Berlin: Capital of Queer Europe

As a Neuroscience major and a pre-med, I don't get a lot of opportunities to pursue my personal interests in the humanities. I didn't want to weigh down my study abroad experience with heavy science classes, and decided to try something completely different and a little out of my comfort zone. When I enrolled in Gender and Sexuality of Scandinavia, I initially also signed up for the Amsterdam trip that focused on prostitution and trafficking. After arriving in Denmark, they announced that there would be a new study tour to Berlin that focused on queer culture and activism. The study tour also incorporated a second class I was taking, Sociology of the Family, so I thought "Perfect! Why not?" Long story short, switched study tours, great decision!!

I listened to someone rant about how so many blogs become picture books with no writing, and I felt really guilty about the lack of commentary I have been providing about my adventures. (This may be because I personally have a very short attention span and I usually skim through pictures rather than reading.) Still, I'm going to try to include a little more insight in the following posts. Feel free to skip them, I won't be offended, I promise.

Pictures...WITH INSIGHT (ugh):

We started off the trip with a Queer Berlin walking tour. Our tour guide was Finn, an absolutely amazing Irish trans man. The tour was his baby (he wrote the entire thing) and I think he was excited to do a test run on us. We got to see some important queer monuments, and Finn was sweet enough to also take us to some normal Berlin sights because he heard it was the first time in Berlin for many of us. 

Standing in Potsdamer Platz. Fun fact! Berlin was built on a really
swampy area. The pipes serve to pump groundwater away
to prevent flooding and allow construction. 

When the Berlin Wall stood, it ran through Potsdamer Platz, making it into a
 No Man's Land. All the buildings in Potsdamer Platz were constructed  in the 1990's.

Just to give you an idea of the complete desolation...
Potsdamer Platz in 1982, courtesy of Wikipedia.

And now...

Parts of the Berlin Wall reconstructed
for tourists.

This is all gum. EW. 

Finn was giving us the historical story behind Potsdamer Platz when he suddenly points out this building...or is it?? This is actually a FAKE building made up of large posters to eliminate the feeling of empty space. Say what?

#deception

We then stopped off at Tiergarten. This nondescript cement block is actually a memorial for gay victims of the Holocaust. Finn pointed out that many people forget that Jews weren't the only populations targeted by the Nazis. Gay men, the mentally/physically handicapped, and criminals were also sent to concentration camps. While Jews were denoted by the Star of David on their striped pajamas, gay men were marked by a pink triangle. 

When you looked inside, there was a video of
gay men and women kissing.

Interesting note, the term "gay" in Europe is used exclusively to refer to homosexual men while the term "lesbian" is used for homosexual women.

It was a nice day and I wanted to make use of my unlimited transportation pass so I headed over to the East Side Gallery. I had heard that bits of the gallery were torn down in late March by a construction company in order to make way for luxury condos. (Very sketch, read here.) Luckily, the pieces I was most interested in were still standing.

This depicts an completely non-queer moment in history when the leaders of Soviet Russia and East Germany exchanged a brotherly kiss after a speech at the 30th anniversary of East Germany

A portal through the Berlin Wall. Symbolic?

After free time, we went on a scavenger hunt/pub crawl through various gay bars in Kreuzberg. My favorite bar by far was Roses, where the walls were completely covered in pink shag. Oooooh baby.

My drinking buddy, Chris.

I just had to include this picture of  us Americans
 chilling in front of Dunkin' Donuts. Typical.

One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to Sammlung Boros, a privately owned collection of art housed in a renovated WWII bunker. The bunker itself has served as a shelter, a POW camp, a refrigerator, and a hardcore techno club over its long history. The owner of the gallery now resides on the 5th floor and the museum is open by invite-only. Lucky for us, it was art weekend and the bunker was open to the general public.

Bunker Chic

Art!!

This artist believes in engaging multiple senses. This machine
 is on all day and the popcorn is not allowed to be removed from
the building. It has been on since September!

No visit to Germany would be complete without a photo of wienerschnitzel.

Those potatoes hiding under that large slab of meat? Heavenly.

Our teacher, Michael, gave us his own interpretation of a walking tour. We walked through the art gallery/shopping area of Mitte and past several of the Berlin landmarks.

Alexanderplatz

While chilling by this fountain, we stumbled across a man dressed in a Waldo outfit. Apparently, he was making a picturebook for his nephew's birthday and his nephew's task was to find him. Well, now his nephew can also find 19 overly enthusiastic Americans.

Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)

Brandenburg Gate

Don't go to Berlin without visiting the Holocaust Memorial for Jewish Victims. If you have time, go into the exhibit underneath the memorial. It's free, but bring tissues, it is absolutely heartbreaking.

DIS paid for two meals every day and I was operating on a tiny budget, but I knew I had to try currywurst. The sausage is nothing special, but the curry ketchup on top? Mmmmm....

I was very impressed with this study tour because it did a great job incorporating the academic with the social. We went to several panels and workshops. 

On the first full day, we were given a talk by GLADT, an organization that advocates for gay and lesbians of Turkish descent. We learned that many are persecuted in their home country for their sexuality but become victims of racism in Germany. GLADT provides a safe-space and has expanded its services to include immigrants from other countries as well.

We then attended a workshop by a queer activist who was Danish and had just moved to Berlin. After a brief history of queer rights, we learned 15 ways to resist oppression. Then, we were encouraged to think of a time in our life when we had been oppressed because of our gender, sexuality, culture, etc. We had a great group of DIS students and we really opened up...needless to say, waterworks by the end. Great bonding moment. Listening to people's stories made me realize that lots of less than great things have happened to me (once a drunk Danish man insisted on calling me "Ling-Ling") that I've attributed to simple ignorance. This workshop taught me that ignorance is not an excuse; it's the problem. Definitely gave me some food for thought.

We also had the chance to meet up with some young queer activists living in Berlin. They represented a wide range of populations: gay, lesbian, German, Iranian, sociologists, academics, party-animals etc. It was basically a two-hour session where they just answered all of our questions. One of my favorite moments is when one of the activists described Copenhagen as a "perfectly boring place to live".  HA. Oh, Berlin...the place where parties are bumpin' until 10 AM the next day.

Hands down favorite moment of the trip, DRAG SHOW. 

Frighteningly fabulous. (Photo credits: http://www.tikberlin.de/)

It was delightfully campy with live singing and dancing performances. It was a bit of a shame that the dialogue was all in German, but you don't really need to understand it to appreciate the spectacle. Absolutely fantastic.

Crazy thing that happened this trip: One of the other DIS students got chicken pox. CHICKEN POX. He immigrated from China to the US a few years ago and I guess he just never got his vaccinations. He had to take a train back to Copenhagen because he couldn't get on a plane. :\ Rough days.


OK, a bit of an honest moment here. One of the things I've been struggling with in Denmark over the past few months is finding people that I click with at DIS. I feel like more of an IPC student than a DIS student. To sum it up, on a long study tour, a student once made the broad statement: "We're studying abroad. We all know what it's like to come from money." That was definitely a moment where I really felt like I didn't belong. (#peasantproblems) It's been a struggle living on a budget in Denmark, where minimum wage is around $20 and lunch costs about three-fourths of that. Then to be surrounded by people whose idea of a good time is going out to bars and clubs every night (Not to knock on bars and clubs. The Danish scene is jumpin'.) is just a slap in the face. I admit that I'm a bit of an introvert, my idea of a good time is exploring the city and finding delicious, authentic street food, and sometimes I'm a big ol' Bitter Betty about life. Still, on this trip, I felt like I met a bunch of amazing people who are facing similar struggles, people who share my interests (you know, those outside of who is hooking up with which hot Dane), people who can crack me up on a daily basis. If you're coming to DIS looking for a great time, you're going to find it. But if you're already here and having difficulties, don't be disheartened. There are other crazies like me and you out there. :)

A great long weekend and I'm a little saddened to think that it is the third to last. :\ Woah, where has my semester gone??

(Finally) Exploring Denmark

I've been living in Denmark for over two months now, and I am ashamed to admit that, before this week, I have seen little outside my everday commute between Helsingor and Copenhagen. Study tours were really helping me compensate for my personal laziness when it came to travel. This past week was the second travel break, and my girlfriend, TT, came all the way from the US to spend it with me. We hadn't seen each other in almost four months so yeah...we spoiled ourselves. We're shamelessly sentimental that way.

I wanted to give TT the complete Denmark experience so we went a lot of places that I had always planned on going to...but never got around to. In other words...we got lost a lot. Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

1.) Kronborg Castle -- I've been living down the street from this place and I still had yet to see it. We bought the full ticket (Casemates, Ballroom, Chapel, Telegraph Tower = 75 DKK per person) because I was DETERMINED to climb the tower. I apparently have a thing for towers and stairs...as you shall see presently.

Known for being the setting of Hamlet, Kronborg castle is
located right on the beach.

 The Casemates were kind of like a dungeon under the castle. TT loves scary movies and gory goodness so she was having the time of her life wandering into dark tunnels and abyss-like enclaves off the beaten path. I was afraid for my life. There were some terrifying fake people down there, but this awesome fella down below made every moment of horror worth it.

Holger Dansk -- legend has it that when Denmark is
 in a time of need,the Holger Dansk will wake
 up and come to the nation's rescue!

Trips up the tower occur every hour. It is about 200 steps up this bad boy, and I am not ashamed to say that I demanded a few breaks on the way up. But hey, I was recovering/in the midst of a bad bout of food poisoning, so I think I did pretty fantastically.

Gorgeous and definitely worth the climb!

Sampling the gift shop wares. The things I
do for TT's amusement...

2.) My roommate suggested that we go check out the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art close to Humlebaek Station. (Student Admission = 95 DKK) The museum was featuring Pop Art Design while we were there. Both of us are not very much into modern art (Our favorite thing is to go around, point at things, and say "I can do that.") but it was still a chill afternoon wandering from exhibit to exhibit and enjoying the sea-side garden sculptures.

Definitely our favorite exhibit. Only two people could go into this
 room at once. The walls were completely made up of mirrors
and we stood on a platform surrounded by water. 

The weather was permitting enough for us to sit outside and
 enjoy the sculptures and the scenery. We felt really old just sitting on the
lawn as young children clambered up and down the hills.

One of our favorite things to do as "big kids" is to
crash the children's corners. Yeah, we're horrible people
 but just because we arein our second decade, we
 have not lost our burning desire to play with Legos!!

3.) I'm all about the Two'fers, so I insisted on taking TT to Sweden for a day trip just so she could say she went to Denmark AND Sweden. Like I mentioned before, for only 55 DKK round trip, why the hell not?

Can you name all the country's flags?

Festive Easter celebrations in front of the
 steps up to Karnan.

Special chick cakes for Easter!

We stopped by Fahlman's Konditori, the oldest cafe in Helsingborg.

I promised TT ALL the pastries. This cinnamon roll was SO good.

Almond crusted pistachio goodness. Also, TT swears there
 was a mandarin orange slice in the center.

Some really cool sculpture we happened upon while lost.

After Karnan tower, we decided to venture out to the Fredriksdal Open Air Museum. It's only about 1.5 km from Helsingborg, definitely walking distance. TT is a huge fan of touching animals...especially when it's prohibited. Here are a few photos as proof that I am dating the Animal Whisperer. 

I stood by and watched them cluck at each other for five minutes.
This duck/goose/thing started following TT around
inside the cage. Terrifying.

This is TT reaching OVER an electrified fence (behind the wood)
 in an attempt to touch the pig. Long story short: she succeeded.

After a long day of walking and eating, TT and I found a few reclining chairs by the dock and decided to enjoy the sunset.

4.) The Blue Planet Aquarium just opened last week and TT is a huge fan of aquariums. She decided to take me so we could do a re-visit of our first date to the Baltimore Aquarium.  

PIRANHAS. FROM THE AMAZON.

Just keep swimmin'.

Did you know male seahorses carry the babies to term? 

Life-size shark display...

...a little bit more impressive than the baby hammerhead sharks
in the tank.

Also, the rainforest exhibit was toasty warm and indoors.
Made me dream of better climates and hope for Spring.

TT communing with the animals. Notice how many other adults are
taking part in this exhibit.

After the aquarium, TT and I went to this buffet in Copenhagen that I've been dying to try. It's called Riz Raz and it's located really close to DIS. TT is a vegetarian, and even though I am a devout meat-eater, this vegetarian buffet was OK by me. :)

My mountain of falafel.

If you're a vegetarian, traditional Danish food (meat and potatoes) might not be the perfect fit for you. In preparation for TT's visit, I had to do a lot of research. Some good places if you are vegetably inclined.

1.) Vegetariet -- In Helsingborg, Sweden, this restaurant serves both vegan and vegetarian food buffet-style. You pay by weight. I was actually pleasantly surprised at the vast array of salads + cooked foods they had available. Mmmm. Good. I ate fake meat...and I liked it. (Don't tell my family, I may be disowned.)

2.) Morgenstedet -- There are a lot of vegetarian restaurants in Christiania but TT and I decided to hit up Morgenstedet because it seemed more affordable than the rest. I was afraid to pull out my camera here due to the strict No Camera policy in Christiania, but the cauliflower pea soup and peanut curry  were AMAZING. The two of us were stuffed for 150 DKK.

3.) Pastries -- when all else fails, feed the vegetarian pastries. On Wednesdays, giant cinnamon rolls are sold at St. Peter's Bakery for 15 DKK. I got another puff pastry that was smothered in chocolate and had traces of sweet cream inside. Mm. Two pastries were 26 DKK with my DIS student discount!

One more massive adventure to blog about after this. I'll keep you posted!

Fødselsdag!

When my visiting mom invited me to her son Kalle's birthday, I might have squealed a little bit in excitement. I then proceeded to tell all my American friends at the IPC who begged me for an invite. Everybody knows, Danish birthdays are the bizness! 

First, there are the intense decorations. There are Danish flags everywhere! Kalle was turning 16 so he was getting a little too old for the flag gambit, but Karina put a few up just to humor me.

Little Danish flags lacing the windows. When was the last time
 you saw an American flag at a birthday party?

Little Danish flag and Danish soldiers chilling
on the empty dining room table.

My favorite part though, is the food. Karina made "boller" or buns. We ate them almost straight out of the oven with butter.

The softest, warmest buns I've ever had. Mmmmm...

Then, most importantly, there's the "lackage", pronounced "lau kay". I've mentioned it before in a previous post, but it literally translates to "layer cake". 

Vanilla cake with pineapple cream filling. Iced with love and decorated
 with Kalle's favorite sprinkles. As she put them on, Karina tsked,
 "Going to break everybody's teeth."

There were 10 guests at the party, so Karina also made
 a chocolate lackage with hazelnut and coffee cream filling.

On top of those two cakes, Kalle's cousins brought over yet another cake. It was more strudel like with plum filling. We ate all the cakes with some hot chocolate and generous helpings of fresh whipped cream. Diabetes-inducing sugar goodness.

Before we ravaged the cakes, we had to sing Kalle a birthday song. The family sang the American version once for my benefit, then they broke into the most amazing song I have ever head. Before they began, Kalle chose three instruments -- and being the teenage jerk he is, he chose the saxophone, banjo, and cello. As the family broke into moans and groans, I, the clueless American could only sit and clap my hands in confusion. As it turns out, at the end of each verse, they had to hum the chorus in the style of whatever instrument the birthday boy/girl chooses. Cello. Really?? Brilliant. The song goes like this.

"[Name] har fødselsdag
og det har han/hun jo
og det er i dag.
[name] har fødselsdag
og det har han/hun jo i dag.
Og hør nu her, hvordan vi alle spille vil
Og hør nu her, hvordan vi spille vil
[imitation of a pre-decided instrument to the melody of the song]"

Watching (and listening) to Kalle's 80-year old grandmother singing the song in her prominent, operatic voice in the style of a banjo was, needless to say, life changing.

I had a fantastic time and I can't thank my visiting family enough for inviting me into their home for a family get together like this one. Some more random pictures of the day:

Ofelia, the family dog. She is extremely quiet, but
she'll park herself right in front of me under the
table until I pet her. If I ignore her, she lays down
on my feet.I still wonder whether or not she has eyes... 

When I saw this, I knew there had to be a great story
behind it. Apparently, Karina was vacuuming the house
 and knocked a candle into the television. She didn't notice
 it until she smelled the smoke, and by then, the TV was
 legitimately on fire. After telling me the story, she proudly
 proclaimed, "But it still works!!"