I didn't sleep much last night but I did witness how early the sun rises.
This is the sky at 4:00 am.
Baylee and I got up early to go on a boat tour. I tried my yogurt I got yesterday from the grocery store and it was good but tasted very different than yogurt at home.
Everyone in our housing location was invited to go to the tour and about 150 people showed up. To get there, we used the Metro for the first time. It was very busy because people were commuting to work but it went smoothly. The train ride was short but we had to walk 15 minutes to the boat after getting off the train.
It was cold and a little rainy on the boat ride, which was led by the program staff. They were not the most knowledgable because neither staff member has lived in the city long but they had some funny experiences to share with us.
I learned that the water in the canals has only become swimmable in the last 50 years. It looks very clean. We passed this bridge that was built in the 1700s.
The space under the bridges is very small. For some of them, the boat is within 6 inches on either side while going through. I was very impressed with the boat driver's skills.
I'll include some more pictures I took down below, but I saw a lot of areas with historic buildings right next to modern ones. Here is a historic area that now has shipping containers in front of it that are meant for housing.
I don't think they look very good in this area, but we saw the design executed well in other areas of the city. Shipping containers are stacked right next to the water and are becoming popular housing locations for students in Copenhagen.
We passed the old Copenhagen Stock Exchange, which has two twisting dragon tales on top.
There is a lot of construction going on near the canals right now which doesn't look the prettiest but they have some cool things planned for the city. A few years ago, the city decided to make the canals more accessible to the public so they now regulate buildings to make sure the building is not right against the water. There must be a sidewalk or other public area for people to continue walking along the canals.
This modern building is the Copenhagen Stage. It's a pretty new theater. Apparently they are currently showing a play that is 8 hours long. The tour guides recommended we see it, but I do not think I will be doing that.
I think this was one of the most interesting parts of the tour but we didn't get close enough for a good picture. In the picture to the right, there is a large pier on the water. One of the effects of climate change that Copenhagen experiences is flooding. So, they built this pier which has a large, empty reservoir beneath it. When the water level is too high, the reservoir fills to lower the it. Additionally, under this pier has a parking garage underneath. The Metro also goes under some canals, so there is a lot happening beneath the water in Copenhagen.
The tour went past The Little Mermaid which was truly pretty little compared to other statues in the city. The fun facts we learned are that she has been decapitated twice and that once, she was loaned to Shanghai and Copenhagen missed her so much that they set up a projector screen behind the rock and projected live video feed of her on it.
I am hoping to learn more about the building in the back with the smoke but from what I heard today, it is a waste management plant, ski hill, hiking trail, and climbing wall.
After looking online, I found that it's called Copenhill. The climbing wall is for certified climbers and is the tallest in the world at 85 meters. There is even a cafe at the top.
The tour guides said if we take a class about sustainability, the professor may bring us here. I am doing that so hopefully I get to come here on a field trip.
Here is a picture of Copenhill from the internet so you can see a better angle.
These are some cool modern apartments. In front of the apartments is a water taxi that is fully electric. It's very quiet and is supposedly a smooth ride. I have access to this taxi through my commuter card, so I may try it out sometime.
This is the Copenhagen Opera House, which immediately reminded me of the Michigan Avenue Apple store with the flat roof and glass front. Usually at the end of July, there is a diving competition off the top of the roof.
Here are some other photos I took on the boat tour.
After the boat tour, I went home by myself to relax, put warmer clothes on, and have a snack before going to class.
I went to my first class today. It was in the central downtown are next to bars and restaurants, which was weird to see. We didn't learn much in class today but we're going on a field trip tomorrow. After class, I had a veggie burger from a place called Max Burger. It wasn't the best veggie burger I've had but it's cool that they offer it.
I bought a small fan today so hopefully I sleep better tonight. I went in a few other stores like the Lego store, which had a few more sets than I usually see in the US, but it wasn't too different. It rained most of the day so after I walked around for a bit I headed home and picked up sushi for dinner. I am going to try to sleep soon since I haven't slept much since I've been here.
Comments