Sunday, not so much considering I was sleepwalking pretty much all day, but yesterday and today have been quite killers. Like yesterday, I spent most of my day exploring Copenhagen; however, this time we focused on historical and cultural aspects of the city and less on practical information. First, we were broken into groups and given landmarks to hit around the city. We went to the Parliament building where we got free coffee and historical information about it. The building has burnt down several times which is why the Royal family no longer lives there. The second stop on our tour was a small square, it used to house a monastery but was given to a high royal officer. Then, the officer was found guilty of embezzlement and the land was given away. Then, it was bombed in 1807 by the British and was rebuilt again. Quite a story for a little cobblestone courtyard, don't you think? Anyway, after the square we went to the new Royal Palace, which houses the Queen, the Crown Prince, his wife, and the new baby twins, (we also got some more free coffee, I like that the Danes love coffee.) The final stop on our journey was to the new theater and opera house; the Danish government paid for the two new landmarks with subsidy money because they thought the Danes would benefit from cultural establishments. Apparently, most like both and the theater is also used for business meetings and conferences. It may be really expensive but I may go to a show, but I'll have to pick something I'm familiar with because they're all in Danish and the opera only has Danish subtitles. After that, we bought things to make smorrebord and ate it as a group. It was nice to finally rest our feet and be inside again. And of course, I can't forget the academics; I had my first session for my Sustainability in Europe class and will begin taking classes on Thursday; I don't get much adjustment time between now and then, yikes. To round out the day, I picked up an adapter at the Apple store, I was having issues with mine so I figured 99DKK was worth sorting it out, along with a clock and batteries at Tiger, so I don't have to rely on my interesting rental phone to tell the time. Tomorrow will be a much shorter, slower day, at least the plans DIS has for me. However, I may stay in the city after our session and explore (but I couldn't get my books today so that means I'll end up carrying them around on tomorrow's excursions.) Or perhaps I'll run home to put them away first, the trip home isn't too long but it will take about an hour round trip.
The Parliament in Christiansborg.

Inside the Parliament building. 


The Royal Palace.

The inner harbor.

No comments:

Post a Comment