Week #1

I could write forever about this first week in Denmark we have done so much, so I'll try to recap everything day by day...

Thursday, July 25:

We all woke up late because we were exhausted from the flights and also the time change is not in our favor.  Some family yoga got us up and out on our first full day, which was rainy and cold, typical.  We drove to Hillerød, walked around shops, and saw Frederiksborg Slot (which means castle) from the outside.  Then we drove to Fredensborg, saw Fredensborg Slot, got into the garden grounds last second, and walked to royal boathouse (which is on the second biggest lake in Denmark - Esrum Sø) while dodging crazy massive orange slugs along the path.  After, we drove to Humlebæk and walked around the little neighborhood and harbor as the sun finally decided to appear.  We then drove through Nivå on the way home and made this epic salad for dinner.  Day 1 complete.

Fredensborg Slot

Fredensborg Garden

Friday, July 26:

Our normal morning routine includes new additions of family yoga and getting eggs from the chicken coupe.  Today's weather was a lot better, so we decided to drive to Hornbæk to a really nice North shore beach, where we found an off the beaten path local secret beach.  The water was cold but clear and clean, and you can see Sweden across the ocean.  After our long lay, we drove to Gilleleje, sat on the beach for our picnic lunch (which included cheese and onion chips - reminder of my childhood in Scotland YUM), walked through a carnival on the harbor, got awesome Frisko soft serve ice cream, and sat on a bench absorbing the atmosphere.  We then received a call from my Dad’s Swedish colleague and family (Paul, Marie, Maya) inviting us to their boat in Vedbæk harbor for appetizers, and this is where I had my first Carlsberg beer!  We went to dinner at a fish restaurant on the water and ate Plaice fish of the day caught right off the shore.  Hilarious side story - Shona dropped her ring between the plank floorboards and all the waiters helped fetch it out with chopsticks taped to forks.  Thanks to Australian Tom and all our scientific minds, we maneuvered it up and out to safety.  After that fiasco, we drove home to meet Nigel and Fiona for tea.  Nigel and my dad went hitchhiking separately around Europe when they were 20 (my age!!!) and met up with each other at the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, so this week is kind of like a reunion blast from the past for them. 

Hornbæk beach overlooking Sweden

Vedbæk harbor

Saturday, July 27:

Shona and I went for a run this morning down the street, which is so beautiful with rolling hills and farmland covered in flowers and thistles.  It really reminds us of Scotland.  Then, the trampoline incident happened.  So, we used to have a trampoline at home to help us train for dance, and it was so fun doing flips on that thing.  When we saw this house has a trampoline, we were so excited and finally got the chance to jump on it today.  "Instant happiness" in Shona's words.  After 5 minutes of pure joy, the trampoline frame snaps and all goes black.  Next thing I remember is Shona pulling me up the trampoline and I'm clutching my arm/elbow in pain.  I seriously thought there was an earthquake or something, and that I broke my arm.  After about 7 seconds of shock I came back to reality and realized the the trampoline broke and I just pulled my tendon and bruised the bone a little bit.  Shona (of course) was unscathed.  Injury to elbow = minor.  Injury to trampoline = fatal.  So sad.  After this whole scene and a little ice, we drove to meet Nigel's mom's cousin Elsabeth (who my Dad stayed with back in the day) who is the nicest woman!  She gave me her address if I ever wanted to come visit during my semester.  We stayed and talked all afternoon, then drove up to Tisvildeleje with Nigel and Fiona, walked along the beach and saw an epic rainbow sunset, got dinner at a cafe, and drove back home around the coast, where we saw so many windmills with a breathtaking sunset sky as the backdrop.

The incident

Carl, Fiona, Nigel, Elsabeth, and the gang

Tisvildeleje Coast

Sunday, July 28:

Today, we drove to Roskilde to see the Vikingeskibs Museet (Viking Museum) and Roskilde Cathedral.  Both were really interesting and have so much history behind them.  After, we drove to Frederikssund and sat on the shore for a little before driving home to play some twilight tennis.  All I can say is Team Shlinds Olympics 2016. 

Viking Museum

A really old picture of us when we were Vikings

Roskilde Cathedral

Team Shlinds

Monday, July 29:

Shona and I went for another run this morning, which was a struggle because we had to wake up early anyway to meet Nigel and Fiona at Kronborg Slot, also where Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place.  We took guided tours of the casemates and the royal quarters, then ate lunch on the rocks of a harbor beach overlooking the castle.  We walked around the town and got some delicious gelato.  Nigel's genius spur of the moment idea to get the ferry to Helsingborg, Sweden for the afternoon/evening was one of the best decisions yet.  Not only did I set foot in my 24th country, but I also got Swedish caffe mocca in a really cute side street cafe.  After strolling along the streets, we took the ferry back to Helsingør, Denmark.  Walking to the car, we came across this boat filled with iron human sculptures dressed in capes.  Many confused looks later, a man came up to us and explained what it was.  The boat is part of a traveling environmental awareness art exhibition, bringing emphasis to rising sea levels and environmental refugees.  Fact: in 40 years, over 200 million environmental refugees will be roaming the seas in search of a new home abroad.  This just emphasizes the importance of environmental science and sustainability, and assures me that what I study will help combat one of the most pressing issues of our time.  

Kronborg Slot

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland flags

Traveling Environmental Awareness Art Exhibition

Tuesday, July 30:

Today started out slow, with another trip to the grocery store and some laundry.  Minor speed bump - something in the laundry turned all our whites pink.  Oh well.  The weather here is so sporadic.  We planned a museum day because the forecast predicted rain, but most of the day was sunny and warm.  By the time we actually left the house, we only had enough time to see the Karen Blixen museum, walk around the harbor a bit, then pick up some recommended pizza which was delicious.  Then we played some more tennis and called it a night.

Karen Blixen's House

Tomorrow we are venturing into Copenhagen for the first time since our arrival and I'm SO EXCITED to see my new home city!

Velkommen til København

Finally arrived in beautiful Copenhagen!  We left home at 6pm July 23rd and somehow it is now 11:00pm July 24th?  Time is already flying.  For those of you who don't know, my family came with me on a home exchange for the first month of this experience.  This is our third home exchange, the first in Huntington Beach, California in 2007, and the second in Portland, Oregon last Summer.  House swapping is such a great idea - free accommodation and transportation in exchange for mutual trust and new friendships.  So yesterday we met the awesome family we swapped with.  They arrived at our house a few hours before the limo came to take us to the airport, so we showed them around and now our house and cars are theirs for a few weeks.  Our first flight was delayed from JFK to Frankfurt, but that meant our layover was shorter and we got to Copenhagen in no time.  Both flights were with a German airline company Lufthansa.  My first view of Denmark out the plane window included an offshore wind farm which was so cool because that's exactly what I'm here to study - sustainability in Europe. 

A few struggles with the cash machine and public transportation slowed us down a bit (I'll have to work on the metro/train situation) but we found the train and bus to take us to our new home.  While walking down the street with all our luggage, we hear this really faint voice say "hello?"  He had to say this a few times for us to finally find where the voice came from - the top of a cherry tree.  He then said, "you must be the Americans."  Yup that's us!  Our new neighbor kindly greeted us with some fresh picked cherries and assured us he would be around if we need any help during our stay.  My first impression of Danes is starting on a good note.  Now we're here in this gorgeous farm house in a town called Karlebo, about a 20-30 minute train ride outside of the city.  This house is so quaint and homey and has a huge back yard with a tire swing, hammock, vegetable garden, and chicken coupe.  Fresh eggs every morning! Oh and we have a new pet cat named Disco to take care of.

We also took our first trip to the Føtex grocery store for some essentials to last a couple days.  I have to get used to the exchange rate of (approximately) 1 USD = 6 DKK.  Everything looks super expensive at first glance but you have to divide by 6.  At the checkout line I got my first "she's never been here before" look because I was fascinated that they do not swipe credit cards, they place it in a slot and use chip technology.  Cool right?  Clearly we were placed in the tourist category after that. 

Dinner consisted of fresh scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese, bread on the side, and some Digestives for dessert.  Oh how I missed Europe.  Bring on the precisely planned Craig family vacation. 

Two Days Left

One of my classes (History of European Ballet) got cancelled a few days ago.  Needless to say, I freaked out.  I spent a year and a half planning this study abroad and carefully picked certain classes that had already been approved by UD for transfer credit.  Long story short, I spent hours in front of the computer trying to find a class, ANY class, that still had open seats and fit in my schedule.  I found a really awesome course called "Scandinavian Classical Music" and miraculously got it approved by the UD Music Department as MUSC102 Appreciation of Music. 

My new class schedule includes...

• European Sustainable Development (with a study tour for a week to Devon and London, England)
• Renewable Energy Systems 
• Environmental Policy in Practice 
• Scandinavian Classical Music

I don't have class on Tuesday, and in Denmark nobody has class on Wednesday, so it's kind of like I have two weekends!  This will be fun.

Today I finally forced myself to get into serious packing mode considering I leave in 2 days and have to fit 5 months of clothing (ranging from Summer heat to Winter slush) in 2 bags.  Also, Danes look like they stepped right out of a fashion magazine so I guess I should look nice.  AH 2 DAYS!  Crazy.