Welcome to Denmark!

I've been in Denmark for nearly a week now, and I am having a blast!!! I've met so many new people and seen new areas and I can't wait to tell you all about it. But first, I should probably describe Denmark as well as Copenhagen, the municipality that I'm living in, and the college.

If I had to describe Denmark in only a few words, I'd say that Denmark is old yet clean, extremely organized, and environmentally concerned. Denmark borders with northern Germany but also consists of over 400 islands and is close to both Sweden and Norway. While it may seem like a small country, Denmark also has two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, so it is actually the largest country in Europe. Denmark is probably best known for its environmental concern as well as the popular building bricks called Legos (they actually have a park called Legoland where all the little setups are made out of legos).

While the mass transit system is better than most, it is somewhat expensive and can be potentially confusing for newcomers (I'll talk more about it another time after I fully understand the system myself). Because of this as well as being environmentally conscious, many people travel by bicycle. Since it is so popular, there are specific lanes next to the sidewalk that are for bicycles only. They even have stop lights for bike crossings. But if you don't know or don't follow specific rules for riding a bike (hand signals, specific lights and reflectors, etc.) you would not only annoy the Danes, but could get in serious trouble as well as even fined.

View from my window. I often see more bikes than cars.

The college that I'm attending, DTU (Technical University of Denmark), is a technical college like Clarkson, but they also offer many classes through other programs. For example, the Hellerup Language school offers classes about the Danish Language through DTU, some that I plan on taking. DTU also has many clubs to offer, and is a great way to meet other Danes.

I've had the chance to visit Copenhagen during my introduction week as well as the smaller city of Kongens Lyngby. Here are some pictures from my trip to Copenhagen:

Houses near Nørreport Station

Shopping Center of Copenhagen

 

Christiansborg Palace, residence of Danish Parliament

Boats docked in the Channel

The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen's most famous statue (back side)

Some fellow exchange students I met during Introduction week

Classes start on Monday, but I'll be sure to explore more of this amazing place in my free time!

~Alison