Another view of the Black Diamond Library
View of Copenhagen from the church spiral
Monday, September 30, 2013
More Pictures from Thursday in Copenhagen
Thursday, September 26, 2013
First Day in Copenhagen | 9.19.13 Thursday
Wow, what a great trip we had in Copenhagen! Our day started very early Thursday morning, we were being picked up by Henry, Josh's professor, at 5:15am sharp (and if you know josh and I, it is very hard for us to be on time). So we got up at 3:30, got ready and made sure we packed everything and were surprisingly outside before 5:15 and ready to see what Denmark had in store for us. Unfortunately since we did not have much sleep the night before (considering I went to bed at 1), I was not feeling too well plus airplane anxiety was setting in so I was not looking forward to the flight even though it was only an hour. We got to the airport before the rest of the group and were able to check in and go through security without waiting too long and headed to our gate. By the time we were finished, we had a good hour to wait before boarding the plane. Finally the group started to show up 30 minutes later and we were getting ready to board the plane. Josh and I sat up in the front of the plane which was nice but it didn't really help me feel any better. I tried to sleep on the plane but it didn't really work too well but soon enough we landed and I felt a lot better just knowing that we were at our destination. As a group of 27 total for the weekend, we waited at the airport for Dana (Prague Institute Director) to get our transportation tickets for the weekend. We got on a train that would take us to downtown Copenhagen, where our hostel was located so we could drop off our things then explore the city. The train ride was about 20 minutes and then we had to walk another 10 to get to the hostel. Copenhagen is a bike city, meaning that the most popular mode of transportation is by bike. There are bike lanes among the streets and if you are in one, you best not be in it for too long or they will run you over! We learned that quickly! We got to the hostel, very young and hipster, seemed like a party spot at night but a very nice place, dropped off our luggage in a locker (our rooms were not ready until 2) and it was only 10am at this point. We had the rest of the day to explore the city so Josh, Kevin (another graduate student and Josh's friend) and myself went out in a group. We were showed pictures of places in both Copenhagen and Sweden that we should consider visiting while there that have great architectural value to the city by the other studios professor, Adam, who also accompanied us on this trip. With a map, we figured out a few places to go and just started walking. We first stopped at The Black Diamond which is a modern waterfront extension to the Royal Danish Library's old building on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen. Its quasi-official nickname is a reference to its polished black granite cladding and irregular angles. Designed by Danish architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen, the Black Diamond was completed in 1999 as the first in a series of large-scale cultural buildings along Copenhagen's waterfront. The interior is very beautiful, open and allows so much natural light into the space. We went to several different floors to admire the detail of this building. We decided to eat lunch at the cafe in the library and sat outside in front of the water, we couldn't have asked for a better day! After our lunch, we continued to walk to Church of our Savior, which is a baroque church most famous for its corkscrew spire with an external winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over central Copenhagen. With admission for 25 Danish korunas each (about $5), we were able to climb to the top of the church spire. Only one problem...while we were climbing the steps up to the top, it began to rain. So we had to camp out on a level of the interior and waited until it stopped. About 15 minutes later, we decided to continue up the church. Each level of stairs or ladders was different and some places were kinda scary to climb and we had to make sure we were aware of all the height differences so we wouldn't hit our heads but we finally got to the top! Probably not the safest time to climb the spiral staircase after it rains but we were already up there and were very careful! I think that over the years, I am beginning to have a slight fear of heights and this confirmed my thoughts! I kept looking out to the amazing views and tried not to look down and we continued up the spiral staircase about 4 times around, the stairs get smaller and smaller when you go up so thank goodness there was nobody else on the stairs, or I would have freaked out! But like I said the views were beautiful, the sun was shining again and we could see miles beyond the city. We stayed up there for a few moments before deciding that we had enough and made our way down the stairs. When we got to the bottom, there was a sign that said that the church was closed because of weather conditions that were not safe, no wonder we didn't see anybody walking up the stairs! After that, the boys (I had no want to experience this) wanted to visit Christiania, which is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood that is considered a "free city." It was founded in 1971 and is not a part of the city, the country or the European Union which means that selling drugs is legal. This was the most bizarre place I have ever been to and as soon as I walked in, I was ready to leave. We walked around for a little bit and then left the "city". I was so glad to get out of there! As we were heading to our next stop, there were police officers ahead at one of the entrances. Basically she asked if we were in there and we said yes and then she explained why this is a bad place (which we already knew) and wanted to know if we bought anything illegal while in there and of course the obvious answer was no! Needless to say, they are just waiting for people to walk out of the city and catch them with drugs. Such a strange place, I just don't understand how the government allows this kind of act inside such a beautiful city, blows my mind! Anyways thank goodness we were heading away from that awful place ( although the boys thought it was cool) and heading to Nyhavn. Copenhagen's famous landmark, seen in many pictures, Nyhavn is basically a tourist strip with colorful buildings that lack architectural value. We walked along the side, admired the scenery, took a few pictures and continued walking. That was until josh saw several ice cream shops that caught his eye. So we stopped for ice cream, he and Kevin got a waffle cone and I got a carmel cappuccino, cause I was rather cold (and I knew josh would share some of his ice cream)! After our pit stop, we headed towards the Little Mermaid statue near the coast. On the way, we stopped by the Amalienborg Palace which is now the winter home of the Danish royal family. It consists of four identical classicizing palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard and in the center of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V. It was originally built for four noble families; however, when Christiansborg Palace burnt down on February 26th 1794, the royal family bought the palaces and moved in. Over the years various kings and their families have resided in the four different palaces. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guards which was cool. While looking around the palace, we saw Fredrik's Church from a distance and knew that we needed to get a closer look of this magnificent church. Also known as The Marble Church, we continued to walk towards it and I was mesmerized at how large the structure was and the amount of detail. The interior was more amazing than the exterior, I have never seen anything like it and just stood in awe, it was so beautiful!
After many pictures, we were ready to leave and head to the Little Mermaid. We walked a good ways before entering the park that the mermaid was in. It was a beautiful park, lots of green grass, beautiful flowers and a lot of runners, which made josh jealous. We finally found the mermaid, it was among many tourists! It is based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, the small statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since 1913. After seeing this statue, we were ready to make our way back to the hostel and get something to eat for dinner. We decided to take the water taxi down the river since we had transportation tickets that we needed to make good use of and we could see a few more sites. It was a nice ride, we were able to see a few new things, actually rode past our stop and were able to see a few buildings that was in the presentation the other day. We rode to the end of the route, turned around and then got off at our stop. We had a short walk to the hostel, it was in a very good location, convenient to everything. On the corner of the block there was a burger restaurant that looked good, kinda pricey but we thought that we would splurge for the night and best part...it was right beside the hostel so we didn't have far to go home! It was good, first time we have eaten meat since we have gotten to Prague and I ate everything on my plate! We headed to our room, we had a 4 person room, so Kevin, josh and I were staying in the room, we didn't know who the 4th person from the group was going to be. And before you know it, I asleep in a heartbeat, the bunk beds were quite comfortable except Josh's top bunk squeaked every time he moved but it didn't phase me too much! It was an awesome but exhausting day, we were able to see a lot in a days time but knew that we would be seeing lots more before the trip was over. Oh...did I mention that we walked 8 miles total today too!!
Outside entrance to Christiania, can't you tell this is a strange place?
I have more pictures to post, just have to upload them from Josh's computer...I will do that tomorrow!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Delay
Sorry for the delay in posts, I will post some things tomorrow about our trip to Copenhagen...I know the suspense has been killing you!!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Copenhagen Bound | September 19th 2013
Up bright eyed and bushy tail for our weekend trip and ready for an adventure!
Making Plans | September 18th 2013
We both attended school this morning for Josh's seminar class because another professor was going to be discussing different places in Copenhagen that we should visit while there. It was interesting the places we were shown and we hope to at least make it to a few places depending on the weather. Our plan for this weekend is to get picked up by Josh's professor at 5 am Thursday (OMG, so early) and then head to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7:10 am and we should be in Copenhagen by 8:30am. Then we have some planned visits to some firms i believe and some free time. Then on Friday, weather permitting, we are renting bikes (oh lord, haven't been on one in years) and riding around the city and I'm pretty sure we will be covering a large amount of miles too. Definitely going to be sore the next day! Then on Saturday, we are traveling to Malmo, Sweden to visit a few places. Then more exploring in Copenhagen on Sunday before we leave at 7:55pm and arrive back in Prague at 9:15pm. Sounds like a jam packed weekend full of adventure and new experiences.
Right now I am sitting in Josh's studio as I wait for him to finish his drawing class that ends at 4. Then we plan to go home and pack for our trip! You won't hear from me until next week when we get back, not planning to take my iPad on the trip but will be taking good notes to keep you informed on our journey! Much Love!
Josh's studio area
More pictures of the institute to follow!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
September 16th 2013
Josh had studio today from 9-12 and then a general meeting after that to discuss plans for our Copenhagen trip this Thursday through Sunday, which is exciting! He also sat in the bee keeping class to see if he would like to take it. He said that they watched a video of the life of bees and that he kept falling asleep and it was rather boring and very hard to understand the professor, so I doubt he will continue with that class. I stayed around the apartment, cleaned up a bit, did some laundry (the washing machine is a quarter of the size at home so we are only able to wash a few things, not a giant load like we are use to and it takes 2 hours to wash and 2 hours to dry). Josh and I walked in the cold rain to the store and were able to get a few things for dinner. Going to the store is very frustrating (for me at least) because everything is in a different language so we have to go by the pictures and hope it tastes good! Was able to FaceTime my mom, grandma and paw-paw today which was nice. With the technology, it makes being over here a little easier to see everyone! Also was able to FaceTime with Shannon today, which was fun, always good to see family! For dinner tonight, josh made baked potatoes and this pasta dinner that we bought at the store, tasted pretty good from coming out of a bag! Josh had homework the rest of the night, he had something due in studio the next day regarding his site.
Lazy Day | September 15th 2013
It was a lazy Sunday here today! The weather was overcast with a few showers throughout the day which doesn't work too well with sightseeing and our legs were sore from walking yesterday! Josh made egg sandwiches for lunch and we spent the day reading up in our Prague books and reading the map. These books make a lot more sense when in Prague because it is easier to reference different places then just read about them. Josh went for another run later in the afternoon and ran to an area in his site, about 3 miles away came back and worked out a little. He then went out to the store to get some food and came back with pizza! It was a pretty uneventful day and I liked it!
First Saturday in Prague | September 14th 2013
Josh went for a run this morning that lasted about 2 hours and probably ran around 8 miles around the city. He hit all the major areas in the city and was able to familiarize himself with the surroundings. He also stopped along the way to take a few pictures of places he wanted to visit. After he got back, he made egg sandwiches for lunch and we got ready to explore the city again. We started walking towards the castle again, josh wanted to show me the royal gardens. Bad idea, there was an event happening in the gardens and it was packed. There were people everywhere! And the weather was completely different than the day before, it was rather warm and sunny, which was nice, but we were not dressed for the heat! Anyways we made way through the gardens and apparently there was a festival going on with lots of drink and food vendors. Josh's ideal spot! We kept seeing people wait in an extremely long line for this bottle of what looked like yellow wine of some sort. And of course josh wanted to try it! But first we got this pretzel type thing that was coated with sugar and cinnamon. I have been seeing them throughout the city so why not try one here! It was very delicious! Then we headed to get josh his drink, I stood in the shade while he waited in line for 10+ minutes. Finally he got his beverage and it tasted like wine/beer and was very sweet. It was tasty, quenched our thirst on this hot day so we shared 2 glasses, put the rest in the backpack and continued exploring. We decided to walk to the Charles Bridge, which is the city's most famous monument. It was built in the fourteenth century and displays several important statues and holds many vendors during the day since it is a big tourist area. We decided to walk across another bridge parallel to the Charles Bridge and then make our way over there (that way I could take some pictures)! The bridge was very crowded so we walked a little bit on it and then decided it would be best to come back another day. We really didn't have anything else in mind to see today so we walked down the river a little bit until we found a tram stop. We then took it up a few stops, Josh was on a mission to see this church. So we got on the crowded tram (imagine that) and rode it for 2 stops and got off. No clue why we got off at this stop (josh was navigating) but surprisingly at the corner of the intersection stood the Dancing House. Designed by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunic, it is also called "Fred and Ginger" after the shape of the buildings 2 towers, which look like a couple ballroom dancing. It was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996. The very non-traditional design was controversial at the time because the house stands out among the Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings for which Prague is famous and in the opinion of some it does not accord well with these architectural styles. Such a cool building! After we took a few pictures, we hopped back onto the tram and rode a few more stops before getting off again to see this church. Noted this area was on a huge hill and we could only see the 2 open work spires of the church from the ground therefore we had no clue how to get to it! So we walked and walked until we found a sign with the church that pointed this way. But there was this huge hill that we had to walk up to get inside. Me being the skeptical person was unsure that it was the right way because it led up through a residential area so I made josh walk up and make sure that it was an entrance before I had to climb the hill. Last thing I want to do is climb a hill and it not be the correct way to enter the grounds. So he made his way up, I waited until he said it was right and we finally got to the top. This place is called Vysehrad which means "high castle" (and that it is)! We walked around the grounds, mostly on the outer edge with views of the city to the right, about approximately 2.5miles from the center of Prague. We walked to the Church of Sv Petr and Pavel, looked inside and then continued to the Vysehrad Cemetery. It is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. As we walked around, we didn't see anything that looked castle like, it was more of a fortress and later we learned that local legend holds that Vyšehrad was the location of the first settlement which later became Prague. By this time, I was getting irritable, hungry and tired of being out and wanted to go home. But we could not figure out how to get out so we continued to walk around until we found one exit. Then we had to figure out how to get back to the tram stop and then what tram we needed to take to get back home. We got it all figured out, and got home roughly 45 minutes later (there was a lot of traffic throughout the city which slows down the trams because the cars are in the way for them to run). We came home and relaxed for the rest of the night. Also we researched that drink that we purchased at the festival and it is called Burcak and for 2 weeks at the end of September, temporary stalls on street corners sell the years partially fermented new wine. Since it is an annual thing, no wonder there was extremely long lines for this stuff!
From Josh's morning run...not too many people out yet...this is Old Town Square
Monday, September 16, 2013
First Day Exploring Prague | September 13th 2013
We walked a lot today and boy am I tired! Since josh doesn't have school on Fridays, we thought it would be best to explore Prague this weekend so we can get better acquainted with the city. Josh went to school at 11 to pick up his computer from yesterday and then once he got back, we would go out and explore. I got ready and just waited around until he finally showed up at 1. He was already doing some sightseeing of his own and got sidetracked of what our plans were for the day. So after he got back, he made salami and cheese sandwiches, with potato chips and we got ready to explore our side of the city. When josh was out, he found this beautiful park with lots of rose gardens, the prague castle and a few different churches! The only catch about all these places that josh found, was that they were mostly uphill! And I hate hills! But the views of the city were absolutely beautiful. The weather was overcast and chilly, not much sunshine today.
Our first stop was Petrin, a beautiful park with lots of lush trees, green grass, beautiful rose gardens and lots of hills. There were several gardens in this park, all different colors and types of flowers but mostly roses, so pretty. At the top of the hill was Petrinska Rozhledna which is the Petrin Observation Tower that is 1/5 the height of the Eiffel Tower and built in 1891 for an exhibition. Being placed on the hill, the top of the tower sits at the same elevation as the Eiffel Tower, it is considered the little brother to the Eiffel and looks very similar design-wise. In this park, there was a tram that went up and down the hill, Lanova Draha (funicular railway) so although we did the hard part, it was nice to ride the tram down to the bottom. After walking around the park, we kept walking in the direction of the apartment and found Prazsky Hrad, the Prague Castle. Walked up a million steps ( not joking, they went on forever) and when we got to the top, the views were so beautiful yet again. This was a huge tourist site so there were a lot of people visiting the castle which is said to be the biggest castle in the world which is a cool fact and we were there! Josh and I came to the conclusion that this castle is not very "castle-like" as you would expect, it looks like a large governmental building more than a fairy tale inspired building, which is what I imagined. Entering the castle grounds is free, which is nice, you just have to pay to visit the interiors of the castle, cathedral or towers. While walking through the castle, the Cathedral of sv Vit or St. Vitus Cathedral is unlike anything we have seen before. It began construction in 1344 and was stalled by wars, plagues and changes in leadership and was finally finished in the 1920's, nearly 600 years in the making. Such incredible detail, magnificent size and history in this area of Prague. We got a feeling of this spot and knew that we would be back especially when Josh's parents come in October, this is such an important thing to see when in Prague. After the castle, we continued to walk in the direction of the apartment and explored other sites before getting on the tram and going home. We explored for about 4 hours today, took a lot of pictures, walked a lot and I was ready to go home! I knew that tomorrow would lead to new adventures in the city with Joshua as we explore some more! I am still unable to post pictures from one of my cameras, which has most of the pictures on it that I took. All of these pictures are from Josh's phone, so for now this will work! I will post views of the city from the castle in the future!
One of the rose gardens
Petrin Observation Tower, you tell it looks very similar to the Eiffel Tower, only 300 steps to the top!
Entering the castle, not the best picture of the overall building, will show a better one tomorrow
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Technical Difficulties
We have miss placed our camera cord so until we find a way to get the pictures off the camera, I will not post anything, because the pictures help tell and understand the story! Hope to be working in a few days!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
First Day of Classes | September 12th 2013
We got a late start to the day by waking up at 11:30, thank goodness josh did not have studio until 2:30. We were encouraged by Dana to sit in a few czech language classes so we could learn the language while here and possibly use it in the future. It started at 1pm so we rushed to get ready and headed to school. Czech language is one of the most difficult languages, although you can speak any word after you learn the alphabet, it is really difficult. There is a lot of tongue rolling sounds and some words use different pitches of your voice. Even though I may be able to speak the language, i still don't think I will know what the person is saying back, they talk so fast! I think we are going to sit in a few more classes, the professor is very nice and speaks English well so it is easy to understand her. This class lasts a hour and a half and then at 2:30 josh had his studio class until 5:30. I was going to stay at the institute and catch up on my blogs in the lobby area but 20 minutes into his studio, he told me that they were going to explore the "site" of their project and that I could come along, so i packed up my things and walked with the group. The professor, Henry, was not telling us where we were going but guided us on the tram and then walked a few blocks to get an idea of the surrounding area. He then told us where we were, which was Holesovice, a neighborhood north of the center of prague and on the other side of the river ( where we are staying, everything else is on the other side). Today's assignment was to take a hour and observe the site which was a few blocks and the surrounding areas to get a better feeling of the space. This will be used for an assignment that will be completed next week. The site was run-down, dirty, not much activity and non-developed. This is because this section of town was majorly flooded by the river 10 years ago and it is slowly regrowing. Being in this urban design studio, I'm sure josh will be working to develop an area but we are still unsure where this is leading. After the hour was up, we met Henry at a park that had a restaurant and we gathered inside where he bought everyone something to drink and we discussed the findings of the site. As we were beginning to head out, it begins to downpour, ugh, but we had to head back to school to get Josh's computer before heading home. So as a class we walked a mile in the rain trying to find some sort of transportation back. It was miserable, cold and my feet were soaking wet from walking in all the puddles, thank goodness I brought my rain jacket cause some people didn't have any shelter from the rain. We finally found the metro, figure out where we needed to get off and had to connect to another. Long story short, there were 2 different groups, one was going to school and the other back to the pension (where everyone else is staying). So one of the guys said that he was going back to school and then changed his mind but never told us, so we followed the wrong group. So we retraced our steps, went back down into the metro station and got off at the right stop to head to school. Thank goodness for our city tour yesterday, it came in handy today! We got what we needed at school and then proceeded home. We get off the tram and walked to the convenient store and got a few more things to eat for dinner. We got home and changed our clothes because they were soaking wet and i feel gross when riding public transportation (i need some lysol to spray my clothes) and Josh made cheese omelettes, and sweet tea for dinner. What a day! Now we have this weekend to explore more of Prague, maybe go the castle and explore different food places! We shall see!
Orientation Day | September 11th 2013
Today was orientation day, we met at the institute (found it all by ourselves) and met the rest of the students, got keys to the institute and made sure that Josh was registered for the right classes. We got a tour of the institute and then met for orientation which basically talked about rules, manners and a brief czech lesson. Then we were given a presentation of the history and culture of the Czech Republic. Although some of the information was good to know, I was so bored after 10 minutes. But the smell of strong body odor from the presenter kept me awake the entire hour and a half. After that, we separated for a hour lunch break where josh and I walked around the market up the street to find something to eat. We finally found this little deli store that had small sandwiches, which we brought with a coke all for 67 kc or $3.45. Very cheap compared to American. We are still trying to figure out the czech currency but the easiest way is to multiply the kc amount by 5 and move the decimal point over 2 points. So 100 kc equals a little over $5 in American. So in our minds, everything looks expensive but it really isn't. We ate lunch and then met up with everyone else to take a small tour of the city. Our tour guide was Anael who is the assistant director of the institute. She took us to several popular spots throughout the town. Pointed out architectural buildings and statues and helped us to understand some of the history throughout the different sections of town. She also took us to Church of St. James the Greater where legend is told about a thief that attempted to rob the Madonna Pietatis from the altar, but his hand was frozen the moment he touched the statue. The monks had to cut off his arm to get the hand to let go. The blackened arm has been hanging from a chain in the church to this day for about 400 years and is a reminder and warning for thieves. The picture attached is very blurry because i got it off the internet since we were not allowed to take pictures inside the church, but just wanted to give you an idea of what the arm looked like. It was gross seeing that arm hanging in the church, it was black and looked rotten. Can't believe it is still hanging after all this time! After that interesting stop, we walked to the river to take a peak at the castle that was across the way and then returned back to the institute. We probably walked close to 2 miles throughout the city today, and the weather was beautiful, in the low 60's. We were finished for the day so we headed back to the apartment and we both took a nap, it was an exhausting day and we were still not over our jet lag yet. We did not wake up until 9pm and yet to eat dinner so josh headed to the little convenient store down the block, to get something for us to eat. I was still sleepy and did not want to deal with the frustration of finding food in a different language, so I FaceTimed Hannah while he was gone. Anyways 30 minutes later, he came back with 2 bags, one store closed on him so he had to go to another one to get a few more things. He came back with an assortment that cost 350 kc which equals approximate $15. So we heated up leftover pizza from the night before and ate Nutella on bread. Not the best dinner i have had, but it works....I keep telling myself, it is all about the adventure!
Church of St. James
Hanging hand
Assortment that josh brought home from the stores and yes that clock is accurate!
Prosciutto pizza from Tuesday night
Old Town Square
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Views from the apartment!
These are views from our living room windows!
This is looking out into the courtyard from our bedroom.
It is 8:00 am and we are getting ready for orientation day. The temperature is 52 degrees, so quite chilly to what we are used to but we better start adapting soon, don't think it will be any warmer!
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