Walking in a winter wonderland

This past week Denmark decided that it would be really fun to pretend it was Norway or Greenland or even Minnesota. It's been snowing quite a bit and the cold is not going away. It's nothing I can't handle, I mean I am a Minnesotan after all, but it's a little upsetting that the winter I spend in Copenhagen is the coldest one they've had in decades.

So since my last post I've checked off quite a few things on my "Things to do in Copenhagen" list. On Wednesday some friends and I learned a bit more about the most important part of Danish culture--beer! We toured the old Carlsberg brewery and stables and then got to try a bunch of different beers. They had a room where you could smell different scents and based on the ones you liked best, you could pick the beer you would like. So between the 5 of us we were able to taste 9 different beers and I now feel much more educated about Danish beer. My personal favorites were the Abbey Ale which had hints of licorice, almonds, carnations and red apples and the Carlsberg Lager which had hints of oak, coffee, corn and toasted bread. So if anyone needs advice on good Danish beer, you know who to call.

On Saturday I went to Malmö, Sweden to go shopping with some of my friends. It's a 30 minute train ride and a very popular destination for Danish shoppers because the sales tax is a mere 7% compared to the 50% they pay here. It's also a nice place for a group of American students living on a budget to go and get some (relatively) cheap European clothes. We were also able to track down some Swedish meatballs and I'm not going to lie, I think the Gustavus cafeteria makes better ones. We were also pretty determined to find Swedish Fish but that mission was unsuccessful. I figured it would be though considering Swedish Fish are actually a Canadian candy. But after a lot of shopping and seeing several Gustav Adolf named things (Notice the picture of the cafe below) it was time to head home and meet Anne for night at the theater! First we enjoyed a delicious Turkish dinner complete with Baklava and then it was off to Mary Poppins. Even though they had to stop for about 30 minutes due to technical difficulties, the play was really wonderful! I actually enjoyed that it was in Danish because I was able put my Danish to the test since I knew the story so well. They were even able to translate Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious into Danish--Superphantaphænomænagenialilistisk. Impressive.

More Pictures from the brewery:

An old bottling machine

Beer chemistry (Possible fall back career?)

Old Tuborg delivery bike

Fodbold in the snow and hitting the cat out of the barrel

Today was a very eventful day! This morning I had my first soccer game with ØKF (Øresendskollegiat Fodboldklub). We played on a field that was completely covered with at least an inch of snow and even more in some places! Luckily my host parents decided to come cheer us on and my host dad happened to have a shovel in his van. So he shoveled the out-of-bounds lines and the 6 yard box for us. Despite his much appreciated efforts, the field was still very slippery and very unpredictable. Luckily we came out on top and ended up winning 3-2.

After warming up a bit it was time to celebrate Fastelavn! It's a holiday that is a combination of Fat Tuesday and Halloween. It celebrates the days before lent and the kids dress up in costumes and participate in the Danish version of trick-or-treating where they get money instead of candy. For me, this holiday included a delicious Danish pastry called Fastelavnboller (a croissant ball with either cream or fruit filling and topped with icing) and watching the traditional barrel hitting. Dragør, a city on the same island that I live on, is the only city that still participates in this tradition, so it was really cool to get to see a rare part of Danish culture. Originally they put a cat in a barrel and hung it from a rope then they rode by on horses and hit the barrel until it broke open. Now they are much more humane and just paint a picture of a cat on the side of a barrel but they still hit it until it shatters--it's the Danish version of a piñata. There were twenty or so men and women on horseback and they just kept riding up and down this one street that was lined with people, whacking a wooden barrel with their special Fastelavn bats. It was very entertaining and I found myself getting very into it. The person who broke the last piece of the barrel got a trophy/cup thing, some flowers, champagne and she led the procession for the rest of the day. Apparently the rest of day was filled with lots of celebrating and lots of rum punch but my host parents and I opted for some delicious pizza and watching the Olympics.

Here's some more pictures from my soccer game:

Good work, Jan!

And more pictures from Fastelavn:

The barrel before it got its beating

I was so enamored with this event

This little guy has a crown on because he busted open a carboard/kid friendly version of the cat barrel that was full of candy
Another action shot
Dragør, an adorable fishing town full of small houses, many still with thatched roofs. Also, it's a requirement for all the houses to be yellow with green shutters

I think I'm ready for my M.D.

This week was a very average one with nothing incredibly exciting to share. However, the fact that I'm in Copenhagen still makes it more exciting than your average week at home. I have recently discovered the best bakery in Copenhagen and it is way too close to my school--that was definitely a dangerous find. I had a test in my Complexity of Cancer class on Monday and it was pretty easy. My professors are two young doctors who clearly just want us to learn as much as we can but don't really care about grades or tests or anything like that. My Danish class is going very well and I'm feeling more and more confident using my Danish around the city. Perhaps the coolest part of my week was today in my Human Health and Disease class. We had a very hands on class and learned how to put in IVs, give CPR and intubate. We practiced on fake arms first for the IVs but then if people felt confident/brave enough we could practice on each other. Since needles don't really bother me I volunteered both my hands and have developed some really nice bruises on them because my classmates weren't so sskilled with their needles. But luckily someone volunteered for me to practice on them and I got it in on the first try! To some of you, this may not seem very exciting but I was super proud of myself. The CPR part wasn't all that great since I'm already CPR certified but the intubation dummy was pretty cool. I think they can hand me my medical degree now, I'm ready!

So the past couple days have been a whirlwind of activity. On Wednesday my Danish class went to the Danish Resistance Museum and learned all about the German occupation of Denmark during WWII. Basically, Denmark knew they had no chance so they were civil with the Germans and were able to keep running their country on their own. Eventually the resistance movement gained some strength but all and all it was a relatively mild WWII experience for the Danes. The picture to the right is of a Danish tank used in the resistance movement. Holes were added to the door after the war was over to make it look more dramatic, otherwise it was completely untouched.

Wednesday evening my family took me to see Skatteøen (Treasure Island) at the Folketeatret in Copenhagen. It was a musical so even though I didn't really understand the exact dialogue, it was still entertaining to watch and I could follow the storyline pretty well. My host parents are friends with the man who plays John Silver (Right) so we got to go backstage and see all the scenes and dressing rooms and what not-- very cool.

On Thursday I left for my short study tour around Denmark. We traveled with my Human Health and Disease class, which consists of 13 girls. Because we are such a small group (most are around 35) we got a really nice bus which made the long bus rides so much more enjoyable. Our first stop was Koldinghus (a castle in Kolding). This castle is different because they didn't try to renovate it to look like the original. The castle had changed so much throughout history that it was hard to choose a certain look so instead they just made it accessible and left it pretty much as it was following a fire in the 19th century. This meant that there was a strong contrast between the new platforms and stairs and the old original building structures, something that was very interesting to me.

Next was a visit to a General Practitioner's clinic in Vejle for the more academic side of our study tour. He told us a little bit about his average day and we learned a lot about the Danish health care system. It was incredibly fascinating and I think we could learn a lot from them.

The next day started off with two visits to different research hospitals in Århus (very cool for me but I won't bore you with the details) and ended with ARoS, the art museum in Århus. Perhaps my favorite part of this museum was the sculpture entitled "Boy." It was a 30 meter tall boy that was so lifelike it was creepy. There was also a really cool interactive exhibit by a Danish artist with smoking benches, moving walls and spinning mirrors.

On the last day of our study tour we visited some German bunkers from WWII that had been turned into a museum and then made our way to Odense. Odense is famous for the home of Hans Christian Andersen so naturally we went to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum where I learned way more about the man than I would have ever needed to know. I even saw his dentures and a lock of his hair. After a very nice lunch in a restaurant called "The Ugly Duckling," (how appropriate) it was back to Copenhagen. It was a busy three days but I learned a lot and got to see a lot of Denmark. Also, I got to know the girls in my class pretty well and now I'm even more excited for the rest of my semester!

This is a map of where we went...
A/E = Copenhagen
B= Vejle
C = Århus
D = Odense

View Larger Map

I thought I was studying in Copenhagen...

This weather definitely feels more like Minnesota. It's the coldest and snowiest winter Copenhagen has seen in almost 20 years. And it's still snowing! Everyone assured me that Copenhagen has a milder climate and, being a Minnesotan, I should be able to handle their winter no problem. Well let me tell you, this is ridiculous. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they were equipped to deal with all the snow. I have yet to see a real snow plow, they only have street sweepers. And, as I'm sure you can imagine, they don't quite get the job done. Also, it would be completely tolerable if I didn't have to walk everywhere. It's something that I usually enjoy, I like meandering through the city and discovering little shops and cafes but when it's snowing and the wind is ripping through you jacket, you really start to miss the refuge of your warm car.

However despite my complaining there are definitely things that I love about winter in Copenhagen. Most of them involve children. One, they wear little jumpsuits similar to Randy in "A Christmas Story." They look so cute waddling down the streets with only their eyes, nose and rosy red cheeks visible! And sometimes they can't really move their arms, which is also very entertaining to watch. Secondly, the children are quite often pulled around in sleds. Strollers are still very common but with all the snow it's completely normal to see a mother pulling her children down a city street in a sled. Third, I love how resilient the Danes are. Even though they are definitely not used to weather like this and my host sister has never even experienced weather like this, they still do things as they normally would. They ride their bikes to work and school and continue to walk everywhere. Yesterday, I was walking home in the type of snow that forces you to watch your feet as you walk because the idea of looking forward is absurd unless you enjoy a face full of snow and ice. However, despite the vicious wind and incredibly unfriendly snow, there were still several bikes and mopeds passing by me. Several of the bikers had adorned ski goggles to combat the elements-- so clever, these Danes. And the last thing I love about Copenhagen winters is watching my classmates from Florida, California and states with similar climates struggle hardcore with this weather.