Brrr!

Seaweed Thatched roof

Day 13: Copenhagen

Danish pastries are amazing. If I didn’t have to walk everywhere and have to take the stairs everyday I would come back to the US very very large. Today was another early morning. Only class day 2 and I feel like we are already in full speed. 10 weeks of our quarter system is already very condense, so trying to cram a whole semester in 7 weeks will be...fun... No but so far I have learned soooo much. In 2 days we have already 5 different lectures from 5 different working professionals, studio sessions, team model building and the 2 field study trips. It’s hectic but very worth it. After our 8.30-11.30 lecture we went to the Open Air Museum 20 mins north of CPH. We studied the history of domestic homes brought over and preserved from Denmark and areas of Sweden.
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What I found out this today:
-Materials you will see a lot in older Danish and Swedish homes: Straw or seaweed on their roofs, timber and a lot of brick. Later they used a lot of copper for their roofs and ornaments. Now a lot of people associate Scandinavian architecture to be made of wood, glass and metals.
-It can get warm to very cold in 10 minutes and rain within seconds. Luckily it only got really cold windy and drizzily.

What I Saw & Learned:
-Many different types of homes at the Open Air Museum
It’s free to the public, so go if you are here!
-MIT’s Chapel by Eero Saarinen Case study
At first glance I just thought of it as some sort of Silo, but having a closer look at the sturctural details and interiors, the chapel is inspiring. It is a very radically inward oriented space and like all places of worship the alter is the focal point. Emphasis of the alter by manipulating the light shaft and visually enhancing the light by adding the reflective elements around the light. Google it! or visit it in Boston!
-A family of yellow and black ducks, they were so cute!
-Sheep, horses, rams, pigs, chickens, roosters!
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It was a nice combination day with lectures and the trip. Afterwards though many of us met up with our groups at the studio to discuss our project concepts, execution etc. I also had a nice chat with Professor Heinrich Hermann who is currently a professor at RISD and a private architect. His resume is very impressive and he is a very nice old Austrian man. I asked him about Germany and one of his comments: “Oh they are nice...they are too strict and hardworking...They must think us Austrians dance all the time and that they are better than us because of it. But we do like to dance,”

End of the Day thought: Tomorrow. Tgif...oh wait I mean studio time... woo..

First Day of Classes

Studio Space

Day 12: Copenhagen

So I’m not sure that I’m ready for classes to start again, but I’m nervous and excited. We had to get up at 6.30, be ready by 7.30 and made our way out to the train station for clss at 8.30. It only takes a 10 min walk to the station, 5 mins on the train and a 5 min walk to school. We stopped for expensive tea and coffee...$3-9 a cup I believe. Had classes until 5.30 and we were exhausted and a bit overwhelmed by the workload. We thought we were going to have an easy first weekend, but we have 50% of our project to be completed and presented by Monday! So goodbye weekend. But it’s exciting working with people in architecture, urban design and other interior people. I will learn so much, even if I crash and burn by next week!
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Project: Create a site analysis and model on a 1:50 scale (metrics) based on research within assigned group by Monday. My group was assigned Alvar Aalto’s Säynätsalo in Finland to research.

Workload for the night:
A ton of reading
Sketch model
Concept sketches
Research of given architecture program

What I found out today:
-Danish accents are pretty fun to listen to
-Don’t talk on the train in the morning- people will stare at you.
-Alvar Aalto and Jorn Utzon are very influential architects and have many great projects
I’ll upload pictures and information once I go visit those sites here in CPH and when I go to Finland and Sweden!
-Going to have to buy a lot of materials!!! UGH
-METRIC SYSTEM WHAT?
-Oh and still working on military time

New word of the day: Jeg elsker dig- I love you

What I Saw: 
-A lot of cute vintage shops and stores (no time or moolah to shop for now though!) at 25-50% tax rates I don’t think I will ever have money anymore!

Misc: Coolest ducks here. They are black with shiny white beaks. Had our first dinner in the kitchen that Brenna cooked for us. Yum.

The Kitchen our floor shares is Cozy

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So long for now. Have to start my loads of homework. Hopefully we will be able to get a couple hours of sleep before waking up at 6.30 again. Thankfully my group meets at 9.45 on Friday so I can sleep in a little more.

Shout-outs: Marla and Mia for being great people are following me and Brenna’s blogs! Marla- Hope you had fun in LA and Vegas!
My mom for kind of learning how to Skype with me!

End of the Day thought: Ahh homework in the summer!?

Apartment Sweet Apartment

Oresund

They gave me pink flower sheets

Sketchy Green Couch

Day 8-11 Copenhagen

Sorry it has been awhile since I blogged! Moving has been hectic and I didn’t have internet. We moved into our rooms yesterday in a town called Amager which is still within the Copenhagen city, just on the outskirt. I have my own room and so does Brenna. We share a bathroom which is kind of...interesting. Imagine your shower head attached to your sink and when you turn the sink on, the shower turns on too. Although the bathroom is gross our bedrooms are very cute.
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Where we are staying: Øresundskollegiet Building

What I found out this weekend:
-Danes do not have a word for please
-Things close very early
-Bicycling through the streets are not as relaxing as I thought it would be
-Kronos are kind of a confusing currency to work with
-They use pin numbers instead of signitures even for credit cards (I found this out the hard way)

New word of the day: Ga Weg! (Go away!)

What I Saw:
-Copenhagen harbor
Went on a boat ride and it was such a nice ride. The water, city skyline and architecture is amazing. I’ll list all the great architecture once I really get to see them up close
-What a hostel looks like
Danhostel in Denmark is actually a nice place to stay

Misc: Andrew’s study abroad group was actually here over the weekend so I got to have dinner with him for a couple nights. I can’t believe I got to see him in Europe!

Kristin arrived today and is our lovely neighbor!
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Copenhagen is such a lovely place. It’s not too big but not too small either. It has cute cobblestone streets, historical architecture, beautiful landmarks and so much more. I’m excited that I get to call this place my home for the next 6 weeks! Sorry if the next blogs are not as interesting because I will be staying in one place. But I will be sharing all the wonderful things I will experience and learn here about interior architecture and about the people & culture here!

Shout-outs: Happy Birthday to the best brother in the world!!! I can not believe that you are in high school and taller than me now! I love and miss you little brother! Have a wonderful day, you deserve it!

End of the Day thought: I’m going to try not to get homesick.

En Route

View of Verona area from the Train

View of the Alps

Day 7: Milan (Train Station)

So today was just a day of traveling, nothing particularly exciting happened today but we got to see the countryside of Italy on our way up to Milan’s trainstation. Highlight of the morning was Brenna getting pooped on by a pigeon at the station.
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Where we are staying before we get our permanent rooms: Comfort Inn
Very nice, free internet, nice staff. But located next and across from a strip club...ew. But we are in the middle of everything.

What I found out today: 
-People aren’t just being nice, they are trying to rip you off at the stations (true everywhere though, so be careful!)
-Shuffling makes waiting at the stations go a lot faster
-Military time in Europe
Found this when we first got to Europe but just telling yall
-Danish will be hard to learn
-Allowed to drink publicly resulting to a lot of drunken fools
Just think drunk college kids running all over Copenhagen, it was kind of overwhelming and unexpected
-Don't like expresso
Had my first Italian expresso shot thing, no amount of sugar and milked helped.
-It's cold in DK at night
-Danish money (Krones) are weird

New Danish word or phrase of the day: Hej: Hi     Farvel: Goodbye

What I Saw:
-Beautiful countryside of Italy
-Milan Train station
-Milan airport
-Copenhagen airport
Beautiful airport and has fun chairs
-Crazy Nightlife of Copenhagen
First of probably many my many nights here
-Michael Jackson Fans in a circle, praying downtown at 11pm
I love MJ but this group is serious.
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It was a nice day of travel. We did lose our last train ticket but we had scanned copies of them all so that saved us. We trained fro Venice to Milan, trained Milan to airport than flew from Milan to Denmark. On the plane we were surrounded by blue eyed blond haired babies and kids so I knew we were going to the right place. We arrived in Copenhagen at 9.45pm and it was still light out.
When we arrived Andrew’s study abroad group is studying architecture in Copenhagen for a few nights so we found each other!! He took me and Brenna for our first Danish hotdog (yum, but awkward to eat). We walked around and saw crazy people everywhere. Than later me and Andrew went to see live music and walked around the rest of the night. It’s so crazy to be with him in Europe!

End of the Day thought: I’m in Copenhagen. What?!

Arrivederci Italia

Day 6: Venice

For our last day in Venice, Italy we decided to go to the beach that many people rave about. After getting on the wrong bus (story of our trip) and finally getting to the right place we took a ferry to the island of Lido that is next to Venice.

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What I found out today:

-The hotels we stayed at have weird hairdryers. They look like vacumm cleaners.

-You will never get bored of the neverending rows of different color houses along the canels. They are all so unique!

-Scarpa Cosetta Pasticcerie has very many yummy pastries! We may have bought 11 different kinds to take back with us to the hotel

-I didn’t like the Venetian drink that is the traditional drink of Venice. We saw everyone drinking it so we had to try.

Ingredients: White wine, Spritzer, bitters, something else that is orange, something else, olive, orange slice

-Birds here are not scared to get on your plate and eat off it

What I Saw:

-Lido Beach

-Venice in a different point of view by ferry (Bella!)

-Town of Lido

Misc: Brenna didn’t find her tall dark handsome guy here. She’s going to look for her blond, blue eyed love in Copenhagen. 

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Today was a great last day in Italy. It was a fun short trip and I hope I get to come back one day and visit these cities again. Next time I’d also want to see the leaning tower of Pisa, eat more local cuisines, more pizza, more pasta, more creampuffs um basically all food. Our last sunset in Venice was gorgeous. 

Tomorrow will be a day of traveling train to Milan’s airport than flight to our new home for the next few months, Denmark.  After our program in Denmark ends in August we get to be in Ireland for 4 days before we go back to the states!! Woo! 

Shout-outs: To my little brother, you would love love love the lasagna here! All the people in Italy that helped us not get too lost and not getting angry when we didn’t understand what you said but pretended to. :)

The Whalens for being Brenna's fabulous parents!

End of the Day thought: I’ll be back Italia! Ciao for now.

Dov'è...?

He was ok with it

Day 5: Venice

Our next and final destination of our Italian journey is to Venice! We learned the hard way that traveling light is very important especially in Florence. Stairs and cobblestone roads are not friends when having to hail a taxi down 5 blocks... Another fun obstacle is lugging huge 50lb suitcases on and off the trains, under and over the train stations and getting dirty looks from people who we end up hitting (I accidentally hit 2 old men with my backpack and they shot me the dirtiest looks!) It’s hard travelling light when you’re about to spend 2 months in Denmark! I will get nice tone arms by the end of this trip though.

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Where we are staying: Hotel Vienna

What I found out today:

-Don’t impulsively buy a slushie without asking what flavor it is first. Your thirst quenching apple slushie may be mint flavored instead. Instead of drinking something fruity and delicious it tasted like I drank my toothpaste. 

-Venice is a never ending winding of paths. You will get lost if you do not have a map! (We got lost for 2 hours even with a map so...) But it is a beautiful town to get lost in.

What I Saw:

-Basilica di Saint Marco 

Gorgeous gold mozaic work with hundreds of different colors arranged into figures, animals, sayings etc. The inside was glistening and although it was dark the figures seemed to glow. Although I am not Catholic, the past Basilicas are very moving and my appreciation for the history behind every single thing interior/exterior has grown. 

-Piazza di Saint Marco

It was so fun. We got to chase the hundreds of pigeons and watch the birds land on people. This was a very lively and fun place full of birds and people.

-Streets of Venice

Just like out of the postcards, the paths and roads are pedestrian only. Built on the water and on narrow winding streets. The houses were different colors, shapes and sizes. Cutest place I have ever seen.

-Ponte di Rialto

Huge bridge with shops

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The Gondala ride has always been something I wanted to do. It was espensive though but worth the experience. Although our guy was kind of a character it was a great way to see the neighborhood. I did feel bad that 6 hours worth of work money was gone in my 20 minute experience..

Shout-outs: GeorgeAnne! I tried finding cute homes like on house hunters international! I wish you and the downstairs admissions crew were here. Miss you all so so much!

Miss my family so much! Getting a bit homesick already!

End of the Day thought: Where did all my money go??

Va Bene

Duomo

It's nice at the Top

You're Allowed

Yum

Day 4: Florence

Woo! Today was probably one of the best days of the many perfect days. We climbed Mount Everest of Florence aka il Duomo! Had an AMAZING lunch, saw more beautiful architecture and art, followed by a perfect evening wine & dessert where Brenna’s future husband works at.
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What I found out today:
-Sidewalks can be used as a parking space
-The best sandwich comes from the bread shop right below our hotel. Oh and had the best creampuff ever. (But not as good as Gran’s of course, don’t worry Andrew!)


What I Saw:
-The Duomo in the The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore
The thousands (I’m not kidding) of steps of narrow spiraling stairs and fear of heights is very very worth it, one of the best views I have ever seen. Will I do it again...we’ll talk about that when I’m in better shape.
-The Basilica of Saint Lorenzo
We had to sit and take all the beauty in, oh and to rest our bodys
-The Basilica of Saint Croce
It was amazing as is all the things we’ve seen. Oh Brenna just informed me that Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and many other great minds are buried there. wow.
-Mini Flea market
-Ponte Vecchio Bridge
Watched the sunset

Misc: Fresh Mozzerella is wonderful. The Bussola Ristorante is a wonderful place to have wine, mozzerella and dessert at. The couple next to us raved about their pizza too! Go there.
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It was a beautiful day. Hot but wonderful. We watched the sunset over the bridge. Walked the streets and wandered around in the evening after sightseeing. So we had a work out and treated ourselves today...perfecto. Va Bene!

Shout-outs: To my former roommate, Miss Kitten Pinto!! The street our hotel is called Bargi Pinti...not your last name but close. Also every time we see a bird Brenna always points to it and I think of you and the infamous Bow I never met. I miss you bella, hope you are having a great time in Spain!
Kitten’s End of the Day thought, in response to previous post: “if water is the same price as beer (sometimes more) why drink water?”

Jen Pepe! For being my first reader of my first blog ever! Hope you and the family are doing wonderfully!

End of the Day thought: Food baby is happy today.

Fresh a-Peppa?

View of the Duomo from the Cafe

The replica David we thought was the real one, Oops.

Day 3: Florence

To start off our day, Brenna decided to slowly fall down the stairs on the way to breakfast this morning. That tells you how much walking we did yesterday. Luckily our hotel keys fell to the staircase right under us somehow and not the elevator shoot. She was ok, so I giggled all the way down to breakfast. We than continued our journey north through Italy. Next stop: Florence

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Where we are staying: Cardinal Hotel -Nice hotel and staff, but what was not fun were the 4 flights of stairs we lugged our 50 lb bags up. Oh we burned those bread and olive oil cals right up.

What I found out today:
-I knew this already but Americans defiantly take water for granted. When you go to a restaurant you have to pay for the water, so don’t expect nice cold water to greet you when you sit down after 3 hours of walking in 90 degree heat. Toliets have little water, no ice machine, people don’t water their lawns all day. 

-No one’s in a rush, unless you’re a tourist

-You can buy shampoo and liquor all in one aisle

What I Saw:

-The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

-The David statue which we just found out was the replica, so we will be hunting for the real thang tomorrow

-Many cute shops throughout in the Piazza del Duomo

Misc: Don’t forget to grab your passports from the hotel reception area, it results in doubling your taxi fee when going back for them.

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Today was great. Rode on my first long distance train. It was very pleasant. I shuffled a little while jamming on my pod. The countryside was gorgeous, saw a field of sunflowers, ancient homes stuck on the side of mountains and miles of hills and mountains. We decided to have a lax day, so we wandered the streets. What makes Florence different from Rome, is that it has very narrow streets 95% are pretty cobblestone or stonework. The buildings and the pretty narrow winding roads are what I always pictured Italy to be. There were a lot of tourists but not as crazy as Rome, it was even quiet and serene eating at a tiny cafe, which we have enjoyed doing everyday. Real pizza and lasagna is fantastica. You know it legit lasagna when there's a gold leaf you can eat on it.

Shout-outs: Happy 7 years to Andrew! I miss you and hope you are having a great time in Helinski! Brenna was nice enough to take my out to a romantic dinner in honor of us. :)

End of the Day thought: Train ride made me think of going to Hogwarts the whole time. (Yeah judge me)

Mamma Mia

Oh, Hello.



Day 2: Rome
So day 2 was very productive. Brenna mastered the bus navigating and I mastered not passing out from the heat.

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What I found out today:
Nuns are so cool. There is something beautiful in every corner. A lot of the beautiful buildings and shops are hidden in corners or you can only access them through narrow streets that are lined with very cute homes, apartments and shops i.e. the Travi Fountain we found by walking through the cobblestone streets.

What I Saw:

-Vatican, Basilica St. Pietro

It was crazy how beautiful it is and how huge it is! It was just so amazing to see where the Pope does his thang. I would defiantly want to see that again someday.

-Sistine Chapel

Saw some of the most famous paintings known to the world i.e. The -Last Supper and the famous God reaching for David’s hand (finger touching painting as me and Brenna like to call it). It was so amazing to see these in real life after learning about them all through my life.

-Stumbled on to the Column of Traiana

-Colosseum

It is fantastic. How did they build these things back than? The achitects were just so fantastic.

-Saw the Travi Fountain

Made a wish

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It was so hot today. Luckily not humid or I would of passed out on the nice cobblestone streets and run over by a million vespas. We saw so much today! We also had great speghetti and REALLY goood creampuffs which we don’t know the name of...pasoroteleildi something.

End of the Day thought: Both my feet hurt.

Just Romeing Around..

Day 1: Rome

Ya! Brenna and I made it. Our first night in Rome/Europe was a success! We made it through the airport, got to our hotel, roamed around, ate great food, met fun people,and are still in one piece! Almost cried when I saw the Colosseum on our drive in... oops P.Tice would be proud.

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Where we are staying: Hotel Monte Carlo

What I found out today: 

Italian Men are flirty no matter what. “I will do anything for you” That was just our waiter during lunch. Our driver from the airport called me “bella” even though I looked like a hot mess from no sleep. Alright guy you’re nice, but let’s be honest I look like total crap. But after a long trip, thinking I was bella for a split second was nice. :P

Fontaine Travini is not Trave Fountain..or what we found was not it...

What I Saw:

-Piazza della Rebubblica

-Basilica Maria degli Angeli (Saw a choir of Nuns singing, It was B A utiful!)

-San Carto Quattro Fontaine

-Palazzo Barberini

-Piazza Barberini

Who we had nice dinner conversations with:

Cute old couple from New Castle, England

Christine who is a Diplomat and works for Unicef

Misc: Gelato.

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Although it was very warm out, it wasn’t humid and there was a nice cool breeze. Dinner was cozy because we were elbow to elbow to the next table which was nice because we got to talk to a few nice people and watch the young people next store get rowdy. Even saw a girl throw a guy against the wall for some passion...ew. 

It was beautiful everywhere we walked & it was just so much to take it on our first day, it’s just so great. 

Shout-outs: My parents are just so wonderful for letting me study and travel abroad! Happy Father’s day to my Papasita! Cowfu, thank you for the suitcases, they are a great invention and so easy to travel with.! Jesse, Hope you are having a great first weekend of summer! Andrew, I miss you and hope you’re having fun in Helinski, Finland!

End of the Day thought: The food is fantastic. Ciao!