It's a cool rainy day in Copenhagen, and the perfect excuse to relax and reflect a bit. The past week was full of..well..a whole lot of everything. When last I left you, I was in my first week of classes, and had some social plans for the week, before heading west to Roskilde for the biggest music festival in northern Europe. Wednesday morning I woke up earlier than I care to admit and hopped on the metro, headed to the Islands Brygge. The Copenhagen harbour was deemed clean enough to swim in a few years back, and they constructed these artificial swimming baths, separated from the harbour by fine nets and walking platforms. There's a 10 meter high diving platform and a fifty meter lap pool. It was a great way to start the day, though it was odd to taste saltwater when it feels like you're swimming in a pool.
I borrowed Thomas' bike and rode around the city for an hour or so, an experience in itself. The Danes have a lot of rules about biking, but no country-loving Dane follows one of them. So in one morning, I unlearned all those rules I was told were so important. It was a beautiful day, and after Pete and I did some thrifting for crazy Roskilde clothes, we joined some Kathrine girls for a walk through the park and zoo to the Carlsberg Brewery. The Brewery's highlight is the sprawling bar, where a beer-lover can enjoy Carlsberg's finer beers. Or a Tu
borg, if you just don't care. Later it was time for the beloved "Danish Folk Dancing Night", put on by the CBS social program. They piled 100+ internationals into a gymnasium to learn ancient folk songs on the spot. They provided beer and wine for those who need to loosen up a bit for this kind of setting (read: everybody).
Thursday was a big day, as we were still ill-prepared for Roskilde, and I had two classes. Eventually we had everything packed and ready to go. Pete and I looked like pack mules, and the overwhelming amount of weight was due to beer. 75 beers, two boxes of wine and a bottle of akvavit came with us. Three American girls - Abby, Kara and Megan - made a last minute decision to buy tickets, and we made room at our campsite for them. By campsite I of course mean the 8 x 8 square we tried to save last Sunday.
I think I could write a novella on the Roskilde weekend. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup is marry Humperdinck in little less than half an hour...
So this music festival, Roskilde, is huge. And they let all these crazy Scandos camp for a week BEFORE the music even starts. And apparently last year it was so rainy and muddy that if you didn't have rain boots, you're probably still stuck in the ground. This particular year was gorgeous. A hot sun and the occasional cool breeze, with just a bit of rain late in the weekend. We camped kitty-corner from a group that has been here for the last ten years. At least half of them were a little insane, which made for great entertainment. We were also a bit of a novelty, as it's rare that Americans attend this festival. Please see the left bar to view some photos from Roskilde..
Let me give you a rundown of the music I attended:
Thurs - Lupe Fiasco & Radiohead
Fri - Kate Nash, Band of Horses, Gnarls Barkley, Kings of Leon, Sunburned Hand of the Man & The Streets
Sat - The Fashion, Swollen Members, Neil Fuckin' Young & The Chemical Brothers
Sun - Babylove and the Van Dangos, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Static and Noize & Jay-Z
I had a great time at every show, but my personal favorites from the weekend were Band of Horses, Kings of Leon and Neil Young. Neil Young rocked my socks for three hours, and ended the show on this killer Beatles cover, A Day in the Life. Then he broke all of his strings and just shook his guitar until enough peoples' heads had exploded. This show also marked by single greatest athletic achievement of the summer. They have these people handing out cups of water during each show, and half the time these just get tossed in the air. I was minding my own business, looking around the crowd as Neil destroyed zombies, and suddenly I see this flying white cup coming straight at me, from about forty meters. I didn't even have to move, I just stuck out my left hand and caught it out of the air. Considering this was at 21:00 and I was at a music festival, you should be impressed. All the people that clapped were.
Besides all the great music, this festival boasted some wicked good food. My favorite food stand served something called the "China Box". The China Box was every kind of Chinese food I've ever eaten dumped into one box and mixed around. Beer was also very reasonable, which took me by surprise. One could also walk-in with anything, as long as it was in a plastic or cardboard container with no top.
It was a dirty, sweaty festival. We were up socializing until at least 5 every morning, and by 7 the sun would heat the tent to a temperature appropriate for Jack's pizza. There were showers somewhere, but no one in our camp ever went to look for them. There was a large swimming lake, complete with sand beach, and this was my bath for the weekend. Regrettably, it was no doubt a toilet for many others.
The girls left Sunday afternoon, but Pete and I hung around to see Jay-Z and watch the rioters and raiders start taking the place to pieces. We took down our tent and packed in the dark, and with our remaining luck made it back to Kathrine around 3 or 4 Monday morning. As you can imagine, yesterday was a day of recovery. And showering. I wore my beloved deck shoes all festival, and I'm happy to say they survived. In an effort to get the blood flowing, Pete and I took the metro over to Christianshavn, a neighborhood east of the city centre, and home to Copenhagen's controversial Freetown of Christiania. The political status of this place is always in limbo, but it can best be described as an extremely liberal autonomous neighborhood in the middle of a place ran by rules. We had dinner at this tiny cafe and had a Christiania-brewed beer at Cafe Woodstock. It was very relaxing, and an inexpensive place to have a meal. The place has this weird vibe - it was abuzz, but time moved a bit slower, and there was something surprising around every corner.
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It's continuing to rain on and off, but I'm hoping it lets up this evening, as I have plans to head downtown and check out some free shows at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Until then..
I borrowed Thomas' bike and rode around the city for an hour or so, an experience in itself. The Danes have a lot of rules about biking, but no country-loving Dane follows one of them. So in one morning, I unlearned all those rules I was told were so important. It was a beautiful day, and after Pete and I did some thrifting for crazy Roskilde clothes, we joined some Kathrine girls for a walk through the park and zoo to the Carlsberg Brewery. The Brewery's highlight is the sprawling bar, where a beer-lover can enjoy Carlsberg's finer beers. Or a Tu
borg, if you just don't care. Later it was time for the beloved "Danish Folk Dancing Night", put on by the CBS social program. They piled 100+ internationals into a gymnasium to learn ancient folk songs on the spot. They provided beer and wine for those who need to loosen up a bit for this kind of setting (read: everybody).Thursday was a big day, as we were still ill-prepared for Roskilde, and I had two classes. Eventually we had everything packed and ready to go. Pete and I looked like pack mules, and the overwhelming amount of weight was due to beer. 75 beers, two boxes of wine and a bottle of akvavit came with us. Three American girls - Abby, Kara and Megan - made a last minute decision to buy tickets, and we made room at our campsite for them. By campsite I of course mean the 8 x 8 square we tried to save last Sunday.
I think I could write a novella on the Roskilde weekend. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Buttercup is marry Humperdinck in little less than half an hour...
So this music festival, Roskilde, is huge. And they let all these crazy Scandos camp for a week BEFORE the music even starts. And apparently last year it was so rainy and muddy that if you didn't have rain boots, you're probably still stuck in the ground. This particular year was gorgeous. A hot sun and the occasional cool breeze, with just a bit of rain late in the weekend. We camped kitty-corner from a group that has been here for the last ten years. At least half of them were a little insane, which made for great entertainment. We were also a bit of a novelty, as it's rare that Americans attend this festival. Please see the left bar to view some photos from Roskilde..
Let me give you a rundown of the music I attended:
Thurs - Lupe Fiasco & Radiohead
Fri - Kate Nash, Band of Horses, Gnarls Barkley, Kings of Leon, Sunburned Hand of the Man & The Streets
Sat - The Fashion, Swollen Members, Neil Fuckin' Young & The Chemical Brothers
Sun - Babylove and the Van Dangos, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Static and Noize & Jay-Z
I had a great time at every show, but my personal favorites from the weekend were Band of Horses, Kings of Leon and Neil Young. Neil Young rocked my socks for three hours, and ended the show on this killer Beatles cover, A Day in the Life. Then he broke all of his strings and just shook his guitar until enough peoples' heads had exploded. This show also marked by single greatest athletic achievement of the summer. They have these people handing out cups of water during each show, and half the time these just get tossed in the air. I was minding my own business, looking around the crowd as Neil destroyed zombies, and suddenly I see this flying white cup coming straight at me, from about forty meters. I didn't even have to move, I just stuck out my left hand and caught it out of the air. Considering this was at 21:00 and I was at a music festival, you should be impressed. All the people that clapped were.
Besides all the great music, this festival boasted some wicked good food. My favorite food stand served something called the "China Box". The China Box was every kind of Chinese food I've ever eaten dumped into one box and mixed around. Beer was also very reasonable, which took me by surprise. One could also walk-in with anything, as long as it was in a plastic or cardboard container with no top.
It was a dirty, sweaty festival. We were up socializing until at least 5 every morning, and by 7 the sun would heat the tent to a temperature appropriate for Jack's pizza. There were showers somewhere, but no one in our camp ever went to look for them. There was a large swimming lake, complete with sand beach, and this was my bath for the weekend. Regrettably, it was no doubt a toilet for many others.
The girls left Sunday afternoon, but Pete and I hung around to see Jay-Z and watch the rioters and raiders start taking the place to pieces. We took down our tent and packed in the dark, and with our remaining luck made it back to Kathrine around 3 or 4 Monday morning. As you can imagine, yesterday was a day of recovery. And showering. I wore my beloved deck shoes all festival, and I'm happy to say they survived. In an effort to get the blood flowing, Pete and I took the metro over to Christianshavn, a neighborhood east of the city centre, and home to Copenhagen's controversial Freetown of Christiania. The political status of this place is always in limbo, but it can best be described as an extremely liberal autonomous neighborhood in the middle of a place ran by rules. We had dinner at this tiny cafe and had a Christiania-brewed beer at Cafe Woodstock. It was very relaxing, and an inexpensive place to have a meal. The place has this weird vibe - it was abuzz, but time moved a bit slower, and there was something surprising around every corner.
---
It's continuing to rain on and off, but I'm hoping it lets up this evening, as I have plans to head downtown and check out some free shows at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Until then..
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