For DIS Orientation (Danish Institute for Study Abroad, my program), they split us up into groups of 8ish, gave us maps, and sent us on a scavenger hunt to go explore the city of Copenhagen one afternoon. The scavenger hunt consisted of 6 different famous locations & landmarks, each with a DIS professor to explain the importance of where we were. Our group had a little too much fun and lost track of time, only making it to four of the stops.
Throughout our four hour trek the rain was what we liked to refer to as "bipolar." Pouring down raining one minute, with people sprinting through the streets for cover (hilarious site), and perfectly sunny the next.
Our first stop was at the Royal Palace called Amalienborg.
It was originally built for noble families (thus there are four palaces that make up Amalienborg), but after it burnt down in the 1700's, the Danish royal family bought Amalienborg and moved right in. Amalienborg is centered around an octagonal courtyard with an equestrian statue of Frederik V, the founder of Amalienborg Palace, placed right in the middle.
At exactly 12 O'clock each day is the Changing of the Guards ceremony in which we happened to arrive just in time for! Not only do you see the guards marching into place, but the official Royal Guards Music band plays professional military marches as well.
I obviously had to take a picture with the Guard, how could I pass a picture like that up?
Please just notice the difference between picture one (to the right) and picture two (to the left.) Don't know exactly what I did, but he felt the need to raise his gun.
Below is my Russian Lit professor! Yes, he's a legit LP - little person - and I think that automatically makes him about a thousand times cooler than any other professor I've had. Plus, he's just a great professor in general.
This is the view of a building (most likely a church) a block away from
the Amalienborg Palace. We weren't told to stop and investigate, but we did
learn that it had the largest dome in Denmark!
=
Next we made our way to the Royal Garden in Kongens Have. The boy below is AMURICAN. He knows how to pull off the red, white, and blue.
Once walking through the park you will find Rosenborg Slot, palace of King Christian 4 and over 400 years old! And all of this is only a five minute walk from our school!
According to our professor, way back when King Christian 4 lived in the castle he would hide his key in the lion's mouth and come
stumbling back after a long night to reach retrieve his key.
Below is a picture of a street shut down in mid-afternoon specifically for the Royal Marching Band to pass through. I was the girl in the middle of the street with
"Tourist" written all over my shirt.
You'll find throughout my pictures that I have an obsession with children, and specifically Danish kiddos. They are all blonde and absolutely adorable!
The little girl below later stuck her tongue out at me.
Danish advertising is a little more promiscuous compared to that in the States.
The last place we were able to make it to on our hunt was the Royal Theater, Skuespilhuset. I'm taking History of European Ballet for an art credit back home, and it wasn't until we visited this Ballet Theater until I became excited for my class this semester.
No comments:
Post a Comment