I have fallen behind on my posts and I am drowning in photos! I have a few more photos from Denmark to post after these, then I will finally get to editing my photos from Ireland! I visited Lund, Sweden right after Malmo a couple weeks ago. I thought the town was rather quaint, with people on the streets conversing and enjoying the weekend, and park benches full of people just reading a book or meeting with friends. There was even an elderly man who was sitting in front of a fountain when I got to Lund, and he was still there when I left. A man about my age sat and talked to him for at least half an hour :) Lund had a "small town" feel, and I loved the brick and colorfully painted buildings and cobblestone streets. There were also lots of young people, likely because Lund is somewhat of a University town (Lund University, 27,600 students). Just like Copenhagen....SO.MANY.BIKES. Kungshuset, the oldest Lund University building (completed 1584) Lund University building Lund Cathedral
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Yesterday I ventured over the Øresund Bridge to Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden. Malmö has a mix of modern and classic architecture and a lovely waterfront. I walked about an hour from the train station to see the "HSB Turning Torso", the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries. Then, I walked along the water and saw the bridge from shore then headed to the downtown area. After exploring Malmö, I continued on to Lund (see next post). Check out that crazy spiral staircase... Turning Torso, the most famous building in the city A quick selfieee Øresund Bridge connecting Denmark to Sweden Some weird grassy bowl by the waterfront with speakers in the hill playing music. Turning Torso in the background
Last weekend I ventured north of Copenhagen to Hillerød. Several metro stations were closed for maintenance so I had to figure out the bus system for part of the trip. The castle was surrounded by a beautiful Baroque Garden and lake.
It turned out to be a beautiful day, so instead of going to museums I took full advantage! I visited the Botanical Garden at the University of Copenhagen, explored the Rosenborg Castle grounds, and experienced the famous Nyhavn canal. The photos do a much better job explaining, enjoy! The Palm House from 1874, University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden On the grounds of the Botanical Garden View of Rosenborg Castle from the Botanical Garden. What an incredible view! I felt like I was in a fairy tale :) Excuse the crazy perspective, I forgot I had my wide-angle lens on! Rosenborg Castle from the back Lovely tree line corridor in the grounds (twice this size) Imagine having an apartment overlooking Rosenborg Castle and its grounds... I was starving so I got lunch from a makeshift touristy "cafe" on the grounds of Rosenborg Castle. I wasn't expecting much from my overpriced sandwich, but it was REALLY good! All the food so far has been incredible. Nyhavn: One of the most famous areas in Copenhagen. So many restaurants with outdoor seating, street vendors selling food, musicians, etc. Really fun but touristy area.
Last Saturday I explored Christiansborg Palace and the surrounding area. I spent several hours touring the stables, ruins, tower, and interior. I came just in time for an English speaking tour of the interior rooms so now I know all about the history too ;) Where Obama and others have signed important papers :) Tapestry that took many weavers years to complete, held up by velcro in case of fire (Its burned down before...) Ruins from old palace destroyed by fire View from up in the tower So many shops and well dressed people. Lots of H&M stores here. Live band. They were fairly talented! Cute square with lots of restaurants with outdoor seating. So pleasant :) Great way to end the day.
Yesterday was my first time in central Copenhagen, but I experienced it after dark. Steffen, Bianca's housemate, was nice enough to show me around. We saw some of the sites and had dinner at "Soupa Natural", a hole-in-the-wall basement restaurant.
Today, I explored on my own. It was raining in the morning, but I lucked out with beautiful weather in the afternoon. I took the metro to Nørreport Station which is the busiest in the country. I walked around the city and ended up quite lost. Eventually I found a metro station (Amagerbro Station) and found my way back. I must have walked at least 6 km around the city. Here is a collection of some of my photos from today (I took about 100! All taken with my trusty Nikon D3s) Its true...everyone does bike everywhere! This is at the library. Just beautiful. I spent a long time enjoying this scenery. One of my favorite images thus far. I saw the entrance for Christiania ("Freetown Christiania"), but I didn't venture in. I'd remembered reading about it, so I did a little more research. "...a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (84 acres)..." It is regarded as a large commune, but the area has a unique status in that it is regulated by special law which transfers parts of the supervision from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state. Cannabis trade, yoga, meditation, art, makeshift homes and architecture, etc.
I flew from Seattle to Toronto, Canada, then from Toronto to Copenhagen. I arrived at the airport in Seattle at 7am, but my flight got changed and I didn't leave until after 11am. In Toronto, I rushed through security and customs to make my flight on time. Once in Copenhagen, I found the metro station at the airport, and traveled by train to Ørestad station. There, I found a taxi to my boss's house. My boss, Bianca, has converted part of her home into an office space for her new firm. She has also been kind enough to let me stay in her guest cottage on the property. This will allow me to have a little extra money to travel and explore :) After 17+ hours of traveling and the time difference I was exhausted, but I tried my hardest to stay awake until evening so I could easily adjust. Bianca lives in Elmegården which is a neighborhood of vacation garden homes that have been turned into permanent residences. It's very rare to have this much space, let alone a garden, in Copenhagen. It takes about 5 minutes to walk to Bella Center metro station which can take you straight to the airport or the city center. This is the cottage I'm staying in. The cottage overlooks the garden and is right by where I'll be working most of the time. The bathroom and kitchen are in the main house. Bianca fully furnished the cottage and it has a sleeping loft on top Bianca's two kitties Nips (left) and Tanne (right), are extremely friendly lap cats. They both like to snuggle and sit on top of my laptop when I'm trying to type. Nips is especially friendly and likes to beg for food -_-
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