My stay in Copenhagen has come to an end. =(
I am sad to be leaving all of my new friends and such a beautiful city, but excited to return home to see my OTHER friends and family. AND hopeful that I will be seeing my new friends back in the states once school is set back into motion and they are at their co-ops on the East coast.
The last week has been a rollercoaster ride, what with finals and then going out to celebrate the end with all of my friends. The second assignment was SO SHORT!! Finals seemed to be looming over my head during the entire project, but I am happy with my final product and excited to add it to my portfolio. My professor started to really annoy me towards the end of the assignment because EVERY SINGLE TIME I talked to him, he had different ideas on what direction my pavilion should go. And then on the last class before finals, he says he thinks I patronize him and just nod my head and don't actually THINK about what it is he is saying. Of course I was patronizing him at that point, because I had work to do and I knew that if I talked to him for too long he would want me to change my project AGAIN!! So that was really tough the Friday before the assignment was due, but I managed to pull out a pretty decent final product and they all seemed to really like it at my final review. =) So that was really really nice.
After the reviews was the exhibition of student works, including the furniture and textile students, which was WAY COOL! All of the furniture students did an amazingggg job, the chairs look so professional!! The textile students did well too I guess, I just don't really understand that program too much. Everything was very impressive and RJ got the award for the best in the A&D program! I feel like I know a celebrity!! haha. The other interesting fact about the exhibition is that it was open bar until 6 pm...which means a lot of people took advantage of the free booze. I definitely had my share of wine, but not enough to have any bearing on my state of mind. A couple of my friends though regretted the amount they had to drink that evening....And after that we all went out!!! The plan was to go to this bar called Vega...EVERYONE was going, so it was bound to be a fun night, right?? WRONG. The bar had really bad music and it was really far away and it was POURING out. So after hanging out there for a bit, I left with a group of friends to go somewhere else, and we ended up going to a gay bar. When we got there, the place was empty, so we filled the dance floor singing obnoxiously all the lyrics to the American songs (including Lady GaGa...it was a gay bar, COME ON) until....the bar started to fill up and the guys we were with (the straight ones) said they were a little. So from there we went to the DIS student favorite: Kulørbar!! I was just about the only one there that had never been to this club, pretty much because I really don't go out too much, but it ended up being a really fun time. Of course, it was super hot just like any good club, and I saw Hai there with all his furniture buddies, and we danced the night away until about 4:30 am. So much fun. =)
The next day was the long-waited bike photo scavenger hunt fiasco. The rules of the race were basically to bike to all of the locations on the list and drink a beer in front of the assigned photo-op, forcing you to ask a local to take the picture of everyone on your team drinking and posing. One may think that this could get really messy, really fast..but no. We had to bike SO FAR that the small amounts of alcohol in the drinks did nothing. I don't even have a clue how many miles we biked that afternoon, it seemed to go on forever. We started the race at about 4:30 and didn't finish until somewhere between 9 and 9:30 I think... My team didn't end up winning, but we had a great time and I got to see a lot of things that I would have otherwise missed out on. After that, a small group of us went out to Christiania and just had a relaxed evening because we were so exhausted.
The following day (Saturday) it rained and rained and rained all day, so I didn't do much of anything, and Sunday I went to Hai's host family's house one more time to eat with them and say our goodbyes.
All in all, it was a good end to my stay in Denmark. The weather was amazing for the most part and I got to meet some pretty cool people along the way. I hope that whoever has been reading this has been somewhat entertained and kept up to date on my shenanigans here in Copenhagen. I hope to be back here soon!
PS-sorry for the lack of pictures, they are still on my camera somewhere and I am way too lazy to upload them.. Check back to Facebook in a few days.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Whew.
Just got back from my last study tour here in Denmark. We went to Jutland, which is the Western side of Denmark, part of the peninsula whereas Copenhagen is on an island. It was pretty, and we got to go to some pretty awesome museums while we were out there, but it was kind of wet and rainy for most of the trip. We left Thursday morning, and the first stop was a church. Not too exciting, but then we went to the Trapholt museum of art and furniture, w
hich was really sweet. All of the chairs there on display were designed by very famous designers and I wanted to buy one of each. There were a few exhibits that were a little on the odd side, but what do you expect at an art museum. The gift store actually had a lot of really nice things in it. Specifically a ring that I really wanted but it was 900 Kroner..which is about $163. A little out of my price range. =(
We then went to the coolest children's culture house museum thing ever. It had so many interactive things to do and a suspended ball pit and a theater and a sewing/crafts room..it was totally unfair that I didn't have a place that cool when I was little. Leif showed off his acrobatic skills by climbing a rope with no feet, and we all ended up in the craft room making pencil holders for the boys and bracelets for the girls. =)
After a short walk we ended up at Koldinghus, which used to be a castle and has since been converted into a museum. I must say, it was pretty cool. It was HUGE and had a ton of different
exhibits, but the space that we payed most attention to was an addition/infill from where the castle had begun to crumble. The space was three stories tall and had all the original brick walls that were all crumbling and then these red steel catwalks and staircases. It was really really nice. I enjoyed it. And we got to go up to the top of the tower, which overlooked the entire town of Kolding. So pretty.
And...then we drove to Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, and checked into the hostel there that was about a 3 miles from downtown Aarhus. (this fact will come in handy in a few lines) Once we were all settled, the bus took us into downtown for dinner and we first of all got some free champagne from a promotion for Peugot's new line of cars. It was Asti apparently, and it was DELICIOUS. I really liked it. So..we went to dinner at a ribs place which was SUCH a good idea. The food was really good. Totally worth it. After that, we attempted to see Inception, but once we got to the theater, we realized the only showing left started in ten minutes and the line was really really long. So we gave up on that, and met a few other DIS students at a bar. Everyone there was taking shots of Absinthe. I was like "Heck no. I'm not getting anywhere near that stuff." haha, some people took 2 shots and I was SURE they were going to regret it the next morning, but it was apparently not very strong. Good for them. So..after chilling there for a while someone had the genius idea to WALK BACK TO THE HOSTEL. It took sooooooooo long, and it was misting out just enough to annoy you, and it was dark and we weren't even really sure we were going. I mean, we made it back fine, but it was just a long haul after a long day.
Next day, we started off going to a Crematorium. How cheery! But it was actually really really nice. It had these HUGE metal doors that were really cool, and the sanctuary was beautiful.
From there we toured the campus of Aarhus University, which was beautiful even in the rain, and then we ended up at ARoS. The Art Museum. We didn't really have time to go in, because we had a guided tour to get to, so we got lunch at a Chinese Buffet, and decided to return later in the day. The guided tour was a little boring. The city hall overall was a little boring, but its just because that's not my kind of thing. =/ Oh well. We did go all the way up the tower though. Here's what we saw:
Then we went to the museum again, and got to go to every single exhibit. It was a really nice museum. Definitely some Guggenheim action going on architecturally speaking, but all the exhibits were pretty interesting. One was a photography collection on Americans. It was mainly speaking about racism in America, but it was just interesting to see what the Danish photographer found interesting in American life. And there was a whooolllee exhibit on love. It was really more of an exhibit on sex, which made me really uncomfortable at times....specifically with some of the photography on display.....but overall it was nice. There was one room with two tvs playing Whitney Houston performing I Will Always Love You at different times. Pretty interesting to experience.
The rest of the day was not too particularly exciting. We all went to dinner together and got to see a car club on the way. They seemed to be putting on a private show just for us; they parked RIGHT in front of the building we were supposed to be studying. haha. Other than that, not too much.
And finally the last day. Pretty interesting day. We first went to a landscape and sculpture park which made us feel like we were either in Alice in Wonderland, or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There were these huge hedges that were planted in circles and octagons and you just walk through them all without re
ally knowing where you're at. Johann had us doing the disco first, on film, then doing some crazy 30 second serial sketching. Both of which ended up being fun and entertaining. We then saw a "Thunder Sculpture" which is the highest point in the area, and I think, collects lightening and then makes sound or thunder from it?? It was this hugeee dome thing with pillars on the top. Which I tripped UP and now have a bruised shin from. We all enjoyed it, and thought we had found The Mothership.
From there, we visited the HeArt Museum built by Steven Holl. It was aesthetically nice, but kind of small. Not much exhibition space. There were all these curved ceilings that played with the sunlight beautifully. All in all, a great time.
After that we went 2 hours away to another museum: the Faaborg Museum. It was really kinda boring and I felt it was really far out of the way for something so average. So after that, we headed back to Copenhagen.....so we thought. We were heading back just like we thought, until we turned off into these back roads leading to nowhere. And then Emma the intern got on the speaker and told us that we were ahead of schedule and therefore visiting one more exciting Viking village. We all audibly complained and groaned and were very unhappy because we were tired and wanted to get home (to see Inception). So we end up getting there and have to climb under a barbed wire fence to get to the building which ended up being like a hobbit house because the doorways were way small. So we get inside and let our eyes adjust and notice that there are a bunch of shots lined up on one of the benches.......and Emma announces that this is not really a stop for us to sketch, that its a surprise and the shots are for all of us to celebrate the end of a great trip. It was Rye Schnapps, which I DO NOT suggest drinking ever. It was officially my first shot and one I wouldn't mind forgetting. So then we all took an awesome group shot and headed back to Copenhagen!
Just got back from my last study tour here in Denmark. We went to Jutland, which is the Western side of Denmark, part of the peninsula whereas Copenhagen is on an island. It was pretty, and we got to go to some pretty awesome museums while we were out there, but it was kind of wet and rainy for most of the trip. We left Thursday morning, and the first stop was a church. Not too exciting, but then we went to the Trapholt museum of art and furniture, w
hich was really sweet. All of the chairs there on display were designed by very famous designers and I wanted to buy one of each. There were a few exhibits that were a little on the odd side, but what do you expect at an art museum. The gift store actually had a lot of really nice things in it. Specifically a ring that I really wanted but it was 900 Kroner..which is about $163. A little out of my price range. =(We then went to the coolest children's culture house museum thing ever. It had so many interactive things to do and a suspended ball pit and a theater and a sewing/crafts room..it was totally unfair that I didn't have a place that cool when I was little. Leif showed off his acrobatic skills by climbing a rope with no feet, and we all ended up in the craft room making pencil holders for the boys and bracelets for the girls. =)
After a short walk we ended up at Koldinghus, which used to be a castle and has since been converted into a museum. I must say, it was pretty cool. It was HUGE and had a ton of different
exhibits, but the space that we payed most attention to was an addition/infill from where the castle had begun to crumble. The space was three stories tall and had all the original brick walls that were all crumbling and then these red steel catwalks and staircases. It was really really nice. I enjoyed it. And we got to go up to the top of the tower, which overlooked the entire town of Kolding. So pretty.And...then we drove to Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, and checked into the hostel there that was about a 3 miles from downtown Aarhus. (this fact will come in handy in a few lines) Once we were all settled, the bus took us into downtown for dinner and we first of all got some free champagne from a promotion for Peugot's new line of cars. It was Asti apparently, and it was DELICIOUS. I really liked it. So..we went to dinner at a ribs place which was SUCH a good idea. The food was really good. Totally worth it. After that, we attempted to see Inception, but once we got to the theater, we realized the only showing left started in ten minutes and the line was really really long. So we gave up on that, and met a few other DIS students at a bar. Everyone there was taking shots of Absinthe. I was like "Heck no. I'm not getting anywhere near that stuff." haha, some people took 2 shots and I was SURE they were going to regret it the next morning, but it was apparently not very strong. Good for them. So..after chilling there for a while someone had the genius idea to WALK BACK TO THE HOSTEL. It took sooooooooo long, and it was misting out just enough to annoy you, and it was dark and we weren't even really sure we were going. I mean, we made it back fine, but it was just a long haul after a long day.
Next day, we started off going to a Crematorium. How cheery! But it was actually really really nice. It had these HUGE metal doors that were really cool, and the sanctuary was beautiful.
From there we toured the campus of Aarhus University, which was beautiful even in the rain, and then we ended up at ARoS. The Art Museum. We didn't really have time to go in, because we had a guided tour to get to, so we got lunch at a Chinese Buffet, and decided to return later in the day. The guided tour was a little boring. The city hall overall was a little boring, but its just because that's not my kind of thing. =/ Oh well. We did go all the way up the tower though. Here's what we saw:
Then we went to the museum again, and got to go to every single exhibit. It was a really nice museum. Definitely some Guggenheim action going on architecturally speaking, but all the exhibits were pretty interesting. One was a photography collection on Americans. It was mainly speaking about racism in America, but it was just interesting to see what the Danish photographer found interesting in American life. And there was a whooolllee exhibit on love. It was really more of an exhibit on sex, which made me really uncomfortable at times....specifically with some of the photography on display.....but overall it was nice. There was one room with two tvs playing Whitney Houston performing I Will Always Love You at different times. Pretty interesting to experience.
The rest of the day was not too particularly exciting. We all went to dinner together and got to see a car club on the way. They seemed to be putting on a private show just for us; they parked RIGHT in front of the building we were supposed to be studying. haha. Other than that, not too much.
And finally the last day. Pretty interesting day. We first went to a landscape and sculpture park which made us feel like we were either in Alice in Wonderland, or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There were these huge hedges that were planted in circles and octagons and you just walk through them all without re
ally knowing where you're at. Johann had us doing the disco first, on film, then doing some crazy 30 second serial sketching. Both of which ended up being fun and entertaining. We then saw a "Thunder Sculpture" which is the highest point in the area, and I think, collects lightening and then makes sound or thunder from it?? It was this hugeee dome thing with pillars on the top. Which I tripped UP and now have a bruised shin from. We all enjoyed it, and thought we had found The Mothership.From there, we visited the HeArt Museum built by Steven Holl. It was aesthetically nice, but kind of small. Not much exhibition space. There were all these curved ceilings that played with the sunlight beautifully. All in all, a great time.
After that we went 2 hours away to another museum: the Faaborg Museum. It was really kinda boring and I felt it was really far out of the way for something so average. So after that, we headed back to Copenhagen.....so we thought. We were heading back just like we thought, until we turned off into these back roads leading to nowhere. And then Emma the intern got on the speaker and told us that we were ahead of schedule and therefore visiting one more exciting Viking village. We all audibly complained and groaned and were very unhappy because we were tired and wanted to get home (to see Inception). So we end up getting there and have to climb under a barbed wire fence to get to the building which ended up being like a hobbit house because the doorways were way small. So we get inside and let our eyes adjust and notice that there are a bunch of shots lined up on one of the benches.......and Emma announces that this is not really a stop for us to sketch, that its a surprise and the shots are for all of us to celebrate the end of a great trip. It was Rye Schnapps, which I DO NOT suggest drinking ever. It was officially my first shot and one I wouldn't mind forgetting. So then we all took an awesome group shot and headed back to Copenhagen!
Monday, July 26, 2010
Well well well. Here I am.
At the moment, I am just relaxing in my room, catching up on some tv shows from home and doing some laundry. Not taking it too rough tonight since I was in studio last night til about 3:30 am. And I had to be up by 7:30. So I have been pretty tired all day. Managed to run a few errands after studio, then I just came back and laid down and *siiighhhh* relaxed.
This past weekend was pretty good. =) Hai signed up for a host family to just keep in touch with (he's not living with them) and this past...Friday he met them for the first time and brought me along. I don't know what he was afraid of, but he just didn't want to go alone. So, I went with him. Which worked out well because I haven't seen him in forever it seems, so we got a chance to catch up. The couple we met up with were really really nice. The lady's name is Marianne and her boyfriend/husband's name is Per. We had a great time just chatting and eating...Marianne was trying to teach me some Danish and it is SUCH a hard language. I don't think I was doing too well, but at least I tried as I was helping her chop carrots and potatoes for dinner. WHICH WAS SO GOOD. There was potatoes and carrots obviously, and beef roast and salad and wine and ohmygosh it was delicious. We were actually there until about 1 am and by the time we left, I was exhausted!! I was just not looking forward to taking the metro back to my stop and walking....I was just feeling lazy really. But overall, a great evening.
And then Saturday....I spent very little time in studio and then went over to Sas and Liza's apartment for dinner. Now these two lovely ladies go to Pratt! They both go to Pratt for a master's program in Environmental Systems Management. Urban planning-type stuff. They are both a little older than the rest of the crew here, but I get along well with them because I don't really want to go out and party and get wasted every night I am super excited to get to go visit them once we get back to New York. Liza actually lives in Dumbo, which I think is pretty darn cool. But either way, I went over to where they are staying here in Copenhagen and had dinner WHICH WAS AWESOME. They also made a cocktail called the Porch Swing, made with Pimm's...which I didn't like too much to be honest, but all in all, it was great company and a great time. I really feel like I am making some pretty substantial friends here. But I have to say, it's tough now to maintain the friendships we established at the start of this semester because then we were all grouped together. Now, the interiors are separated from the architecture who are separated from the urban design. So it kinda sucks now that we don't all see each other anymore!! But I'm sure it will be fine either way. We are just getting to meet even MORE people now.
And speaking of peopless..I miss my peoples. Like all my friends and family from home. And I have to say I'm going to be such a girl right now and say I MISS MY BOYFRIEND!!! This really sucks a lot. It has been a total of 7 weeks now that I haven't seen him and I still have 3 more to go. I didn't really think it would be this much of an issue for me, but it really really is. I have decided it is because we haven't really been together for that long. It has been 5 1/2 months, and for almost 2 of those months now we have been apart from each other. I'm pretty sure it would feel different if we had been together for 3 years already, but we haven't. So it just sucks. I don't even know WHAT I'm going to do in the spring when I'm in Rome for 5 months. I just need to start saving now for flights back to NY for spring break or something. =/
We will see.
But anywaysss I am all out of exciting gossip for now. Back to SYTYCD then I'm off to bed.
At the moment, I am just relaxing in my room, catching up on some tv shows from home and doing some laundry. Not taking it too rough tonight since I was in studio last night til about 3:30 am. And I had to be up by 7:30. So I have been pretty tired all day. Managed to run a few errands after studio, then I just came back and laid down and *siiighhhh* relaxed.
This past weekend was pretty good. =) Hai signed up for a host family to just keep in touch with (he's not living with them) and this past...Friday he met them for the first time and brought me along. I don't know what he was afraid of, but he just didn't want to go alone. So, I went with him. Which worked out well because I haven't seen him in forever it seems, so we got a chance to catch up. The couple we met up with were really really nice. The lady's name is Marianne and her boyfriend/husband's name is Per. We had a great time just chatting and eating...Marianne was trying to teach me some Danish and it is SUCH a hard language. I don't think I was doing too well, but at least I tried as I was helping her chop carrots and potatoes for dinner. WHICH WAS SO GOOD. There was potatoes and carrots obviously, and beef roast and salad and wine and ohmygosh it was delicious. We were actually there until about 1 am and by the time we left, I was exhausted!! I was just not looking forward to taking the metro back to my stop and walking....I was just feeling lazy really. But overall, a great evening.
And then Saturday....I spent very little time in studio and then went over to Sas and Liza's apartment for dinner. Now these two lovely ladies go to Pratt! They both go to Pratt for a master's program in Environmental Systems Management. Urban planning-type stuff. They are both a little older than the rest of the crew here, but I get along well with them because I don't really want to go out and party and get wasted every night I am super excited to get to go visit them once we get back to New York. Liza actually lives in Dumbo, which I think is pretty darn cool. But either way, I went over to where they are staying here in Copenhagen and had dinner WHICH WAS AWESOME. They also made a cocktail called the Porch Swing, made with Pimm's...which I didn't like too much to be honest, but all in all, it was great company and a great time. I really feel like I am making some pretty substantial friends here. But I have to say, it's tough now to maintain the friendships we established at the start of this semester because then we were all grouped together. Now, the interiors are separated from the architecture who are separated from the urban design. So it kinda sucks now that we don't all see each other anymore!! But I'm sure it will be fine either way. We are just getting to meet even MORE people now.
And speaking of peopless..I miss my peoples. Like all my friends and family from home. And I have to say I'm going to be such a girl right now and say I MISS MY BOYFRIEND!!! This really sucks a lot. It has been a total of 7 weeks now that I haven't seen him and I still have 3 more to go. I didn't really think it would be this much of an issue for me, but it really really is. I have decided it is because we haven't really been together for that long. It has been 5 1/2 months, and for almost 2 of those months now we have been apart from each other. I'm pretty sure it would feel different if we had been together for 3 years already, but we haven't. So it just sucks. I don't even know WHAT I'm going to do in the spring when I'm in Rome for 5 months. I just need to start saving now for flights back to NY for spring break or something. =/
We will see.
But anywaysss I am all out of exciting gossip for now. Back to SYTYCD then I'm off to bed.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Alright. So I have been in studio since about 8:45 this morning, and it is now 9:31 pm. I don't feel like I have accomplished enough to qualify going back to my room, but I really don't want to be here anymore!
We have to write this dumb 2 page paper on the building we researched for the first assignment. This is because we actually got to go see the building in real life on our study tour. And we are supposed to have all these thoughts and reflections on the building, which I do, I just don't have 2 pages worth. =/
Not to mention on top of that, I have work to do for design. Which I'm not finished with.
Ugh. Why did I decided to take classes this summer again?? ANDDDD I'm not even positive I'm going to get my 400 level design credit for it.
At this point, I kinda want to come home.
We have to write this dumb 2 page paper on the building we researched for the first assignment. This is because we actually got to go see the building in real life on our study tour. And we are supposed to have all these thoughts and reflections on the building, which I do, I just don't have 2 pages worth. =/
Not to mention on top of that, I have work to do for design. Which I'm not finished with.
Ugh. Why did I decided to take classes this summer again?? ANDDDD I'm not even positive I'm going to get my 400 level design credit for it.
At this point, I kinda want to come home.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Alright.So I know it has been quite a while since I have written about my experiences here, and there is NO POSSIBLE WAY I can write about everything, so I will try to write just about the most interesting parts.
First of all, I just got back from my one week study tour through Sweden and Norway. Which was AWESOME. But I want to start with the week before that, which was my first week here in Copenhagen and the one week research project.
Copenhagen is soo beautiful. I love it. The weather is sunny and in the 70's every day, so it is warm enough to not need a jacket until it gets dark: WHICH IS AT 11 PM. It stays light out here for soooooo long!!
That is a picture of my Kollegium (dorm) somewhere between 10:30 and 11 pm. I'm not even sure if it ever gets COMPLETELY dark out...I think it just gets a dark blue color.
But anyways, the room is fine. Not exactly 5 star, but it is perfect for just me and my things.
I have made some pretty good friends while I'm here: most of which live in my Kollegium, so we travel to and from school together and we have had a couple family style dinners. It is really nice to meet people my age from across the country who are all going about studying architecture in TOTALLY different ways.
Speaking of studying..the one week project. It really wasn't that bad, it was just tough to work in a group because not all of us could work on our model at one time. So that of course got frustrating at the end, but I am still friends with my 2 other partners. =)
So after the presentation of our project, I got to go with 32 other students on a study tour through Sweden and Norway, which was super cool. We were on and off a bus with THE BEST BUS DRIVER EVER: Sven. lol Dustin was our intern-leader and our two professors on board were Johann and Peter. Johann is this cute little Swedish guy who is really fun to be around. Peter on the other hand, was super boring and was glued to his iphone the entire time.
Anyways, it was a lot of fun getting to travel. Sweden wasn't really all that exciting, because we only spent two days there. The first day we went to a water color museum right on the water and it was SOOO PRETTY.
Perhaps the setting inspired me, but I have managed to rekindle my love for water color painting, and I am loving the set I bought here. It's pretty nice, and I got a little collapsible cup for my water. =)
Sooo.....after Sweden, we went to Norway and we stayed mostly in Oslo. We did manage to travel outside of Oslo a few days to see some other buildings, but most of the time we were there touring the local architecture. The Oslo Opera House by Snohetta IS GORGEOUS. The whole thing is covered in white Italian Marble so it is super smooth and it is all ramped and it is just sooo inviting. We all spent quite a bit of time there. We had a tour through the whole thing, and it made me miss ballet so much.... =( I even bought a used pointe shoe in the little souvenier shop. Anyways, here it is for all the non-architecture people:
We got a lovely cruise on the way back from Norway, and now I am comfortably back in Copenhagen. I must say I did miss being here when we were off traveling. Moving from hotel to hotel (although we did get to stay in a yacht club one night..) gets extremely tiring very quickly, so it is nice to be back in my own room.
And todayyyyyy......we met with our new studio professors and went on a lovely bike tour of outer Copenhagen. My professor's name is Mark and he is a local Dane. He is really really nice, and I think I am going to like him a lot.
Biking here, is HUGE. Over 30% of the population bikes on a daily basis and by 2015, they are predicting over 50%. Because of this, Copenhagen is trying to become THE BEST biking city in the world by 20....25 I think. I don't think they are too far off, though, its pretty darn nice.
So naturally, our studio project is a biking pit-stop for the locals. The site is right next to a metro stop, so there is plenty of pedestrian traffic and public transportation in the area. We only have, like, 3 1/2 weeks to do the entire project though, so I am predicting some long nights. ESPECIALLY if I want my 400 level design credit when I return to Pratt. Ugh.
Ok, so I think that is enough for now. I finally threw some pictures in there for some visual references, and now I am tired and I plan on just relaxing for the rest of the evening.
How Danish.
First of all, I just got back from my one week study tour through Sweden and Norway. Which was AWESOME. But I want to start with the week before that, which was my first week here in Copenhagen and the one week research project.
Copenhagen is soo beautiful. I love it. The weather is sunny and in the 70's every day, so it is warm enough to not need a jacket until it gets dark: WHICH IS AT 11 PM. It stays light out here for soooooo long!!
That is a picture of my Kollegium (dorm) somewhere between 10:30 and 11 pm. I'm not even sure if it ever gets COMPLETELY dark out...I think it just gets a dark blue color.But anyways, the room is fine. Not exactly 5 star, but it is perfect for just me and my things.
I have made some pretty good friends while I'm here: most of which live in my Kollegium, so we travel to and from school together and we have had a couple family style dinners. It is really nice to meet people my age from across the country who are all going about studying architecture in TOTALLY different ways.
Speaking of studying..the one week project. It really wasn't that bad, it was just tough to work in a group because not all of us could work on our model at one time. So that of course got frustrating at the end, but I am still friends with my 2 other partners. =)
So after the presentation of our project, I got to go with 32 other students on a study tour through Sweden and Norway, which was super cool. We were on and off a bus with THE BEST BUS DRIVER EVER: Sven. lol Dustin was our intern-leader and our two professors on board were Johann and Peter. Johann is this cute little Swedish guy who is really fun to be around. Peter on the other hand, was super boring and was glued to his iphone the entire time.Anyways, it was a lot of fun getting to travel. Sweden wasn't really all that exciting, because we only spent two days there. The first day we went to a water color museum right on the water and it was SOOO PRETTY.
Perhaps the setting inspired me, but I have managed to rekindle my love for water color painting, and I am loving the set I bought here. It's pretty nice, and I got a little collapsible cup for my water. =)Sooo.....after Sweden, we went to Norway and we stayed mostly in Oslo. We did manage to travel outside of Oslo a few days to see some other buildings, but most of the time we were there touring the local architecture. The Oslo Opera House by Snohetta IS GORGEOUS. The whole thing is covered in white Italian Marble so it is super smooth and it is all ramped and it is just sooo inviting. We all spent quite a bit of time there. We had a tour through the whole thing, and it made me miss ballet so much.... =( I even bought a used pointe shoe in the little souvenier shop. Anyways, here it is for all the non-architecture people:
We got a lovely cruise on the way back from Norway, and now I am comfortably back in Copenhagen. I must say I did miss being here when we were off traveling. Moving from hotel to hotel (although we did get to stay in a yacht club one night..) gets extremely tiring very quickly, so it is nice to be back in my own room.
And todayyyyyy......we met with our new studio professors and went on a lovely bike tour of outer Copenhagen. My professor's name is Mark and he is a local Dane. He is really really nice, and I think I am going to like him a lot.
Biking here, is HUGE. Over 30% of the population bikes on a daily basis and by 2015, they are predicting over 50%. Because of this, Copenhagen is trying to become THE BEST biking city in the world by 20....25 I think. I don't think they are too far off, though, its pretty darn nice.
So naturally, our studio project is a biking pit-stop for the locals. The site is right next to a metro stop, so there is plenty of pedestrian traffic and public transportation in the area. We only have, like, 3 1/2 weeks to do the entire project though, so I am predicting some long nights. ESPECIALLY if I want my 400 level design credit when I return to Pratt. Ugh.
Ok, so I think that is enough for now. I finally threw some pictures in there for some visual references, and now I am tired and I plan on just relaxing for the rest of the evening.
How Danish.
Friday, July 9, 2010
So early tomorrow morning I am leaving for Sweden and Norway for a full week of exploration, sketching, and research. I know that I have not been updating the few of you who read this very often, but it is only because I have been working on a project that was due today. So needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED, and will be keeping this post short. Not to worry, when I return from my journey to the rest of Scandinavia, I will be sure to write about that as well as my first week here in Copenhagen.
Monday, June 28, 2010
OK.
So, I am here in Holland. Just outside of Amsterdam, well, actually about 1 1/2 hours outside of Amsterdam, in a city called Valkenswaard. I am staying with my Dad's cousin Willie, and he is pretty nice, not the most talkative though, so I feel awkward during the silences in the car. lol But all is well so far.
I arrived on Friday with Hai at the airport, and Willie recognized me immediately. We chatted a little bit (because I've never met him before, that I can remember) and then we said bye to Hai as he went to find his Hostel, and we jumped in the car to head back to his house. I didn't really see much of the countryside as we rode back because I PASSED OUT. I didn't sleep too much on the plane, so I fell asleep pretty quickly once we wereon the road . And Willie isn't really that talkative so he just kinda did his thing. Basically just came back to his place, ate some food, hung out a little bit, then I hit the sack. I was pooped.
Then the next dayy....[Saturday]....we took the train into Amsterdam with Willie's son-in-law, John, and we met up with Hai there and toured the city. Let me tell you, IT IS SO GORGEOUS. First of all, it is sunny weather with clear blue skies, and its not extremely hot out. It has been in the 80's where if you're in the sun for too long, it does get hot, but otherwise it is beautiful. The city itself has a ton of canals so it is really really pretty. It was actually built up on piles since the ground is so marshy. We took a boat tour of the city and saw some of the different parts of town....very very nice. I wanted to buy every house I saw. lol There is a shipping museum built by Renzo Piano which was really cool to see in person, too. =)
Now, the juicy stuff....what EVERYONE thinks of when they think of Amsterdam...the weed and the red light district. I did get to experience both, but let me explain. In Amsterdam, its not really like what people think where people are smoking everywhere and there are prostitutes everywhere. There are 'coffee shops' that sell pot and hash brownies (space cakes is what they call them) as well as coffee and tea. Now, they will only sell you 5 grams at a time and you can either smoke it there in the cafe or wherever you like. But I think since it is legal, people don't really go overboard on it. I am under the impression that everyone smokes in moderation for the most part. And the red light district really just looked like every other part of the city....if you didn't look in the windows. It is right along a canal and the houses are gorgeous, just like all the others, and in the windows are prostitutes sitting on little stools in these little tiny rooms. There is a little door on the front and what happens is a guy will just go up to the glass door with his money, the girl (at least I think most of them were girls...) will let him into the little room and close the curtain. What happens after, I don't really care to know. There were also other places that had live shows......and others where there would just be one woman in the front of the place and I'm assuming her job is just to get people in and then they can decide what they want to do. I kinda wanted to get something from one of the stores as a gag gift for some of my friends, because they had stores to sell toys and clothes and other stuff, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually go into one of the shops. I think I would have been traumatized. lol
Aside from those two aspects of the city, Amsterdam was just like any other city with street performers and town squares and tons of food (even McDonald's) and a shopping area..there was even a minor bomb threat while we were there (don't freak out, Mom, it was just a scare). The only other thing that was different was that there were bathrooms for men IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SQUARE. OUTSIDE. It was so weird. They were just these little plastic things that were round and divided into four little stalls, no doors, just a....pocket type thing for the deposit. lol very very weird to me.
So then yesterday....[Sunday]....I spent the night at John's apartment the previous night and we left early in the day to go to an all-day concert series. It was called Rockin' Park and it had tons of bands. The lineup was:
Black Bottle Roit
Customs
Arid
The Black Keys
Rise Against
White Lies
Vampire Weekend
Stereophonics
Amy Macdonald
Ben Harper
Pearl Jam
I ended up going with John and three of his guy friends (all of them are somewhere in the 35-37 range) so I was the only girl, which I was a little worried about at first, but they were all really nice and had great taste in music so we had plenty to talk about. My Dad would have loved them. The music was pretty good too. I'm not really a huge fan of any of those bands, and most of them I don't even listen to so I didn't know any of the songs, but I still had a really good time. The only problem was that it was outdoors, so it was HOT and I am covered in hives still due to my sun allergy. =(
And finally today....[Monday]....we just took it easy. I came back from John's at about 7:45 this morning because he had to get to work, and Willie showed me around Valkenswaard. We saw a working watermill and two windmills, all of which were really really pretty. The countryside is so so pretty! There are little sheep and goats and the little short shaggy horses everywhere. Just like in the fairy tales. Disney has done a great job.
So, I leave early tomorrow morning to start the next leg of my journey: Copenhagen and my summer semester. I think I get my own room and my own bathroom, which will be great, so I am excited to see what else the Kollegium will bring. =)
So, I am here in Holland. Just outside of Amsterdam, well, actually about 1 1/2 hours outside of Amsterdam, in a city called Valkenswaard. I am staying with my Dad's cousin Willie, and he is pretty nice, not the most talkative though, so I feel awkward during the silences in the car. lol But all is well so far.
I arrived on Friday with Hai at the airport, and Willie recognized me immediately. We chatted a little bit (because I've never met him before, that I can remember) and then we said bye to Hai as he went to find his Hostel, and we jumped in the car to head back to his house. I didn't really see much of the countryside as we rode back because I PASSED OUT. I didn't sleep too much on the plane, so I fell asleep pretty quickly once we were
Then the next dayy....[Saturday]....we took the train into Amsterdam with Willie's son-in-law, John, and we met up with Hai there and toured the city. Let me tell you, IT IS SO GORGEOUS. First of all, it is sunny weather with clear blue skies, and its not extremely hot out. It has been in the 80's where if you're in the sun for too long, it does get hot, but otherwise it is beautiful. The city itself has a ton of canals so it is really really pretty. It was actually built up on piles since the ground is so marshy. We took a boat tour of the city and saw some of the different parts of town....very very nice. I wanted to buy every house I saw. lol There is a shipping museum built by Renzo Piano which was really cool to see in person, too. =)
Now, the juicy stuff....what EVERYONE thinks of when they think of Amsterdam...the weed and the red light district. I did get to experience both, but let me explain. In Amsterdam, its not really like what people think where people are smoking everywhere and there are prostitutes everywhere. There are 'coffee shops' that sell pot and hash brownies (space cakes is what they call them) as well as coffee and tea. Now, they will only sell you 5 grams at a time and you can either smoke it there in the cafe or wherever you like. But I think since it is legal, people don't really go overboard on it. I am under the impression that everyone smokes in moderation for the most part. And the red light district really just looked like every other part of the city....if you didn't look in the windows. It is right along a canal and the houses are gorgeous, just like all the others, and in the windows are prostitutes sitting on little stools in these little tiny rooms. There is a little door on the front and what happens is a guy will just go up to the glass door with his money, the girl (at least I think most of them were girls...) will let him into the little room and close the curtain. What happens after, I don't really care to know. There were also other places that had live shows......and others where there would just be one woman in the front of the place and I'm assuming her job is just to get people in and then they can decide what they want to do. I kinda wanted to get something from one of the stores as a gag gift for some of my friends, because they had stores to sell toys and clothes and other stuff, but I just couldn't bring myself to actually go into one of the shops. I think I would have been traumatized. lol
Aside from those two aspects of the city, Amsterdam was just like any other city with street performers and town squares and tons of food (even McDonald's) and a shopping area..there was even a minor bomb threat while we were there (don't freak out, Mom, it was just a scare). The only other thing that was different was that there were bathrooms for men IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SQUARE. OUTSIDE. It was so weird. They were just these little plastic things that were round and divided into four little stalls, no doors, just a....pocket type thing for the deposit. lol very very weird to me.
So then yesterday....[Sunday]....I spent the night at John's apartment the previous night and we left early in the day to go to an all-day concert series. It was called Rockin' Park and it had tons of bands. The lineup was:
Black Bottle Roit
Customs
Arid
The Black Keys
Rise Against
White Lies
Vampire Weekend
Stereophonics
Amy Macdonald
Ben Harper
Pearl Jam
I ended up going with John and three of his guy friends (all of them are somewhere in the 35-37 range) so I was the only girl, which I was a little worried about at first, but they were all really nice and had great taste in music so we had plenty to talk about. My Dad would have loved them. The music was pretty good too. I'm not really a huge fan of any of those bands, and most of them I don't even listen to so I didn't know any of the songs, but I still had a really good time. The only problem was that it was outdoors, so it was HOT and I am covered in hives still due to my sun allergy. =(
And finally today....[Monday]....we just took it easy. I came back from John's at about 7:45 this morning because he had to get to work, and Willie showed me around Valkenswaard. We saw a working watermill and two windmills, all of which were really really pretty. The countryside is so so pretty! There are little sheep and goats and the little short shaggy horses everywhere. Just like in the fairy tales. Disney has done a great job.
So, I leave early tomorrow morning to start the next leg of my journey: Copenhagen and my summer semester. I think I get my own room and my own bathroom, which will be great, so I am excited to see what else the Kollegium will bring. =)
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