Hei, Kiitos, Moikka: Helsinki

Before my weekend jaunt up to Finland I could not have placed the country on a map.  My basic knowledge told me: 1) it isn't in Russia, 2) it's cold, 3) there may be reindeer.  Not much to go on.  But!  I am happy to say that it is an existing Scandinavian country just to the right of Sweden, and about an hour and a half flight from Copenhagen.

I went up to Helsinki this past weekend with three of my friends from DIS.  We had incredible, sunny weather in the mid-50s, AKA t-shirt weather according to the locals.  I don't know about that, but I can say that I got my full dose of Vitamin D for the next few weeks.

8 a.m. waterside walk

I also feel confident saying that the four of us essentially packed the most into this weekend that we possibly could have.  After arriving at 6:30 Friday evening and riding a city bus into town, we set to work finding our hotel.  I don't want to be overly critical, but word to the wise: this lovely 3-star in Finland is La Quinta-level by US standards.  Apparently the hotel was in the old "working girls neighborhood" (great), and the elevators almost gave me a panic attack.  The thing may have been half the size of a typical shower.  And supposedly fit 4 people... Good one, Cumulus Olympia.

After a great night of sleep with my calves and feet hanging off the end of the trundle bed mattress, we were up and at 'em at 7:30 for a day of exploration!!!  One of my roommate's friends from home is Finnish and living in Helsinki for the next 7 years (the time it will take him to repeat high school and go to university), and he offered to show us around town.  Saturday's Itinerary:

8:00: Up at the crack of freaking dawn to walk around and look at the water. Ooh, pretty... Too bad it's 8 in the morning, people.

9:00-12:00: Take a ferry to Suomenlinna, an old sea fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Now this was cool.  The island is still inhabited, so there are lots of little shops around.  There are also amazing walking paths, historical sites, and photo ops.

12:00-1:00: Return to the mainland and head to a rooftop bar, called the Ateljee Bar.  Amazing, amazing views.  And some delicious "Finnish" drink that is a basic spin on my signature G&T.  

1:00-4:00: Walk to the Market Square, Lutheran Cathedral, and Russian Orthodox Church, called the Ravintola Sipuli. 

4:00-6:30: Home for THE BEST NAP OF MY LIFE.

9:00-3:00: Out on the town.  Hilarity ensues.

• To quote Dane Cook, have a "I just wanna dance!" kind of night.  Loving life.
• Suddenly, with an Albanian man who is at least 10 years older than me.  Wonder when that happened.
• Try to ditch with the bathroom line.
• He is waiting for me outside the bathroom.  
• Try to ditch with the crying best friend line.
• He's not buying it.
• Somehow he manages to dance while spinning me in circles.  Not his best idea.
• Decide to "go home"
• End up chatting with some random Finnish guys, make plans for coffee tomorrow (right)
• Miss three trains to go home.
• Nice English man informs us we'd better get on this train, as it's the last one for the night.  Righty-o, sir.  

***As an aside to my mother: I was never in any danger, was totally in control of the situation, and did not get robbed.  

Reminds me that fall is in full swing

Ferry ride to the island

Suomenlinna

Rooftop!

Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki

Russian Orthodox Church, Ravintola Sipuli

Sweet cover band pre dance floor

Sunday morning rolls around, and after eating breakfast we remember our Finnish buddy from the night before!  Tom comes through and offers to take us to a spot lots of locals go for coffee.  After a bit of a hike, we arrived at this amazing little cafe set on the coast of Helsinki.  After paying an initial 2 Euro for coffee, the cafe pays you 0,05 Euro for every cup you have afterwards.  Not sure about the business sense behind this one, but I like it.

Outside the Regatta Cafe

After coffee/tea, we went to Temppeliaukio Kirkko, or the Rock Church.  This entire church was carved into a rock hill, and the ceiling is a copper dome.  We made it to the church five minutes before closing... such a success.

Temppeliakio Kirkko from the outside

Inside - altar directly in front

Eventually, we went back to the Lutheran Church to take some pictures of the inside (Saturday it was closed for baptisms and weddings).  We also ended up lazing around on the steps because it was such nice weather.  All in all, I would say the weekend can be summed up with this shot:

Photo Cred: Carrie Winans

Castles and Beer - A Natural Combination

So let’s pick this back up: day 3.  Feeling fabulous on my 8:15am bus ride.

Drive for 4 miserable, all-too-bright hours, only to arrive slightly worse for the wear in a fairytale land!!!  Complete with castle, 8 acres of gardens, butterfly garden, and lunch. 

It was so, so beautiful and a relatively nice day to be walking around.  We got a tour of the home, which is still occupied by the current baron and his family, as well as a neat private chapel that is attached.  This manor house, called Gavnø Castle, houses the single largest collection of Danish paintings in the world.  When I say the walls are practically plastered with paintings, I mean it.  And speaking of plaster, the ceilings still have the original Italian plaster work, completed in the mid-1700s.  I wanted to rip it down and attach it to my own ceilings, but apparently this is generally frowned upon in Denmark. 

Formal Dining Room

Just look at that!

After a very long and somewhat tedious tour of the castle (because really, how many paintings can you look at), I was feeling extraordinarily parched.  Imagine my pure joy when I hear that there is a microbrewery on the premises!  And we are going!  I mean, if you insist.

Feeling fully recovered from the previous night, I eagerly await the first bottle.  It comes, as does the second, and the third, and the fourth, and “would anyone like to try our most alcoholic beer?  It has a lot of hops!”  Oh, pick me sir. 

Føniks Slotsbryggeriet.  Delicious beer, as I recall.  

Back to bus.  Nighty night for an hour and a half, and then, Copenhagen!  The End of a very fun weekend full of bonding with my class.  I cannot wait to head to London with these people at the beginning of October.  

A

You Mean There's More to Denmark Than CPH?

The past few days have been a total whirlwind.  My program, International Business, went on a three day field trip Thursday-Saturday.  We went to western Denmark, which is a really pretty and quirky place—definitely different from Copenhagen. 

First stop: Saxo Bank, just outside of Copenhagen.  Saxo is an online Danish investment bank, which has expanded itself into several international markets.  We were there for about three hours; the head of Marketing for Latin America, Spain and Portugal talked with us, then we had a tour of the building, and we ended on the trading floor.  The inside of the building is uh-maz-ing.  The current CEO passionately supports the arts, and has therefore filled the entire 5-floor building with (seriously expensive) modern art and sculptures.  It almost feels more like a gallery than a workplace. 

Exterior of building
Photo Cred: Vizeer.com

Interior staircase
Photo Cred: Vizeer.com

After the visit, we got back on the bus.  As you’ll see, this is pretty common.  Later that day we arrived in Silkeborg, Denmark.  Go kayaking on some random river in nice jeans and boots.  Starts to rain as soon as we get on the water.  Get drenched.  Off the water I go.  Dinner, out, home to our “quaint” hostel.  Read that last part how you will. 

Next morning we went to Bang & Olufsen.  This was my absolute favorite company visit.  B&O is a very exclusive electronics brand, producing technology for private consumers, car companies like Audi, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and hotels, including the Mandarin and Four Seasons.  It was awesome to hear them talk about how they have positioned themselves in a niche market (they consider brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel closer competitors than Samsung or Phillips), weathered the financial downturn, protected themselves from counterfeit goods sold on the Internet and on streets, blah blah blah stuff that non-business majors are skimming right now.  

Stand outs:

•  Toured the factory where all of their products are tested and made
•  Played with a 103” flat screen TV, retailing for approximately 750,000 DKK, or 150,000 USD
•  Sat in a room and felt the couch vibrating under my butt because the base on their speakers was incredible... cool.

Back on the bus.  Have been told that we are going to a wine and cheese tasting!  The day has started looking even better.  Drive, drive, drive.  Stop at random shack in the middle of nowhere (see exhibit A) and are told we are going CAVING.  As in, walking about the largest manmade limestone caves in the world in business casual… and then they feed me cheese.  And wine. 

Okay, sounds doable. 

Exhibit A

Walk around caves.  Scuff my flats (still a little annoyed), get dirt and possible bat by-product dropped on my head, feel slightly claustrophobic, and then, the coolest multimedia show I’ve ever seen.  The cave had fantastic acoustics, and they projected images onto the rock.  So neat.  Definitely do not go out of your way for the Monsted Kalkgruber, but hey, if you’re ever in the neighborhood…

Finally, they feed me the promised cheese and wine.  After all the build up, the experience was slightly anti-climactic.  It was, by far, the most stinky/rank/pungent cheese I have ever have ever smelt, but it apparently considered a delicacy in Germany.  

To complete our day, we drove to Herning, Denmark.  The hostel provided a great dinner – was not previously aware that this was possible – and then we took cabs into town.  Fun times, AKACarlsberg and KARAOKE, ensue. (You may or may not have heard, but in some circles I am known as a karaoke superstar.  Aguilera level.  No, possibly Adele level.  As are the other 20 year old American business students I was with.)  We gave the best renditions of Like a Prayer, Sweet Caroline, My Heart Will Go On, Wannabe, Bohemian Rhapsody, and two more hours worth of karaoke that bar and its patrons have ever heard.

Ladies
Photo Cred: Britt Sands

Anddd the guys
Photo Cred: Britt Sands

I am getting carried away - I think I’ll just make a part two (or three if you count my landscapes from before). 

A

Landscapes from Western Denmark

I was gone all weekend on an extended field trip to Western Denmark.  We hit up some very, very remote places, some of which were cooler than others.  More soon about the trip!

For now, I'll provide a few of my pictures - lucky for y'all, my obsession with beautiful landscapes provides some nice photographs.  There were --

Long bridges: this one called the Storebæltsbroen, or "Great Belt Bridge", connecting Zealand and Funen

Storebæltsbroen

Fields: lots and lots of fields

Unsurprisingly, it started raining soon after this picture

Waterfront: this taken in Struer, Denmark, AKA as far from Copenhagen as possible while still remaining in Denmark

Blue, blue, blue

And other random things:

Field with a stone wall, taken outside of limestone caves

Oh-so-dark caves

Manicured lawns

and a manor house

Isn't it nice that you can't even tell it was never above 65 degrees?!  At least there was sunshine : )

Chance of Rain, 100%

You know, I like rain as much as the next person.  Something about the way the streets glisten, Northface jackets slick off fat droplets, and strangers come together to stay dry.  I like the sounds and smells of rain; everything, from bakeries and coffee to car exhaust and crying children seems more charming.  After the rain is done, a city is an infinitely cleaner and brighter place.

But sometimes, when your Longchamp is soaked through and the smell of Hunter rubber makes you want to gag and someone dumped their umbrella on top of yours and how the hell is the rain possibly blowing sideways and I swear to God if another person bumps their wet slimy hairy arm against mine I'll scream

I. 

Really. 

Wish. 

It. 

Would. 

Stop. 

Raining.

Paludan Bogcafe on Fiolstræde

After a week of spending a shocking amount of money for a single shot latte here in København, I have finally found the answer to my (wallet's) prayers.  Located on Fiolstræde, Paludan Bogcafe is a quaint café and bookshop that serves a strong double-shot latte for a mere 20 dkk... AKA $4.  (Double this number and you get the ludicrous number I have been paying at Baresso, Denmark's equivalent of Starbucks.)


Fiolstræde is one street over from me, and the café itself is right across from the University of Copenhagen's old main library building, now off-limits to the public and housing special collections.  Paludan has been a hang-out for several famous Danish writers since its opening in 1895.  They serve brunch, dinner and a few breakfast items, as well as a full array of coffee, tea, alcoholic drinks and smoothies.  I can only speak for the lattes and pain au chocolat - both muy bueno... er I mean meget god. 

From the street

The inside is split level, with the bookstore downstairs and the upstairs dedicated to tables for studying, writing and socializing.  The walls upstairs are lined with old books, all in Danish, and free to be used (if you can understand them, of course).  

From my vantage point

The floors are original and oh my God, I wish I could pry them up and use them in my own house. Look at the planks!

There is also a room that serves as a gallery for local artists.  The current display is very modern, and not really my thing, but I did snap a quick shot of my favorite painting.  Arbeit macht frei means "Work makes you free" in German, and is often recognized as being the phrase on the gates of Auschwitz.  I'm sure the heart in a cage has some deeper meaning blah blah blah, but I just like the colors.  

Finally, the Paludan is apparently an extremely "Danish" place to hang out.  Not only was I spoken to in Danish three times in less than 10 minutes when I first arrived, but I also apparently look so Danish that people assume my language skills extend past hello, thanks,  cheers, and Carlsberg.  Take, for example, this lovely little exchange between me and the too-chic-to-function Danish woman next to me this morning.  


Me: "Hej, can I ask you a question?"
Lady: grunts
Me: "What's the password for the Internet?"
Lady: mutters "Christmas2009"


I type that in. 
Airport: Invalid password


Me: "Sorry, Christmas2009?"
Lady: "Yes, you know. J-U-L-E-N 2009."
Me: "Ah yah yah, mange tak."


I type that in.
Airport: Invalid password


Too embarrassed to ask again, I put my computer away.  Later, I looked up how to spell Christmas in Danish.  J-U-L. Huh.  Thanks a lot lady.


#CPHstruggles