I’ve been back home in the states for nearly a month now. There was definitely a little bit of reverse culture shock returning to the US after a semester in Denmark. Case in point, I nearly said “Ja, tak” to the US customs agent at the airport instead of “yes, thank you.” Anyway, know that just like it’ll take some time to adjust to Copenhagen, you’ll need some time to adjust back to your life in the states. The reverse culture shock isn’t nearly as strong or long-lasting as the initial culture shock I experienced upon arriving in Denmark. That might just be because I have never been abroad before. The point is, recognize that you’ll need to give yourself some time to fully integrate back into US culture.
Admittedly, my life now seems much less adventurous and less exciting. Clocking in and out of work at my college from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm for my summer job just doesn’t have quite the same appeal as wandering around old castles and the Danish countryside. I expected to feel this way though. How can everyday life compare to exploring Europe for the first time? I guess you could say that after a semester of euphoria-provoking experiences, I’m now suffering from minor depression upon my return. Fortunately, there’s always the possibility of returning to Copenhagen some day. There are actually many stories of DIS students who obtained a job or internship in Denmark or even decided to move to and live in Denmark for the rest of their lives.
In my minimal free time, I’ve been thinking about what I miss most about Copenhagen. It would be too easy to point out something specific like the hygge, the architecture, the food, etc. I think there’s a better way to describe what I miss most about Copenhagen. Every single day in Copenhagen (even when I was busy or had a lot of homework) I encountered something new and unexpected. It wasn’t always something “big.” Some days I picked up on fragments of conversations among native Danes. Other days I simply noticed minor details, such as what types of stories were on the front page of the Danish newspapers at the train stations. This is what I miss most about Copenhagen—I miss being able to wake up each day and know with 100% certainty that I am going to encounter something completely new and unexpected. Life back in the US, where I have lived all my life, simply isn’t the same.
I cannot emphasize enough how fortunate I am to have had such wonderful cultural immersion experiences while in Copenhagen. I highly recommend the homestay housing option. Yes, there will be times you’ll feel like you’re missing out on many of your friends’ activities. However, I would never have been able to experience Danish birthday celebrations or travel to the Danish island of Bornholm on several weekends without my host family. I know the homestay housing option isn’t the right fit for everyone, but at least try to give it serious consideration. I remember when I was selecting my housing option, I was nervous about the fact that we didn’t get to know our exact housing situation until very close to when we departed for Copenhagen. Try not to worry. If you spend too much time worrying or being anxious to make sure every aspect of your study abroad experience goes perfectly, you’ll miss out on so much. Yes, make plans—but don’t be so rigid in your planned activities that you neglect to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Don’t be afraid to take a longer transportation route now and then just to walk down some different streets, see a different perspective.
At the end of the day, your study abroad experience is what you make of it. DIS will help you along the way, but how you choose to spend your time is ultimately your decision. Maybe you’ll chill at Studenterhuset, the local student hang out place and café, for hours on end. Perhaps you’re more of a film buff and would rather go to the occasional film screenings. No matter how you spend your time, I’m sure you’ll find what’s just right for you.
My only regret is not doing even more than I did while in Copenhagen. I won’t lie—there were times when I was extremely homesick. It was a little harder to make friends early on in the DIS program since I was in a homestay, and I rarely communicated with my friends back home. This caused me to be a little sad and glum some days, and in hindsight I wish I could have gotten past those feelings. You only get to have so many days abroad, and it’s important that you maximize what you get to see and experience during them. It’s ok if you don’t always have something to do or someone to meet. Just get out of the house every now and then, and travel somewhere new (or somewhere you’ve been before but at a different time of day).
I had a truly fantastic study abroad experience, and I formed memories that will last me my lifetime. I’m sure you will too :). Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any specific questions about studying abroad, the DIS Copenhagen program, or the Glaciers and Human Impact core course. I don’t know everything (and I can’t attest to other students’ experiences), but I can do my best to answer any burning questions you might have. Thanks for reading (and maybe even subscribing to) my study abroad blog!
Category: Day to Day Life
Oslo Cruise
Speaking of squeezing in as many last-minute activities as possible, I decided to take an overnight cruise to Oslo. I departed on the DFDS cruise ship to Oslo mid-afternoon on Saturday, May 5. This was my last weekend in Copenhagen, and I realized that I may never have the opportunity to explore Scandinavia again. Since I had taken three semesters of Norwegian language classes at my college (and my college has a Norwegian affiliation), I thought it would be silly to not take advantage of the chance to visit Oslo, Norway. I bought a cruise ticket, and before I knew it I had arrived in Oslo at 9:45 am on Sunday, May 6.
My room on the cruise ship was fairly comfortable considering I chose the cheapest “economy” room. It still had a closet, its own bathroom, a tv, a desk and chair, and a couch which converted into a bed. It was fun to explore the cruise ship: there were restaurants, bars, a shopping area, and an outside deck. Be warned, however, the cheapest food item for dinner was a $20 pizza (unless you are content to grab a small muffin from the coffee place).
Upon arriving in Oslo, I headed straight away to the visitor center at the central station. This was where I bought the Oslo Pass for a 20% student discount. I had planned out my itinerary on the cruise ship the night before and discovered that it would be cheaper to use the Oslo Pass instead of paying for everything individually. Basically, the Oslo Pass gave me unlimited access to most of the museums and free public transportation access for 24 hours. Of course, my cruise ship departed at 4:30 pm, so I only had 6 hours to spend in Oslo.
First, I took the train to Holmenkollen. The Holmenkollen ski jump and museum is a famous, distinctive landmark and attraction in Oslo. Since the trains run on 30 minute intervals, I resolved to myself that I would only spend half an hour there. Unfortunately, the train stop didn’t actually go all the way up to the ski jump. So, I had to run up the hill the rest of the way to the ski jump and back down again to the train station once I was done. Holmenkollen was a spectacular sight. Essentially, you look down at a gigantic ski slope and the stadium-like seating surrounding it. On the other side, you can also just look out to see the natural landscape in the distance. I didn’t really have time to spend in the museum, but I highly recommend taking the elevator to the top of the ski jump and taking some time to appreciate the view.
Next, I took the train to a stop called Majorstuen and proceeded to jog over to the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The Vigeland Park is extremely popular, and features more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite, and wrought iron created by Gustav Vigeland. You can see most of the statues along the bridge in the park. Some of the most well-known of the sculptures are The Angry Boy, The Monolith, and The Wheel of Life. I was on a tight schedule in order to see everything in Oslo that I wanted to in just 6 hours, so I only spent about 10-12 minutes in the park. That being said, the sculptures were incredibly captivating, and I safely say that you need to go to the Vigeland Sculpture Park (even if only for a little while) if you ever go to Oslo.
After running around the park, I took a bus to Bygdøy. Bygdøy is a peninsula featuring some of Oslo’s most well-known museums. Due to time constraints, I knew I could only spend about 10 minutes at each of them. These museums include the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum, the Fram Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, and the Kon-Tiki Museum. Since I was so crunched for time, I was literally running around the Bygdøy peninsula from museum to museum. Honestly, it probably would have been very comical to watch me running around everywhere on this trip…but I digress.
The Norwegian Folk Museum was the museum I was originally most interested in seeing, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. My favorite parts were seeing the wooden storehouses from 1797 and the 800-year-old Stave church. The church was picturesque. The interior is authentically medieval, but the exterior was renovated and dates from 1884-1885. It is one of the only 28 remaining stave churches in Norway, and these churches express early Christianity in Norway.
The Viking Ship museum was cool to walk through because it featured 4 Viking ship burials from the Oslo fjord area. The dead were placed in burial chambers built on board the ships. Anyway, I enjoyed viewing the ships and especially liked the unique vantage point offered by the little staircases to viewing platforms next to each of the ships.
The Fram Museum displays the polar exploration ship Fram. Fridtjof Nansen designed and used the ship to test a theory of east-west current across the Arctic Ocean. He let the ship freeze into the ice on the eastern side, and let it drift to the west. The big highlight of this museum was walking through the preserved ship Fram.
The Kon-Tiki Museum features objects from Thor Heyerdahl’s world-famous expeditions. In 1947, Heyerdahl crossed the Pacific Ocean on the balsawood raft Kon-Tiki. He later accomplished similar feats with the reed boats Ra, Ra II, and Tigris. For me, the highlight of this museum was seeing the Kon-Tiki raft and reading/learning about Heyerdahl’s expeditions.
If you happen to visit the museums on Bygdøy and only have limited time, you can skip the Norwegian Maritime Museum. The museum was fine, but it didn’t seem to me to contain anything particularly unique/special compared to the other nearby museums.
After rushing through the museums, I took a ferry boat to return from Bygdøy to downtown Oslo. By this point I had become quite accustomed to running around in order to stay on schedule. I first jogged over to the Nobel Peace Center. I checked out their visual-heavy exhibit titled “Ban the Bomb” dealing with a call to prohibit nuclear weapons, along with their smaller exhibit called “Generation Wealth,” criticizing the materialism that defines contemporary culture.
Afterwards, I briefly stopped to view the Oslo City Hall and Royal Palace from the outside. I then spent much more time at the National Gallery. The artwork here is truly special, and I was thrilled to see Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” in person. There is an interesting green-blue streak and a bit of brown in the otherwise blood-red sky in the painting. Other paintings of note include Munch’s “Madonna,” Munch’s “The Girls on the Bridge,” Egedius’s “The Dreamer,” Sohlberg’s “Street in Røros,” and Picasso’s “Guitar and Glass.”
After appreciating the artwork, I had just enough time to walk down Karl Johans gate (the main street in Oslo) and return to check-in at the ferry. I regret not having time to experience any of the local food and drink, but I don’t regret visiting the major attractions and museums that I wanted to make sure I saw. An interesting thing to reflect upon is the fact that I’m sure each of us (guests on the ferry) had an entirely different experience in Oslo and chose to allocate our time differently. Despite being in the same city for 6 hours, we all had a unique experience and saw Oslo through an individual lens. If you ever travel to Oslo, let me know what you chose to visit and what you decide you don’t have time for. It might be interesting to contemplate how each individual’s interests, passions, and background correlates with how he or she decides what to see and do.
Den Blå Planet
Final exam week was also my last week in Copenhagen. So, I was desperately trying to balance studying, packing, and squeezing in as many last-minute activities on my bucket list as possible. On Thursday, May 10, I visited Den Blå Planet, Northern Europe’s largest aquarium.
It was a nice aquarium with clearly designated sections, but it was nowhere near as large as the Shedd aquarium I’m accustomed to visiting in Chicago. That being said, they had three clearly marked zones: 1) northern lakes and seas 2) tropical rivers and lakes and 3) the ocean. It was helpful that there were interactive digital screens in front of each display. You could select English text on these screens and learn about the types of fish in each tank.
I arrived in time to witness feeding time at aquarium tank 36, a large tank in the ocean zone including numerous fish, stingrays, and sharks. Some additional highlights included watching an adorable sea otter nibble at her paws and observing a pig-nosed turtle swim around. One fun fact I learned while at the aquarium was that octopuses have blue blood (not red). Instead of iron, their blood contains copper atoms.
In case this helps you for planning purposes, I spent a little over an hour at the aquarium. It’s easy to get to using public transportation; take the s-tog train to Norreport station and then the metro to Kastrup station If you enjoy observing marine life and have a little time to spare, you should try to make it out to Den Blå Planet.
Tivoli
Remember how I’ve been discussing in my past two blog posts my sightseeing activities on April 29 and April 30? Well, this post continues by describing my adventure at Tivoli in the evening on April 30 once I returned from Roskilde to Copenhagen.
Tivoli
After a nice morning and afternoon in Roskilde, I returned to Copenhagen to visit Tivoli in the evening. Tivoli Gardens is the amusement park in the center of Copenhagen, located literally right across from Copenhagen Central Station. Since Tivoli is a very old amusement park, its past includes some “dark” history. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Tivoli hosted human exhibitions (primarily of Chinese people). My host dad recently got a book on this subject and has found it quite interesting. Not to worry though, Tivoli no longer hosts human exhibitions (thank goodness).
There is a $20 entrance fee, but I feel like it was worth it. I was excited to go to Tivoli because everything I had read online suggested that it’s not worth going in the winter when little is happening, but it really comes alive and is a special experience once it opens for the summer season. Although you do have to pay extra for the rides, it was even more fun than Bakken to wander around the park 3-4 times and see new things I didn’t notice the previous time. Plus, even though I didn’t ride the rides, it was fun to watch them. The Demon is a rollercoaster with a virtual reality experience where you travel through a Chinese universe with fire dragons and exploding fireworks. The wooden roller coaster (Rutschebanen) the oldest (from 1914) and most popular ride. The Vertigo is a looping plane ride that turns you upside down at 100 km/h (I walked right under the ride when it was operating, and it was insane how fast this thing was spinning and how loud the riders were screaming). I chose to visit Tivoli to walk around and see the sights, but I’m sure other DIS students have paid to experience the rides. I simply chose to enjoy the park in a different way. On that note, I also didn’t bother to go into the Tivoli Food Hall (I think it cost extra, and there was already plenty of other things to see, including many other food places).
Tivoli is really a sensory experience, so it’s hard to describe it in words. Even though it’s not as large as a Six Flags or Walt Disney World, it has a certain charm to it. Each area of the park has its own theme. It doesn’t surprise me at all that a lot of people describe Tivoli as “magical” and “nostalgic.” Everywhere you turn something is tucked away in a corner. Maybe you’ll wander into a gift shop with a Christmas-themed second floor. Maybe you’ll watch the light show in the evening. Maybe you’ll attend a music concert on the open air stage. Maybe you’ll walk past the body-distorting fun-house mirrors. Maybe you’ll say hello to the chickens in Tivoli. Plenty of options.
I appreciated arriving at Tivoli around 6 pm because this meant I could see the park while it was still light out and compare that to how the park looked at night. One of the first things I saw was the park’s famous peacock, a magnificent animal which lets out a screech every so often. Besides the rides, restaurants, and shops, I also checked out the 8:30 PM show at the Pantomime Threatre. The theatre’s curtain is a mechanical peacock’s tail. Historically, the theatre was the home of Italian pantomimes. The tradition has been kept alive with characters of Cassander (an old father), Columbine (his beautiful daughter), Harlequin (her lover) and the always-popular Pierrot/Pjerrot (the stupid servant). The show involved a plan for Columbine to be with Harlequin despite Cassander’s (her father’s) original disapproval. I won’t spoil the entire plot, but I will say that it included a skeleton.
Tivoli is a must-see for anyone in Copenhagen around summertime. 9.5/10 Highly Recommended. On a side note, the reason I could not post pictures of my time at Tivoli is because I have officially reached the maximum photo upload limit for my free WordPress blog account, so I apologize that I can’t provide visuals to accompany my description this time. Sorry.
Viking Ship Museum & Roskilde Cathedral
Remember how I mentioned in my previous post that I was trying to squeeze in a few last days of sightseeing before my semester abroad ends? Well, this post continues where I left off by describing my fun activities on Saturday, April 28.
Roskilde
The next morning, on Saturday, April 28, I took a regional train to Roskilde to see the Cathedral and the Viking Ship Museum. Roskilde is famous for its summer music festival; I’m bummed I won’t be in Denmark this summer and won’t have a chance to see it. Anyway, besides the summer music festival, the Viking Ship Museum and the Roskilde Cathedral are without-a-doubt the major attractions of the city.
It was a beautiful day, and the first thing I saw when I arrived was the three large Roskilde Jars right across from the railway station. As I walked towards the cathedral, I briefly stopped at a very nice public square where I encountered a merchant with some cute wooden ducks for sale (see the picture). It wasn’t hard to find the cathedral; you can see it from afar, and it’s certainly a beautiful brick building. The Roskilde Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a prime example of French-influenced gothic architecture. Many Danish kings and queens are buried there. The museum is open to the public……..as long as it isn’t in the middle of a church service. I made the mistake of arriving at 10:30 AM only to learn the inside of the cathedral wouldn’t be open to the public until 1 PM. So, realizing it was time for plan b, I switched the order of my itinerary and started my day at the Viking Ship Museum instead of the cathedral.
The Viking Ship Museum
The Viking Ship Museum is located right along the Roskilde Fjord and features the remains of five 11th-century Viking ships recovered from the fjord in the 1960s. The ships were deliberately sunk in the fjord in the 11th century in order to block a navigation channel and protect the city from seaborne attacks (Roskilde was the Danish capital at the time). The museum consists of an outdoor site and boatyard along with an indoor portion with the remains of the five Viking ships. You have to pay to see the indoor portion, but you can walk around the outdoor site and shipyard and read the informative displays for free. The outdoor section also has a rope-making workshop and areas where you can see where they have been reconstructing ships using traditional techniques and materials.
I thoroughly enjoyed examining the five preserved/re-constructed sunken ships in the indoor part of the museum. The ships were Skuldelev 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. Skuldelev 1 was a sturdy trading vessel, Skuldelev 2 was a long warship, Skuldelev 3 was a small trading ship, Skuldelev 5 was a small longship, and Skuldelev 6 was a fishing boat. Skuldelev 2 was reconstructed in the museum’s boatyard. The finished ship, the Sea Stallion from Glendalough, recently completed a voyage to Dublin and back. Most of the ships were made primarily of Danish oak. Another fun fact: by law, the ships were required to equip 1 bow and 24 arrows per thwart (see picture). I recommend spending time in the inside part of the museum because it is really cool to read about and see the preserved Viking ships.
Roskilde Cathedral
After finishing up at the Viking Ship Museum, I returned to the Roskilde Cathedral. They give you a free and informative “Roskilde Cathedral Guide” in English once you pay to enter.
The first church on the site was made of wood, built by Harold Bluetooth, and likely located at the same spot as the present-day cathedral. The present brick cathedral was stared in the 1170s under bishop Absalon. The King’s Door is just a little straight and to the left of where you enter the cathedral. It’s made of bronze and features images of ears of wheat referring to the bread broken by Jesus. Looking up from next to the King’s Door, you can see a clock. This clock from the 1400s depicts St. George, and each hour St. George slays the dragon and it lets out a wail. I was fortunate enough to hear this twice since I spent several hours inside the cathedral. Moving forward through the cathedral, you notice the organ. The oldest part of the cathedral’s organ is from 1425, and the organ is still used at church services today. Progressing further, you see a three-winged altarpiece made in Antwerp in 1560 showing the events of Easter.
Many Danish kings and queens are buried in the cathedral. I got to see the sarcophagus of Queen Margrete I, the sarcophagi of Christian 5 & Fredrik 4, Fredrik 5’s chapel (an excellent example of neo-classicism, and you can see Frederik 7’s oaken coffin decorated with a gilded wreath of oak leaves given to the king by women’s organizations in gratitude for the inclusion of women in the constitution given by the king), Christian 4’s chapel (featuring two large paintings, one of which shows the scene when the king was wounded by shrapnel in a naval battle), and the Royal Children’s Crypt. You can also see where they are planning a future monument for the present Danish queen and her husband. I only got to spend a couple minutes in the upstairs cathedral museum, but take note that most of the exhibit is only in Danish.
The National Museum & Bakken
It’s hard to believe, but my semester abroad is almost finished. I’ve been in a bit of a rush the past week simply because I’m trying to finish all of my final exam papers early so that I’ll have enough time squeeze in a few last days of sightseeing. Since I was ahead of schedule by the end of the week, I planned out a couple fun activities still on my bucket list for Friday, April 27, and Saturday, April 28.
The National Museum
On Friday, April 27, I spent the afternoon at the National Museum. They have exhibitions and artifacts from all over the world and across different time periods (the Stone Age, the Viking Age, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and Modern Danish History). When I arrived midday, I had no idea how large it actually was! Even though the Visit Copenhagen website says you can tour the museum in about an hour, I somehow managed to spend several hours just exploring and reading everything in the Danish Prehistory exhibition on the ground floor. This was unfortunate since the museum kicked me out when they closed at 4 pm, so I didn’t get a chance to see much from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Classical Antiquities exhibitions.
Oops. Well, I heavily enjoyed what I did manage to see at the museum, so I guess that’s really what matters. The Danish Prehistory exhibition on the ground floor contained rooms divided by three time periods: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. You can see flint tools, kitchen middens, skulls on which trephination was performed, passage graves, and rune stones. Obviously there were a lot of artifacts, so I’ll just highlight a few of my favorites. In the first room, you can see a bow of elm from Holmegård c. 7000 BC. The use of the bow was a technological innovation that made hunting very efficient. In another room, you can see the Guldhøy folding chair. The folding chair was an important furniture item associated with palaces and the richest graves. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the Bronze Age Egtved Girl. The young girl died in 1370 BC and her body was discovered in Jutland in the 1920s. Chemical analysis of the teeth revealed that she travelled vast distances back and forth between the Alps and didn’t actually spend much time in Denmark. She was 16-18 years old, around 160 cm tall, and only hair, teeth, nails, and some skin remain. After a nice afternoon at the National Museum, I took the train to Klampenborg to head to Bakken.
Bakken
Bakken is one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, operating since at least 1753. The park has 32 rides and a variety of restaurants, games, food, and ice cream stalls. Bakken is located in Jaegersborg Dyrehave, “the deer park.” The deer park and enclosure is a legacy from par force hunting by the Danish royalty. Thankfully, there is no entrance fee at Bakken, so you’re free to just walk on up and enter the park. You do have to pay a pretty penny if you want to experience any of the rides. As I walked over to Bakken, I didn’t see any deer (but I did meet a few horses).
Honestly, it was fun to just walk around the park a couple times and look at everything. The park is definitely geared towards kids, and I imagine it’s the-place-to-be for Danish children during the summer. I recommend grabbing some “is,” or ice cream. There was a noteworthy wooden roller coaster, but I had to politely decline to ride it once I realized it would cost 50 kroner (roughly $8-9). So, I admired the coaster from a distance. There was a water log coaster / ride where I saw some kids get splashed. There were also plenty of restaurants and food stalls. Finally, there was also a little area for Pjerrot / Pierrot. Pjerrot is a stock character of pantomime in popular culture typically seen as a buffoonish fool. Pjerrot has a whitened face, a boat-like hat, and is dressed in white with large buttons. He regularly performs for (and is very popular with) the Danish children. You may not feel compelled to ride the rides there, but it’s worth visiting Bakken on a nice summer evening just to see what this Danish amusement park is like.
Brøndby Futbold (Soccer) Game
On Sunday, April 29, my host dad was kind enough to invite me to a soccer (futbold) game. This was an experience I simply couldn’t pass up. Originally, I thought we would be going to a simple, local match. As it ended up, the soccer game was in a stadium full of 19,500 people (whoa!). We watched the local team, Brøndby, compete against the visitors, FC Nordsjaelland. The stadium was overwhelmingly a sea of yellow (the color to support Brøndby). The fans in some parts of the stadium were very enthusiastic, frequently waving flags, shouting, and jumping up and down. At times, they would even switch from cheering to making a booing/hissing noise whenever the other time got the ball. While there were no problems at this game, it was interesting to note that the stadium had a separate entrance for fans for the away team precisely because soccer fans can get very heated and physically aggressive at times. My host dad explained that if Brøndby was playing against the FC København team instead, we wouldn’t have gone because the rivalry between them is a little too intense for it to have been entirely safe for us. For this game, however, it was a fun time, and I enjoyed the game. It was also super-cute when the young Danish boy sitting in front of us shouted the names of the Brøndby players as they emerged onto the field :).
Bornholm Part II
Bornhom Part II
Østerlars Kirke
I recently returned to Bornholm with my host family and my friend Will this past weekend (March 23-25). This time we had a lot more time to really explore the island and check out the main sites. After a short run with Will through the neighborhood and along the beach on Saturday morning, we drove to Østerlars Kirke. Østerlars Kirke is the largest of the round churches on Bornholm. It was built around 1160 and dedicated to St. Laurentius. The church has 2 m thick round, white walls and a black, conical roof. Buttresses were added in the 16th century to support the outer wall. The round churches were used not only as places of worship but also as storehouses and defensive fortresses from which Danes could fire arrows. Will and I were really impressed by the unique architecture of the church. I’ve never been inside a round church before, so it was neat to walk inside and face a central column. The frescos on the central column depict biblical scenes from the Annunciation to the Day of Judgement. Before leaving, we climbed up the staircase towards the back of the church and got to see the wooden support structure and view from above.
Svaneke
Next, we visited the charming town of Svaneke and spent plenty of time walking around. Svaneke has half-timbered houses, smokehouses, a nice town square, and many shops and galleries. The town is a center for arts and crafts and is known for having excellent ceramics and glassblowing workshops. When we first arrived, we checked out the landmark Svaneke water tower. This water tower was built in 1952 and designed by architect Jørn Utzon. The water tower has an incredibly unique design. It features a pyramidal water tank supported by 3 slender ferro-concrete legs. It also has a concrete staircase which elegantly winds up from the ground.
After seeing the water tower, we enjoyed the sunny day by walking around the Svaneke harbor and checking out the shops. We visited a particularly cool hand-blown glass shop where we saw the employees in the process of creating glassware in the workshop.
Hellingdomsklipperne
Since we only had so much time to spend in Bornholm, we had to make some tough choices regarding where we spent our time. Will and I both agreed that we preferred to see more of the natural landscape on Bornholm instead of spending a lot of time inside the art museums. After exploring Svaneke, we drove to Bornholms Kunstmuseum—but not in order to see the museum and the artwork. As it turns out, there is a small path behind Bornholms Kunstmuseum which leads directly to Hellingdomsklipperne, some coastal cliffs and rugged rock formations. This is what we came to see. Despite the sun, there was still some snow on the rocks (and this created an amazing view). It was really fun to climb down the rocks and get near the water. The ice-covered ladder at the end of the path leading down to a small cave seemed a little sketchy though, so that was a risk I decided not to take. If you have some time in Bornholm, I strongly recommend visiting this spot.
Døndalen
Døndalen was only a short distance from the cliffs and rock formations. Døndalen is a valley with the largest waterfall in Denmark. That being said, the waterfall is fairly small. Nevertheless, Will and I enjoyed seeing this neat nature spot.
Rønne
Since my host family needed to spend some time with Irene’s mom in the hospital on Bornholm, they dropped Will and I off in Rønne to have some time to explore the city before dinner. Rønne is the largest town on Bornholm. The town has cobbled streets and low-timbered houses. The St. Nicolas Church is definitely a focal point of the town. Many areas of Bornholm were only starting to open when we visited this past weekend. This is because many people only come to Bornholm in the summer to spend time at their summer houses. There are still plenty of year-round residents, but in effect the streets are generally empty and only a select number of shops are open this time of year.
Nordbornholms Rogeri
Finally, we ended the day by enjoying a very nice dinner at Nordbornholms Rogeri in the town of Allinge. The food was buffet style, so you could take whatever you wanted and as much as you wanted. This is a fantastic restaurant for trying different kinds of fish. Will and I ate smoked salmon, smoked eel, smoked bornholmer, shrimp, soup, and a lot of different varieties of herring. If you go here, try a little bit of everything—but don’t forget to save room for dessert. They have a great soft-serve ice cream machine, and Will, Irene, and I returned for second (and admittedly even third) helpings.
Hammershus
The highlight of Sunday was when my host family, Will, and I visited the ruins of Hammershus Castle in the northern part of the island. It’s the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe and a popular tourist attraction (it’s also free to visit). When you first arrive, you might notice the architecture of the visitor center and how it was cleverly designed in a horizontal manner in order to better blend into the natural landscape.
The Hammershus Fortress is located on a cliff 74 m above sea level, and it served as a castle for 500 years. Most believe that the castle was built in the early 12th century by Jens Grand, the Archbishop of Lund. The Crown and the Church fought over control of Hammershus for a number of years. When King Frederick I came to power, he gave Hammershus to the merchants of Lübeck (in exchange for them helping him come to power). The merchants imposed ridiculously high taxes to finance expanding Hammershus. Not surprisingly, Bornholm peasants were not happy about this or the fact that they were conscripted for forced labor. It is worth noting that Leonora Christina (daughter of King Christina IV) and her husband, Corfitz Ulfeldt, were imprisoned in Hammershus. Hammershus was abandoned in 1743, and the people of Bornholm used the ruins from the site as building materials until Hammershus was placed on the national historic register in 1822.
We were really lucky that to be able to visit the Hammershus Castle ruins on a bright, sunny day. You get an incredible view of the Baltic Sea as you take the path up to the ruins, and you might even see some sheep in the valleys below. The ruins are a popular place for children to run and climb around. Will and I enjoyed seeing the mixture of stones in the remains of the scullery (the brewery and bakery), the west wing, the lord lieutenant’s wing, the chapel wing, and the towers (including the area where they think Leonora Christina was imprisoned in the fox tower). I think the Hammershus Castle ruins and coastal cliffs (Hellingdomsklipperne) were my favorite parts of our trip exploring Bornholm.
Bornholm Part 1
Bornholm Part I
I traveled with Bent and Irene (my host family) to their summer house in Bornholm from February 9 to February 11. Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea just south of Sweden and north of Poland. Ironically, we actually had to bring our passports and travel through Sweden to get to the ferry to get to Bornholm. Since Bornholm is strategically located in the Baltic Sea, many have fought for control over Bornholm. Besides Denmark, Bornholm has also been ruled by Sweden, Lübeck, and Germany. Bornholm was heavily bombed by the Soviet Air Force in May of 1945. Many residents expressed concern when there were proposed cuts to military funding due to the fact that many remember the past and fear foreign occupation.
Unfortunately, the circumstances behind the trip were less than ideal. Irene’s mom (who lives on Bornholm) had a serious medical condition, and my host family needed to be able to spend some time with her.
Despite the sad reason for the trip, I did enjoy seeing parts of Bornholm and spending time in Bent and Irene’s summer house. Their summer house was only a short distance from the city of Hasle. The first floor of the summer house had a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. There were stairs in the kitchen leading up to second floor / attic which was mostly another large bedroom. The couches in the living room were really comfy, so admittedly I spent a lot of time reading there. There was also a smaller, separate structure behind the main part of the house with a ping-pong table.
Bent accompanied me on a walk around the neighborhood. Since many of the houses were summer houses, a lot of the houses were currently unoccupied. There was a nice beach and coastline only a little more than 450 m away. We also walked by a couple workers in the process of using chainsaws to harvest some timber.
On Saturday morning, Bent and Irene dropped me off in Rønne (the largest city on Bornholm) while they headed to visit Irene’s mom in the hospital. This gave me the chance to walk around the city. I was really struck by how colorful all the buildings were. Also, a lot of the older buildings looked like they had wooden frames and were covered with stucco. The main church is a distinctive landmark, and it’s where Bent and Irene got married. As I was meandering through the streets, at one point two kids emerged from a house and began singing a Danish song/tune of some sort. I noticed that the little boy was dressed up in a carrot costume. I asked Bent and Irene about this later, and they told me that the kids were celebrating Fastelavn. Fastelavn is similar to the catholic Carnival. Children dress up in a costume and go door-to-door for money or candy.
What You’ll Find in Copenhagen
Things You’ll Find While Wandering Around Copenhagen….
- Lots of public statues
- Street musicians, including one dressed like Darth Vader
- The Church of Scientology
- Cozy Danish Bookstores
- Super Cool Lamps in Danish Lighting Shops
- Quill Pens for Sale
- Ridiculously Expensive Ballpoint Pens
- Well-Designed Storage Containers
- Vegetarian Recipe Books
- Plenty of “hygge”
Danny in Denmark 