andy, anri, alberto and august

last wednesday, the arts and culture house took its first field trip to the louisiana museum of modern art located about 40 minutes north of copenhagen. our delicious dinner at the museum consisted of a variety of soups, salads, meat and potatoes by a burning fireplace, and was surrounded by the twinkling lights of sweden located just across the water. the warhol exhibition itself was beautiful. the torn sketch pages, the rough inked lines and the smudges all created a unique collection of work. much of the pieces are tracings, and very minimalistic in that sense. but there's a complexity and autonomy to each line that can be so appreciated. look at some pieces for yourself! Warhol - Early Drawings. unfortunately, half of the splendor of going to louisiana deals with the museum's architecture itself and because denmark is currently not used to more than six hours of sunlight on top of the fact that we left toward evening, we were unable to see much of the building. 

another great exhibition on display was that of anri sala, an albanian artist who combines music with narrative in a number of thought-provoking ways. see for yourself and hear him talk about his work - Anri Sala.

while most of the permanent collection was closed due to the installation of future exhibitions being in the way, we did get to see the museum's coveted alberto giacometti pieces. here are some of his famous 'venetian women'.

while our trip was a quick one, we all decided that another visit would need to take place soon - preferably, when the weather's is a little warmer and the sun is shining. but i was no sooner happy to be warm at home with the candles lit, a hot cup of tea, and a book on the ballet "la sylphide," choreographed by the danish choreographer, august bournonville, for my history of european ballet class - the entirety of which we watched the next day in class ;)

hygge and hip

one week in copenhagen has already come and gone! at this point i have sat through at least one class for each of my five courses and have strayed from pasta dinners for every meal. 

my courses include complexity of cancer, danish design, history of european ballet, danish language and culture, and human health and disease: a clinical approach. my human health and disease class is considered "my core course." every dis student takes one class that is their core course, which is related to their major and will travel as a class to various countries around europe. mine, for example, will take me to stockholm, sweden and tallinn, estonia later in the semester. this course is also being taught by two physicians working at the bispebjerg hospital, located about 20 minutes outside the city, where we have class. each course also includes small field studies throughout the semester. my danish language and culture class, for instance, already took its first field study trip in the form of a café night. after walking as with our professor to cristianshavn, we had a lovely dinner as a class.

after we all applied for our danish residence permit and cpr number (a social security number of sorts) a bunch of us from the floor stopped by the little café next door to our apartment for a saturday brunch. the delicious food, warm coffee and candles definitely created an atmosphere exuding hygge (the it-word for danes that translates to the mood and feeling of coziness).

 while these pictures were taken during random walks i took around the city, i have invested in a bike! hopefully these little excursions will be a little more bearable once i get the hang of riding in the city like the hundreds of other danes do.

images from the strøget, a 1.1km long pedestrian street, two blocks from our apartment

a full view from the back of christiansborg palace

the børsen - the oldest stock exchange in denmark located nearby christiansborg palace only in use until 1974

the colorful houses surrounding gråbrødretorv square that i mentioned previously. the two red houses on each end are amongst the first structures painted in the dutch-inspired red color after the great fire of copenhagen had destroyed them.

on an evening walk i visited the royal danish playhouse. a performance had just ended and i was lucky enough to sneak in and see the amazing interior.

inspired by smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches), i decided to take a stab at my own version for dinner. i think i was pretty successful in my humble opinion!

cold and cozy in copenhagen

made it safe and sound to copenhagen! my first day consisted of getting settled into the my new room, resting up, going out to lunch where i had my first smørrebrød (classic danish open faced sandwich) and eating dinner (shawarma) with the floor. i am living in the "arts and culture house" in which the floor will plan various trips to museums, concerts, and other shows throughout the semester. 

on monday we had an opening ceremony at the royal danish academy of music, which was followed by a scavenger hunt of various sites throughout copenhagen. while technically every location was about a 20 minute walk (at most) from where i live, orienting ourselves around the new city took us about four hours. professors, who teach classes at dis, were waiting at each location and gave us a little history lesson of the site. it was brisk and windy, but free coffee and danishes at some of the stops offered some comfort in the cold.

 a couple of charming cafes lead the way to my new home at skindergade 14. the arts and culture house occupies the second floor. the gråbrødretorv square that the house looks out on was the location of a franciscan friary until 1530 when it was demolished and replaced with the prime minister's mansion. that was demolished after his impeachment and replaced with a pillar of shame, erected to his disgrace. after the great copenhagen fire of 1728, and the battle of copenhagen in 1807, the first of the dutch-inspired colorful house fronts now mark the square.

 a classic view of nyhavn, the 17th-century waterfront, canal, and entertainment district in copenhagen.

 the queen was home at amalienborg castle, located on the outskirts of central copenhagen. i think she peeked out at us ;) we came just in time to see the changing of the guards.

christiansborg palace. located on the islet of slotsholmen in central copenhagen, this is the seat of the danish parliament, the danish prime minister's office and the danish supreme court. several parts of the palace are also used by the monarchy. it is the only building in the world that houses all three of a country's branches of government.

our floor realized after we made it home that we really had one more stop on the list - the grocery store. we found one and did our best to buy healthy meals for the upcoming week. i was only entirely sure of what half of the items were in my bag. but we all successfully made pasta and considered it a job well done.

destination: denmark

my suitcase is packed, my camera’s memory card is empty, and i am bursting with eagerness to begin exploring the place i will be calling home for the semester – copenhagen, denmark. here, i hope to share all the sights, smells, sounds, and airs of this little corner of the world. goodbye for now, and see you in københavn!