The Great Danes: a weekend in Denmark

It's been a while since my last post, but so much has happened since then, I've had a hard time deciding how to break everything up. I am officially done with my 10 weeks in the lab, but I will take you back in time a little to where I last left off, which was around week 8. As I was saying, I've been spending time in the lab finishing up the poster. I had sent a first draft to my PhD mentor, Carlos, before I had left for my weekend in Denmark and spent week 9 finalizing it before sending it off to Professor Spence. Week 8 was also full of a few more goodbyes in the lab, as both Allegra, a visiting student from Italy, and Carlos were leaving soon. I've seen so many people come and go in my time here, and I slowly realized that I would soon be the next one to leave.

But enough sentimentality, the post about my weekend in Denmark is long overdue, so let me tell you about my weekend in Aarhus. Denmark was the first place I've visited in my life that the locals speak a language I do not know. There's definitely a challenge visiting a country where all the signs, information, and even the roads, are different.

Denmark

I had a long journey ahead of me, as I had to leave Oxford Thursday night at 1am to reach London Stansted at 4am to catch my flight at 7am. It was a long journey, but well worth it. While I'm not too used to public transportation, one thing I've surely become accustomed to here in Europe has been riding buses, trains, and navigating my way around. Toby was nice enough to pick me up from the airport and ride the bus back with me to her place. We're so used to seeing each other almost every day, that after 2 months of separation, we were just glad to meet again. We spent Friday visiting ARoS Museum. This is the museum that Toby talked a little about a few posts ago, so I won't go into too much detail, but it was really amazing. As a Spanish minor, I learn about the different artistic movements, and it was cool to see the influence of Dali's surrealism and Goya's realism on modern art.

One exhibit that was really cool was the 9 spaces, an allusion to Dante's Divine Comedy, which features a journey through the 9 circles of hell. Each room had some sort of commentary on life, death, and the human condition.

Of course, the best part was the circular walkway which provided a colorful panoramic view of Denmark. The windows are all tinted according to the color spectrum. The view was breathtaking and definitely the highlight of the day.

Earlier that day, one of Toby's housemates had grabbed some vegetables and the residents of "2 Studen" had a fun little barbecue outside. I'm going to miss these summer days-picnics in the University Parks, barbecues on a hot summer day, and just enjoying the moment. Perhaps I'll make more of an effort to enjoy the great outdoors more at Emory.

the little houses-in pink!

an orange tint

feeling green

Saturday, we ventured off to rediscover our inner child at Legoland, which was 1.5 hours away from Aarhus in Billund. The things that can be made out of lego are truly amazing. From miniland to the roller coaster rides, we had a fun-filled day. 

Legoland!

Miniland-little towns replicated, made out of lego!

We visited the Cinderella Castle in Germany!

and the Statue of Liberty!

We were rather tired after our long day, and after making some tasty quesadillas (I was craving that Tex-Mex), we called it a night. Sunday, we ventured to the Old Town, a little town that has been preserved to illustrate the true culture of Denmark. Each little house had some sort of representation of what was-the tradesmen, the artisans, and took us back into the past. After seeing some of true Danish culture, we went back to the dorm to have a fun night of hanging out with the others before my early morning flight on Monday. Denmark was definitely a wonderful experience, and having fun with a good friend created several memories that I will share forever. 

the Old Town

making those cigarettes