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Sorry to those who this email was actually sent to!
My summer has been pretty nice so far, and I haven't even gotten to the good part yet! This past weekend I went to Copenhagen. Actually I accompanied my dad partway on his way to Vasjo, Sweden. We decided to stop off in Copenhagen. I'm glad we did because about 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen is Elsinore (yes the setting of Hamlet)! Practically every person on this list is in someway interested in Shakespeare, and if you don't really care about Shakespeare you care about old stuff ;).
If you want photos to accompany the witty (HA!) description of the trip you can either look on facebook or at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pondjumper/
(once on flickr click on the sets, they're in order)
The photos are the same as are the comments so you don't need to see both. It took me a long time to upload those suckers but I think some of them are attractive. I wish I could take artist photos though!
Anyway, back to the trip...
Copenhagen is a lovely city! "Cute" and "Baltic Medival/Renaissance power and architecture" are two phrases that come to mind. It's built around many little harbors and has an extremely long pedetrian walkway in the center of the city. The first day I was really there it was grey and drizzly, but the second day when I went to Elsinor it was beautiful. I think I got a sunburn, but as we all know that is not hard at all.
The Danes are wonderful! When you are talking to them they answer every statement with "yes". It's to show that they understand what you are talking about more than agreement, but it's nice to hear "yes" all the time. Although the French really are wonderfully nice and friendly deep down, I don't think I would ever say they seem to have a positive outlook on life. :-)
The theme of this trip was "Literary Reknown" since Hans Christian Andersen was Danish and Copenhagen is the site of many Hans Christian Andersen references. Not only is there the Little Mermaid statue, but also a statue of him in the square with the Rathaus and the theater where his ballets were performed (at least in the musical!). That damned musical... the entire weekend I was humming "Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen." Also, the main tourist agency is called Wonderful Copenhagen so they certainly know why they're famous!
The trip was cool because I got to fulfill all my interests through museums. On the first day I went to the ruins underneath the Christiansborg Castle (profession), the Theater Museum (passion other than profession), and the Worker's Museum (political) in succession. I was tired by the end of the day (around 4 pm)!
The most astounding thing I saw was a surprise parade! My dad and I were walking towards the center of the city before he had to leave for Sweden when we began to hear drums. We walking into this large square and there 30-40 different drum corps and dancers. The drums corps and the dancers were dressed in very flamboyant costumes that were a hybrid between traditional Danish dress and Caribbean flare with a bit of Las Vegas thrown in for fun. It was amazing! Although it was cold, everyone looked like they were loving it. As we left the square, the parade started on its route down the pedestrian city. I love coming across unexpected parades.
The next day I went on a day trip to Elsinor. You can bet I saw every available part of that castle, including the Maritime Museum, but that was more because I didn't have to pay for it. My favorite part were casements. If I understand their function correctly, they were general storage and servant areas on the top floor and prison cells underneath. The prison cells were pitch black and went from a wide entrance to a sharp point and they were extremely cold. I am glad I have never gotten caught by 16th century Danish troops!
The castle also had a chapel (duh! what castle doesn't have one?). It was brightly decorated with lots of vibrant colors and shinny gold. It also had very provocative angels... Otherwise, it was pretty normal. I also visited the royal apartments of Christian and his wife Sophia (who was AWESOME). Although the queen rocked, the furniture was pretty standard 16th century opulance, not my cup of tea. I did like the architectural details like the ceilings though. The one cool thing was a tapestry with a peacock and camels. I like seeing European fascinations with "the Orient". There was also a set of tapestries about the Persians, although Cyrus hardly looked Persian at all.
When I got back to Copenhagen after Elsinor my last touristy visit was to the Round Tower. That is the coolest tower I have ever been up because it doesn't have any stairs! Well, it has one flight of stairs right at the end to get to the roof, but otherwise people walked up the ramp. It definately wasn't the tallest structure I have ever been in, but it is the most unique tower! (so far...)
When I wasn't sightseeing, I was scrounging Danish TV for English language programs. It was much more successful than previous attempts in Germany and France. I saw part 1 of Russell T. Davis's Casanova with David Tennant! For those of you who do not watch the new Doctor Who, David Tennant played Bertie Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter 4. I have wanted to see this for a long time! So YAY! (Sorry, that was a very uninteresting paragraph)
Anyway, tomorrow I leave for Jordan. Paris has been wonderful but cold. I haven't done much here except put together an archaeological kit. Tomorrow I will carry a small pickaxe across international boarders... I'm strangely excited to do so. I have learned that line levels (levels you hang on a horizontal string) are non-existant in France. Quite a few hours went into this discovery.
When I'm in Jordan, I will have internet access. There are 2 internet cafes in the city/town I'm staying in so I hope to hear from you all! I'll certainly be writing more emails and if you send an address I can try to get off my lazy butt and write a postcard or two. I'm not promising anything, but I can be optimistic. :-D
My summer has been pretty nice so far, and I haven't even gotten to the good part yet! This past weekend I went to Copenhagen. Actually I accompanied my dad partway on his way to Vasjo, Sweden. We decided to stop off in Copenhagen. I'm glad we did because about 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen is Elsinore (yes the setting of Hamlet)! Practically every person on this list is in someway interested in Shakespeare, and if you don't really care about Shakespeare you care about old stuff ;).
If you want photos to accompany the witty (HA!) description of the trip you can either look on facebook or at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pondjumper/
(once on flickr click on the sets, they're in order)
The photos are the same as are the comments so you don't need to see both. It took me a long time to upload those suckers but I think some of them are attractive. I wish I could take artist photos though!
Anyway, back to the trip...
Copenhagen is a lovely city! "Cute" and "Baltic Medival/Renaissance power and architecture" are two phrases that come to mind. It's built around many little harbors and has an extremely long pedetrian walkway in the center of the city. The first day I was really there it was grey and drizzly, but the second day when I went to Elsinor it was beautiful. I think I got a sunburn, but as we all know that is not hard at all.
The Danes are wonderful! When you are talking to them they answer every statement with "yes". It's to show that they understand what you are talking about more than agreement, but it's nice to hear "yes" all the time. Although the French really are wonderfully nice and friendly deep down, I don't think I would ever say they seem to have a positive outlook on life. :-)
The theme of this trip was "Literary Reknown" since Hans Christian Andersen was Danish and Copenhagen is the site of many Hans Christian Andersen references. Not only is there the Little Mermaid statue, but also a statue of him in the square with the Rathaus and the theater where his ballets were performed (at least in the musical!). That damned musical... the entire weekend I was humming "Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen." Also, the main tourist agency is called Wonderful Copenhagen so they certainly know why they're famous!
The trip was cool because I got to fulfill all my interests through museums. On the first day I went to the ruins underneath the Christiansborg Castle (profession), the Theater Museum (passion other than profession), and the Worker's Museum (political) in succession. I was tired by the end of the day (around 4 pm)!
The most astounding thing I saw was a surprise parade! My dad and I were walking towards the center of the city before he had to leave for Sweden when we began to hear drums. We walking into this large square and there 30-40 different drum corps and dancers. The drums corps and the dancers were dressed in very flamboyant costumes that were a hybrid between traditional Danish dress and Caribbean flare with a bit of Las Vegas thrown in for fun. It was amazing! Although it was cold, everyone looked like they were loving it. As we left the square, the parade started on its route down the pedestrian city. I love coming across unexpected parades.
The next day I went on a day trip to Elsinor. You can bet I saw every available part of that castle, including the Maritime Museum, but that was more because I didn't have to pay for it. My favorite part were casements. If I understand their function correctly, they were general storage and servant areas on the top floor and prison cells underneath. The prison cells were pitch black and went from a wide entrance to a sharp point and they were extremely cold. I am glad I have never gotten caught by 16th century Danish troops!
The castle also had a chapel (duh! what castle doesn't have one?). It was brightly decorated with lots of vibrant colors and shinny gold. It also had very provocative angels... Otherwise, it was pretty normal. I also visited the royal apartments of Christian and his wife Sophia (who was AWESOME). Although the queen rocked, the furniture was pretty standard 16th century opulance, not my cup of tea. I did like the architectural details like the ceilings though. The one cool thing was a tapestry with a peacock and camels. I like seeing European fascinations with "the Orient". There was also a set of tapestries about the Persians, although Cyrus hardly looked Persian at all.
When I got back to Copenhagen after Elsinor my last touristy visit was to the Round Tower. That is the coolest tower I have ever been up because it doesn't have any stairs! Well, it has one flight of stairs right at the end to get to the roof, but otherwise people walked up the ramp. It definately wasn't the tallest structure I have ever been in, but it is the most unique tower! (so far...)
When I wasn't sightseeing, I was scrounging Danish TV for English language programs. It was much more successful than previous attempts in Germany and France. I saw part 1 of Russell T. Davis's Casanova with David Tennant! For those of you who do not watch the new Doctor Who, David Tennant played Bertie Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter 4. I have wanted to see this for a long time! So YAY! (Sorry, that was a very uninteresting paragraph)
Anyway, tomorrow I leave for Jordan. Paris has been wonderful but cold. I haven't done much here except put together an archaeological kit. Tomorrow I will carry a small pickaxe across international boarders... I'm strangely excited to do so. I have learned that line levels (levels you hang on a horizontal string) are non-existant in France. Quite a few hours went into this discovery.
When I'm in Jordan, I will have internet access. There are 2 internet cafes in the city/town I'm staying in so I hope to hear from you all! I'll certainly be writing more emails and if you send an address I can try to get off my lazy butt and write a postcard or two. I'm not promising anything, but I can be optimistic. :-D