Tag: tradition

Easter with the Anarchists (and some tourist stuff too)

On By Alison HaywoodIn Culture, SightseeingLeave a comment

Hey there! Long time no blog… I know, I know, I’m bad. Well, to make up for my lack of activity over the past couple of months, I’m going to write you a blog post with LOTS of pictures…

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See, here’s a picture already! That guy’s backpack says “FCK NZS” – a popular slogan here in Hamburg.

I spent Easter weekend in a rather non-traditional fashion this year: at an anarchist street festival. While Americans were out hiding eggs, Christians were going to church, normal Hamburgers were enjoying bonfires on the beach and Swedes were hanging colorful feathers on trees, the Hamburg neighborhood of Sternschanze was throwing a block party/street festival/demonstration. Continue reading “Easter with the Anarchists (and some tourist stuff too)” →

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Kapsejlads: The craziest Danish tradition I’ve seen yet

On By Alison HaywoodIn Culture, Erasmus Mundus, Studying Abroad, TraditionsLeave a comment

Move over, Friday bars and freshman initiation rituals. You can have your Christmas dinners (julefrokost) and licorice-flavored ice cream. Without a doubt, the most insane Danish tradition I’ve come across yet is Kapsejlads, the annual Aarhus university boat race at the university park.

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I’ve never seen the university park this crowded in my entire life. (Sorry for the poor quality – until I buy a new camera, you’ll have to deal with my crappy phone pics.)

In its most basic definition, Kapsejlads is a regatta, a boat race in which the different academic faculties compete against each other. In reality, it’s an excuse to drink. All. Day. Long.

Continue reading “Kapsejlads: The craziest Danish tradition I’ve seen yet” →

The Old City, the Moesgård Museum and church service at the Cathedral

On By Alison HaywoodIn City Life, Erasmus Mundus, SightseeingLeave a comment

After a Skype conversation with my parents made me realize that I’ve been getting into the habit of drinking and clubbing and not so much experiencing the culture and attractions of Aarhus, I set out one weekend with a newfound determination to enjoy the city. The result? I went to an open-air museum, a traditional museum, and a church service.

Den Gamle By (The Old City)

A part of the canal runs through Den Gamle By. Sometimes there are geese.
A part of the canal runs through Den Gamle By. Sometimes there are geese. The picket fence is the edge of the museum – those buildings to the right and in the background aren’t part of it.

The Old City is a collection of well-preserved historical houses from around Denmark that show you what life was like back in the day. When a building is bought by or donated to the museum, it is painstakingly un-assembled, brick by brick, documented, transported, and re-assembled at its new home. Little signs on the buildings tell you what they were used for, and many also had little gardens where people would grow their own food. Though the gardens weren’t much to look at in the middle of January, the houses were pretty cool Continue reading “The Old City, the Moesgård Museum and church service at the Cathedral” →

Wasted in Wales, a traditional English Christmas, and Ye Olde Trip to Nottingham

On By Alison HaywoodIn Christmas season, City Life, Night Life, Traditions, Travel3 Comments

For a number of reasons I decided not to go home to Washington for the Christmas holidays. But the prospect of staying in a dorm all Christmas didn’t exactly excite me either, so I decided to go somewhere much closer and cheaper instead: England.

_MG_1541 Continue reading “Wasted in Wales, a traditional English Christmas, and Ye Olde Trip to Nottingham” →