WOW! We can't believe we are already halfway through our trip! These past two weeks have been the longest, yet fastest days. We have been going like crazy, trying to make every minute of our trip over here count. And here we are now...in Denmark! It is so crazy how different every city has been. In Copenhagen, it feels like we are in a completely different world. There are SO many bikes, beautiful water (the harbor is clean enough to swim in!), boats, and buildings in practically every color. This city feels somewhat similar to Amsterdam (with all of the bicycles, water, and rows of dense buildings), but on a larger scale. So here's what we;be been up to for the past couple of days! Day 1: Watch out, CopenhagenSo, as we said before...EVERYONE here rides bikes! Half of the city population bikes to work/school every day! The city is very bicylce-friendly, with an entire, raised pathway just for cyclists (not like what we're used to in the U.S. Where there is a narrow path on the side of the street that was "squeezed" in for bikes). So...what better way to explore the city like locals than to rent a couple of bikes! It was a little tricky at first, but actually really easy (despite Becca's fear of crashing, and Katlyn's inability to stop and start properly!). But we survived, and got places A LOT faster! Lunch on Nyhavn | What a small world! We happened to be in Copenhagen at the same time as some friendly faces! We ran in to Whitney and Chris, (Becca's-uncle's sister and husband), and they treated us to lunch along the very vibrant and bustling Nyhavn! This street once served as the place where sailor's would come and visit the restaurants and bars when stopping in Copehenhagen, and now serves as a busy must-see for tourists. There is a collection of old ships sitting in the harbor, and serve as a kind of 'museum' to look back into the past when Copenhagen was a huge port that relied on importing/exporting goods. We tried "Smørrebrød", a traditional Danish open-faced style sandwhich (dark, rye bread, with various toppings such as pickled herring, cabbage, mayonnaise, or potatoes). Needless to say, we didn't venture for the pickled herring ;) But it was delicious! Exploring the city! | The rest of the day (although a little chilly and rainy), we spent exploring the beautiful city! Day 2Firm tour of 3XN | We were very warmly welcomed by the Danish architecture firm, 3XN this morning! 3XN is a larger-sized firm with a great variety of project-types. They have a very diverse office, with designers from all over the world, so English is the common language among their team. We learned that European projects are different from American ones in the fact that every government-funded project must go out for 'competition', to allow firms the chance to try and create the most suitable designs. In the US, it is a bit different - projects are more of an interview-based process. 3XN had an entire competition department, as well as a research and innovation team ("GXN"). We were invited to sit down to a traditional Danish-style office lunch a concept very different than what we are used to! It is common practice in Denmark for offices to provide lunch for their employees everyday. We were treated to a buffet of different types of Danish foods, and sat down in the community area where the employees all sat down together and chatted. It seemed like an incredibly friendly environment, that would be a wonderful place to work! While at 3XN, we had a great discussion about the differences in US and European views of "sustainable design". In Europe, "sustainable living" and "sustainable design" is just living and design. The words "green" and "sustainable aren't used very often, because it is simply the common standard to design and live as shepards of the land. This mindset starts at a very young age, with things like "Nature Kindergarten" (a primary school class where the students go outside into the forest every day, rain or shine, and learn about nature and do outdoor activities to help them develop necessary skills). We also learned that it is fairly common that buildings do not receive "green certifications" (like LEED or BREAM), but actually meet all of the necessary qualifications to be certified. Day 3Walking Tour through the city | Copenhagen offered FREE walking tours of the city, where we were able to learn a lot about the history, as well as the current state of the city. We saw a lot of the iconic buildings and areas of the city, including the Royal Palace and several beautiful churches. Fun fact: in the dense residential neighborhoods, you can distinguish the older buildings from the newer ones by the way the corners are designed. The older buildings have 90 degree angles for corners, while the 'newer' ones are cut at a diagonal angle. The reason for this is because the city experienced a terrible fire, and the fire fighters were unable to get through the dense neighborhoods with their long ladders because of the sharp corners. So after the fire, the new buildings were required to have diagonal corners so they could move through the dense areas easier! Frederik's Church | This amazing church is located right in the center of the city, next to the palace square. The dome of this cathedral is actually the largest in Scandinavia, and is in the Rococco style. Being inside was simply magnificent. It is too bad that churches are no longer designed and built like these, but I guess they wouldn't be as special as they are now :) Walking along the harbor: The Little Mermaid, Paper Island, and the Kastellet | Our afternoon was spent wandering around the harbor to see all of the beautiful sights! We started with lunch at "Paper Island", which was an amazing 'street food' area featuring foods from around the world. We of course had some potatoes for lunch, and finished off with some delicious Danish ice cream! After lunch, we walked along the harbor to find the Little Mermaid statue...an icon of Danish culture and government. This poor little statue has received a lot of negative attention over the years, having been decapitated twice, her arms cut off once, and even blown up! She was actually vandalized just a couple days prior to our visit to see her, but she was nice and cleaned up by then! We then stopped by the star-shaped military fortress, the Kastellet. This was such a quiet and serene space, and we even found a giant old windmill! (probably our favorite part of the day!) Day 4: Last day in CopenhagenBotanical Gardens and the Glass Houses | This morning, we stopped by the inner-city botanical gardens. WOW were they beautiful! While walking through, it was amazing to believe that we were actually in the middle of the city. It felt like we were in an oasis! We also were able to go inside the "Palm House", a massive greenhouse that has a large variety of tropical plants inside. It was very hot an humid, so we didn't stay there long. What a beautiful way to start out our morning :) Rosenberg Castle and Gardens | We biked next door to visit the historic castle in the middle of the city. The castle was surrounded by beautiful gardens (that were once extremely expensive to maintain and went into disrepair when the castle residents were unable to pay for it), and it was filled with people enjoying the beautiful morning! People in the city of Copenhagen are very active, and truly love enjoying the outdoors...they seem to take full advantage of all of the parks throughout the city. Changing of the Guard at the palace | We then biked on over to the Royal Palace to witness the changing of the guards, which was quite an elaborate experience! Since we weren't able to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London, we were very glad to be able to make it to this one! The entire procession was filled with a marching band, and an elaborate sequence of officers marching throughout the palace grounds as they changed guards for the next shift. There were people everywhere, but we got there early enough and had a fantastic view :) UN City Building | We biked (pretty far!) to see one of the very sustainable buildings of Copenhagen - the star-shaped UN Building. Unfortunately, we weren't able to tour the inside (apparently, you had to sign up well ahead of time), but we could enjoy the views from the exterior. The building takes advantage of solar panels and even has a sea-water cooling system. The star-shape of the building allows for an abundance of natural light. This building was also designed by 3XN, the firm we were able to tour while in the city! Other random sights! | Throughout our bike ride through the city, we also stopped to take a look at other sustainable designs of Copenhagen, including the Crystal, the Black Diamond building, and the European School. Traditional Danish baked goods! | On our way back to our place, we couldn't resist stopping into a local bakery to try some freshly baked Danish treats!
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