Some economics for thought

CPH
62 degrees, cloudy, with a hint of rain


Something for you to chew on:

In Denmark, there is a 200% tax on cars -  new, used, and anywhere in between.

(If math isn't your thing let me assist you.  A $20,000 car will cost you $60,000.)

So, when you see a nice car in Denmark, which you rarely do, you know that person is HOOKED UP.

Chew friends, chew.

-Allison

Exploring

CPH
61 degrees, sunny with rain

Today's destination: Christiania

Christiania is the infamous free state in the middle of copenhagen.   Denmark is already a liberal place with socialism and welfare up to its allegorical ears.  But, it gets better and by better I mean more liberal and by more liberal I mean lawless.  Literally lawless.  In Christiania anything and just about everything goes.

Right off the bat you know you are in a place unto itself.  The streets aren't paved b/c no cars are allowed, there are wild dogs running around, the houses aren't as well maintained, and instead of flowers growing in the window boxes of said houses there are marijuana plants.  I would have liked to take pictures of all these things but ironically enough cameras are not allowed.

I went with three other girls from DIS and to say that we stuck out would be a gross understatement.  After more than a few stares and odd looks we decided to head back towards civilization.

On the way out we passed a few guys putting graffiti up on a wall.  I've got to give them credit because this graffiti is way cooler than any I've ever seen in the states.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Herring vs. waffles. Spoiler alert -its not herring

CPH
66 degrees, Sunny

Friday after school I hit the streets of Copenhagen with Jeo, another Brown student at DIS.  First stop?

hell YES.  Two words- street waffles.  Forget about smoked herring, salted herring, liver paste, or the open faced sandwiches that are so popular here.  Someone needs to get these waffles to the TOP of the list.  

First of all, you can smell these suckers for blocks.  By the time you get to the street vendor and wipe the drool off your mouth you will be begging the man behind the counter to take your little gold coin and GIVE YOU A WAFFLE ALREADY.

Afterwards, we headed down to the water to look around, saw this tower, and decided to go up.

You sure get your kroner's worth here folks.  Best view of the city so far.

Off for now.  See ya later!

  

Tell it to me straight, Denmark

CPH
Weather: 64 degrees, windy, sunny

Well hello,

I have successfully completed my first day of classes.  Huzah!  I really like the professor of my European Politics class.  He is a pretty cool dude who says what he thinks (e.g. Sarah Palin embodies everything that is wrong with American politics.  "You can see Russia from your back porch... PSSSHH").
I like this about Danes; they will tell you exactly what they are thinking.  There is no such thing as "politically correct," and they certainly don't tip-toe around issues.  And it's not just my teacher.

It's the whole country.

Someone had to say it!  Well, maybe not, but they did.

-Allison

My Dorm

CPH
Weather: 69 degrees, WINDY

Hello, and welcome to Grønjords Kollegium (pronounced gronyords  co-leg-ium). What a stylish building!

Here it is, room 6218.  Are you excited to go further? Good, here we go.



















Cozy, but dim.  I set my camera to "nightscene" for these pictures.
I know the Danes are all about ambient lighting but jeeze a Japanese lantern just isn't going to cut it, I'm sorry.

Watts aside, I do like the room.  It does everything I need it to do.

Let's keep going.

I now understand why bathrooms in Europe are called water closets.

So there you have it.  Grønjords.  

I have to admit that it did fall a tad short of my expectations of a classic,old, european building with vines growing up brick walls, etc, etc.  But, I am getting on board one day at a time.

Across the street from from G-jords is DR (Denmark Radio), the public radio and television headquarters and concert hall.  The buildings were designed by Jean Nouvel and even though they are not located on what I would call "prime" real estate, they are pretty awesome.    

DR Concert Hall

DR Headquarters

So there you have it, the hood.  Jealous?

Peace out

-Allison

Theme: Danes

CPH

66 degrees, WINDY, scattered showers

Just a quick update:

Today I met a bunch of my hall mates with whom I share a kitchen.  My next door neighbor, Anders, is a sociology student and a pianist.  He has been playing piano since he was three years old, so twenty years at least.  I can hear him practice and I'll just say this- the man knows how to plays the damn piano.  I had a very nice dinner with him and four others (whose name I either cannot spell or remember) talking about school and watching "Friends" and "CSI".  Other US tv shows they like? The OC, and Sex and the City.

Earlier in the day I saw two extreme samples from the Danish population.  The first was a woman, a model, who was doing a fashion shoot in an archway near my metro stop.  The epitome of copenhagen glamour and style.  Then I got on the metro and things got real.  A woman, witch/sorcerer/babayaga, also got on the metro.  She came running onto the train and sat down across from me.  Sister was high out of her mind.  About 20 seconds after she sat, she was asleep on her knees.  She remained in the seated, fetal position until the train stopped which sent her running down the train again.  An interesting comparison to be sure.  

till the next

Allison

Hej!

Copenhagen, DK
Weather: 68 degrees and raining

Day two in Copenhagen (Københaven) and im still feeling like a super rookie.  But I have figured out the important things like how to get to school, how to work my phone, and never to leave the dorm without a raincoat or umbrella and preferably both.  Rain the first day here- bad luck.  Heavy rain today- storm system?  Weather.com shed a little light on the situation for me - its going to rain allll week. Bummer Al.
Despite the weather, Copenhagen is beautiful. Beautiful and extremely efficient.  All things transportation are easy to use, time efficient, and well maintained.  The metro is so easy that even I haven't gotten lost yet.  

National Museum of Denmark.

But the thing I like most about the city so far is the way the old blends seamlessly with the new.  This is most obvious in the architecture- old stone buildings abutting the most modern buildings of steel and glass.  Not only are old and new next to each other but they also exist in a single building.  Today I went to the National Museum of Denmark (Nationailmuseet) to sign up for activities, clubs, etc.  The museum is a massive stone building overlooking a canal and on the inside it is very modern.

(apologies that there is no picture of the outside but it was RAINING and I didn't want the camera to get wet)

This seems to reflects the efficiency that the Danes bring to most aspects of their lives.  Why build an entirely new building when you can renovate and appreciate an already existing one?  Why create a separate space in the bathroom for a shower when the whole bathroom can be the shower if you just push a nob? Don't think outside the box unless you are going to put that creative idea back in the box to make it cooler.

There is so much to learn here I don't even know where to begin.  And luckily I don't have to look very hard to do it.  This morning I went to a café/bakery for some breakfast and asked for an egg sandwich with bacon and cheese.  The man behind the counter nodded vigorously and began preparing what I hoped to be hot, melted, and delicious.  I am excited for the day Danes learn how to make this breakfast sandwich because it will blow their minds way more than the hard-boiled egg, lettuce, bacon, and dressing sandwich I got.  Don't get me wrong they make a mean egg, lettuce, bacon (an elb if you will) and it made for a lovely breakfast.  But it wasn't quite the same somehow.  Another highlight of the meal was the marching band that passed right by our table.  The muscians/soldiers wore tall fur hats, blue uniforms with shinny silver buttons and either carried instruments, swords, or automatic weapons which were all equally as shinny.

I'm off for now
-Allison

  

Ready to go

Buffalo, NY  
Weather: 70 degrees, sunny

Hello hello.

This is the first and last post from the US.  I spent the day packing, weighing, re-packing, and finally zipping up (what should be) two airline approved bags for my travels.  Tomorrow promises to be a very long day of traveling- Buffalo to Copenhagen via JFK, Newark, and Stockholm.  One interesting thing I learned today, while listening to a NPR story about all these eggs in the US infected with salmonella, is that if you are one of those people who prefers their eggs without salmonella you should go to Denmark, the country with the safest eggs in the world.  Alll riight!  This feels like a good sign.
With lots of excitement, nervousness, and the reassurance that my breakfasts for the next few months will be bacteria free I say goodnight.

Till the next,
Allison