Week of May 24th

A short week, and TK is busy at work. Wednesday he was in Jutland, Thursday and Friday he's off to Stockholm for meetings and such. There was an article published in the Danish business paper, Børsen, talking about Valtech's new ownership... which from what I can understand, is now part of InBev, the Belgian beer company that also owns Anheuser Busch. So that's big news. The article also quotes Thomas' boss talking about the number of Danish colleagues they've sent abroad, like to the London and Paris offices, and how that's making the Danish office more 'international'. Gee, maybe they'd like to send one to the U.S.! I'll get my people on it.

So while he's working (hey, someone has to) I'm continuing my tour of Copenhagen's green spaces. Wednesday was another beautiful day, and I rode along the lakes to Øster Anlœg (the Eastern
Gardens) which is a park just behind Merete's museum.

It's an incredibly quiet place, right in the middle of the city, and is kept fairly natural, so it really feels like you're out of the city.

I spent some time there reading my History of Modern Architecture book, in preparation for school this fall. Today I read about the Avant Garde movements in Holland (De Stijl) and Russia (Constructivism). Go ahead, quiz me!

I'm excited because UIC started an online networking group for the Architecture class that's starting this fall, so we can reconnect and discuss things like finding an apartment, registering for classes, etc. I'm so ready to get started!

I rode back through one of my favorite streets, Olufsvej (fourth photo down), which has a rainbow-colored series of row houses. I guess I like it because it reminds me of Charleston.

Tonight (Thursday) I'm going to the Things, and if the weather holds up, taking the long way up the coast on my bike.

Weekend Update

So, Anette and Peter's wedding was beautiful, the bride was radiant, the weather cooperated. The ceremony was at 13:00 in Jesuskirken in Valby, which looks different from the other Scandinavian churches I've been to. They're usually very white inside, and undecorated, but this one had very elaborate decoration, calligraphy and color. I didn't take any pictures inside, but you can see some on their web site.

The dinner started at 18:00 at a reception hall just north of the city in Brede. It was very peaceful... on a little lake, and the sun was shining, so we spent some time outside. After three courses, ten speeches and about five hours, we were done! It was fun trying to understand the Bornholmers, and the bride gave one of the funniest wedding speeches ever. That's our girl! (Click on the photo to see the album.)

In real Danish tradition, we helped cut off the groom's socks, and danced to the wedding singer... "Just a gigolo", "I will survive"... you really can't appreciate American music until you've heard it performed in a foreign country.... and got home, several trains and taxi rides later, around 3 am.

Sunday we rested our feet and--wait for it--did laundry.

Oh, wait, we did do something... Thomas took me to see "Prince of Persia." Amazing effects, but the dialogue was so bad, it would have been better with the sound off! It was truly remarkable.

Monday was yet another Danish religious holiday, the last of several in the spring. Since everything was closed (this has always confused me... why are all the stores are closed when everyone has the day off?) we went to Malmo, Sweden, for the day. Apparently, the Swedes believes that Jesus and economic stimulus go well together. It's a short train ride over the Øresund bridge. We walked around and had a nice al fresco café lunch.

Thursday, 20th May, into the weekend

So on Thursday afternoon, I decided to go to the lecture on the role of architecture in James Bond films at the Library at the Architecture School, on Christianshavn. It was okay, not as informative or detailed as I'd hoped... On the way I thought I'd stop in at the Danish Architecture Center, which is close by, and has exhibitions, a book store, etc. As soon as I walked in there was a sign pointing me upstairs for the Jan Gehl book signing. It started right as I came in! He's a leading architect/urban planner focused on making cities more lively and pedestrian-friendly, and a huge source of inspiration for me. His new book is called "Cities for People." (What's more, both presentations were in Danish, and I understood everything. Bingo!)

This weekend is another busy one. Merete is curating an exhibition at Ordrupgaard Museum, just north of Copenhagen, called "Shades of Black." It's related to her masters thesis, which as I understand it, is about Danish artists who have been sort of ignored or underappreciated because they don't fit into a particular style or "ism". We're going to the opening on Friday night.

Fortunately the sunshine and temperature have increased a bit, since our friend Anette is getting married on Saturday. She's from Bornholm, an island that's part of Denmark but has its own dialect... the speeches should be an interesting exercise in translation not just for me, but for all the Danes, too! The wedding starts at 13:00, but should, in usual Danish fashion, should extend into the wee hours. I promised to take some pictures, and Thomas will certainly keep me busy on the dance floor. I'd better eat my Wheaties, or maybe pack a flask of espresso!

Monday is another religious/national holiday, and Thomas and I tossed around the idea of doing a tour of southern Sweden/north Sjaelland. You can take the train to Malmo, up the Swedish coast through Lund, a university town, to Helsingborg, where you take the ferry across to Helsingør, Hamlet's home town, and back down to Copenhagen again.

Thomas is traveling a lot for work in the next couple of weeks--Stockholm and London again--and then we're going to Oslo in a couple of weeks. No moss growing under these feet!

Tuesday, 18th May

Another beautiful day! I think the Danish weather heard my appeal. I biked to Frederiksberg Haven this afternoon, which is one of the larger parks in the city. Frederiksberg is actually a separate city/county than Copenhagen, and is one of the more exclusive/upscale residential areas. It's also home to the Copenhagen Business School, where both Peter Thing and cousin Kasper are studying. I took one of my architectural history books and made a feeble attempt at studying...

Later, Christian Thing picked me up in his new BMW convertible (gotta enjoy those sunny days while you can!) and sped up to their house in Gentofte for dinner with cousins Ida and Peter. Vibeke and Mogens came to spend the night. They're flying to Lake Garda in Italy early in the morning.

Monday, 17th May

Finally, a day requiring sunglasses! I met my friend Jane for a coffee at this café on Christianshavn (Christian's harbor). It's another Copenhagen neighborhood just over the bridge, and one of my favorite places in the city. It was traditionally home to merchants, and has narrow houses lining the canals, much like you would see in Amsterdam, so it looks very old and quaint. If you take the canal boat tour here, you'll definitely see it. It's also home to one of the best temptations/bakeries in town, Lagekagehuset (the layer cake house). It's great to pick up a treat and eat it outside by the canal. If you come to visit me here, I'll take you there.

Thomas works near here, on Holmen, which used to be the Navy yards. They've converted the old buildings (and by old, the gunboat house where his office is was built in the 1600s) into offices, apartments and institutions. The Royal Academy of Architecture and the Film School are both here, which was the primary reason for my visit: to check out books on the history of modern architecture, from my summer reading list. While I was there, I picked up a flyer for Thursday's lecture on the role of architecture in James Bond films. Yeah, I think I need to go to that.

Nørrebro

Copenhagen has three major neighborhoods which lie just outside the lakes: Østerbro, Nørrebro and Vesterbro. 'Bro' means bridge, and the three neighborhoods are in the east, north and west. The lakes were once used as a moat around the city, and the names of the three subway stations, Østerport, Nørreport and Vesterport relate to where the gates or doors to the city once were.

Pictured: Husumgade. Thomas' building is the brick one with the yellow first floor.

Thomas lives in Nørrebro, which like Vesterbro is a traditionally working-class neighborhood. More recently it's become populated with immigrants from Arab and African countries, so it's more diverse than some other parts of Copenhagen. (A bonus, in TK's opinion.) The main thoroughfare, Nørrebrogade, is home to cafés, shawarma bars and green grocers. It has been closed to car traffic for some time because of the high number of cyclists--imagine, they had to expand the bike lanes! There's a digital sign as you bike from the city over the bridge into Nørrebro, that says "you're biker number xxx today." That number easily reaches 10,000, and reports have shown that Copenhageners bike 1 million kilometers on an average work day. Imagine if all of those people were driving cars!

Thomas' apartment is sandwiched between Nørrebroparken, which is part of a greenway system that runs all the way across the city, and Assistens Kirkegård, one of the largest and most beautiful cemeteries in the city. A number of famous Danes are buried here, including Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr. What's nice is that people use it like a park, going for a stroll or a picnic on the grounds.

Sunday 16th May

We went for a little biking tour around the city (in the rain) and looked at some of the Copenhagen Photography Festival. Some of it was in Kødbyen (the meatpacking district) in Vesterbro, which has become a trendy area for nightclubs and bars. It's still a working meatpacking-wholesale area, both day and night; it's populated with Eastern European prostitutes.

London May 5-9 2010

Picasa album:

05/2010-London

We arrived late on Wednesday night... For not being a very long flight, it sure takes a while to get to and from the airports in CPH/Gatwick, with all those trains. We then had to collect the apartment key at the London office. For about 3 hours of work on Thursday, Valtech loaned us the apartment for the weekend, which was very nice. We navigated ourselves and our suitcases to the apartment, got in the elevator, and once the doors closed... it stopped.

I really tried not to panic but I really don't do well in closed spaces. Fortunately, about 15 minutes later (I swear it felt like an hour) the doors magically opened again. We took all four flights of stairs for the rest of our stay!

Day one/Thursday: While Thomas worked, I made my way to the New London Architecture center, which had a great public exhibition on all of the areas around the city that they're trying to improve, especially related to the upcoming 2012 Olympics. It was also interesting to learn how they plan to convert the Olympic facilities for use afterwards, to recycle/reuse materials. They also had a model of the entire city (well, almost) so you could really get an idea of how large it is.

Afterwards, since I was just around the corner, I stopped by the British Museum. There was an excellent exhibition on Renaissance drawings, featuring all the greats like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli... Drawing is the basis for so many of the arts, and these guys really perfected it, studying anatomy and mathematical perspective. It helps that paper became more widely available around this time, which was cheaper to produce and could be used for studies/sketching. Previously they had used vellum, which is made from animal skin, and because of its higher cost was used for more permanent or important things.

A quick sandwich and coffee and we're off... Thomas took me on a walking tour (map) of some of his favorite neighborhoods. He worked in Soho and spent a lot of time in that area: Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Chinatown, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, St. James Garden.... are your feet tired yet?

It was election day so there was lots of talk and activity around that, too.

Later we met his friends Louise and Richard for a pint (hey, it's Thursday) and dinner at an Italian Restaurant.

Day two/Friday: We took the Tube down to St. Paul's Cathedral (map) and then walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern. We walked along the Thames on the south side towards the Tube station, to get to Canary Wharf. Thomas thought I should see the modern architecture there. It's a big banking center with tall office buildings, but great street life on the ground level... lots of pubs, restaurants and shopping. Since it was Friday at lunch, they were all busy!

Later we went to the Camden markets (map), which are outdoor markets with stalls selling everything you can think of, and attracting all kinds of people...

Friday night Thomas had arranged to meet his friend Lea in Marylebone, near the University of Westminster (map) where he went to business school. It brought back a lot of memories for him: the dorm he lived in, the pub where they all met after class.... We also met his colleague, Johan, who is transferring from the Valtech office in Copenhagen to their London office. They're trying to lure Thomas back to London, but something tells me he might have other plans : )

Saturday: A little tired, maybe a little hungover... I made the trip out to Hampton Court, whose famous resident was Henry VIII. I don't know if you've been watching the Tudors series on Showtime--very fun and trashy if not historically accurate--but it made me want to go see this. I've toured quite a few of the big royal palaces like Versailles and Schloss Schönbrunn, but what made this one nice was the touches throughout to keep it in the period. They had actors dressed up in character walking around talking to visitors, and all of the guards/workers were dressed like royal guards. Maybe a little cheesy, but neat. And it helped that it was a gray, cool London day, so there weren't very many people there.

My favorite part was the kitchen. They cooked for a thousand people at a time, and the tour described the tremendous effort in bringing in the food and processing it. They said that part of the reason the court moved around to the different palaces is that they would consume all of the available resources in one area, and have to move on. They ate a lot of meat and white bread, which were both signs of wealth, and mostly drank wine. No one drank water, because it was unsafe, so even children drank beer... and vegetables were for peasants. Our man Henry weighed almost 400 pounds when he died.

My trip back to the apartment took 1 1/2 hours... the train back to Waterloo and then 3 tubes from there, so I needed a nap! The city is working on the Tube city in preparation for the Olympics, so there are a lot of interruptions on the weekends. It seemed like we spent a lot of time down there, and I think I heard that the average Londoner spends 3.5 hours a week in the Tube! It's not cheap... 5.60 GBP or about $8 for a day pass, and cabs are even more expensive. Thomas said he saw a lot more people riding their bikes than when he lived there before, and the city is trying to make the streets more bike-friendly.

Saturday night we met Thomas' friend Jonas and his new girlfriend Pernille in East London (map). We did a little bar hopping, starting at Bar Kick, which had a foosball tournament underway, and ending up at a 1920s-themed bar called the Last Days of Decadence. The music was great and everyone was dressed up in character. It was fun but I felt a little underdressed in my jeans and chucks.

Day four/Sunday: We went up to Hampstead (map), a fairly upscale, villagey neighborhood in North London where Thomas lived. We met Lea for brunch at a French patisserie (temptations all around) and walked through Hampstead Heath, one of the large parks in London. It was so quiet you could hardly tell you were in the city.

It was soon time to get going... walking, Tube, train to Gatwick... it was crazier than usual because the ash cloud is now covering parts of Spain and Italy, so they canceled a bunch of flights. Ours was delayed by a couple of hours but we made it!

weekend in Århus

So our weekend in Århus started off with a bang (well, a few screams) when Thomas booked us in the family car of the train. Yeah.

The confirmation was on Friday in the Sailing Club in Skanderborg, which is such a beautiful place that the Danes have a song about it. It's southwest of Århus in Jutland. Mathias is an excellent sailor. After winning one of the big Danish competitions last year, the mayor of Skanderborg invited him to City Hall to be honored.









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Like I said before, the confirmation is a big event in Danish culture–like a Sweet Sixteen but even more significant. We were about 50 family and friends for lunch, with plenty of toasts and speeches, and of course... presents. I thought our iPod was a big deal, until I heard about the computer, the trip to California, the pile of cash... I'd met Thomas' parents and his sister, Lotte, and her family before, but got to meet some more of his relatives. It was a nice, short, six or seven hour lunch.













We also got to catch up with some friends in Århus and walk around the city a bit... where on Saturday we ran into a communist protest march, complete with red flags. May 1st is their labor day, when some of the unions stage rallies and marches. Thomas informed me that sex workers have their own union, too.















On Sunday we met Vibeke for brunch and spent some time down by the river with our turtle faces turned towards the sun. In Danish, a river is an "Å" and combined with "hus" (house) makes "Århus" a house on the river. The river was paved over into a street in the 1930s, and the city has spent the last few years opening it back up and making it more pedestrian-friendly.