Amsterdam

This past weekend I took a trip to the famous little canal city of the Netherlands.  We traveled in a group of 6, Kyle, Sam, Fudge, Anne, Giorgia, and myself.  After arriving Thursday evening we made our way to our hostel, ‘Shelter Jordan.’

I love waking up in a foreign place to see what it looks like in the daylight for the first time.  The canals really give the city a cool feeling.  The cobble stone streets are very busy with bikes, cars, trams, locals, and tourists.  I learned a lot of the local history on a 3-hour tour through the historic city center.  Many of the old buildings were built during the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ of colonialism.

During WWII the city escaped bombing, preserving the historic regions.  However, the large Jewish population was devastated as famously told by the story of Anne Frank, whose place of hiding was not far from where we stayed.  The effects of the war are not distant history.

 

Our Dutch tour guide, Nouschke, enlightening us with history

Above the door of the office building for the Dutch East India Trading Company.

Hooks can be seen protruding from the top of all houses.
They were/are used to lift things up through the windows.

A Scene in Dam Square

Yeah we are 

A walk through Vondel Park

NEMO, a science museum that we climbed on top of.

Of course, in modern times the city is famous for it’s policy of toleration.  The coolest coffee shop that we experienced went by the name of ‘Dampkring’.  George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt all filmed a scene in Oceans Twelve inside the groovy little establishment.

We saw some very cool sights before leaving Sunday evening, but I’d love to visit the city in the summer.   I still have to bike through the Dutch countryside full of tulips and windmills.  And eat panakuken.

Next trip, Berlin!

The First Weeks

 It’s been two weeks since I arrived here in the capitol of Denmark, and I’d like to say that I’m settling in quite nicely.  I’m getting to know parts of the city, and learning the way these Danes do things.  I even feel comfortable shopping for groceries with everything written in a language I don’t know (just look at the pictures on the package).

First of all, the school I’m enrolled in, the Danish Technical University (DTU), is located in Lyngby, about 10 km to the north of central Copenhagen. It’s a 20 min ride by bus or train to the downtown tourist area, a trip that I make a couple times a week for the nightlife or other explorations. 

DTU Campus

Waiting for this to turn green.

The Library

I’m living in housing run by the university, in a little abode named Campus Village, harkening back to collegiate images of yore.  These ‘containers’ as they called are literally large shipping containers, stacked next to each other and furnished with all the comforts of home.  They were constructed in an ad hoc manner, but hey, it’s a place to sleep, and the people aren’t half bad.  They are reserved for international students studying here who have a fairly large presence on campus. 

Campus Village

My Pad

It’s an interesting experiment to take people from all different parts of the world out of their comfort zones, away from their friends and family and have them live together.  Most are very open to getting to know you, and I’ve learned a lot about many different cultures in this short time.  I’ve befriended people from Italy, France, Spain, Latvia, China, Sweden, Greece, Turkey, and Germany amongst other places.  I’m often asked, “Are you Erasmus too?”  English is the common language as all courses are either taught in Danish or English.  It’s funny, I haven’t gotten to know many Danes yet, but will soon throughout my classes and friends.

Our intro group. Photo as edited by Adam.

DTU has a student population of about 6,000 all of technical backgrounds.  Even though it’s a much smaller school that my beloved UW, the programs that I’m involved with are comparable in size.  My semester includes 4 courses with some Danish Language instruction on the side.  ‘Electrical Machines in Wind Turbines’ and ‘Power Electronics’ both have to do with wind power generation, and who better to learn these concepts from than the Danes (they source 20% of the electricity from wind).  I’m also getting an eye into their view of sustainability in a class titled ‘Energy End-Use’ that has proven pretty interesting so far.  And for fun I’m taking ‘Planetary Physics’ because astronomy is sweet, and people don’t look up anymore.  I have most classes only once a week for 3 to 4 hour blocks, which takes some getting used to, but hasn’t been too skull numbing so far.

Oh yeah, but why did I really come here..  It’s been thrilling to plan different trips throughout Europe that I want to do, and I hope to get a fair amount of traveling in during my 5-month stay on the continent. This Thursday I leave for Amsterdam to see exactly how it is that the Dutch live their lives. I’ll be sure to update on the trip and all those that follow.

With the Pack in the Super Bowl on Sunday night, I had no choice but to watch the game.  It started at midnight here, and class came far too early at 8:00 the next morning.  My sleeping habits are as consistent as Brett Favre.  Go Pack!

Super Bowl Party 2011

Roskilde & The Vikings

Taking advantage of the monthly free-train-day, Kyle, Ann, and myself journeyed to Roskilde, 40 km west Copenhagen.  This old city is, in modern times, famous for a weeklong music festival drawing over 100,000 people ever June/July.  I am already regretting not being here for it, but my adventures here must come to an end eventually. However, this didn’t stop us from exploring the quaint little town, most notably it’s Viking museum.  

Taking the S-Tog there.  Sweet bike racks.

A model of the ancient city. 

Outside the Viking Museum.

In the 60’s researchers discovered 6 Viking boats that had been scuttled in an attempt to block a passage into the Roskilde Fjord around the year 1070 - apparently they were having issues with those pesky Norwegians.  The boats were excavated, and a lot of modern research on Viking ships is based on these findings.  Sea-worthy replicas were made based off these designs, and the remains are on display at the museum we decided to visit on this day.

A ship used for cargo.

A smaller war ship.

Shields were hung on this rail to create the well known image.

Construction using historically accurate materials and techniques.

This ship, a replica, was sailed to Ireland by a a crew of 42 over the course of a few months in 2007.

Of course, the Vikings are an integral part of Scandinavian heritage. Despite their barbarous tendencies, they were still pretty badass.  It seems, to this casual observer, that they were essentially an early version of Hoofers.  Extensive historical research has yielded this image as a view into what these peoples may have looked like:

Scouring the seas for trouble.

 Or maybe this:

Continuing to explore the town, we stumbled across some of these sights –

I'll let you decide.