And After Much Ado...It's Spring!

I admit, there has been some silence from my corner of this blog; however, I will attribute it to my travels rather than a sad lack of motivation and dedication to the blogosphere.
Over the long study tour, first we went to Tallinn, Estonia.

The Swedish flag in the background is the Embassy. I was, indeed, in Estonia.

 There was a medieval old town that has been there since the times of the Vikings. There was also the world's best hot chocolate, which I was originally skeptical of, as I have had some good cocoa in my time. However, after drinking at Josephine's, I was a believer. They steamed milk and poured it over a block of chocolate. I am also a convert to the chocolate-chili pairing, as a result of a delicious truffle I had there.

And the ambiance left nothing to be desired.

After Estionia, we took a cruise boat to Helsinki, Finland. It was equally cold there.

While in Tallinn, the old city was separated by a wall from the new city, in Helsinki old architectural styles were side-by-side the new. There were also electric street cars criss-crossing the city.

The pastries in Helsinki were unlike anything I had every had before, so of course I ate them for lunch nearly every day. This one is a bread-like sweet roll with a sort of ricotta cheesy center, topped with blueberries.
Over a long weekend, I skipped class  a few days and went to London and Edinburgh.
London was warm, large, and multi-cultural, all characteristics which Denmark lacks.

The London Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament by night

Edinburgh was unlike anything I had experienced before. It had the medieval characteristics of Tallinn, but none of the Soviet influence, there was a castle, and it was built in the valley and hills of the remainder of an old volcano. 

The view from Calton Hill: Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh

Both London and Edinburgh felt foreign, yet the people there spoke English, which was a strange feeling. 

The best evening in Edinburgh involved going to two different pubs and experiencing two different sorts of "traditional" music and having an (Irish) beer. Also not disappointing were the many old bookstores with shelves from floor to ceiling and books spilling out from every possible nook.

The past two and a half weeks I spent on spring break gallivanting around Europe. 

First stop: Rome

View from the top of the Spanish Steps

Highlights include: gelato nearly every night, old things around every corner, roof-top gardens. While I was not blessed by the pope, I had the good fortune to fill my water bottle at the Vatican, and hydrated myself with holy water.

There was also some really good food.

 

Next stop: Florence

While this is not Florence itself, my favorite part of the city was actually the view from the beautiful Tuscan countryside. During this part of the trip, we saw the important artistic works (David, Venus, you name it) but also spent quality time in parks enjoying the scenery.

One very important night involved walking around from pastry shop to pastry shop and trying Florence sweets, all of which were more citrusy and almondy than anything else. One even involved rice on the inside, which was an adventure.

Last stop: Paris

Similar to Florence, Paris involved many cultural activities and parks. 

Examples include Versailles

Giverney (Monet's house and gardens)

 

Less park-like, but equally important, was the consumption of a nutella crepe on the bank of the Siene. 

 And of course, back in Denmark the weather is warming up and it's finals time. Perhaps the worst combination I can think of. At least I have the pastries!

The Past Few Weeks In Pastries

Since returning from the short study tour, the weeks have gone by in a blur of class, reading, adventuring, and, most notably, pastries.

February 19 marked my first foray into the Brønshøj Torv bakery, conveniently located just two bus stops away, just far enough so that walking there becomes an intentional activity.

This was a tarte, the shell covered in chocolate, the top with almonds and a glaze. Needless to say, it was delicious.

The next documented pastry occurred on February 24th, and was actually one of a pair, as 7/11 has a buy-two-croissants-for-20-kr deal, which was too good to pass up, especially when said croissants are chocolate.
And so it came to pass that I had a chocolate croissant for dessert not only after lunch, but after dinner as well. Thank you, America, for providing quality French pastry in Denmark.

There were at least three pastries between the croissants and the upcoming cinnamon swirl from St. Peter's bakery, centrally located near DIS. I do not want to let them go without recognition, as they were all delicious; however, the pastry that involved almond paste and both vanilla and chocolate icing was my favorite. Not to mention the pastries and coffee we were served when my developmental neuropsychology class visited a school for children with developmental and learning disabilities.
But back to the cinnamon swirl.
Unlike any other cinnamon swirl I have ever had. This was simultaneously bready, gooey, sweet, and cinnamony...
Behind it, physically, and in quality and taste (but not caffeine content) is the half-cup of coffee dispensed by a machine in various locations around DIS. Many a 5 kroner have met their demise in this machine. Especially because it serves hot chocolate too.

Finally, yesterday's culinary delight consisted of the second pastry from the Brønshøj Torv bakery that I can only describe as the flaky version of a doughnut. One filled with raspberry jam.

And so I have found that one of the best ways of experiencing a place is to eat one's way through it.

Copenhagen: Not On The Mainland

Well, it turns out that the island Copenhagen is on is actually one of the most eastern islands that Denmark still has control of. The past few days were spent on a Short Study Tour of Western Denmark, which was both educational and fun (and on the mainland - Jutland). As part of the public health program, we visited a general practitioner, a regional administrator of the health care system, as well as an NGO that does work with sexual education. It was all very informative.

Perhaps more worthy of note was the town of Odense, located on the island between Copenhagen and Jutland, and the town where Hans Christian Anderson was born.

Parts of the town have been preserved since his era, and it was all very quaint and picturesque, and while I enjoyed walking around and visiting a museum with a photography exhibit on soccer in Africa, the best part was (of course) the baked goods. 

We consumed a pear tarte-like cake, which was (of course) delicious. What distinguished this tarte-like cake from other tartes and/or cakes I have had was the hint of almond. This has been a theme in other pastries I have experienced, which I wholeheartedly approve of.

We also visited Koldinghus, which is a castle that was built in 1268, burned down in 1808, and rebuilt in 1890. 

 The coolest thing about this castle is that instead of attempting to replicate what was once there, the new part of the castle compliments what remained after the fire. It was beautiful in a way that I never would have imagined possible.

The primary example of this was in the old chapel. Most of the original structure was still standing, but the lighting was clearly a new addition.

The castle is also a museum, and there was an excellent exhibit on the Beatles when we visited.

Koldinghus, as a very old castle, is located in a very old town of Kolding. As viewed from the window of the castle, on a typical day in Denmark.

And so, I found out that Copenhagen is, in fact, not a part of Western Denmark. And upon returning, I experienced the strange feeling that I was coming home to a city.

Wednesday = Field Study Day

This Wednesday, I went with my Danish Language & Culture class to Christiania, which is an "Freetown" within Copenhagen founded in 1971 by hippies at the site of ex-military barracks. These self-proclaimed anarchists do indeed pay taxes to the Danish government like everyone else, but everyone pays the same rent, regardless of living situation.

However, what Christiania is known for is Pusher Street, where hash is sold by the brick or pre-rolled joint, for your convenience. When Christiania was founded, any and all drugs were available and used, however, due to the negative consequences of heroine and cocaine, there is a strict soft-drug-only policy, which is strictly enforced, as depicted and explained by our guide below.

After the tour of Christiania, I made two stops with my adventuring buddy Kara. First, we went into a beautiful baroque church and found out that later the same evening a Confirmation celebration would be held, and we were more than welcome to come. Secondly, we stopped by a bakery and I had my first Danish danish. It was excellent.
After walking around with my roommate for a while, we decided to grab hotdogs for dinner. There are carts all around that sell hotdogs inside seedy baguettes with a mayonnaise herb concoction. We stopped by Studenterhuset, the student union, to get a beer and out of the cold to better enjoy a surprisingly delicious meal.

Kara and I did go back to the church to witness at least 200 teenagers sing and celebrate their confirmation. The lineup included: Man in the Mirror (standard Michael Jackson) Faellessalme: O kristelighed (a hymn in Danish), Halleluja (good old Cohen), and Shackels (Mary Mary). In the background of the picture is the alter, and in the upper left hand corner is a very small portion of the light show that was going on throughout the whole performance. 

All in all, this "service" exemplifies the Lutheran identity, but secular nature of the Danish people.

Greetings from Denmark

 Well, Hayley, it's funny you should ask.

I've been in Copenhagen for more than a week now, and while the first few days primarily featured the haze that is jet lag, it's been good. Apart from waking up in the very very dark that stays around until 7:45 or so in the morning and coming back to my room in the dark that is 4:30 pm.
During our extensive orientation activities we had a chance to walk around the city and see some sights. Copenhagen is beautiful: many of the streets are cobblestone, the buildings are painted cheery colors, perhaps to make up for the dreary weather, and they're really into squares and plazas featuring kings usually named Frederick or Christian the such and such roman numeral.

 This is Kongens Nytorv (Kings New Square) featuring Christian V.

Copenhagen is surrounded by canals, for safety. The Danes were, and seem to continue to be, obsessed with keeping the Swedes out.
On Saturday I went to Kronborg, in Elsinore, the castle that inspired Hamlet. Apparently only four kilometers from Sweden, the castle was built in the 1500s and funded by tariffs the king put on goods passing through the strait. While most of the castle burned down at one point or another, the original chapel, once converted to a fencing hall and back, remains. The tour took us through the dungeons which were cramped, dark, damp, and moldy. While it was an interesting experience, that was not the best part of the day.

The best part of the day was eating lunch at a bakery/cafe, specifically when the old man baker came around to the tables and offered everyone an orange meringue from a heaping tray. And so I have resolved to spend money exclusively on pastries. Partially because everything else is far too expensive to buy, but mostly because nothing else is quite as tasty.
Classes have begun, but in spite of the pile of reading I have managed to go adventuring.

While Kara and I did not go to any of the places pictured here, we did go to Kongens Nytorv, and took a water bus (so cool! it's just a boat that is part of the transportation system) from Parliament to a playhouse and ate lunch overlooking one of the canals.
I hope my wonderful housemates are excited for awesome adventures and debilitating jet lag! Safe travels to you all.