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.