Oslo is the only point on this long journey that I have seen before, albeit briefly (one day) at the outset of winter more than ten years ago. Yet despite the long gap, as the MS Pearl of Scandinavia steamed up the fjord and into Oslo harbor, it felt something like a homecoming. I recognized the Bygdøy Peninsula, with its cluster of museums, slipping by on the right; I could see Akershus Slott (Castle) and the rather drab, but still imposing, Rådhus (City Hall) looming up along the harbor front. What was new was the massive development project near the [View Full Entry]

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Part 1: Is globalization a family of Pakistani origin running a Mexican burrito stand in Copenhagen? Although Denmark might strike some people as more homogenous than, say, the US, Copenhagen has more diversity in its population than one might expect. Many of the so-called "New" Danes are of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent, their families having immigrated to Denmark from the 1960s onwards. As in other parts of Europe (and the US for that matter), these immigrants have integrated to various degrees in Danish society. I have seen a significant number of young New Danes who seem ful [View Full Entry]

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In the grand tradition of Eirik the Red and other Viking adventurers, I set sail on the open seas, an oar in hand and a square sail flapping in the wind. On the first lovely day in a while, I made my pilgrimage to Roskilde, a former seat of Danish power in the medieval era, to see the Vikingeskipmuseet (Viking Ship Museum) -- my first real immersion in the Viking theme since I arrived in Denmark. Although there are many Viking museums scattered about Scandinavia, and some with Viking ships, the Roskilde museum is unique in being a center of [View Full Entry]

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The rain may have stopped but the wind sure has picked up! In many respects, the weather the past couple of days has been preparation for, I imagine, my upcoming travels in the Faroe Islands and perhaps Iceland. Over the past couple of days, it seems I have largely focused on the sculptural heritage of Copenhagen, both indoors and outdoors. In the late afternoon/early evening of the 7th, I took a long walk along the canal, passing Amalienborg Palace again so that I could take a peek into the grand Marble Church (closed when I was last in the area). [View Full Entry]

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I was tempted to title this post “Sjælland (Zealand) and Sweden”, but I promised to avoid such. This is a two part entry, covering a couple of day trips I made from Copenhagen (yes, I was able to tear myself away). July 6, 2007 Waking to another gloomy, grey day, I felt inspired to undertake a Shakespearean pilgrimage to Hamlet’s Elsinore (now called Helsingør) and its castle, Kronborg. Only an hour north of Copenhagen by train, Helsingør felt a suitable location to situate the mad prince - set on the narrow passage of Øresund, the strait that separates Sweden and [View Full Entry]

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I promise I will stop crafting alliterative titles for a while, but today’s heading more than fits Copenhagen - it is indeed a complex city. On July 4th, US Independence day, I decided to take full advantage of the gorgeous weather I had been experiencing since I arrived in Denmark (I planned well, as I will explain later) and continued my peripatetic explorations. I spent much of the afternoon weaving in and out of parks, finding Kongens Have (King’s Gardens) particularly beautiful and peaceful (as did many Copenhageners who were soaking up the sun on the lawns). As the sun [View Full Entry]

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I heard of the Danish concept of “hygge”, a word that loosely translates as “coziness”, before arriving in Copenhagen. Although I have only been in this city for two days, I think I am beginning to understand what it means. It is not, as I originally feared, a cutesy idea of comfort or a more insidious complacency, but finding a bit of quiet, alone or with friends, enjoying a good meal and a drink, and the like. Candles come out in the dusky night and people huddle closer to talk intimately with one another. They find a nice lunch spot [View Full Entry]

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I have been asked more times than I can count: How did I decide on this journey? Why am I following the Viking path across the north Atlantic? To be honest, I am not completely sure. As with so many of my travel plans, this trip evolved from an initial fascination with a given place (in this case, the remote Faroe Islands). Wanting to contextualize these islands, I began to think about their history and culture. With the Faroes, this of course led me to the Viking past of the Faroese people and their connections to Denmark and Norway on one [View Full Entry]

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