Helsingør Havn

I spent the first day walking around Copenhagen and the first week becoming acquainted with my new surroundings, restaurants, friends, and classes. While I could not tell you the nearest grocery store (I found a closer one after two months), and I did not know how to translate each item into English, I enjoyed every second. Then I took the train north to Helsingør on the first Friday and this process was incredibly easy. We walked into the train station a little after nine and were on a train eleven minutes later. Helsingør's claim to fame is the Kronborg Castle, which Shakespeare based Hamlet on. While he never visited the castle, there was a princess locked in a third-floor room, and the English naval fleet did rescue her.

Kongen Have

Kongens Have, or the King's Garden, is one of my favorite spots in Copenhagen. I first visited on January 10th while walking around the city, but the garden became magical once the days grew longer, temperatures warmed, and the grass turned greener. There is a large grassy area out of the frame and behind this image where people threw the frisbee, played traditional Danish games, and lay in the sun. I spent time there catching up with friends, reading, and I even had a class picnic in the garden.

 

Sankt Annæ Gade

This image happened mostly by luck. I was walking around, with no cell service or plan, and I stumbled upon this yellow sailboat in front of a yellow building. I did not apply any major edits to the piece, with only light increases in contrast, vibrance, and exposure. While most people were opposed to the Copenhagen winter, I found the clouds helpful for images like this. They distribute the lighting more evenly, allow more vibrancy, and provide an interesting backdrop for the picture.

 

Church of Our Savior

I have never been into architecture. I enjoy aesthetic buildings, but do not go out of my way to find them. However, the buildings were one of the first differences I noticed in Copenhagen. European buildings are taller, more compact, typically look older, and are significantly more colorful. Whether it is the yellow buildings like these or the blue and cream-colored ones from yesterday, they provide a great backdrop to take images like this of the Church of Our Savior and tens of thousands of others.

 

Copenhagen Canals

Hi! It has been a while since I last posted. I finally posted the Alaska pictures a few months late, then became busy with schoolwork. I didn't take a picture with my camera for over a year, but I knew studying abroad would be perfect to bring it out again. I spent the last four months in Copenhagen, but I spent about half of that time (during weekends and three week-long breaks) traveling across Europe and experiencing new cultures. I now have over 130 images ready to post, and I'm excited to post again and share them.

I'm posting them in chronological order, with this first image from my first day in Copenhagen. On January 10th, I decided to walk around the city after I had been awake almost the entire past 36 hours due to flying and excitement. This image comes from one of the many canals around Copenhagen, and at the beginning of my walk. I was walking around without directions since I had not switched to a Danish phone plan, and found this boat between rounds of afternoon snow flurries.