May 2010
15 posts
Corfuligans
We arrived last Tuesday at the Pink Palace in Corfu… unfortunately, our first day was rainy and gross, and the Pink Palace hostel was nothing to get excited about. Luckily, the weather picked up and we enjoyed great days on the beach, out ATVing to Corfu Town, playing card games, and eating a ton of great Greek food.
We were going a little crazy in the Pink Palace, though, seeing too...
So. This is Athens.
GREETINGS FROM SUNNY AND WARM GREECE! Today was our full day in Athens, and I am just real thankful still that we are really only spending a little under two days here before shipping off to Corfu. Athens is a really interesting city with a ton of history, visiting the Acropolis blew my mind, and the weather has been just lovely. However, the stereotype about Greek men is pretty close to...
THE LIST. cause everyone loves lists.
**disclaimer: nothing in the world is black and white, yes and no, so for the record this list is for fun.**
I am putting this up on the eve of my departure for Greece for a ten day fun-in-the-sun vacation. I will be back in Denmark overnight before flying home, but this is pretty much it.
Things I Will Miss:
Carrying around alcohol outside
Seeing young Dads walking together with baby...
“Yet you cannot get people to understand what you mean unless they themselves...”
– Sven Hezel, Magi quoted him in her speech yesterday. One of the things we are all going to be dealing with is trying to verbally express this experience that we have shared over the past four months. This quote sums up the difficulties we will face rather nicely.
April 2010
13 posts
If Only I Could Make a Living by Living. I Would...
first time rock climbing on the coast of Sweden
“So, what are you going to do now?”
…asks everyone ever these days. I just don’t know the answer. Graduation is less than three weeks away, I have been studying for four years (technically 17 years if we are talking since kindergarten), and it is only reasonable that I am being asked, “now what?” I just...
WatchThis is video from the front seat of the Copenhagen (and greater CPH) Metro system. It is like riding a roller coaster (kinda).
In addition to the awesome bike infrastructure, public transportation is great. I have been taking the train (s-tog) to and from Gentofte (my town) at least once a day since I’ve gotten here. Then, for moving around the city faster (and to get right to the...
Deuxième semaine: les Alpes françaises
A 5:30am wake up call on Sunday, April 4th had me to the Copenhagen airport at 6:30am for an 8:30 departure to Geneva, Switzerland, and then began the over 2 hour windy drive up 2300 meters to our chalet in Val Thorens in the French Alps.
We stayed in Lodge Mouflon, which is a Danish / Swedish lodge, SNE & SNÖ. I was staying in the top floor with two girls, Willa (who I had gone to Sweden...
WatchTorch-lit Descent.
WatchToboggan adventure on Wednesday.
Week One: Copenhagen Outside of Studio
Week one’s travel plans may have fell through, and what at first seemed like a jail sentence of “oh man, I’m stuck in Copenhagen for a week with nothing to do,” quickly turned into, “OH MAN, I’m stuck in Copenhagen for a week with nothing I need to do!”
So to start it off, after studio ended on Friday “us girls” headed out towards...
March 2010
15 posts
And Studio is No More, Two Weeks.
Our two week travel break has officially arrived. My second week is planned; I will be skiing Val Thorens in the French Alps. However, my first week (the one I am in now) has remained largely open. I have been feeling the call of the wild. I want nothing more than to spend my first week camping outside in the freezing cold, working all day, and enjoying the northern lights and a campfire at...
“Sometimes he pursued the call into the forest, looking for it as though it were...”
– Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Hold Your Applause -- This Is Your Song, Not Mine.
So how is the homesickness going?? It is up and down all the time. I go through a lot of moments where I miss family or friends or maple syrup or cheap beer and clothing… But being here really is like a roller coaster. While I am making friends, no one really knows my story or knows me even, really. So in that sense while I am surrounded by people and adventure I also feel extremely...
L is for LOUISIANA, O is for lOuisiana....
Alberto Giacometti
Velkommen til Louisiana Museum of Modern Art!
This is seriously one of my most favorite museums I have been to in Denmark. It’s a bit of a regional train trek up the coast to Humlebæk, but it is totally worth it. The architecture of the building is amazing, and the museum is huge. Not to mention that the outside is a beautifully landscape sculpture garden that you...
The Bike Saga Continues
My life in Copenhagen was changed on March 14th when Holly brought her bike into Copenhagen for the first time. Long story short, she got the seat adjusted so it was shorter, but she still felt nervous riding it. I volunteered to ride her bike and let her take Samer’s, whose seat it a little bit less intimidating. Now, up until the moment these words came out of my mouth I had been too...
Family.
Happy Birthday, Bedstefar:
It has been quite some time since I’ve updated on my family happenings and living situation, so here is a (mostly food) recap of my first two months here. Hard to believe time is flying by so quickly! I finally got to meet Pernille’s father, Josefine and Cecile’s bedstefar (grandfather) who came over to celebrate his birthday! The girls made the...
And On the Eighth Day, We Rest. Or Pass Out.
This day was strictly meant for driving from Stockholm back to Copenhagen. Even though we had a full nights rest and got to sleep in, I still hit the bus next to my bus buddy and passed out. I wore my glasses to prepare for the full day of rest. I woke up at lunch time cause, well, even sleeping builds up an appetite. Or something like that.
This is where we were supposed to eat! Not so...
So This is Stockholm Syndrome.
Apparently squeezing four people into the room a size of a closet pretty much guarantees that you will be waking up in the middle of night completely drenched in sweat. But after opening the windows to the freezing air outside and returning to a comfortable sleep, it is good morning to a tasty hostel breakfast. After more unnecessary confusion about bathhouses, we were on our way to the local...
Garlic and Shots.
This morning was supposed to be our 5am wake up call (time zone change, so it really felt like 6am) but I mean, really, it was still early, especially since we had been having a ton of fun the night before. Nonetheless, we dragged ourselves out of bed because our first stop was going to be a bathhouse where we could shower, relax, and detox. However, we started hearing rumors that the boat was...
Näkemiin, Finland!
Another wonderful morning wake-up in the hotel, and we packed up our things to head out on our journey back to the coast and on to Sweden.
First stop on the road was Myyrmäki church, designed by Juha Leiviskä and Pekka Kivisalo in 1984.
The light fixtures were amazing, and the whole geometry of the building that had to fit on this bizarre shaped piece of land was very clever.
Then it was back...
I HEART HELSINKI
Sleeping a night in a real hotel with real beds (with free wi-fi!) was wonderful,not to mention the fact that we didn’t have to be out the door until 9am!
First stop in the morning was the Helsinki City Center, Helsingfors, which was founded in 1550 by the King of Sweden, Gustav Vasa.
The steps up to the city capital were intentionally built very steep and a very long, this way...
I'm Sorry, Did You Say Alvar Aalto??
Another early morning wake-up, breakfast, packing, and then on to the bus we went. Our first stop was Säynätsalo municipal building, designed by Alvar Aalto between 1950 and 1952.
The lighting in the building was amazing, especially considering that picture above is the main meeting area. It was actually one of my favorite buildings that we visited on the trip (and of course, an Aalto).
Then...
February 2010
24 posts
Hej då Sverige, Hei Finland.
After getting off of our ferry cruise, we got back on the bus and continued another day of driving. We made one stop at Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Finland, which was designed by Alvar Aalto between 1937 and 1939.
Apparently it was quite the honor for us to be there, someone said they only allow architecture and design students in there (this may or may not be true) but we were not allowed to...
Farvel Danmark, Hej Sverige
6am wake up call for a 8am bus departure from Copenhagen. Less than an hour later, we pulled onto the ferry and were soon waving goodbye to Denmark and hello to Sweden (Sverige, hard to believe haha).
We spent the rest of the day driving in our bus towards Stockholm, Sweden, where a ferry/cruise ship called Viking Line waited to take us across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki, Finland.
I slept the...
Chronicles of Studio
Well, it has been a long time since I’ve have posted, and that is because after I got back from the Sweden ski trip, I pretty much moved into my studio.
Think I’m kidding? I had a toothbrush, toothpaste, mug, silverware set, food supply, and my slippers in studio with me. If I could have figured out how to get an air mattress and a pillow, I would have.
my studio and then my desk....
As it would turn out, Rome was definitely not...
I “finished” my first model! I use this term loosely, of course, because it is still far from being done. I actually have to redo it and then build another one in 1:20 (this one is in 1:50). But, I can still in my head say that I finished it haha even though it is unusable!! But this was all me. I dedicate this to my Papa! (Because it would be so easy and practical to build...
It is 2:42am and I should be sleeping now, no question. Instead I am on night bus 95N headed home. I left the studio at 12:50 to catch what I thought was a 1am train. Well, the train never came so I walked to Union Square to catch my bus. Bus never came. By this time it was 1:30 so I figured I might as well walk back to Norreport and catch the 2am train. I wish this iPod touch was an iPhone...