A Friend and a Birthday

Last week was a bit different than all of the others. As I mentioned before, my friend Pınar came to visit. My project work continued as usual, but in the afternoons, I went around Copenhagen with her and re-explored much of the city.

First I took her to the museum where I work. We saw the week-old sheep.

And visited some old buildings

Said hello to the goats

Caught a nice view from the Round Tower

Rode a boat

Visited the grave of Niels Bohr

Played soccer at the park nearby

Went for plenty of walks around town

Other than that, the only real news this week is that it was my birthday. On the eve of my birthday, there was a Turkish/Danish art festival sort of thing called The Triangle Project. Actually it had been going all week but this was the last day. Pınar and I went to one of the artsy events which was a discussion and show-and-tell by artists and musicians both local and from far away. After that we walked around for a while and then went to the last Triangle Project event for Copenhagen. It was an after-work party of sorts in the lobby/bar of a really cool hotel. Of course the place was decorated in a very artsy way. I met some nice people at this gathering, one of whom I will be joining next weekend to go to a soccer match. Anyway, we had a little birthday celebration there. It was a very cozy atmosphere and a memorable time.

A full week

My project partners and I were busy with our project this past week, but of course that didn't prevent us from exploring the city more. Peter and I went to a gigantic cemetary that contains the graves of Soren Kirkegaard, Hans Christian Andersen, and Niels Bohr. While we were there it was sunny, it rained, and it hailed and then repeated that sequence. The cemetary itself is more like a park. It is vast but not overcrowded, and some of the grave sites are just beautiful. I included here a picture of Hans Christian Andersen's resting place.

Saturday was our big reunion/fieldtrip. Even though we (the people here from WPI) all live near each other, we don't necessarily see each other that often. So there was scheduled a big field trip so that we could all get together again. It was led by Mogens who was our Danish instructor and guide during orientation week. It was a treat to hang out with him again. We went to Roskilde to see a cathedral and the viking museum. It was neat to think about the Danish history in these places. One thing that we are missing in the United States is an old history. To think that were were standing before the coffins of kings and queens long passed and in the harbour of an old viking stronghold.

We went for lunch at a place called Viking Pizza. Actually Peter and I had brought our own lunch. The weather was nice so we sat outside. For lunch we had packed open sandwiches consisting of tomato, cucumber, and two types of cheese on some bakery-baked bread. It was really really good. We did a lot of walking afterward and felt reasonably tired at the end of the day. I recall almost everyone staying in that Saturday evening and going to bed early.

Sunday, a bunch of us went to an FC Kobenhavn soccer match at nearby Parken stadium. FCK lost 0-2, but I thought it was still an awesome game.

A bunch of people in the group here have become major fans of FCK and were of course disappointed with the outcome of Sunday's game.

So that was that. The most exciting thing for me this week is that my dear friend, Pınar, and her mom came to Copenhagen on Monday from İstanbul to visit. So this week will be a healthy mix of my project and visiting with them. Happily, their visit coincides with my birthday which is on Thursday, so we are starting to think of how to celebrate that. I like my birthday not so much because of anything to do with me but for the excuse to gather all my friends together and laugh and have fun. I will certainly let you know how all that goes.