FM Belfast Concert and Weekend in Odense

I apologize for having taken almost an entire week to publish a new post.  I doubt that anyone missed me that much, but I am trying to keep my posts as regular as possible.  This past weekend was one of the busiest I have had so far in Denmark.  First, lets back track a bit to last Thursday night.  On Thursday night, I went with my Creative Industries class to see the band FM Belfast.  Creative Industries is a business class all about the different business sectors that make up the experience economy, for example music, movies, and fashion.  Before seeing the concert, we met with a manager at VEGA nightclub in Copenhagen.  He spoke to us about the process of finding and booking musicians, the business model of VEGA, and how business has changed since the economic crisis.  As much as I found the talk interesting, the concert was definitely the highlight of the night.  FM Belfast was a surprisingly good band.  The lead singer knew how to get the crowd excited and involved in the music, which made for an incredibly enjoyable concert.

FM Belfast at VEGA

Also, check out this FM Belfast music video.  This is one of the songs they played at the concert!

Saturday morning I left bright and early for a trip to Odense.  The goal of the trip was to explore Hans Christian Andersen's Funen and enjoy a weekend in another part of Denmark.  Our first two stops were Vlademars Slot and Egeskov Slot and Gardens.  Both of these manor houses have beautifully decorated rooms and are surrounded by picturesque scenery and gardens.

Here I am at Egeskov Slot and Gardens:

We arrived in Odense in the evening and did a short walking tour to see HC Andersen's house and monuments that had been created of the famous author.

Look at me chillin' with Hans

On Sunday, the last day of the trip, we went to the HC Andersen Museum.  The museum features an extensive timeline of HC Andersen's life as well as a massive collection of his stories in most languages.  Our last stop was the Funen Village, an open air museum that depicts what life was like in 19th Century Denmark.

Funen Village

Denmark Parliamentary Election 2011

On another note in current events, tomorrow (Sept 15th), is the parliamentary election in Denmark.  Since I have only been here for three weeks, I am not very familiar with the political system.  This article from the Herald Tribune: Denmark's election at a glance, gives a very brief overview of the three main candidates and the key issues of this election.  I am curious to see what the result of the election will be tomorrow, I will keep you all posted!

Copenhagen, City of Cycling

For those of you who have been to Copenhagen, you are familiar with the fact that everyone bikes.  From the age of 5 to the age of really really old, people bike to school and work.  It is a city full of cyclists.  According to a recent New York Times article titled "In City of Cyclists, Pedestrians Feel the Squeeze," 55% of residents travel to work or school on bikes.  However, it seems that in the city of cycling, not everyone is happy with the biking culture.  This article offers an interesting perspective on a small population of Danish citizens who believe bikers feel that they "own the place" and have formed a group to advocate for stricter biker surveillance in Copenhagen.  If you are interested in reading more, here is the link to the article,NY Times Article: In Copenhagen, Pedestrians Feel The Squeeze.

Back from Silkeborg and Herning!

I am back from my long weekend in Silkeborg and Herning, which was filled with visits to businesses and cultural excursions.  On Thursday, our first stop was Saxo Bank.  At Saxo Bank, my class listened to a lecture about the company and observed the trading floor.  Later in the afternoon, we drove four hours to Museum Jorn (Silkeborg Art Museum), where we saw the work of Asger Jorn.  The collection consisted of paintings, sculptures, and ceramics.  In the evening, we attempted to go canoeing, but lasted about 20 minutes in the water because the Denmark rain caught up with us.

Friday it was off to Bang and Olufsen, a high end electronics company known for cutting edge design and high quality equipment.  The four hour visit included a lecture, a factory tour, a tour of the history cave, and a quick stop in the B and O shop.  We then headed to Monsted Kalkgruber, where we explored limestone caves and tasted wine and cheese.

Finally, on Saturday, we toured the Gavno Manor House and tasted beer at Fniks Slotsbryggeri.  The weekend was jam packed with trips and exhausting, but it was worth it to visit all of the interesting places.  Here are some pictures from my weekend:

Me canoeing!

The Limestone Cave

Gavno Manor House

Beer from the tasting

Bad Day, Good Danish

This morning I woke up at 6:15am, which for those of you who know me well, is real early.  I had to meet my criminology class at 7:15am for a field trip to a prison.  I get on the bus at 7:15 and am greeted by my half asleep classmates.  We sit on the bus listening to our iPod's and occasionally exchanging words for about 20 minutes until we realize our professor is missing.  We all take turns calling her for the next hour, but nobody seems to be able to get through to her.  So, at around 8:20am, we decide it is time to get off the bus and head back to bed.  At around 10:00am, myself and two friends wake up and read an email from our professor apologizing for oversleeping.  We are all outraged and decide we deserve a treat.  We walk to this little bakery about two blocks from my house and eat one of the tastiest "Danishes" (they are not actually called this in Denmark), I have ever had.

Later in the afternoon, I met my European Business Strategy class for a different trip.  This time, the professor actually showed up, and we went to Nordea Markets.  At Nordea, we were given an introduction to the company and a project we will be working on throughout the entire semester.  Tomorrow, I am off to a three day trip with my Business class to other parts of Denmark.  Be back in a few days!

Copenhagen Design Week

On Saturday I went with a few of my friends to some exhibits at Copenhagen Design Week.  The New Port was filled with people enjoying what was probably one of the last beautiful and sunny days I will experience this semester in Copenhagen.  The best exhibit we saw was of furniture made out of recycled materials.  My personal favorite was a chair made of little pieces of bread.  We also relaxed for a little while in the "Oasis," a large area of sand with comfy beds, couches, and chairs to chill on.  Afterwards, we went on a tour of a Turkish Naval boat that happened to be in the port on Saturday.  I forgot my camera, but luckily I was able to snag a picture that one of my friends took.

Thorvaldsen Museum

On Friday, I went with my 19th Century European Art History class to the Thorvaldsen Museum.  Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish neo-classicist sculptor and his collection of work displays a lot of heroic sculptures and portraits.  Below are some pictures I took in the museum: