50 degrees, rainy
Yo wazup
Let me tell you about where I've been for the past week
Last friday was Copenhagen's annual culture night. Kulturnatten. I will preface the description of this event by saying that every city in the world should have a culture night. Once a year, 200+ cultural institutions open their doors from 5:00pm - 1:00am for a city-wide celebration of Danish culture. A little kroner up front and then the whole city is your playground. You can visit art museums, Parliament, the zoo, restaurants, castles, gardens, etc. There are more destinations than you could ever possibly visit in one night so its good to have a plan set out ahead of time. Carolyn and I went first to the zoo which has an incredibly diverse group of animals. One of my favorites was the anteater, which I have never seen in real life. After the zoo, we headed to the environmental house - a house that is made by all sustainable materials and operated in a completely sustainable way. The house had solar panels, and a composting toilet, you know the usual eco-suspects. I am all in favor of the green revolution, don't get me wrong, but composting your poo? Too far, tooo far. From here, we headed down the main walking street (Strøget) where almost every store was open serving beverages and food. There were tents filled with everything from Nordic apple varieties to medieval replica swords. We saw ice sculptures, tasted organic Scandinavian foods, listened to live music, and watched kids played the biggest Jenga tower I have ever seen.
We headed to the Black Diamond Library to see a photography exhibit and to explore the library itself.
Pictures are technically "not allowed" but I figured since it was culture night it would be alright.
Culture night isn't just for visitors in fact it is mostly Danes who were out and about, which is what makes it such a great event. It's really authentic and you can tell that this is a country with A LOT of pride in their culture.
Fast forward a few days to Wednesday- field study time. This week I headed to the Danish resistance museum and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
At the resistance museum we learned about the different stages of Danish resistance and although it had a weak start ended on a strong and pretty violent note (that is to say, violent for Denmark). We also the movie Flammen & Citronen (which I would recommend) about two of the most famous members of the Danish resistance movement Flame and Citron.
Cool museum.
On the way we passed by the grounds of Fredericksborg castle which is really beautiful especially now that the leaves are starting to fall.
Later, at Danish Institute for Human Rights we heard presentations about the current human rights challenges in Denmark namely discrimination and immigration. Immigration is one of the most controversial issues in Denmark today. And, it was very interesting to hear the topic presented from a Danish perspective. But, I will save the politics for another venue.
peace and love
Allison
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