Its been a crazy two weeks for me here in Amsterdam and it shows no sign of stopping!Right now I am in Geneva with some friends and next weekend I go to Sevilla to visit Christy. My stories about this weekend will have to just wait for another post.
Let's start way back, Copenhagen. Copenhagen is a beautiful, seaside city in southwestern Denmark. I arrived to Copenhagen on a blustery Friday evening. Me, Sydney and our friend Ben beelined for the hotel, then a bar, then back to the hotel.
Saturday morning we met my friend Sasha from Brandeis who is currently studying in CPH. Sasha took us on tour of the city, stopping at some of her favorite places. Our tour started at the city hall square and continued down Stroget. Stroget is the major walking/shopping street in CPH.
Right off Stroget is a little gem know as St. Peter's Bakery. This is where you get the best danishes in Denmark. Ironically, the Danes call their pastries wienebrau (spelling is wrong) or Vienna Bread. I guess great artists really do steal.
Happily satiated, we marched off to Christiania. Christiania is an unincorporated section of Copenhagen that is essentially lawless. The denziens of Christiania do not pay taxes or follow Danish law. They are artists, squatters, free people. Christiania is an artist's colony, a hippie's dream and a general delight. But it will not exist for long. The Danish government does not appreciate the establishment.
My friend Sasha invited me to her visiting family's home for a home cooked meal. And while there was nothing too Danish about the experience, a good meal is always appreciated. Its funny, the suburbs of Copenhagen don't seem too much different than the suburbs back home. Somethings never change.
My next (and last) day in Copenhagen was spent avoiding the debilitating cold. We went to the Danish Design Center and learned about the future of design and sustainability. The exhibit was interesting and eye-opening. After that, we went to the sculpture and Danish art museum; a beautiful building with an intriguing collection.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing before I returned to Amsterdam. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, but too expensive. Not a place I could imagine living unless I was really making bank.
Last weekend I was visited by my friend Christy and we had a great weekend together. Some of the highlights include vising the Royal Palace, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. In addition to finally getting to the touristy places in Amsterdam, I also finally visited other parts of the Netherlands.
On Saturday, CIEE took us to Urk and Groningen (don't try and pronounce it, you will fail). Urk is a small fishing town which used to be an Island but is now connected to the mainland thanks to dyke-building and land reclamation projects. Urk provided a fascinating look into the regular lives of regular Dutch folk.
Groningen is a typical Dutch city in the very north. It has a university, canals, and beautiful architecture. I do not have much to say about the city except that it is a lovely place to spend and afternoon and fresh stroopwafels are un-freaking-believable.
Anyway, I am still in Geneve and have more to do. I will post on my trip here as soon as I can.
Bon Soir!
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beat you there. how was christiania? when i was there it was really quiet, not how i would imagine it. still liked it though. what did you think?
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