the baltics.

helsinki


my travel break became significantly more exciting when i met up with my boyfriend timmy for another week of northern european adventures. my mom was extremely generous and gave him her frequent flyer miles so that he could come visit and what a treat it was. we are both so lucky that our travel dreams became actually became a reality! i flew from stockholm to helsinki and met him at the airport. we hit the ground running and took a bus to the student-y district just north of downtown helsinki, kallio, to meet up with the couple that was hosting us over the weekend. our hosts arho and paula were really kind and it was a great introduction to couchsurfing, the network of couches for travelers. we spent a fair amount of the weekend just hanging out with them, talking about life as a young adult in finland and the united states. we also saw a queen cover band playing at a bar, walked around the downtown area looking at the city’s impressive churches and other neoclassical official buildings, and tried to keep warm over coffee. for the most part the city was quiet and nondescript, as if everyone was just minding their own business and living life without having to succumb to tourists. it seemed very genuine. our biggest excursion while in helsinki was when we took a ferry to the sea fortress called suomenlinna (or sveaborg, in swedish) and the water was covered by chunks of ice, which made me a little nervous. the island is now home to a small community of families who live in the old military barracks; there appeared to be a fair amount of industry there as well. i’m sure it’s swamped with visitors in the summer but on that cold april morning we had the island’s bastions and ramparts to ourselves. we got a lovely view of the baltic sea and ate our lunch in peace. i really liked helsinki, although it ended up being kind of a blur, and i would like to return to finland someday. perhaps next time i will get a chance to explore the country’s northern reaches in lapland?

tallinn


we boarded a giant cruise boat in helsinki and rode four hours to the port of tallinn, estonia. the city is famous for its extraordinarily well-preserved old town with its medieval stone wall and gates— and with good reason. it is amazing to see that slice of history! tallinn was more touristy than i thought it would be, and we kept running into the same group of spanish tourists. we spent our two days there meandering around the old town’s winding cobblestone streets, taking in the juxtaposition of cute pastel-colored administrative buildings (their parliament is painted light pink) with run-down concrete homes. i enjoyed walking around toompea, the section of tallinn atop a hill, trying to see the surrounding area through heavy fog. we spent a while in tallinn’s top-notch museums: the photo museum, the occupation museum, the city history museum, the workshops of the craft association. we stayed in a nice but strange hostel that didn’t have a real kitchen. we eventually found ourselves in the modern part of the city, where the majority of the city’s residents live, and saw that it was not all so clean and well-preserved. we stumbled upon a local market where farmers were selling their crops alongside imported goods, cheap tennis shoes, babushka scarves, and lots of other knick-knacks. i am certain that among the sizeable crowd, timmy and i were the only people under 50. it was odd to consider what these tiny old estonian women (the shoppers were mostly women, but there were a few men there too) had been through in their lifetime. estonia was occupied by the third reich in world war two and then the soviet union until 1991. clearly these periods of occupation have impacted the national identity and morale in immeasurable ways, and it was seeing these market-goers that made me realize how influential the nation’s turbulent political changes must have been to these families.

rīga

our euroline bus took us four hours through the estonian countryside to reach latvia, where a landscape of dense forest and soft hills made up for our bus driver’s obsession with passing other drivers on a narrow, bumpy road. rīga, especially compared to tallinn, had a decidedly cosmopolitan feel. there were so many (young) people out and about, packing the sidewalks full. it was obvious that people were trying hard to look good, in contrast to tallinn where everyone had clearly gone through too much to care about what they looked like. the stereotypical eastern european aesthetic was very much at play among rīga’s citizens, with countless women teetering along in high heels, acid-washed jeans and big, fluffy hair. oddly enough these crowded streets and parks emptied at night, transforming the city into a mostly barren collection of art nouveau offices, churches and apartment blocks. i personally felt uneasy venturing out at night considering the drastic language barrier (i knew i was no longer in denmark, where literally everyone under the age of about 30 speaks near-fluent english) and rīga’s tourist-extortion schemes i had read about online. we definitely lucked out in finding a great hostel in central rīga. we stayed in a loft apartment in a very clean, safe and colorful building; while eating our free breakfast (!) in the common room, we met two other americans, who we ended up hanging out with for a few hours. one of them was taking two years to travel the entire world and had already made it to every country in south america as well as antarctica, asia and across russia. we dined on traditional latvian pancakes for dinner two nights in a row; the ridiculously low prices there made it possible for us to go out instead of cooking at the hostel. i was particularly impressed with the massive occupation museum in rīga, but we also made it to the architecture museum, the history and navigation museum, and their insane central market where you can literally find anything you would ever want. we accidentally walked into a room full of freshly butchered pigs’ heads and promptly turned around as my stomach was hit with a queasy wave…sadly our time in rīga ended on sort of a bad note as we experienced one pretty hellish day. we packed up early, checked out and walked through a heavy rain with all of our luggage in order to wait for a bus that would take us to the airport. the ride was about 45 minutes and was not at all pleasant considering the bus was way beyond its capacity and i stood clinging to my purse. i could barely see my other bags even though they were right next to me simply because of how crowded it was. the fun continued as we waited in a few outrageously long lines in the very poorly-designed rīga airport. our ryanair flight to liverpool was definitely the most terrifying flight i have ever experienced; i’m not sure if it seemed so scary because of my already frayed nerves or if the pilot was feeling very playful that day, but it could best be described as “a free for all” that at one point left us suspended nearly sideways above liverpool. we then had an hour-long bus ride and another 30 minutes of walking through the rain with heavy luggage before finding our couchsurfing host’s house in suburban manchester…. more manchester stories next time!

sweden.

this week has been pretty nuts getting back into the swing of things and trying to balance my rising amount of papers and group projects with time in the awesome spring sunshine. the good news is that DIS has insurance that will cover my computer. the bad news is that i have to buy a new one once i get back to the states and they will pay me back. thus, i will be spending quite a lot of time in the school computer lab for the next month! today i finally had time to sit down and blog. i will be posting about my travels in chunks as i have time to write them. so, here is what i have to say about sweden:


to be swedish is to be beautiful. that much is clear. after a week in sweden’s two biggest cities— stockholm and gőteborg (the third biggest city is malmő, which i visited in february)— i am still completely boggled as to how it was scientifically possible for so many beautiful people to be concentrated in one country. this country has many other virtues— home of H&M, ikea, clogs, swedish fish (the candy) and swedish pancakes— and i was enamored with their fantastic architecture and design as well as their much-cheaper-than-denmark prices. it is a retail heaven. before i left i had learned that although sweden and denmark share similar cultures, languages, and history, their respective approaches to immigration and integration have taken divergent paths, especially in recent years. in particular, i was intrigued by the 2007 MIPEX report that ranked sweden as the EU country with the best practices towards integration while denmark tied for 21st place (out of 28)…denmark clearly has some work to do on that front.



gőteborg, or gothenburg as it is known to us, was a lovely place to begin my journey. the city is located about half way up sweden’s west coast and it was a very nice five-hour bus ride from Copenhagen through mostly agricultural countryside. gőteborg has a reputation for being a gritty industrial city; although volvo certainly has a large presence in town, in general i found it to be very charming and sophisticated. their tram system (made famous by singer jens lekman’s song “tram #7 to heaven”) was enormously confusing and on multiple occasions resulted in me riding the entire length of the route, until it turned around and went the direction i intended to go in the first place. my hostel was in a cute section of town called olivegatan, located about two minutes away from a giant park. i spent quite a few hours wandering around the winding paths in that park!

an international flavor spicing the streets of gothenburg was immediately apparent as i walked around the downtown shopping district as well as the more residential areas of the city, through the faces of the people, the types of shops, the food being sold, and the languages i heard spoken. at the city museum i learned that gothenburg has been home to migrants from around europe for hundreds of years and thus, the coexistence of people from many different backgrounds is not a new concept for the city. this ethnic mix was refreshing coming from copenhagen, where the heterogeneity of the population is essentially limited to ethnic danes and those with middle eastern roots. one memorable sight was a somali woman wearing a niqab— exposing only her eyes— waiting for a tram alongside a bunch of teenage punks sporting lots of mohawks, chains, piercings and tattoos. no one, including the woman or the teens, seemed to notice this unusual combination but i found it to be an odd yet interesting contrast. while sitting in the main square called brunnsparken, the concept of tolerance kept coming to mind. i saw all types of people: punks, skaters, hipsters...openly gay couples, mixed-race couples...people with special needs and of all ages. in that sense it reminded me of say, san francisco. it brought to mind richard florida's theory that an economically successful city is one that is creative; creativity, he believes, hinges upon tolerance, talent and technology. there was certainly an air of tolerance as all these people shared the same public space and went about their business peacefully. according to florida, this accepting attitude could contribute to the city’s active creative sector and recent economic regeneration.



stockholm seemed a lot like copenhagen in terms of its neoclassical architecture, viking past, difficult language, blonde population, reputation for high-end design, wealthy economy and welfare state. the city is much bigger, however, and even more beautiful because of all the water surrounding it. stockholm felt to me like sweden's new york city: the cultural (and in this case, political) capital of the country, certainly the largest and most cosmopolitan city, and a magnet for all types of people. i spent nearly a whole day at the vast moderna museet (modern art museum) and another long day at an odd open-air museum called skansen. i usually love those historical reenactment-type museums, but this one was strange because it featured buildings from all over sweden and from many different time periods as well as random animals (lemurs, monkeys, and reindeer in close proximity). nonetheless, i thoroughly enjoyed stockholm’s museums, shopping opportunities, and sunny weather!

stockholm is the hipster capital of the world. while sitting in a square trying to soak up as much sun as possible one afternoon, i entertained myself by creating a set of criteria for becoming a stockholm hipster: 1. skinny jeans and/or black tights. 2. oversized black coat or fitted leather jacket. 3. must be able to ride a bike while smoking a cigarette and/or using a cell phone. 4. must not have any body fat nor own a hairbrush. 5. footwear limited to ked, oxfords and leather boots. 6. special preference given to those with adorable children. the truth of the matter is, i am not cool enough for stockholm. it is a really appealing city but after traveling by myself for a number of days and being constantly surrounded by gorgeous people speaking a foreign language, it began to wear on me…

back in cph, down a computer

whew! i am back in copenhagen in one piece! what a whirlwind, what an amazing, memorable, enjoyable journey it was. i had a great time in all of the places i visited but was especially pleased with stockholm and manchester. of course i am thrilled that i was able to see gothenburg, helsinki, tallinn and riga (and a teeny bit of london) but i am glad to be settled in one place, doing laundry. although i managed to travel through seven countries in three weeks without a single hiccup such as a missed flight/bus/train, i arrived in copenhagen to discover that someone had broken into my host family's house last week (they were on vacation too) and stole several laptops, including mine. of course i left my computer here rather than bringing it with me to keep it safe! the police have been notified and the family has installed a new security system but i am devastated that i may have permanently lost my beloved computer-- it stored literally all of my music, photos, and everything i have written in the past three years. that and the amount of work i have to do this week are worrying me and of course i am exhausted from traveling as well. so, i will begin posting more about my travel break at a later date and who knows what i will do with the 800 pictures on my camera! fingers crossed for all of our stuff to be returned...eek!

bulgaria!

it is surreal that i have been to bulgaria and back! it was the epitome of a whirlwind trip, with only about two hours of free time on our own… it was very eye-opening and surprised me more than i thought it would. bulgaria definitely reminded me much more of south africa than western europe— it was pretty much the complete opposite of denmark in terms of the economic, political and social architecture. poverty, corruption and the black market play an unfortunately large role in bulgaria today; i was not expecting the packs of stray dogs, using squat toilets, or such poorly maintained buildings. i still can’t believe it is part of the EU. nonetheless, here are the details: i went with my core class/program, entitled “migration and identity.” so far this semester we have been looking at mostly immigration issues, such as conflicts surrounding the waves of muslim immigrants to denmark in the past 40 or so years. we only got a very basic introduction to bulgaria before we left, so my knowledge of the migration and identity issues they have was pretty limited. on the trip we focused on the massive brain drain (thousands of educated young people have left bulgaria since the communist regime ended in 1989), the role of religion in shaping bulgarian identity (the country is overwhelmingly eastern orthodox christian), minority populations (roma and muslim people) and the country’s integration into the EU. each of these was illuminated in different ways, but mostly through lectures, site visits to ngos, and by keeping our eyes peeled as we made our way through bulgaria’s two biggest cities, sofia and plovdiv.

first of all, i’d like to give a brief history of the country: the area now called bulgaria was first inhabited around 4000 bc by the thracians. it was then peopled by slavs and bulgars as part of the roman empire. the nation of bulgaria was founded in 681. bulgarians invented the cyrillic alphabet…and yogurt. the bulgarians were under the yoke of the ottoman empire for 500 years but retained their own identity as orthodox christians instead of assimilating under the muslim turks. they gained independence in 1878, allied with germany in the world wars, and fell under soviet control in 1944. their communist era lasted until 1989, at which point a chaotic but peaceful “romantic revolution” swept the country. by 2000 over 1 million students had emigrated due to political instability and a lack of opportunities. they joined the EU in 2007. today the nation is home to about 7.5 million people— that’s 2 million more than denmark.

on our journey we visited sofia first. sofia possessed nearly all the negative qualities of a big city but we didn’t have time to discover the positive parts. it didn’t help that it was snowing and/or overcast while we were there and the garbage collectors were on strike, but my general impression of the city was that of grime, trash, traffic, and ruthless rain. as we drove from the airport to the center of town, we passed what seemed like mile after mile of crumbling concrete apartment towers which strongly evoked bulgaria’s soviet past. realizing that all of the signs were in cyrillic and we literally couldn’t even guess what they said made me realize how far east (and generally removed from the familiarity of western europe) we were. we attempted to check into our hostel only to find that we were actually staying in three separate buildings; the one i was in was on the fourth floor of a residential building and was clearly someone’s apartment turned into a ten-person dorm. the situation was a bit of a mess and left a bad taste in our mouths.

our time in sofia was occupied with a tour of the absolutely gorgeous aleksander nevski church, a folk dancing workshop (so much fun!), a meeting with ethnographers who spoke to us about the roma minority in bulgaria, a trip to the european commission, a chat with a freelance journalist who emigrated but recently returned to bulgaria, a morning in bulgaria’s largest roma (aka gypsy) community, two lectures at the open society institute and many vast group dinners. some of the information we gathered in sofia — such as the degree to which the roma minority is marginalized—was conflicting, but thought-provoking. our time in the roma neighborhood was certainly an experience: although they have been settled in that particular site for over 100 years, a nomadic mindset had influenced their decision not to build permanent houses or create a system of infrastructure. thus, trash was literally piled several feet high in many places; most dwellings were falling apart, and very of the few of the people we met had a complete education, full-time job, or much contact with the world outside their segregated community. it is interesting to note, however, that more people greeted us with smiles in this enormously impoverished, makeshift city than in sofia itself.

our trip to rila monastery, in the snowy rila mountains, was a breath of fresh air after a few days in sofia. we were greeted with sunshine (i think this was a sign) as we checked into our lovely, simple, mountaintop hotel. the monastery has been in existence in way or another for hundreds of years, and its current incarnation is simply amazing. the detail put into the ornate icon paintings all around (inside and outside) the church is mind-blowing! it was a wonder of art and i really, really enjoyed visiting here. we spent a quiet 24 hours there which definitely bolstered my positive feelings towards bulgaria.

our third and final stop was plovdiv, by far my favorite place. we stayed in the city center, tucked into a maze of narrow cobblestone streets centered around an ancient roman amphitheatre. the old town had a sleepy feel to it and i felt completely safe meandering around it— a huge change from sofia. while in plovdiv we visited an incredible 13th century mosque, the ethnographic museum, and met with local university students. and more enormous dinners were consumed— i think i ate about five pounds of feta cheese in bulgaria. we shared an absolutely epic meal with the university students on our last evening there. in our four (!!!) hours at the restaurant we were served platter after platter after platter of traditional fare: feta pizza, grilled vegetables, salad, and copious amounts of all kinds of meat. at first the quantity of food on our tables was laughable but it soon became over the top and we all felt bad wasting so much of it. the evening was made more ridiculous as a group of traditional (yet rather touristy and cheesy) folk dancers provided an hour of entertainment. i’ll never forget that meal! on our final morning, some classmates and i woke up early to walk to our favorite spot on a hill overlooking plovdiv. we took in the scenery and then managed to find the only ice cream shop open at that hour and buy waffle cones for breakfast!

going with a group of 40 people certainly had its advantages (i didn’t really have to do any planning or decision-making on my own, worry too much about the language barrier, and pay very much out of pocket) but also some serious downsides, such as being completely conspicuous and sort of taking over everywhere we went. it was tough dealing with everyone’s special needs: we had seven vegetarians (including myself), three lactose-intolerant people, and one gluten-free girl; i’d say about half of our group was sick at one point or another. however, i got a chance to talk with nearly everyone and had a wonderful time hanging out with these interesting folks! i am very glad i went with DIS because i probably wouldn’t have even made it to bulgaria nor figured out all the details of visiting the smaller towns on my own. our guide velko was just awesome, and the DIS intern co-leading the trip was extremely helpful and friendly. i can’t imagine going to bulgaria without them! all in all it was a fascinating, unique, and very worthwhile trip that i will always remember; if you ever make it there, just remember to bring your own toilet paper!

spring break begins!

nothing too terribly exciting to report from here except that spring is finally here!! it has been absolutely gorgeous here, making us all giddy! i went to the top of the round tower, an observatory built by king christian iv, and took in the 360 degree view of copenhagen. (pictured) it was breathtaking, but the heavy wind might have contributed to that feeling...

the semester is more than half-way through. the good news is i got "a"s on every midterm! i studied hard so that is reassuring. as of five hours ago, spring break is officially here. i leave for bulgaria with my core class (called "cross-cultural encounters") tomorrow at 6:30 am! we just got our itinerary and it looks fantastic. we'll be going to an orthodox monastery, taking a folk dancing class, visiting a roma community, hearing lectures at the universities in sofia and plovdiv...i am really really looking forward to every single moment of it-- just not the part where i can't communicate because i can't speak bulgarian or read cyrillic. hmmm. oh, and it's supposed to snow heavily there, so while it is finally warming up in scandinavia we will be heading south into snow?! weird. i probably won't post or check email in bulgaria but am coming back to copenhagen for a day before leaving for the second leg(s) of my spring break journey. best wishes and vi ses!

enjoying denmark's art and ballet

at louisiana museum of art ("the invisible museum"):

the new opera house:



things continue to go very well here! two afternoons last week were spent wandering around vesterbro, the once-seedy but now-trendy working class district just west of the old city, with my classmate/friends kristy and alex. the houses we were looking at, although built for the poor laborers during the era of rapid industrialization, are still stately and mostly neoclassical in style. there are blocks and blocks of these uniform five-story-tall stone structures, with little space between or around them. it’s hard to fathom this area (or anywhere in copenhagen, for that matter) as poor or “ghetto”-like (danes seem to love throwing that word around), but apparently about 100 years ago it was very grungy. i would have enjoyed completing the scavenger-hunt-style assignment more if the light but constant drizzle had lifted and we hadn’t gone lost so many times, but it was still enjoyable to acquaint ourselves with another part of the city.

it’s been another busy and cultured weekend, which i am happy about. friday evening’s ritual has become watching “x factor,” the equivalent of american idol for denmark. there are some lively contestants, including 15-year-old conor oberst wannabe lucas and his fellow babyfaced 15-year-old named mohamed, who is quite a ham. (on youtube: mohamed-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt3ks9mkvtk&feature=related or of lucas-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amkq9pj3iss). they mostly sing in english but sometimes i can’t understand them. i can’t understand what the judges have to say either, which makes it all the more entertaining. each week has a theme: last week’s was abba and this week’s was “big band.” i think the theme is pretty open to interpretation because under the big band umbrella were songs by beyonce and britney spears…

yesterday i made it to the louisiana museum of modern art, which is highly acclaimed and for good reason! often called “the invisible museum” because it blends in so organically with its natural surroundings— the green, sculpted hills of the northern coast— it is an architectural wonder of glass and wood. their collections are awesome, very much the type of art i’m in to. their temporary retrospective on max ernst was thorough and thought-provoking. a beautiful museum, a great location, a lot of money but a worthwhile experience!

after taking the train back to town (louisiana is about 45 minutes north) i wandered around the upscale residential neighborhood of osterbro with my friend alex. we didn’t really have an agenda and had a good time (despite the rain…again) seeing a big public park made from what used to be copenhagen’s defensive bastions and ramparts, a quiet cemetery, the lakes, and the extremely ugly american embassy.

the evening was rounded out with yet another awesome cultural experience: the royal danish ballet!! that was definitely on my list of things to do in copenhagen because i have been a big fan of theirs since i watched a documentary about them in elementary school. my friend meggie told me she was going to the premiere of “b for balanchine” this weekend and i jumped at the opportunity to go with her. i bought my ticket online and went for the cheapest possible (about $20 usd)— without realizing that “ståplads” meant standing room…luckily the usher let me sit in an empty 3rd-balcony seat right before the show began! the show was at the brand new opera house, commissioned by the wealthy old man who owns the shipping company maersk. this was a scandal because usually the danish state provides such buildings, not private investors. it lies directly across the harbor from the queen’s residence at amalienborg, which means it is lovely to regard but kind of a pain to get to. i walked from the metro station on my own, which took about 40 minutes because i got lost. taking the bus back with my friends was a much wiser choice! nonetheless, the building is spectacular. i’ve heard it described as looking like a buick because of the horizontal grill across the front, but i quite like it. it is simply enormous and the huge, spherical, orange-hued wood orb containing the theatre itself reminded me of a giant piece of fruit. the scale of the windows and walkways and skybridges made me feel like i was standing in an architectural sketch, not reality. the interior is lined with mahogany wood and thousands of tiny lights. hard to describe but really striking! right before the show began everyone stood up and became silent. i thought this was to honor the conductor as he walked into the pit, but learned it was for the beloved danish queen margrethe ii! she sat in the first balcony and watched the show with the rest of us! she is an artist who often designs sets and costumes for the ballet. the whole idea of a working but still honored royal queen is pretty cool, and pretty danish.

the program consisted of three movements by balanchine, one of my favorite choreographers of all time. they began with one of his signature no-frills, pure movement-type of pieces. (i don’t know the exact name because you had to pay for a program and i didn’t have enough money on me!) the principal and soloist dancers were amazingly crisp and precise, had enormous stage presence and were an absolute joy to watch. there was a large corps part as well but they seemed to be a little off in terms of unison. perhaps this was intentional, as balanchine sometimes likes to throw off your expectations, but it wasn’t danced with enough confidence to convince me of that. the second movement was an excerpt from the story ballet “la sonnambula” and although a world apart from the minimalism of the first piece, also well-executed. the dancer who played the part of la sonnambula had supreme grace as she boureed her tiny pointed feet across the stage without even a twitch of her upper body. the final piece, symphony in c, was a joyful abstract-but-classical ballet (i.e. there was no story but they still wore tutus and tiaras) which demonstrated the royal ballet’s world-class talent. the combination of the clean choreography, the dancers’ meticulous technique, the harmonious live orchestra, and this beautiful building made for a memorable night at the ballet!!

more ribe

i made this little collage on photoshop today...