No Apology Required

The plan was to rent a car and drive around the Mosel river valley and check out some of the beautiful sites on offer there.   First thing, our original transportation option broke down leaving us with the dreaded option of renting.  We arrived to the car rental place only to find out that our reservation could not be met as requested and we would be upgraded.  I have rented before and the upgrade is not the biggest deal until this black beauty came zipping around the corner and the keys slid in my direction.  My friend could hardly contain his excitement so he got first dibs on the wheel.  After getting the full insurance package, we rocketed off onto the local Autobahn.  You have to test the car, right?

We were off to Metz to see the cathedral and its famous Chagall windows.  Next came a night in Saarbruecken and a trip to the wine country.  I am not a big wine fan, but going to a wine producing area does tend to take you to very beautiful places.  Trier was nice but packed with tourists on this practicular day.  Next was Thoernich and the real wine producers.  Was a lot of fun to stay the night out there and I could not imagine any place like it in America.  We managed to come home in time to see the brilliant football of FCS as they managed to power their way into the top rung of amateur German football (the soccer kind).  Unfortunately, my time in the Saarland was limited and I had to get home to meet some other friends for a Swedish excursion. 

In the Middle of Everywhere

Berlin was such an amazing place to finally see.  I have been to Germany numerous times but can only say I have seen the small corner near France.  The fact that I had only three hours of sleep before my arrival was dragging on me until we got out of the airport and the excitement hit me.  The bonus of going to Berlin, especially from Copenhagen is that everything was so cheap that it might as well have been free (except for that pair of Dunks).  

We managed to book an apartment run by some hippies specializing in organic foods and yoga instruction.  Free classes were available to all but after watching the class exit late one night I knew it was not for me.  Since I forgot my guidebook by the door in Denmark, I had to go on memory alone to check off what I wanted to see before my flight out.  I lack the words to describe the awestruck feeling that I was repeatedly overcome by in the city.  The Pergamon Museum was a special treat as I was really taken by a two story marble facade.  

My time there was short but I will be back.  

Vikings

So I purchased a pack of empty batteries and could only snap a few picture of the famous Roskilde Viking ships.  The museum also had an interesting film covering the annual 4 month trip in a reconstructed Viking ship across the North Sea.  The other reason to go to Roskilde is the cathedral which happened to have a concert in it at the time so I could not go in.  The trip did start with the bright spot of a drunk Dane wanting to start a fight with me.  I guess you could say some trips are just not meant to work out.

So I Went Places

Which left me with little motivation to post new entries to this blog.  I will try to spend some time my last week here (already) with a chronological series of postings.  Here we go...

Do You Smell That?

It smells like victory!  Finally, I was able to pull my team across the finish line in first place.  Oddly enough, I was still unable to shake the bottle of Fisk as some friends won yet another bottle of the stuff.  I would post more about the national shot of Denmark but when you google it, you come up empty handed.  Clearly another reason not to touch the stuff.  

A Bridge Too Far?

In short, my school back home surprised me after I arrived here in Denmark with mandatory extra classes.  Complicating matters is the fact that classes here are not scheduled to allow for students to take multiple subjects at one time.  The outcome (I do like to game the system) is that although I was drastically overworked the first two months that I was here, I now find myself with very little school work left.  I only have class one day a week and starting in April zero classes a week.  I fear the boredom so its time to travel.  I will be in Berlin from the 6th to the 9th of April.  There will be a Saarbruecken trip in there at some point.  The question is where next to go?

We Were Robbed

3rd Place and another bottle of Fisk.

What Time Is It?

Game Time.  Every other Sunday is the pub quiz at one of the local Irish pubs.  As you could imagine, I though it would be easy to dominate the field at trivia.  Being confident that I will be on the winning team (and more importantly the "1st Place Trophy" bottle of whisky) I did bring a certain amount of swagger to the field.  I like to think this confidence comes from my luck at having grown up in the great state of Texas.  You could imagine my horror and feelings of shame when on the first outing, we finished fourth.  On the second attempt the team finished third but I was not there to take part of the celebrations (the "3rd Place Trophy" is the most disgusting alcohol I have ever run across called Fisk).  I go out today focused on victory.  Go ahead put the bottle on my table.  The flag of my state will be behind me.

Beer Trumps Government

Every time.  I have been to both the National Museum of Art and the Carlsberg Collection, there is no comparison.  The National Museum is a nice one but for a major European capital, it is a disgrace.  The Carlsberg Collection on the other hand (a gift to the people of Denmark from the Carlsberg Beer family) is a truly amazing collection.  It is comprised mostly of classical sculpture and a small collection of impressionist masters.  If there is any famous person or deity you would like to see in marble, it is here.  The impressionist collection is especially interesting since it has some Van Gogh's from before he developed his famous style.  Unfortunately they do not allow photography in the painting section so you all will have to suffer through sculpture pics.  That is Alexander the Great on the left with Perseus and Medusa on the right.

My Home is Youtube Famous

See what I mean.

The Gauntlet has Been Laid Down

So the race for the most famous Irvine brother is heating up.  Go here to see what I'm up against.

I Live on What?

During the introduction meeting with the housing office, it was casually mentioned that our residence was in need of some soil tests to see if a factory nearby had contaminated the area.  I originally though this would mean a few engineers or scientists walking around taking samples with a small shovel.  What showed up was the small tank/drilling rig you see here.  It drilled holes for two weeks, six days a week, starting at 7 am.  Needless to say, the homeless looking construction workers became the most hated individuals in Holger.  Thankfully they are finished, unless they find something and then I will have to learn the best way to sabotage one of these drills.  On top of the whole living on a theoretical Superfund site, it was recently published in the daily English newspaper that exchange students are paying at least twice the market rate for housing at CBS.  Here is the original story and the follow-up.

Classic Copenhagen

So this is the mermaid statue that is probably the most famous attraction in the city.  In typical Danish fashion, she is kinda in the middle of nowhere so that when you finally find her, you are really underwhelmed (the statue is maybe 3 or 4 feet tall).  My opinion of the whole thing may be a bit tainted as I snapped this picture just after a Russian tourist felt the spotlight on him and responded by feeling up the statue.  It makes you wonder why some people actually travel.  When I was in Japan, we were waiting for a train when we ran into another group of Americans who were cleary just there to do nothing but lower the worlds' opinion of Americans.  It was nauseating to see and hear them talk rather explicitly about what they wanted to do to the Japanese women who walked by.  Seriously these guys could have gone to Daytona Beach for 20% of the cost and done the exact same thing.  As for the Russian, fate would have it that I at least got to see him bust his ass on the sidewalk five minutes later.

If I Were a Pacific Islander...

...this would be my sword of choice.  Incase the picture is not that clear, it is basically a wooden blade with shark teeth attached to it.  I found this at the renowned Danish National History Museum which is famous for its well preserved bog people (Danish mummies).  Those pictures did not turn out so well but you weren't missing much.  Call it Danish humor but in the floor with Roman and Greek statues they had a collection of smaller Hercules statuettes which incorporated a modern plastic one from the recent Disney cartoon.  

As a general note about life here that can be rather annyoing and heart stopping, you are almost always walking into a dark room.  According to my pre trip research, Denmark has one of the highest costs per kWh in the world.  As a function of that, nearly every light is tied to a motion detector and is compact fluorescent bulb.  In practice, when you walk into a room, you trip the sensor (maybe) and then it takes a few seconds for the bulbs to turn on in any meaningful manner.  So you can patiently wait at the door (not my style) or barge in and hope for the best.  So far I have almost fallen down a flight of stairs, walked into a winow shutter, hit my head on a lamp, and tripped over a chair.  At least I live near the local hospital.

No More Famous Grouse

I feel no further explanation is required.

(For reference: me, Martin, Antoine)

Collins Center ca. 2050?

Or if the Collins Center were built in Denmark in 2004.  This is a very impressive building to have class in or borrow one of the study rooms.  I wish my school had the audacity to try something like this.

The Moral Hazard of Universal Healthcare

Young Danes used to skateboard down this tower since the floor is sloped without any steps.  As a newly minted subscriber (for free by the way) to the national healthcare system, I do not feel compelled to try it.

Nilla Cakesters Got Bumped Down a Place

Seriously, I find myself thinking about this in class.

CBS

This is the main building here at CBS.  It was built recently and clearly has the Danish design feel to it.  The only odd thing is the fountain that is in the middle that streams water down the length of the whole building, dividing the main floor (the black strip in the middle is the fountain which I was sleepy enough to stumble through when I first got here).  Another fun fact is that there is a bar in the far left corner which turns this place into a full-on club on Thursday nights.

Tough Choices: FCK vs BIF

So it is time to make the fateful decision of which football team I will put my support behind. There are two real options for me here:  FC Copenhagen (FCK) and Brondby IF (BIF).  A Brondby fan gave me the run down why Brondby should be my choice but I feel the pull toward my new "local" team FCK.  Currently Brondby is leading the league by two points over FCK but that could change quickly as they meet in the second half opener in a few weeks.  I do not take this decision lightly as it may greatly alter either team's fortune (see Dallas Mavericks and Cowboys).

Shoilet

 The shared hallway to my suite-mate's room.  He lost the lottery and has a room about half the size of mine.

My Room

This is my residence here in Copenhagen (Fredriksberg to be exact) Holger Dankses Vej 89. For reference it is about 14 ft X

 14 ft and I only share the

 the miniature "Shoilet".

Welcome to Copenhagen

I finally arrived to the city that had been on the horizon for nearly a year.   The first week was a difficult one as the Danes do not share the Germanic fanaticism for organization in practice. I was not allowed to enter a Danish language class that I had paid for but that turned out to be somewhat of a blessing.  The language here is utterly indecipherable when spoken and I would not have learned much in the week.  The Danes also lack the patience to hear you butcher their language and will immediately switch into English when you falter (everyone here speaks fluent English).  As you can see in the pictures, my room is nice but some of the amenities are below par to say the least.  I know that I sound overly negative right now but I think that is because I am a self diagnosed victim of culture shock (we did have a lecture to this common ailment, hence my ability to accurately diagnose the sickness).  I also took advantage of my free time to go on multiple walking tours of the city and got a basic understanding of how the city is laid out.  After talking to my appointed Danish contact, it was brought to my attention that I have been riding the subway system here for free.  My mistake is entirely due to the fact that the ticket machines give you a receipt even if your transaction fails as all of mine have.  It also does not help that a receipt and a ticket are printed on the same paper cards.  

Next week classes and orientation begin.  Hopefully with a little fewer undergrads celebrating their right to legally drink underage.