Lund At Last

I have arrived in Lund. I have been here for about a week now. It is a short train ride from Copenhagen to Lund, although when one doesn’t speak Danish or Swedish, it can be necessary to ask for help or directions to get here. I was able to figure out how to get to train station with my entire luggage by metro and walking, but getting a train to Lund was a little confusing because the train split into two different groups of cars. After asking for help a few times, I made it to my final destination. The people in Scandinavia are friendly and have no trouble answering questions in English.

From Lund Central Station, I was met by a mentor from Lund University who guided us out of the station to an area where shuttles were en route to pick us up. I waited there with several other exchange students from various parts of the world. We were picked up and taken to the AF building, where we were able to leave our luggage and check in with the university. The lines were long, but eventually I received all of my forms, bought my introductory Swedish language course materials, got my room key, and paid and signed up for a welcoming party on Friday and an excursion on Saturday. I met some friends while checking in, even people from California.

After checking in with the university, I had to check in with the UC Study Center. This was much quicker and only required a few minutes. I was able to meet a few Californians at the same time. From there, I was picked up by another shuttle and taken to Delphi, where I was to live for the semester. I walked to my building (H), and used the key to get in. After dropping off my luggage in my room, I met a few Swedes on my floor. They were happy to converse in English, and I was glad to know that I had friendly people living on my floor. They gave me some information like where I could buy groceries. I left to find some dinner (I had not eaten all day!) and found a familiar American place… McDonalds. Next I went to a grocery store and bought a few items to survive the next few days. On the walk back, I ran into a UC Davis student who is also studying abroad that I met before. She gave me more advice like where to buy a bike.

The next day (Tuesday), I had a general information meeting and my first Swedish class. There are several international people in the class, and even a few Americans. The class is very long, about 3 and a half hours a day. The Swedes use “military time” here, and the class runs from 13.15 – 16.45. But on the bright side, that gives me plenty of time to get to know the people in my class. There are people from Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Netherlands, America, and other countries. I have gotten to know a German girl named Karin and a Spanish girl named Maria as well as the Americans the best in my class. We get break during the class, and I have met a lot of international people then as well. Among these people are two girls named Lindsey from Georgia, plenty of Californians (I think we have the largest foreign exchange program on this campus), and various other international people. Lund is lacking some Swedish people right now, but that will change once the semester really starts, and I am looking forward to meeting Swedes.

It was a little disorienting to find my way around Lund, but after exploring a little bit, I have a fairly good sense of direction in this town. I have been kept busy with going to Swedish class, going to information meetings, buying things to set up my stay in Lund, meeting new people, and exploring the city. People seem to party almost every night in this town because classes have not started yet. If I am lucky, hopefully this fun atmosphere won’t diminish much once classes do start. On Wednesday night, I got my first taste of the Lund party scene by going to a party in Kårhuset, the engineering student union area, with some people I had met earlier. I saw some UC Davis exchange students at the general information meeting, and they introduced me to some of their friends and told me about the party that evening. So we went back to Delphi, hung out a little bit, and then left to go to the party. I had no idea how to get there, but luckily I was with a UC Berkeley exchange student named Cheryl who knows a lot about the town since she has been here all summer. The party was better than I expected, with lots of props like laser lights and fog machines, as well as a stocked bar. I had somewhat of a culture shock when I found out that the Swedes dance differently than people in America do. It felt almost like a middle school dance, with people dancing awkwardly and far apart. I am glad to be in a country where no once can dance very well though, because I am not a very good dancer either. After the party, we went to a student pub and partied a little bit more. I met a very interesting and drunk Swede that I talked to about an hour; although I doubt that he will remember the conversation. One thing I noticed is that the Swedes listen to some old American music, even from the 80’s. At the pub, I heard some American music from the 90’s. It seems that the Swedes love American music, but they have a different about what is good music compared to what most American college students think. I think that because this was an engineering party, it may be a bit different than the mainstream in Lund though. The night made for a fun experience though, with a different style of dancing and different taste in music than my own for the most part. The sky was getting light again on our way back to Delphi, and it did not help that I had a registration meeting for LTH (the engineering school in Lund) the next day.

My alarm never went off the next day, so I woke up a little late and missed the first part of the meeting, but I was able to make it to the important part of the meeting where I got information about the engineering classes that I would be taking. I am a little upset that I was assigned so many engineering classes, because I planned on taking none while I was here and just enjoying and getting immersed in the Swedish culture. On my way to my Swedish class, I chatted with a girl from Australia who knows the brother of the drummer from Linking Park. I just saw them in concert less than a month ago, what a small world! The day was long, but the night was worth the wait. I met up with Matt, an American from UC Davis and who grew up in Livermore and went to my high school. We pre-partied with some other California people, and then headed off to the party. Alcohol is extremely expensive in Sweden so it makes a lot more sense to drink for cheap at home before heading off to a party where it is sold. As if this was not inconvenient enough, hard alcohol and beer with a concentration higher than 3.5% must be bought from a government store that often closes very early. So there basically has to be a plan for each night, rather than just throwing together a pre-party at the last minute. This along with the price is another cultural difference that is a little frustrating, but I am already starting to adapt to the system. A Swede on my floor goes to Germany every now and then to load up a car with beer and drive it back to Sweden to save money on beer. This would be a good option if I had a car. At any rate, we arrived at the party that night with a decent beer buzz. Matt bought us a round and I bought us a round a little later. It takes a very nice person to buy you a beer at these prices. And since a Krona is worth about 7 times less than a dollar, the prices even look very expensive. I met many international people that night, and it was fun to party at a pub.

The next day (Thursday), I had my Swedish class as usual. I explored the town some more, and bought a buss pass. It takes about a half an hour to walk from campus to Delphi, so taking the bus is often necessary. I am still searching for a 2^nd hand bike, but they are hard to come by in this town because they are in such high demand. I was lucky to have one of the Lindsey’s from Georgia walk with me and show me where some of the bike places were, but all of the bikes had already been bought. I am still looking for a bike but I think that I may be able to get one on Monday or Tuesday. I spent Thursday night doing some chores like paper work and reading. I have a Swedish SIM card now, which should save me a lot of money. I had to plan out my classes so I could talk about them with the coordinator on Friday.

On Friday, I talked with Nancy, my coordinator, and we discovered that I may not be qualified or even registered for at least one of my Engineering classes. In spite of this, she is reluctant to sign me up for SAS (Swedish culture, history, etc.) classes and wants me to keep my engineering courses. Now I have to talk with the teachers of my classes and figure out what it going on. I think that if I am going to be taking engineering classes, I may as well stay in Lund for a year because I will not be getting behind in my progress towards my degree. I may have contact with people who would want to accept me to go to grad school in Lund. This option is just speculative at this point, but I would rather spend a year in Lund because I may never be able to live in Europe again, so I might as well make the most of it.

There was a welcome party on Friday night. I pre-partied in Delphi with some American friends, and headed to the party, which was in Kårhuset. This time there were many more people there. I met a lot of international people, including a hot German girl and an interesting Norwegian with whom I had a great discussion about politics, global warming, and science (a rare and appreciated occasion for me). The music was a little better that night, probably because the party was not being thrown by engineers. There were still some engineers at the party though. They are quite visible in Lund because they all wear jump suits, with a different color for each type of major for engineering. The electrical engineers wear white. This seems very strange to me, and I am glad that we do not do this back at UC Davis, but it makes me appreciate the uniqueness of Lund a little bit more. When the party ended, we went back to Delphi, where there was supposed to be an after-party. I just decided to go to sleep because I had to wake up for an excursion the next day.

I woke up a little late once again, but this time I made it to where I was supposed to go, the Lund Domkirke (cathedral), on time. I talked with a German girl from my Swedish class on my way there, and learned a little bit about Oktoberfest, which I plan on going to in late September. I took a bus with a group to our first tourist point of the excursion. Today we were exploring Österlen, specifically Ales Stenar, which is like a Scandinavian version of Stonehenge, and Glimmingehus, which is a well preserved castle that was owned by a pirate. This took up most of the day, but it was nice to learn some Scandinavian history. While at Ales Stenar, I was able to try some Scandinavian fish for the first time on this trip. It was served with some veggies in a shish kabob style and was good. I talked with a Ukrainian girl named Natalya on the way back to Lund. We got coffee once we got back and she introduced me to some French people that are friends of hers. Natalya and I met up later that night to party, but instead we just walked around and explored more of Lund. There was a crayfish party at one of the nations that night which I missed because I did not buy a ticket for it, but I was content just walking around Lund. There nations here is Lund are like fraternities or sororities in America, except they are co-ed and nonexclusive. It seems like everyone at Lund University joins a nation, and you can go to all of the other nations’ parties just by joining one nation. While walking around Lund, I discovered where two different liquor stores are, and that is important knowledge here in Lund. I also learned a lot about Ukraine from Natalya, so yesterday was basically a huge culture and history lesson, but that seems to be a common experience as a foreigner here in Europe, and I am content with that.

Today I took care of more logistical issues and had an easy, lazy day. I cleaned up my room a little and went shopping at a supermarket I had not been to before called Willey’s, which is supposed to be the cheapest place to go around here. It was a little difficult to shop because almost everything is in Swedish, but I managed to buy what I wanted. I like the different selection of food items here in Sweden. And I also like when people mistake me for a Swede, as the cashier lady did at the supermarket today. It gives me encouragement that I am adapting to Swedish culture and that I can continue to adapt, even though my Swedish language skills are horrible.

My meals are still sporadic at this point, but I am discovering more of Lund each day as I search for places to eat and as I accomplish small tasks to set myself up for the semester. It is almost magical to walk down the cobblestone streets in Lund and see all of the old buildings. Lund University is older than the United States, and can feel a little bit like Hogwarts at times. The cathedral here is around 900 years old, and it is nostalgic to imagine the generations that have passed on the same medieval streets that I walk on in Lund. I feel very lucky to get the opportunity to live in this town. I drank some coffee at a couple of the Cafés here, and I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of both the place and the coffee. I think cafes are much better here than in America, and they seem to be much more popular. My only complaint is that they close rather early… around 6 pm (or 18:00 på Svenska). It looks like a lot of people go out to a pub or restaurant at this time. Now that I have groceries, I am going to start cooking for myself so I can save money. This will allow me to have some money for cafes and other expenses. Tomorrow I am going to look for a bike and find out where my prospective classes will be.

Lund University main building

AF building
UC Study Center
Delphi H building
one of many cobblestone streets in Lund
Lund Domkirke
Kårhuset

Party in Kårhuset


Party in Kårhuset

Crazy in Copenhagen

I am now starting to feel more adjusted to Scandinavia. I spent all of yesterday and much of today exploring Copenhagen, seeing the touristy sites, etc. The city is truly beautiful, and is a marvel both by day and by night. At night, Copenhagen is a party city with many pubs, bars, and clubs to go to. The city is beautifully lit up at night, and there is a strange mix of old architecture with modern neon lights. The Danes like to party late into the night. Many of them stay up partying and see the sun rise. During the day, there are many museums to see, streets to walk, and countless cafes to sit down at and watch the world pass by while drinking a coffee and having a fine Danish pastry. I started out my morning yesterday in just that sort of way. From my hotel, I headed towards Christianshavn and a café caught my eye. The barista was friendly and willing to answer my questions regarding the area. I had a light European breakfast, and then continued my exploration of the city by walking down the canals. These are a sight pleasing to the eye, and I envisioned myself one day owning a boat in Copenhagen, such as the many that were docked there. I found a great view of Nyhavn just across the inlet from Christianshavn. From there, I walked towards a spiraling church tower. For 25 Kroner, I was able to go to the top of the tower and get a spectacular panoramic view of Copenhagen. After setting foot back on the street, I went to Christiania, a partially self-governing neighborhood inside of Copenhagen. One is not allowed to take pictures inside Christiania, but it is a very free –spirited area, with many artsy and “hippie” types of people. It reminded me of Berkeley in a way. Next I went to the Black Diamond, which is the Danish Royal Library. It is an impressive modern structure amidst the historical buildings beside it. Just behind the library is an equally impressive garden. Then just beyond that lies a square which gave excellent opportunities to take pictures of some of the classical building, of which one of my favorites was the Old Stock Exchange, with a dragon spire on the roof. From there, it is a short walk to the inner city, which is buzzing with people. The inner city is intersected by Stroget, a pedestrian street lined with shops that stretched for quite a while. I walked towards Tivoli, an amusement park which Denmark is well known for, and explored the Central Station, where I will be leaving this great city tomorrow morning. I headed north and saw the Tycho Brahe Planetarium. Continuing north, I explored a park, and then the Botanical Gardens. These perfectly masked the feeling of being in an urban environment, but Copenhagen has not been a sore for my eye thus far, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. It was a short walk to Rosenborg Castle from the gardens. This place was very ornate, and there was even a wedding reception taking place in the park where the castle lies. Walking east, I ran into Amalienborg Palace and Frederik’s Church. A little further east was the Opera House, which could be seen across the water.

I had to start getting back to my hotel, because earlier in the day I had met a Colombian tourist named Louis. He had invited me to go pub crawling with him and some Spanish girls he met on his flight. I rushed back to my hotel, and then headed towards the Danhostel, where he was trying to get a room. On my way there, I took note of a rap concert going on in the city square by City Hall. There were a lot of people in my age group so I considered going back there once I found Louis and the girls, and it was close to many pubs. Louis had not gotten a room by the time I arrived, so I decided to order a pizza and drink some beer while I waited for him to get one and we waited for the Spanish girls to arrive. While I was having my meal, I talked with some girls from England and New Zealand. I ended up talking to the New Zealand girl for about an hour, until she had to leave to meet her friends. Louis had not returned yet, so I decided to try and find some night life by myself. After walking down many streets and asking some locals if they knew of any good places, I heard some noise and followed my instinct. It brought me to a group of people about my age, all partying in the middle of a street. After talking to a Swedish girl, I found that it was a pre-party for a rave that was going on that night. Great, that is just the sort of thing that I was looking for! So I followed the crowd to a square by the Old Stock Exchange where we waited for a bus to pick us up and take us to the rave. I talked with some Swedes and Danes, and we even got into politics at one point. It is frustrating not being able to understand what people are saying around you, but luckily Scandinavians speak fluent English, at least the younger generations. After a while, the bus arrived and took us to the rave. The bus driving started pumping up the crowd by getting them to sing Danish drinking songs. When we got to the rave there was a long line, but the time passed by pretty quickly by talking to some people. I discovered that the place was huge when I got inside. There were two different stories and 4 different areas playing different typed of music with different DJs. Each place had its own bar. The loud music made it even harder to understand to locals, but I just tried to blend in a little. Being alone was the worst part, because there were some awkward times when I had no one to talk to or dance with, but with such a big crowd, it was easy to change scenes and explore different opportunities. I think I started to head home around 4 am, but the rave was still very much happening when I left. It took me about an hour and a half to walk back to my hotel, but the scenery of the city at night was well worth it. I feel like I really lived my life that day, which immense historical, cultural, and social experiences. It was the perfect night and day to kick off my adventure in Europe, and I feel very lucky that everything worked out as it did.

The next morning, I decided to see the last of the important tourist sites. The best known of these is the Little Mermaid statue. I headed north and checked out this statue, the nearby fortress, and a small gothic styled church or cathedral. The mermaid statue had many people around trying to take pictures. I decided to get a picture of the statue instead of myself with the statue, because of the crowd and the delay it would have caused. After seeing what is commonly regarded as the most important landmark in Copenhagen, I decided to go back to my hotel and rest, because my feet were aching from all the walking I had done even the day before. After resting a little, I went out for a light dinner at a café along Stroget. The coffee here is great, but I had some strange goat cheese and banana sandwich that I am not quite used to. I guess it will take me awhile to adjust to European food. Still, I would love to try a more authentic Danish pastry some time. I was unable to get one today because it is Sunday and many of the bakeries are closed. I will probably return some time to get myself one if I do not manage to do so tomorrow.

The plan for tomorrow is to leave for Lund by around noon so I can register for my program and get settled in to my apartment. I am looking forward to exploring Lund in the future and getting used to what will be my new home for the next 4 to 5 months. I can say for sure that it is great to be in Scandinavia.

Copenhagen City Hall

coffee and a pastry

a canal in Christianshavn

Vor Freslers Kirke

Christiania

Black Diamond (Royal Library)

Old Stock Market

Rosenborg Castle

Opera House

Rave

The Little Mermaid

Hopping the Pond

I have arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a long journey. International flights take forever, but it was interesting to hear all of the different accents and languages being spoken. I was given an aisle seat next to a British family, which I talked to and gained some insight about how they live. I also had a great view of the city of London, including the downtown center, as my flight was approaching London Heathrow Airport. It was in this airport that I had my first pint of ale for this journey abroad. It's fun to be able to drink legally.
The flight to Copenhagen was much shorter, and I was able to take advantage of some of the scenery because I had a window seat. I was able to recognize a lot of what I saw because I have been exploring the region using Google Earth. It was crazy to see these things in real life. After landing, I navigated myself to an area where I was able to buy a train ticket, which was pretty hard because the machine did not use English. I managed to get to the train stop that I wanted, and searched for a nearby bus stop. I had no Danish Kronor at this time, and was able to play dumb and get a ride for free on the bus. I had to walk a few blocks after being dropped off by the bus, but I finally reached the Copenhagen Strand Hotel, where I will be staying for the next three nights.
After getting settled in, I began to explore the city and take pictures. The architecture here is beautiful, in a traditional Danish style. It makes me ashamed and disappointed of the ugly architecture and lack of interest for aesthetic design back home. I visited Nyhaven, King's Square, a big long street that functions as a huge outdoor mall, Tivoli Gardens, and other places. I finally took some Danish currency out of an ATM, and am more or less set up for my stay in Copenhagen. For the rest of the evening, I am going to go to a pub that I found nearby to have a good meal and a pint of Copenhagens finest, either Tuborg or Carlsberg. I will also explore a little more as I head back to my hotel. I have major jet lag, but I will sleep well tonight.

The first pint of my trip, in London

Nyhavn



Strøget

Getting Close to Departure

Here is an image of the region where I will be.

I am getting close to my Departure to Europe. Today I booked a hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. I will arrive in Copenhagen on August 17th, and will stay at the Copenhagen Strand Hotel for 3 nights. On the morning of the 20th I am going to take a train to Lund to begin my program there. I originally planned to go to Stockholm, Sweden for the first few days, but I realized that I would spend most of my free time traveling to Stockholm rather than visiting it. This has made Copenhagen a much more viable option. There are some sites I want to see there, such has Nyhavn and Christiania. The day that I arrive in Copenhagen, there will be a Mew (Danish band that I recently discovered) concert that I might check out. Other than these plans, I am going to do my best to enjoy European life and try to assimilate into the European culture.