A Weekend in Prague

Prague! I went to Prague!

Ok, this update is loooong overdue, but I'm leaving on Sunday for my two-week spring break to St. Petersburg, Moscow and London so I figured I better update you all on my last trip before I start off on my next one. Now, before you get the idea that all I'm doing here is traveling Europe, rest assured that I have been working incredibly hard in the past few weeks - definitely exercising the "study" part of "study abroad." I haven't been as academically stressed and emotionally drained since I've arrived in Denmark as I have been in the past two weeks, but instead of dwelling on that (which I've been doing more than my fair share of recently) I'm going to talk about (and mostly share pictures of) my wonderful long weekend to Prague.

At the end of March, I went to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, for a long weekend with my friends Emilia and Alana. We stayed in a nice enough hostel near the Old Town and the Charles Bridge, and we mostly just walked the city, exploring the castle complex and the area around the Old Town Square. We sampled traditional Czech food (lots of potatoes for me, since most of it was meat), tried not to get killed by the trams, and did lots of shopping since Prague is significantly cheaper than Copenhagen. One night we went out to Karlovy Lázně, which at 5 stories tall is the biggest club in Central Europe. Each floor had a different theme, and we spent most of the night at the Oldies floor, dancing to wonderfully trashy disco music, 80s music, and much more. It was a great few days! 

The Astronomical Clock in the Old Town Square, which draws huge crowds when it goes off. According to Wikipedia (always handy for these quick-fact type things), the clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the only one still working. Pretty cool stuff. 

The Old Town Square 

Beautiful pastel colored buildings in the Square. Every single building in the city is beautiful, no exaggeration. 

Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge 

The steps up to the castle 

From the castle 

Beautiful stained glass in St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus Cathedral 

The Lennon Wall, spray-painted by the city's youth with messages of peace, inspired by the works of John Lennon and the Beatles 

Alana, Emilia and I at the Lennon Wall 

Long Study Tour to Scotland

I spent Monday - Saturday of last week in various parts of Scotland (Edinburg, St. Andrews, and Glasgow) with my Positive Psychology class for our Long Study Tour. The long study tours, similar to the shorter trip to Western Denmark that I previously wrote about, allows each core class to travel to a different country in Europe for a week for a mixture of academic and cultural visits. My class was lucky enough to go to Scotland, a country I'd always hoped to visit someday. The cultural aspects were much more fun than the academic visits, and as I suspect that they're also more fun to read about, I'll stick to those for now (if you're absolutely dying to find out what we did in terms of academics, you can ask me separately). 

We began in Edinburgh, a beautiful old city full of history and Harry Potter references (as you'll see below). On our first day, we walked up Calton Hill, home to many historical buildings and monuments, and from which there are great views of the city. 

Arthur's Seat is part of the mountain range in the background (see pictures below)

Some of the historic buildings and monuments on the hill 

Edinburgh at sunset 

That night, we had dinner in the city as a class before going on a Ghost Walk (not sure why my professor loves them so much). Edinburgh is supposed to be haunted city and Ghost Tours seem to be a popular tourist activity, judging from the amount of tour guides I saw handing out flyers during the day.  We got a bit of a tour of Princes Street (the main shopping street) before going into 18th century vaults beneath the city streets which weren't all that scary but interesting to see nonetheless. 

Arthur's Seat from below 

The next day we had a really boring academic visit in the morning before walking over to Arthur's Seat, the main peak at Holyrood Park, a nature preserve of sorts at the edge of the city. Apparently named so because of a rumor that the mythical Camelot was located on the top of the peak, the hike to the top was made nearly impossible by the incredibly strong winds that attempted to blow us off the mountain at any moment. The view from the top, however, was worth the risk. 

Panorama of the city

This picture doesn't really do the view justice, but it was so windy that it wasn't possible to stay long enough to get a better one 

Attempting to not get blown over! 

After making it off of Arthur's Seat alive, we trekked over to Edinburgh Castle, of which I unfortunately didn't get any great pictures because I was too tired! 

On Tuesday night, I met up with my friend Claire, who is studying at the University of Edinburgh. We went out to eat at this great vegetarian restaurant before enjoying chocolate fondue and white wine at a nearby bar. The next day there was an optional hike that I opted out of so I could see more of the city and spend more time with Claire. 

The Balmoral 

 In the morning, Emilia and I walked around the city a bit on our own, and found what I later found out was the Balmoral Hotel, where J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as well as Victoria Street, a cute little winding street with lots of cute shops, including multiple that are painted purple, a joke shop, and an old book store. Sound familiar? Apparently this street was Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Ally.

Victoria Street

The Harry Potter tour continued when Claire and I went to lunch at the Elephant House, the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the beginnings of the Harry Potter series. 

How often do you see a toilet dedicated to Harry Potter? I didn't think so...

 After lunch, Claire gave me a fantastic tour of the city, including the university campus and her flat, a fantastic second-hand store, a great cupcake shop, a chocolate shop, and an art museum. We even had time to do some shopping at H&M and see a movie!

Here we are near the art museum, just as it was beginning to rain

After my fantastic few days in Edinburg, it was off to St. Andrews and Glasgow! At St. Andrews we met with a Psychology professor and briefly heard a 4th year student talk about her Positive Psychology related project before getting a tour of the university and the town by a very enthusiastic tour guide. 

The ruins of St. Andrew's cathedral 

The ruins of St. Andrews castle and the North Sea 

Our time in Glasgow was mostly spent in academic lectures and as the city itself is much more industrial and less beautiful that either Edinburgh or St. Andrews, I didn't take any pictures. All in all, despite the stress of being with the same group of people for a week and listening to mostly boring academic lectures, my time in Scotland was amazing and I'm so incredibly grateful that I got to go! 

Where I live

Well, it looks like you're going to get two blog posts from me today. (Lucky you!) Before I post pictures, etc. from my week in Scotland, I wanted to show you a few shots from the area where I'm actually living most of the time.  My kollegium is on the campus of Roskilde University (RUC), which is unfortunately rather ugly. However, there are a few not-so-unappealing aspects of the area, so I've decided to show you a few of these and spare you the rest!

The pond and the hundred of birds that I can see (and hear) from my bedroom windows

Marshy area near the pond 

Goats! There's actually farmland not too far from my kollegium, which is nice because it reminds me of home 

Not really so different from Western Mass 

Exploring the City

Last weekend, I went into Copenhagen with some friends for a fabulous day of sightseeing. I really don't have many more weekends free (case in point, I am writing this post from the national Library, where I should be doing homework because I'm in the midst of midterms), so my friends and I have decided to see as much of the city as we can while we still have the time! The weather was beautiful (read SUNNY), despite the bitter cold that has become an ever-present part of my life.

Rosenborg Slot 

Our first visit was to Rosenborg Slot (Castle), originally built as a summer home for Christian IV in the 1600s. The castle was the official residence of the Danish Royal family until 1710, and is now a museum that houses the Crown Jewels, among other beautiful collections and exhibits. 

Us in front of the castle. From L-R, Megan, Becca, Emilia, Alana, Julia, me.
(thanks to Megan McPhillamy for the picture!)

Me in Nyhavn

After that, we walked to Nyhavn, the quintessential Danish street (if you search "Copenhagen" in google images, Nyhavn will be the first thing that pops up). The buildings mostly house cafes, restaurants and bars, and the whole street is incredibly beautiful. 

Nyhavn again 

(Photo courtesy of Julia Petraglia)

By the time we reached Nyhavn we were frozen solid, so we decided to stop at a bakery to warm up with some pastries and hot chocolate (two things that have factored heavily into my time here in Denmark)! 

Amalienborg

Next we went to Amalienborg Palace, the residential castle of the Royal Family, including Queen Margrethe II. Amalienborg was built in 1750, and in April the entire square fills with adoring Danes who come to see the Queen wave from a balcony on her birthday. 

Our final stop of the day was to the statue of the Little Mermaid in the Copenhagen harbor. The statue (which is smaller than you might think for such an important cultural landmark) honors Hans Christian Andersen, author of the original (and much darker than the Disney version) fairytale, and arguably the most famous Dane. 

Julia, Becca, me, and Alana in front of the Little Mermaid.
Notice the path through the ice for the harbor boats in the background. 

Two great things

This past week has been relatively uneventful, but two great things stood out: 

First of all, I (finally) have a visiting family! I was getting worried that I might never get a family, despite the fact that I signed up for the program ages ago, back in November or something crazy like that, but I was, and it was definitely worth the wait. My family consists of Tina and Johnny and their two daughters, Rebecca (12) and Theresa (11). They live in a town two stops west of Roskilde, so not too far from Trekroner. I went to their home this past Saturday and had a lovely day getting to know their family and participating in their daily activities. When I arrived in the morning, we had a wonderfully Danish breakfast of bread and various toppings (butter, cheese, jam, chocolate, etc) before going to Theresa's horseback riding lesson. Both girls ride, and they live in a more rural, really beautiful area so it was great to drive to the stables and see a bit more of the country side. 

While the girls rode, Tina and I walked behind the group, enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful country side and talking about absolutely everything, including the time she spent in America as an au pair. When we got back to the house she showed me her photo albums from her time in America - it was great to see pictures of New York City and Washington DC in the 1980s! We had a delicious (vegetarian!) lunch prepared by Johnny, whose first wife was a vegetarian and who knew lots about vegetarian cooking in Denmark. After bonding with Rebecca over decoding Harry Potter chapter names (a great way to learn Danish, I discovered!) we all packed into the car and drove even further into the country to a large forest surrounding the reservoir that holds the water for Copenhagen. It felt so good to be completely outside of the city and most of all just to be outside! I hadn't realized how much I missed nature and living in a rural area until then. 

After our walk, they decided they'd drive me home, but first we stopped in Roskilde to get some fastelavnsboller, a delicious pastry that looks something like this

(google images)

and is eaten around the Fastelavn holiday, a Scandinavian carnival of sorts that is celebrated the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday. Children dress up and get treats, so it's sort of like Halloween in a way. Another tradition is basically a Danish version of a  piñata, only the thing being struck down is a large wooden barrel full of candy and fruits. Rebecca told me that the person who makes the first crack in the barrel is crowned the Cat Queen and the one who finally breaks it open is the Cat King. All in all, it was a wonderful day! 


The second great thing was my field study on Wednesday to the Carlsberg Breweries for my Danish Politics and Society class. We had a tour of the facility (which was huge, almost 100 acres!) and then had a beer tasting!

The brewery was founded in 1847 and is the 4th largest in the world

A copy of the little mermaid statue that sits on a rock by the harbor in Copenhagen. The original statue was commissioned by Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder, and a huge supporter of the arts (there is a whole museum in Copenhagen full of his extensive art and sculpture collection) The house in the background is the founder's mansion. 

Two of the four Carlsberg elephants, built to symbolize the long lives of the four Jacobsen children who lived to adulthood (the other four died during childhood) 

Inside one of the old brew houses

The varieties

And the aftermath

Shiny copper brewing kettles in the visitors center

Carlsberg is one of the national symbols of Denmark, and there's a lot of rich family history behind the brewery (including life-long clashes between father and son, the former a lover of science and the latter a lover of art), so the whole trip was great! 

Short Study Tour to Western Denmark

On Thursday, I got up at 5:15 to take the train into Copenhagen and begin my Short Study Tour to Western Denmark with my Positive Psychology class. One of the (many) reasons I chose DIS was for it's Study Tours - traveling built into, and around, the academic curriculum. From what I gather, it's a pretty unique opportunity. Not only will I be traveling to Scotland for a week later on in the semester, this past weekend I got to see parts of Denmark that I definitely would not have to if it weren't built into my course. Below is a map of Denmark that shows all of the cities I traveled to (Åarhus, Esbjerg, and Ribe)

We drove first to Åarhus, the second largest city in Denmark where we visited the Åarhus University Hospital to hear about Mindfulness and it's effect on Bodily Distress Syndrome (from what I gather a hybrid of Somatic Disorders and Anxiety Disorders, among other things) from a researcher of the topic. The talk itself was kind of dry, and we didn't really explore Åarhus aside from this visit, so it definitely wasn't the highlight of the trip. 

On the drive to Åarhus, we crossed over a really long bridge that I don't remember the name of, and the sun came out for a moment! 

Next, we went to visit the Kaos Pilots, an "alternative professional school that provides leadership education" to see Positive Psychology theories in practice. According to my Study Tour handbook, "Students at Kaos Pilots spend two years working on developing their personal leadership skills through group work, stimulations, and projects. In their third and final year, they create a small business or organization using their strengths, competencies, and passions to fill a demand they see in the market." 

Whew. I know that was long, but I hope it was worth it, because the visit definitely was. Sara, our contact person, was really fun and engaging. With her Kaos Pilots training she has started an organization that helps kids who have moved internationally become acclimated to their new environments, something she felt passionate about as the child of diplomats. 

Positive Psychology is focused on, among other things, helping people flourish in life through discovering their passions and strengths. To give us a sense of how Kaos Pilots teach students to do this in the context of entrepreneurship, Sara had us write down the first 7 things that popped into our heads when we thought about our passions, what made us angry, and what our talents were. From those lists and with the help of friends, we came up with a unifying theme for each list (passion, anger, talent) to get an organic sense of where our potential strengths might lie. 

Walking street in Esbjerg 

On Friday, we drove to Esbjerg, where we got to walk around for a bit before our visit to the Esbjerg Business School. The Business School is really more of an education center for teenagers with troubled childhoods. Using theories from Positive Psychology, the students are taught about things like self-esteem, living in the present, and not letting their past negatively effect their present or future lives. We heard some of the students talk about their experiences at the school, and it was really inspiring to see Positive Psychology applied in such a great way. 

Viking man at the Ribe viking museum 

After our visit to the Esbjerg Business School, we drove to Ribe, the oldest town in Denmark. That night I walked around Ribe with some friends and got some dinner before going on a Ghost Tour of the town, which was really more of a walking history tour lead by this old man wearing what looked like a vicars outfit and told really excellent stories. Although the stories were good, it was incredibly windy and kind of rainy, so it was nice to go and sit in a pub afterwards just to get out of the weather! 

On Saturday, we visited the Viking Museum and then had a few hours to explore Ribe on our own (luckily the rain had stopped and the wind had died down). 

One of the many winding cobblestoned walking streets in Ribe 

You can't imagine how happy I was to find a Salvation Army, in the oldest town in Denmark no less. And yes, I did buy something (for 15 kroner - or about $2.70 - a great deal, in Denmark or in the States!)

Typical Danish scenery: gray sky, Danish flag, adorable buildings, water. 

Ribe Cathedral 

The building on the left is a public bathroom. Even the bathrooms are cuter in 1000 year old towns!