while papers needed to be written, tests studied for, and presentations prepared, my history of ballet class gave me a nice study break as we visited the royal danish theatre once again to watch the royal danish ballet perform marius petipa's "la bayadère".
the royal danish ballet's version of this classic romantic ballet is set in victorian times in the late 1800s when india was a british colony. the story is one of a love triangle between a young british lieutenant, william; the daughter of a vice consul, emma; and the temple dancer, nikiya. william forsakes his bride (emma) and bourgeois propriety to follow nikiya into the kingdom of the shades in a scene that is perhaps one of the most famous in classical ballet. 32 temple dancers, all dressed in white tutus, appear one by one, a seemingly endless revelation of ethereal white beings that slowly embody the stage.
sorry for my lack of posting!! these past two weeks have been our midems weeks, and EVERYTHING was due. but now that everything has been completed and turned in, i have some vacation time on my hands so i'll continue where i left off. my medical practice and policy class departed the overnight ferry from stockholm (i can safely say that travel via boat is not my favorite mode of transportation) and arrived in the sunny and frigidly cold tallinn, estonia.
we began our day in tallinn by visiting an estonian clinic. like many european countries, all estonian residents enjoy almost universal access to health care - only 4.1% of the population in 2008 was without health insurance. estonian health care relies mainly on public financing. tax revenue is generated with a 21% income tax on residents and a 33% social and health insurance tax on employers. the family doctor that we visited also reported that like the scandinavian countries, estonia also uses the gp as a gatekeeper in the public health care system.
st. nicholas' church
st. olaf's church, the tallest
building in the world from 1549-1625
the building that was the local
headquarters of the kgb. a plaque on the outside of the building reads, "this building housed the headquarters of the organ of repression of the soviet occupational power. here began the road to suffering for thousands of estonians".
from the clinic, we visited the north estonian regional hospital for our final medical visit. here, we were met by the head oncologist and surgeon of the hospital who gave us a slightly different story about the health care system and how it is run. he told us that gp's are not as widely used as the gatekeepers of health and that specialists are largely sought out first. while the visit was interesting, no doubt, it ended on a bit of a sour note when he voiced his opinion that women are not the right people to be surgeons or head doctors because their place is at home with their children. seeing as 26 of the 32 students on the trip were females, and many of us from small, liberal arts colleges where these opinions are heard as something from the distant past, his opinions did not go over too well. everyone left relieved that that was our last visit but a little put off.
the danish king's garden (aka, the birthplace of the danish flag, the oldest flag in the world). according to legend, king valdemar II of denmark and his troops camped here as they were losing their battle with the estonians in 1219 when suddenly the skies opened and a red flag with a white cross floated down from the heavens. the danes took this as a holy sign and were spurred on to victory. however, our tour guide explained that the more likely story goes that the danes were drinking (obviously) and the estonians, as a joke, carried the flag on horseback through the town. in their less-than-sober state, the danes saw a flag that appeared to be flying through the air on its own.
for dinner that night we headed into the old town for dinner at olde hansa, a restaurant paying homage to tallinn's golden age. decorated as the home of a rich merchant with waiters and waitresses dressed in 15th century servants' attire, we feasted on a variety of meats, cheeses, nuts and vegetables and drank wine and beer from ceramic goblets while a group of troubadours played flutes and lutes in the background.
alexander nevsky cathedral
the next morning we had our wrap up session, where we reflected and commented, as a class, on our visits and experiences. while everyone's observation were more or less the same, it was really interesting to see and share, first-hand, these other systems, cultures, and places, and reflect upon them in relation to our own.
quinoa risotto
the rest of the day was spent walking around tallinn. the old city is beautiful, brimming with medieval facades churches, and fortress walls. and while not a single cloud in the sky could be spotted, their air was SO cold, that after an hour and a half of walking, i was seriously concerned that my feet had gotten first-degree frost bite. luckily, our student tour guide saw the looks of pain on our faces and saved us by leading everyone into a nearby cafe where we healed ourselves with warm drinks and pastries. after i haf fully recovered, i wandered around the town for a bit and enjoyed another really nice meal (i had had a fab lunch the day before that was cheaper than the cheapest meal i could ever find in denmark).
tallinn's parliament building
the house of blackheads, aka: the world's first frat house. this was home to the brotherhood of blackheads, an association of local unmarried merchants, ship owners and foreigners from the mid-14th century until 1940. this house was known for their extravagant parties.
after roaming the streets for a bit longer, we nibbled on some of estonia's signature chocolate (white chocolate with blueberries) as we flew back home to good ol' copenhagen.
as i welcomed march, i bid adieu to the warmer weather heading copenhagen's way to say hello to the icy and chilly sweden and estonia for my weeklong tour with my medical practice and policy class.
some of the objectives for this trip included: showcasing examples of clinical practice and health care systems in different sectors and countries; broadening our view of the challenges that health care providers face; showcasing examples of research with clinical relevance; and exploring and learning more about stockholm and tallinn through exposure to the culture, history, and socioeconomic climate of the region.
we arrived in stockholm on sunday night, checked into our hotel that was located right next to the ericsson globe, the national indoor arena of sweden and currently the largest hemispherical building in the world, and had a super delicious vegetarian buffet dinner at a restaurant overlooking the city.
the next morning we woke up bright and early and made our way to gamla stan, the old town, and had the rest of the morning and early afternoon to explore the city. in about two hours' worth of time we had already learned how to navigate our way around much of the city, figured out the transportation system, and already spotted some go-to cafes for the next few days.
the stockholm royal palace, the official residence of the
swedish monarch (king karl gustav xvi and queen silvia)
our first medical stop was to the maternity and delivery ward in södersjukhuset, one of the largest hospitals in stockholm. the biggest delivery ward in sweden is also situated here, where every year over 7500 babies are born. maternity care is an integrated part of the healthcare system and is free of charge. the ward has a very peaceful, home-like atmosphere with all the added benefits of hospital equipment, where both the mother and partner can feel independent in the process, an aspect the midwives heavily emphasized.
that night, after a dinner of traditional swedish meatballs (horse meat hopefully not included), mashed potatoes and creme brulee, a few of us went to the stampen jazz and blues club, a cozy historical jazz pub. it was the perfect way to spend a monday night in stockholm.
storkyrkan (the great church),
gamla stan's oldest church
the house of nobility
on tuesday, we visited the capio artro clinic, the location of the stockholm sports trauma research center. there, we spoke with dr. magnus forssblad, an orthopedic surgeon and the head doctor for the swedish national soccer team and watched a live-feed of surgery being performed on a 12-year old girl's torn acl. we also learned of the sports research being done at the clinic and received a tour of their physical training facilities, where we probably passed some well-known swedish skiers. however, due to my lack of swedish ski knowledge, i am unable to name drop here.
one of many candy shops
from there we went back to gamla stan and took a winter boat tour around stockholm. the air was pretty biting, but we were kept warm for a short while with the help of some traditional (and very hyped up) pea soup. surprisingly, it wasn't quite as green as i thought it would be and was pretty tasty.
that night, sofia (a fellow grinnellian who was on the trip with me) and i went to her swedish friend's apartment for dinner, where we had swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes round 2: homemade style. dare i say, they were better than the restaurant version. it was a great time and some nice hygge away from denmark ;)
on our final day in stockholm we visited the swedish red cross clinic and learned a lot about sweden's support to both documented and undocumented migrants. some of my classmates had visited a red cross clinic in copenhagen, so it was interesting to note the differences between the assistance given to this group of people in various scandinavian countries. for example, in denmark it is illegal for a danish doctor to help an undocumented migrant, with a punishment of up to two years in jail, while in sweden it is legal and up to the individual doctor to decide how and if they wish to treat these patients.
the nobel museum, located in the
former stock exchange building
"vintage" penicillin
with our free afternoon some of us visited to the nobel museum, which is devoted to circulate information on the nobel prize and the nobel laureates from 1901 to present. it was a really fun museum, with tons of interactive exhibits, video clips, and tons of fun facts to do with anything and everything nobel.
the nordic museum
a view of the nordic museum from the water
we made our last museum stop in stockholm at the vasa museum, a maritime museum that displays an almost fully intact 17th century warship that sank 15 minutes into her maiden voyage. oops. ironically (?) from there, we boarded an overnight cruise to take us to tallinn, estonia. thankfully, our ship successfully left the dock and was still above water at 9:00 am the next morning as we sailed into estonian waters.
on saturday night, a bunch of friends and i went to vega, one of the biggest music venues in copenhagen to see crystal castles. it was a pretty crazy dance party to say the least, but a great way to spend a saturday night together before everyone left for their weeklong study tours and independent travels around europe.
for those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, here's a little taste from their first album.
