That's more like it...

Today I woke up to what every Dane I had ever talked to had been telling me about: a wet, rainy, cold, windy morning.  I was so upset when I saw this, not because of the bad weather (I had prepared myself for its inevitable approach), but because today was my day of orientation for THE AMAZING RACE (aka a scavenger hunt through all of Copenhagen supplemented with free lattes, pastries, and informational lessons at various stops around the way).  If I had thought my Monday "scavenger hunt" was a lesson in city navigation, I was about to be proved seriously wrong.  The great thing about getting lost in a city like Copenhagen however, is that you end up finding the most beautiful churches, monuments, fountains, or quaint homes.  My group was great: we stopped in the Studenterhuset for a quick (free of course) morning pastry and planned out or route.

Among our many destinations were Christiansborg Slotsplads (Danish Parliament), Trinitatis Kirke (Trinity Church), Rosenberg Slot (the summer residence of King Christian IV), Amalienborg (the current royal palace), and Udenrigsministeriet (aka the State Department- try saying that one three times fast).  Along the way we were able to come across the huge sand castle sculpture competition, random trampolines hidden in the ground along the waterfront (definitely a fun distraction), the beautiful section of Copenhagen called Nyhavn, among many other sites.  This was a day to truly expand my appreciation of Copenhagen beyond the little section of the city all the DIS buildings are located in.

Rosenberg Slot

Guard at Rosenberg Palace

Guards at the "Changing of the guards" outside the Queen's section of Amalienborg

The square of the Royal Palace

Nyhavn- This is the picture you most often see on the Danish postcards

Quick picture in Nyhavn on the way to the State Building

Huge Sand castle contest

After the amazing race, I finally got to meet with my section for my program, Medical Practice and Policy.  It was a huge meeting with all the sections, and then we broke into our respective sections and got to know each other on a more personal level.  I am so excited to finally start classes tomorrow, but am definitely intimidated by the workload.  Hopefully I will find a good balance between classes and travel/hanging out with friends and exploring the city.

We then went to the Activites/Immersion Fair where we learned about all these different ways to get involved in Copenhagen.  Tomorrow is my first day of classes so it's off to bed for me!

Til imorgen!