Laurel Marks finds out what studying abroad is really about!

April 12
The first week of my three weeks off started with DIS, traveling with half of the IBE program, 38 other students in London and Brussels. London was amazing, per usual, but sadly there was little time to go and do anything besides what DIS had scheduled. We went on the London Eye (which DIS paid for) and I was able to spend a few hours in the British Museum. London is great because most of their museums are free. The first day we were there we had a business meeting at Wimbledon and had a tour of the grounds and they have a museum which anyone can go into (that's where they keep the trophies). One of the more shocking things we learned on the tour is that they pay a guy to lay down a foot by foot frame and count every single blade of grass inside to make sure that there is an appropriate number. What can I say, that sounds like so much fun... DIS also took us to see Avenue Q which was hilarious!!! It is an entire play about being politically correct, it doesn't get much better than that.

Brussels was nice, but beyond it being the home of the EU (and a TON of microbreweries) there is really no reason to spend an extensive amount of time there. So naturally I had a ton of free time. They have waffle vendors on most of the walking streets, plus all of the chocolate shops and I was in food heaven. There was a bar in the old part of town that had 250 beers, almost all of which were brewed locally. It was funny to watch everyone making the life altering decision about which beer to try next; among the most popular were strawberry, cherry and chocolate. The main tourist attraction is a statue named manneken pis, which translated means little peeing boy. On the main square they have a museum which houses all of his clothes, about 700 outfits. The collection started years ago when someone made clothes for him to keep him warm in the winter. All of the streets of the square are too small for traffic, so it's pleasant to walk around there.

April 8
It was then off on my own to Paris where I met up with a friend from home. I spent this next week with three girls from DIS and we ran around the city for 4 days trying to see everything. We got to everything on our list except the Musée d'Orsay, which is too bad. Notre Dame is beautiful though too ornate on the inside for my taste; I liked the inside of Sacred Heart better. Maybe I felt like I had to make it worth my while as that was the steepest hill I have climbed in a long time! Of course, once I got back to DIS I learned that there is a tram that goes up to the top. One of the things I did not know until arriving was that the lights on the Eiffel Tower twinkle, I think it's every hour, which was pretty cool. We went to Invalides which was built by Napoleon and as the name suggests, it was built as a hospital. Across from the entrance on the second floor open to the courtyard is a massive statue of Napoleon overlooking everything, well, he was short in life.

We then flew to Vienna, which was one of my favorite cities! The inner city is quaint and they have a great selection of museums. One day there I was on my own for part of it and it is so nice to go to a museum alone after traveling with a group. The highlight was probably the Albertina museum which has impressionist and neo-impressionist paintings. I think one of the reasons I liked Vienna so much was that it was a great contrast to Paris, it had a museum district but there were less obvious tourists (the season hasn't arrived yet) and everything is less of a spectacle. If you go to Vienna, be prepared to pay a significant amount to go into the museums, though they all offer a student discount if you have an European student id.

Then I met up with my family in Prague, and it was so nice to see them!! Plus it's more comfortable traveling. I know it wasn't tourist season yet, but I do not know where they could fit more people! It's really funny though because they have walking tours where the guides all carry different funky umbrellas which you see over a sea of people. Since it was Easter weekend, they had their Easter market set up in the main square with a bunch of little shops. The clock on the square has a little show at 12, where the building comes alive. The Jewish Quarter has a series of buildings which were great to learn about history of the area, focused on the World War II era. Also, we went to a concert in a church around the corner from where we were staying. If you go when it's cold, make sure you go to a venue that is heated, but it was worth it for the hour. My family then came back with me to Copenhagen so that I could show them around. It was nice to come back after the traveling, seeing other cities made me realize how much I love Copenhagen.

March 9
A few weekends back was the short study tour and I sadly did not get to see Legoland, but there is a trip planned through DIS in April which I may have to take advantage of. Denmark is a really small country, it was only about 6 hours to drive from Copenhagen (the furthest east on Zealand) to Ringkobing (the furthest west on Jutland). I saw the Bang and Olufson headquarters, it's a high tech home electronics company that focuses on the design aspect of their products. If you haven't heard of them think of the phone in the Devil Wears Prada or the CD player in Nip/Tuck. I also saw the Vestas factory which is one of the largest wind turbine manufactures and they told us all about modern energy. Ironically a few days after being there one of the turbines in Denmark malfunctioned and disassembled itself. There is a video on the internet if you're curious, it's worth a look. I also saw Koldinghus which is a ruined castle and recently to preserve it, they constructed a roof to enclose it while keeping the original building in tacked.

This past week I was on another walking tour of Copenhagen with my tourism class and learned all about the Little Mermaid. We took a boat bus to get there (it's what they call them as they are part of the overall state transportation) and it was one of the coldest days here. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to doing that again when it is spring! The Danes are seemingly unaffected by the weather, for instance, they eat ice cream all year round, they will buy it in the shops on Stroget (the main walking street) and eat it while walking around. It seems like half of the city is going to come to life in April as most of the attractions are closed until then. Tivoli opens in mid-April and I'm being forced to go to write a paper. I can't wait! If you don't know, Tivoli is the number one tourist destination in Denmark, has been around for 150 years and inspired Walt Disney in constructing the Disney theme parks.

I must be enjoying Denmark because I have entered into a routine and I am looking forward to coming back already, even though I leave in a few hours. Spring break started on Friday and my long study tour starts today; we are flying to London and spending a few days there in which I get to see Wimbledon, Avenue Q and the EBRD. Then we go to Brussels on Wednesday to see the museum of cocoa and chocolate, Dansk Industri and InBev Breweries. After that I am off to Paris and Vienna for a week with a group of 3 other girls, and I get to meet up with my family in Prague!!

March 1
DIS sponsored a trip to Frederiksborg Slot (Slot means castle) in which they provided transportation and tour guides. While most Danes speak English proficiently, tours to many of the sites are not in English in the winter due to lack of tourists. Frederiksborg was by far one of the best tours I have ever been on. It helped that my tour guide is a history major, but it is so rich in history and the architecture/artwork/everything is just really, well, amazing. I wish I could describe it better, it's just a must see for it's extravagance, plus I read recently that it is considered the Versailles for Denmark. That was the intention when it was rebuilt to prove Denmark's power as a nation. Since then, I have been to the Carlsberg brewery, which is one of the biggest companies in Denmark. It's 10 dollars roughly to get in and the history lesson ends at the bar, where you can then get 2 drinks (included in your entrance fee). It's an emblem of Denmark, so it is worth a visit to learn the history. There is a garden where a copy of the Little Mermaid is kept. Carlsberg was the one who commissioned the statue that is one of the most famous sites here in Copenhagen, after being inspired from seeing the ballet.

Speaking of, I also went to the Icebar Absolut in Copenhagen, it is a few blocks from the central city square, so it is easy to find. It is inside Hotel 27 and there are only 5 in the world right now. With that said, you get to go in a room made entirely of ice!! It was nice to go in the -5 degree Celsius room, (with an added parka) and be warmer. Since then, the weather has been warming up a bit, and the sun has been a regular visitor, which always makes aimless wandering that much more enjoyable. Traveling to a northern country for the spring semester it is going to be cold, but it makes the sunny days like little gifts. Wandering around this city is unlike any other, you can be walking down the street and suddenly there is a castle on your right hand side. Only here would a king turn a castle (albeit a small one) into housing for the military.

February 28
So, what is living in Denmark like? I live with a family in Soborg (pronounce Sobou or something like that) which is to the northwest of the city. It is just under a 30 minute bus ride to my stop in the main square, which is just a couple blocks from DIS.

The square is called Radhuspladsen and when the national handball team won the European gold a week or two after I arrived, they came home to a huge celebration in that square. The first few days here flew by, I walked around Copenhagen on different tours sponsored by DIS, which was nice, but just kind of got me confused about where I was. I have wandered around some on my own to get my bearings. I plan on spending more time in the city in the next coming weeks, especially in the mornings since my classes start on the half hour, and my bus arrives on the half hour. While almost all Danes speak English, it's been an adjustment since it's really hard to remember names that I can't pronounce and at don't sound anything like they are written.

It's a city with really old buildings, the more of a "surviver" it is, the older it is. The British navy bombarded the city in 1807 and 2 previous city fires kind of took their toll on the city. It's funny because many of the sites are known for their age, while the reconstructed building on them may not be that old (by European standards). Their transportation system is a wonder, they have two metro lines, trains that spread out from the city and buses that go everywhere. Everyone that I have talked to live within a 15 minute walk of a bus or train. DIS pays for a transportation pass, which is usable to get from your home into the city for all forms of transportation. The weather has been really cold/windy/rainy all at once, but it doesn't detract from the charm of the city! I can't wait to be here for 3 more months!

A group of us went to Malmo, Sweden for the day, which is really easy to do now that there is a bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden. Most of the town was closed since it was Sunday, but it was cool to wander around another European city. It is much smaller than Copenhagen, which is not surprising as a Dane might say. Between the neighboring countries there is a lot of poking fun at one another, though it is all done in good fun, kind of the way Americans ridicule people from other regions or states. As a generalization, many people in Denmark are very sarcastic, but it is usually very easy to pick up on as they never mean to be hurtful. They may seem a little reserved, but once you break the ice they are really friendly and helpful. Back to Malmo, the castle there is called Malmohus and is rather small. It has been converted to the use of multiple museum exhibits, one of which was on the history of the castle. It's one claim to fame is that it held the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots prisoner for 3 years (which they had to convert the castle for). Heading to Malmo is a nice day trip, a lot of Danes go there for shopping as it is suppose to be less expensive.

February 27
Hi, my name is Laurel and I'm a junior at Gettysburg College, but this semester I am studying abroad with DIS, The Danish Institute for Study Program. I have a few friends who have been in Copenhagen previous semesters with DIS and as with all good experiences, no one had anything bad to say. So far I have been here a month and I am of the same mindset. Although my school requires that I stay with a host family, there are a variety of options open to students if you don't want to be with a family (although I love it!!). For me, living with a host family kind of brings a balance to the experience, plus I don't have to worry about where I am going to get dinner or if it is going to break my budget. Through DIS tuition, they provide accommodations and meals during the two study tours you take with your core class. You get to choose your core class, but it generally relates to your major; I am an economics major and I am in the IBE (international business and economics program) in which the core course is Doing Business in the EU. Anyway, I have been on the short study tour and will be leaving on the long study tour in a week and a half!! The short study tours are over a long weekend and many of the programs go to Western Denmark, although others were in Sweden and a group went to Berlin. I'll talk more about what I did later on. The long study tour is the first week of a three week break that we all get during March. I am traveling with my class to London and then Brussels. Most classes are large enough that there are two options, I choose London/Brussels over Berlin/Prague, partly because the EU is centered in Brussels, so I have high hopes for the trip. Well, I hope that gives you a little insight into the DIS program in Copenhagen.