A day in my life

Hello friends and family!  I've prepared a photo tour of one of my typical days here in Copenhagen.  Below is a map with numbers; these correspond to the numbered photos below.  We'll be following my commute, starting at my apartment building, riding through town to school, and then back again.

 

1.

This is the front entrance of Otto Mønteds Kollegium ('Danmarks Bedste Kollegium!'), where I live.  Kollegiums (Kollegia?) are basically unaffiliated dorms--students from any school can live in one.  My floor is all graduate students.

Built in 1956 and very much of its time, OMK isn't the prettiest building to look at from the outside, but the rooms are nice and so is the social atmosphere.  In the foreground is my bike.  It's too small for me, but it's zippy. 

2.

And we're off.  We've hopped on the bike and are leaving Rektorparken street and joining the main road.  On the left is the old Carlsberg brewery.


3.


Now we're headed east on Ingerslevsgade, which parallels the track tracks that enter town from the west.  As you can see there's not a lot to look at on this stretch of road, but, being next to the tracks, there are few cross streets to deal with so you can cover a lot of ground quickly.  That's good in my case, because I live relatively far from my school.

4.

We've arrived in the city center and are passing by the central train station, also known as Hovedbanegård.  I just call it the central station.  Lot of bikes here.  This is the overflow parking.  There are rows and rows of racks on the other sides of this building and they're always packed.

Behind the station you can see one of the rides in Tivoli, Copenhagen's amusement park/promenade/fair food spot.  I think it just closed for the season, but it will reopen for Christmas, when they deck it out.  Kristen, we're definitely going.

5.

 

We're still in the center, crossing a canal.  I cheated with this photo--my actual route is the road on the right, but this was the better shot.  That dome in the upper right is the Christiansborg Palace Chapel, and the green spire to the left is the steeple of the Nikolaj Church, Copenhagen's first church, which was built in 1200.  The copper-clad steeple is circa 1909.  Nowadays the building is used as an art center.

6.

 

We've gone past the chapel and have taken a right; now we're looking back over our right shoulder at this statue of Frederik VII, which was installed ten years after the king died, in 1873.  Frederik is notable for overseeing the adoption of Denmark's first democratic constitution.  I like to imagine that this gentleman and his long-suffering horse are showing me to the way to school, gesturing with his outstretched hand.

7.

We're crossing another canal, out of the city center an into the neighborhood of Christianshavn.  This is an artificial island, built in the early 17th century.  On a canal tour I took with the other international students, the guide told us that the king at the time had to offer tax benefits to entice people to live there, since it was unpleasantly marshy and wind-swept.  Now it's a hip part of town.

8.

A plaza in Christianshavn, just off Torvegade.  This is the middle of the day, so there aren't too many people around other than those guys on the left, drinking on the benches.  I'm pretty sure they were Greenland natives (Greenland was a Danish colony).  Sadly, alcoholism and rootlessness seem to be common problems in that community.

9.

We've turned left off of Torvegade and are riding northeast along Prinsessagade.  This picture doesn't do it justice, but the spiraling steeple of the Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Savior) is one of the highlights of my ride.  It shines a brilliant gold in the sun. 

10.

Past the Church of Our Savior, on the right, we ride by the main entrance to Christiania, Copenhagen's famous "experimental community."  Christiania got its start back in the '70s, when hippies took over a naval base and repurposed it as a commune.  To me, Christiania seems a mixed success.  You still have healthy, happy families there, doing their communal living thing.  On the other hand, the open sale of marijuana and freewheeling vibe has attracted organized crime and a raft of junkies and burnouts.

11.

Continuing down Prinsessegade, we see the fence marking off Christiania, which residents have decorated with some well-done graffiti murals.

12.

 

We cross another canal...

13.

 

And another...

14.

...until we finally arrive at my school.  This is Building Y, home to the department of architecture, city, and landscape.  There are 9 departments at the Arkitektskole, numbered 1 - 11 (two are defunct).  Each has a three-word title, and they range in scope from large (city planning) to small (furniture design).  The school is located in Holmen, a decommissioned naval base that escaped the attention of those Christiania hippies.  Let's go inside, shall we? 

15.

This is my desk.  I just got assigned it the other week.


16.

A few of my Department 1 classmates.  On the left is Francis, from England, and on the right is Gunnar, from Iceland.  This last week we were working on an assignment in which we had propose, rapid fire, a series of interventions for a neighborhood in Copenhagen. 

17.

Back outside, we've walked west and are passing by a row of housing.  This is one of those "home zone" or "woonerf" road treatments I heard so much about back in the US: no curbs, very slow traffic.  Good show, sirs, good show.


18.

Now we're at the western edge of my campus, looking at some boats that are tied up in a canal.  Beyond is the harbor.  During the first week of school, teams of first year students had to cross this canal as a sort of game or hazing ritual.  They all dressed up in costumes; there was lots of laughing and falling in the water.  Luckily for them, the water in Copenhagen's harbor is clean enough to swim in.

19.

The nice thing about going to an architecture school is that you are surrounded by fancy, artsy stuff.  Like this, an exhibit of the work of architect Kristin Jarmund.

20.

High tea with the cats in Department 11.  I thank the English students for introducing me to this ritual.  From left to right: Francis (England), Sally (New Zealand), Mario (Spain), Hollie (England).

21.

 

We're headed back home now.  This is rush hour on Copenhagen's cycle tracks.  No spandex here.  No mercy either.  If you aren't quick off the blocks, or break an unwritten rule, you'll get the business.

22.

 

Our tour ends with dinner in my floor's shared kitchen.  These are a few of the wonderful people I live and eat with: Felippe, Johan, Lauge, Ida, and Steffen.

And that's it.  I hope you enjoyed a day in my life.