April 2017 – W&L Corporate Social Responsibility

Trip to Vienna

One of my favorite things about being in Europe is your ability to travel to another country with ease for a weekend. On Monday Cole and I decided to book a flight and go to Vienna this weekend. Our flight was at 8:05 pm on Thursday and we arrived around 9:50 pm. Although our weekend was thrown together last minute we had an awesome time. I started off the weekend going to St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the city center. I went to the top of this historic site and saw a beautiful overview of the city. After that, I got lunch at an authentic Austrian restaurant called Figlmüller near the city center where I tried schnitzel, an Austrian dish that I really enjoyed. Next, I went to the Kunst Historisches Museum Wien, a massive art museum located in the museum district of Vienna. Although I have no knowledge of art history I enjoyed seeing four floors of art from painters to Greek and Roman antiques. The next day I went on a tour of the city which also included seeing the Schönbrunn Palace and the Belvedere Palace. These palaces reminded me of Versailles, as they were very luxurious and massive. Cole and I were able to get into nice restaurants both nights without reservations but we didn’t find any nightlife in the city. We took up some recommendations from locals but the nightlife in Vienna simply did not compare to nightlife in Copenhagen.

One thing that surprised me about Vienna is that even though it is a popular tourist destination few places accepted credit cards. Both Cole and I had to leave a restaurant at the end of our meal to get cash from an ATM nearby. I also had this problem in Munich when I visited before this trip but I have yet to have this problem in Copenhagen. It has been a week and I still haven’t picked up any kroner since every place accepts credit cards. Although this was inconvenient Vienna did have much better weather than Copenhagen and it was a great escape from the windy and cold climate here. Even though this trip was spontaneous, which usually I am not a fan of since I like to plan trips out in advance, I had a wonderful time. Moments like these make me realize how lucky I really am to be provided these opportunities and how glad I am to have chosen this trip.

Extraño a copenhague

Maggie, Kathryn and I in Park Güell overlooking Barcelona

This past week, Maggie, Kathryn and I planned, booked and took off on a trip to Barcelona. We knew this was our only weekend to get away and while we had any number of possible places to travel too, Barcelona just seemed to be calling our names. Not only would we be able to experience it’s amazing culture, but the trip would give us a chance to escape the cold temperatures, sharp winds, and freezing rains of Copenhagen. So off we went Friday morning with bags packed full of colorful summer clothing and swim suits.

Overall, it was an amazing trip. We were able to see many of the most famous sites around the city such as the beach, Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell, but the whole time I kept thinking about how much I missed Copenhagen.

Traveling Barcelona was fun, but I always had an uneasy feeling in my gut. While I felt like a complete tourist there, in Copenhagen I feel like I can call myself a temporary resident. I know how to get places without a map, where there are good places to eat, and what the best bars and clubs are the best depending what night it is. More than once I have been able to offer directions or assistance to a confused tourist and I was even able to give a visiting friend a brief tour of the city. Sure, the weather isn’t perfect here and it can be expensive, but something about this Danish city just made me yearn to go back.

I don’t regret going to Barcelona. I know that taking spontaneous trips across Europe is part of the study abroad experience and I did enjoy my brief time there- but I think I am more excited to be going back to my temporary home in Copenhagen. If anything, this weekend trip made me appreciate that I still have nearly 3 full weeks left to learn and experience everything I can in the city before I have to leave for home.

Copenhagen Comfort

Before I came to Copenhagen, my friends as well as my parents’ friends told me that it was one of the greatest cities in the world. It is safe, easy to navigate, and beautiful. The safety of the city was part of the reason I applied to come here in the first place. As soon as I got here, I realized that everyone was right; Copenhagen truly is special.

However, I did not realize the full extent of Copenhagen’s safety until I decided to leave for the weekend. Me and two of my friends decided on Barcelona for a weekend destination. As opposed to mountains of compliments for the city I heard before heading to Copenhagen, the people sang a very different chorus.

“Make sure to keep your bag in front of you at all times.”

“Talk to no one. Make eye contact with no one. No one is your friend.”

“Those pickpockets are professionals; they have your phone and wallet before you even know what happened.”

To say the least, these comments made me a little bit uneasy. I had already booked my flight and my hostel; what was I supposed to do about it then?

When we got to Spain, we never took our hands off of our personal devices. I wore a fanny pack for the entirety of our trip. We never left our phones on the table while we ate, and we never texted while we walked down the street. We were hyper-aware of our surroundings at all time. Other than a few Spanish men catcalling us, no one tried to speak to us.

When we woke up the next day, we were excited to see all the beautiful sites Barcelona had to offer. We saw beaches, La Sagrada Familia, and Park Guella. Everything was beautiful I really enjoyed looking at the cathedral (from the outside, hours of lines to get in), walking around the park, and seeing beaches where former Olympic athletes once walked.

However, we did the majority of this from the comfort of our hop on, hop off tour bus. The city was incredibly un-walkable, which was weird for me. It was both huge and hilly. Everywhere we wanted to go was at least two miles away. It was weird having to constantly get cabs or a bus. I missed Copenhagen a lot in that aspect, because I really love being able to walk everywhere easily.

Although the weather here is not nearly as beautiful (the city can’t have it all, right?), I am happy to be back in the great city of Copenhagen. Do not get me wrong; I am so glad I went. However, I missed the safety and security that Copenhagen has to offer. Even when walking around at one in the morning, I felt comfortable. I walked alone for four hours up and down Stroget and never once felt uneasy. Spain, you were beautiful, but Copenhagen is the European city that truly has my heart.

The Ease of Traveling

One thing that has surprised me is how easy it is to travel around Copenhagen. Cole and I decided to make a last minute trip to Vienna. We booked our flights Monday night for a Thursday night flight. The tickets were fairly cheap, another perk of traveling from country to country when in Europe, and getting to the CPH airport was surprisingly easy. All we had to do was walk over to the central train station, jump on a train going to CPH airport, and we were there in a matter of minutes. Since the trains are so easy to figure out you can arrive at any time and find the train you need. Being from Phoenix, this is a luxury that I have never had since mass transit is terrible there. Even though it is one of the largest cities in the U.S., mass transportation is practically none existent besides some light rails in downtown Phoenix and bus routes. Although Copenhagen is a big city, it is really easy to navigate. From biking to using the train, there doesn’t seem to be a place you cannot get to. Traveling around Vienna has been easy as well due to their train system and our hotel’s location near the central station. All we had to do to travel around the city was hop on the U1 train and we were in the city center within a matter of minutes for only a few euros.

I also decided to get a bike earlier this week. The bike was around 300 kroner for the four weeks and has made getting around so much easier. Although Danhostel is in the city center, every place I want to eat or visit is around a mile away so this significantly decreased amount of time it took to get places. I have become comfortable with the rules of biking here and have started to be able to strategize my route. I have mostly used my phone with Google Maps and Bluetooth headphones to get around but I find myself not having to reference it as much now. I did say to Cole at the beginning of the trip that I may be hit by a bike at some point during the trip but so far so good. The first full week is officially over and I can say I have become more comfortable with this city than I ever expected.

Just a Learning Curve

Update: Biking to the airport is incredibly easy and convenient if you don’t have any suitcases.

Bicycle etiquette is probably one of the most important things you can learn when in Copenhagen. Following the lead of Ellee and Daniel, I decided to rent a bike. So far, it has been a fun, but nerve-wrecking, adventure.

There are definitely advantages to having a bike in Copenhagen. It is incredibly convenient and makes the city more accessible. I initially hesitated in my decision to rent a bike, because I didn’t want to lose the exercise I had from walking around. However, I definitely made the right decision. I look forward to going places on my bike and even rode around the city for fun one night. Getting to places on my bike has also led me to areas of Copenhagen that I had never been before – there are neighborhoods that are more residential with amazing restaurants and parks that I want to explore. There’s a newfound sense of freedom that I have found incredible – there is no longer a debate of whether I should walk or take public transportation anywhere.

However, there is the saying that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Even though I have heard multiple people say that the city is designed around bikes and that the cyclists usually have the right of way, I still worry. Are there roads I am not allowed to bike? Do I yield to the cars when there is no bike lane? Am I supposed to yield to pedestrians on a right turn? And the questions go on. Even though I grew up riding a bike in Canada and definitely feel very comfortable on a bike, there are things that I have yet to master. Left turns on a bike are not allowed in Copenhagen. I never know whether I should ride my bike when crossing with the pedestrians, or if I should walk my bike. I think traffic in general makes me nervous. When driving, I sometimes irrationally panic when the
light turns yellow and in other situations. Similarly, on a bike, I still have yet to figure out if I am going to be able to make a light or if I should stop and risk the wrath of angry Danish bikers. Also, I definitely have to focus on the road and cannot afford to become starry-eyed at things on either side of the street. Another challenge with biking is that it is harder to stop and pull out a map.

One unfortunate incident, that thankfully did not become an accident, was when I turned right and nearly ran over someone crossing the street. The incident reminded me of another experience. During our dinner with a Danish family earlier this week, one member of the family mentioned that she nearly crashed into a tourist on a bike. Instead of saying ‘sorry,’ she told the tourist ‘you can’t stop here.’ To clarify, the Danes are very nice and friendly, they just take biking very seriously.

With any new experiences, there is a learning curve. Given how seriously the Danish taking biking
and the high traffic volume, this is a rather steep learning curve. Ideally, I would like figure out the most efficient way to turn left, or find routes that have only or mostly right turns. But the most important goal is to get through the rest of my time here without any more biking incidents. In fact, I will be biking to the airport later on today – we’ll see how it goes!

Assimilation

Today I am wearing leather pants.

Sure, I’ve worn them at home, but only on the occasional evening out. They’re the kind of Saturday night pants that you wouldn’t want to run into your minister wearing because they look just a little too edgy.

But here I am on a Monday morning in a coffee shop wearing black leather pants, and everybody’s doing it. I look no more out of place here than a Patagonia would look in Lexington.

The real kicker is that I’ve been here before, so I should be used to the fashion, right? I took the BUS 180 spring term class last year and spent two weeks growing accustomed to the chic, modern street style that is so commonplace here in Copenhagen, but a year later when packing my bags to return, I second guessed myself. Black outfits were thrown into my duffel, but so were white jeans and colorful dresses, not to mention some yoga pants and several baseball caps. I thought I must have been mistaken – that such a happy country had to have more color. But no, the cheery nature of this country has nothing to do with what color people wear or how blustery the weather gets. It’s just something in the water.

So, I have discovered that even though it is my second time in Denmark, I am going through an adjustment period once again.

This time around I know about the crepe shop and not to mistakenly order the soft ice with chocolate specks in it. I know that the wifi at the hostel is nothing to write home about but that the view from any room on the eleventh floor definitely is.

Assimilating in Copenhagen is probably much easier than it is in other cities. Everyone speaks English here, everyone is quick to point you in the right direction, it’s not actually that big of a city, etc. Even without blonde hair and pale skin, it’s easy to feel at home here – especially if you rent a bike – but there is still some adjustment that takes place every time you travel to a different place. There is a degree of uncertainty about what the next day will hold.

I truly believe that this year, we have the chance to assimilate because we’re here for longer. A month gives you time to find your favorite places to eat and work, as well as enough time to identify places that aren’t worth your time or money. I am excited to live and work in this beautiful city, and I am especially excited to become more than a “tourist.”

Hence, the leather pants.

Cyclophobia

Cyclophobia is the fear of bicycles. Cyclophobia is often caused by a traumatic experience occurring with a bicycle, such as falling off a bicycle or seeing someone crash. I am a survivor of such an incident and am a self-diagnosed cyclophobe. Having fallen off a bicycle, riding down a hill as a 4th grader made bikes lose all of their appeal, despite their essential role in many peoples childhood. Since then, I have seen my fair share of bikes and had plenty of opportunities to ride them, but have managed to avoid them. Living in Copenhagen for close to a week now, avoiding bikes have been difficult for a couple of reasons.

Walking down Strøget yesterday, I saw a sweatshirt printed with a bicycle wheel and “Copenhagen The Bicycle City.” The graphic was certainly appealing and the sweatshirt seemed soft and comfortable, but it spoke more to the ubiquity of bicycles in the city. Bikes are so prevalent and beloved that they choose to represent their city as such. One cannot escape the bikes here in Copenhagen. Infrastructure is built around the bikes; elevated bike lanes, specialized bike routes, bike racks on every street in front of nearly every building, and train cars built to accommodate the bikes. The bikes whirring around are exceptionally intimidating for me, not being accommodated to this atypical type of traffic. While many of the bikers are willing to follow the rules, I have certainly seen them on the sidewalk, if only to turn right. With the bike lanes adjacent to the sidewalks, the cyclists will often come exceptionally close to the sidewalk. Whilst waiting for the cross walk to change, you can feel the breeze of the them whizzing by. After a few close encounters, I try to keep back from the curb.

It’s estimated that 75% of Copenhageners cycle at some point each year. Having discussed the importance of bicycles for transportation in the weeks preceding this trip, I assumed it was simply a convenience issue for local residents. After a week in Copenhagen, I realize that bikes are more of a necessity than anticipated. Walking around in this cold weather, you want to be outside for a short of time as possible. Biking cuts down on the time spent getting from point A to point B, which is essential when the cold wind cuts through your many layers. Not only is biking seemingly the most efficient way of getting around Copenhagen, public transportation is expensive. It seems as though the Copenhagen government wants to do all it can to encourage individuals to bike with the price of these tickets. Additionally, the taxes on vehicles in Denmark are outrageous, making vehicles seem like a luxury. It only makes sense to bike in this city, certainly if you are a resident.

I swore I would not ride a bike while I was in Copenhagen, given our history. Now having spent a week in this city, I am considering otherwise. Bicycles are efficient and seem like a great way to assimilate to the Copenhagen culture. I have been warned that this is not the place to practice cycling, but I might go against my gut on this one.

The Haunting Smell of Smoke

(PS Tried to upload a video to share the excitement after FC København’s first goal, but it would not work. I guess a picture will suffice. )

One thing that I didn’t notice during my last visit here was how the smell of smoke is everywhere and it permeates everything. But just to clarify, it isn’t that people here smoke everywhere, but rather there are specific locations and times where smoking is a common social act. However, the smoking is heavy enough during those times to the point where the smell of smoke clings to my hair and clothing and refuses to leave.

When Emily and I attended our first Alka Superliga (the Danish soccer/football league) on Sunday to watch FC København play FC Midtjylland at the Telia Parken Stadium, I was very excited and caught up in the excitement of the chanting and cheering. Even though, we could not understand a single word of the crowd’s cheering, we had quite a bit of fun. Eventually it got cold and the crowd become rowdier, but we took it all in stride.

However, one thing that neither of us could shake off was the casual smoking by members of the crowd. All around us, we saw people lighting up cigarettes throughout the game. I was shocked by the fact that people could smoke in the stadium. Perhaps it is a common practice elsewhere, but I had never seen smoking in a stadium before. Although the stadium was not indoors, there was quite a few flammable items in the area – the grass, the cardboard holders of Carlsberg beer and paper napkins, just to name a few. Also, second-hand smoking is usually a health concern for people. Given that there were people of all ages and filled stands, I was surprised that there were not stricter regulations on smoking in the stadium. I cannot recall such heavily smoking from the last time I was at the Telia Parken Stadium, which was to see a friendly match two years ago. However, the crowd was also far smaller than the one this time.

As a non-smoker, I am very sensitive and have a low tolerance for the smell of cigarettes and the smoke. The cold air and the smoke was a brutal combination for my lungs. After getting back to Danhostel, I found my coat and hair smelling like smoke. Furthermore, our experiences at the stadium were not the only place where smoking was common. There have been mornings where our floor in Danhostel smelt like smoke (despite it being a non-smoking floor!).

Based upon personal experiences, smoking in the United States tends to be in places more secluded from public spaces and large crowds. However, I did not expect to be so sensitive to the smoke, given that I had grown up in China during a period of time when smoking in public was more widely accepted. Perhaps the smell of smoke is something you become acclimated to and I have lost that after living in the United States for three years? I wonder if the smell of smoke is something I will become used to after four weeks in Copenhagen… ask me again at the end of this trip!

A Casual Sunday Afternoon Soccer Match

On Sunday afternoon, Hermione and I traveled across town to watch an FC Copenhagen soccer match. I played soccer in high school, so I was familiar with the sport and its large, popular presence over here in Europe. Back home, soccer does not have as large of a presence. Sure, we have Major League Soccer, which consists of teams from across the country, and yes, we do get rowdy and boisterous every time the USA participates in the Summer Olympics and The World Cup. However, I knew walking into the stadium that I was about to experience something unique.

As we walked through security, I could hear the crowd roaring and the “booming” of the music blaring throughout the stadium. We found some seats in our section (standing room only, yet ironically enough they had seats in this section…) and immediately had Danish chants flooding our ears. Do I have any idea what they were chanting? Absolutely not. Did that stop me from yelling random grunts and sounds because I wanted to chant too? Nope.

The atmosphere was electric. FC Copenhagen scored the first goal of the game at the seven minute mark and the entire stadium erupted. I could not help but scream and jump too; I had no personal connection to the team, but the excitement and energy from the Danish fans was contagious.

While the fans were great, the stadium was very impressive. I have been to a few Columbus Crew matches in the States, however FC Copenhagen’s stadium seemed to have more “personality”. What I mean by this is that there were pictures of fans hanging on the walls in the stadium. In our section, there were giant still-photos of fans decked out in all black, visibly cheering and showing their excitement for their team.

Naturally, the Carlsberg brand, had sponsorship everywhere. To me, that was one of the neatest aspects of the stadium. A Copenhagen-based company supporting their local soccer club. I understand Carlsberg is a massive company, yet I could not help but think that being the lead sponsor is a great way for them to keep a personal presence in the Copenhagen community.

Ultimately, when the final whistle blew, FC Copenhagen came out victorious by a score of 3-1. On our way out of the stadium, we stopped by the club shop to take a gander at the merchandise. That shop had everything. Does your kid want an FC Copenhagen themed birthday party? Good thing the shop has themed plates, cups, napkins, cupcake holders, and any other item you could want. Back to school shopping? Why not get some Club pencils and pens. Of course, the shop was filled with team sponsored Adidas gear. My favorite article of clothing was the little kid jerseys, simply because I thought they were adorable.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first European soccer match. Additionally, if you are wondering what it is like to watch a soccer game with me, please see below some remarks I made throughout the game.

“I hope we are seated with the rowdy crowd. I love me some good old-fashioned, sports-loving rowdiness.”

“I really like the neon socks of the purple team…oh wait those are the ‘bad guys’ just kidding I don’t like them anymore GO COPENHAGEN!”

“Booooooooooooooo! Yeah, yeah booooo I have no idea why I’m booing but boooooo!”

“Uh oh, man down. Oh wait, two guys are down” (players start shoving each other) “Hermione, if there is a crowd-clearing brawl we are going down there and joining.”

“GGGGGOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I Want to Ride my Bicycle, I Want to Ride my Bike

Today, Daniel and I went to the bike shop recommended to us by DIS. It is located about three minutes away from DIS and is pretty easy to find. Pro-tip: the shop will not show up if you try to google it, but you can find the address on the DIS website.

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when we arrived at the bike shop, but it certainly wasn’t a tiny shop in a cement basement with a line of bikes chained together outside the door. In hindsight, that all seems perfectly reasonable, but at the time, I’m honestly just glad I didn’t go alone because it was a bit intimidating. All was well once we met with the man running the shop. He was extremely helpful and kind, as most of the Danish are as long as you’re respectful.

Something else about the trip was unexpected too. I thought surely it would be a bit costly to rent a bike because of insurance, locks, maybe cleaning supplies. I don’t know. I’m definitely not all that familiar with what serious, everyday biking actually entails. I was expecting maybe twenty-five dollars a week. I was way off. It was only forty dollars for four weeks, less than half of what I thought. I was pleasantly surprised and excited to try out my new wheels.

I grew up riding my bike, or my horse honestly, around my old neighborhood in west Texas, but riding a bike in the busy streets of Copenhagen is obviously a whole different ball game. I had completely forgotten about hand signals, so I found this refresher very helpful. http://abcstudentbikes.dk/source/files/media/dis-biking-handbook.pdf

In case you don’t want to read the link—right arm stretched out beside you warns other cyclists that you intend to turn right, right arm bent so that you forearm is parallel to your body and your fingers point at the ground warns them that you will stop, and to turn left you must dismount your bike and cross the street on foot at the nearest crosswalk.

Daniel and I made it back to the hostel without any real excitement, which is a good thing. We locked up the bikes by wrapping our chains around the our bike’s back wheels and bike frames, just as we were told to do earlier at the shop. But as we walked into Danhostel, Daniel noticed that I’d left my backpack on my bike. Thankfully no one had taken it in the previous thirty seconds, but it certainly made me wary about forgetting to check my bike’s basket.

If any of the first years happen to read this: first, get ready because Copenhagen is a fantastic city to visit; second, I highly recommend getting a bike while you are here. Even though I’ve only had mine for one day, I am already loving the convenience of being able to get basically anywhere in the city center within ten minutes. Apparently, wearing black isn’t the only thing I’m going to copy about the Danish way of life. It looks like I’ll need to air up my old bike tires when I get home.