hej! copenhagen

Hej Hej CPH!

2009-07-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

The past couple days I've been too busy living to do much picture-taking or blogging, which is the way it should be. I can't believe that 6 months has passed since I first got here, in the dead of winter, not knowing that Ds are pronounced as Ls and that I would come to love this city so much. Since school ended in June I feel like I've really begun to live. It's been a challenging and exciting eperience, living abroad and it has changed my life, that's for sure. I only recently had the realization that I won't be able to come back here whenever I want. I've gotten so spoiled by the ease of travel in Europe, though it will feel nice to settle down again in September. And I already have a to-do list for the next time I come back to Denmark which includes seeing the island Mons and learning Danish. Until then I'll just eat rye bread and check the copenhagen cycle chic blog daily, and try to pretend that for a moment I'm back in this wonderful place.

Life on Paper

2009-07-08T04:40:00.001-07:00

It's funny how much the contents of my wallet have changed since I've been here. The one constant is wads of receipts and random papers (not pictured).

Norway

2009-07-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

It was very hard to edit photos from Norway. It's just too beautiful, unlike any landscape I've ever seen before. Sort of like a cross between switzerland and montana--totally amazing.

Fjord Tour

2009-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Gudvangen Fjord from Barrett Hanrahan on Vimeo.

OSLO

2009-07-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

Part 1 of 2. Or maybe 3. Norway was amazing, and very photogenic. Luckily my camera got out of its bad mood just in time for the fjord tours/scenic railways/nature walks portion of the trip. But first, Oslo. We (Kevin and I) took an overnight train from Copenhagen that arrived in Oslo at 7am. We went straight from the train station to the Oslo Opera House, something that I've been really excited to see in person since it inspired this. It was really nice being there early and having the whole thing to ourselves, except for a group doing sunrise yoga at the top of the building. The rest of the day we spent wandering around with a map, constantly refilling our water bottles since it was about 90*. We saw a really cool show by KHiO, a design school that I was impressed by at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. We wandered around some botanical gardens and found some cool murals and got a feel for the city. Every time I told someone in Copenhagen that I was going to Oslo, they would all get this furrowed-brow distant-gaze look, and when I asked how it is they would say "Well... it's pretty expensive. And kind of boring." I don't think it was that bad, and though it was lacking European charm, it was a cool place to visit for a day.

Jellyfish

2009-06-28T13:12:00.001-07:00

So my camera is on the fritz. It makes this funny grinding, struggling noise when I turn it on, and then it refuses to focus. These are not signs associated with a healthy and happy camera. So you'll have to take my word for it that this is a picture of a jellyfish in the canal in Copenhagen.

the best breakfast

2009-06-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

I love muesli!

new work

2009-06-27T04:03:00.000-07:00

I am finally done with school! Here's my latest project (see more info here ). I'm looking forward to two weeks of relaxing exploring around scandinavia.

lace

2009-06-26T02:23:00.001-07:00

There's an amazing textiles collection at the industrial arts museum here with hundreds of drawers filled with samples like this.

the bee hive

2009-06-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

There's been a very different feeling to the school during the past two or three weeks due to final exams. It seems to have finally come alive in a frantic sort of way. Last saturday there were people in the print center at 11pm! Imagine that! Also, the hallways (and now dumpsters) have filled up with models, prototypes, and final products so I get to see some of the work that goes on in different departments. It's all quite exciting, actually. I only wish that I had poked around more earlier on in the semester because it's inspiring seeing what other people are creating around you. Sometimes it feels a bit isolated here because the studios are all seperated and until recently, there weren't too many people in them. Anway, here's a sample of some stuff I happened upon in the hallway of the furniture building.

grafitti

2009-06-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

another photo collection...

order and chaos

2009-06-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T04:04:00.001-07:00

Biking in Amsterdam from Barrett Hanrahan on Vimeo.

Summer Solstice

2009-06-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken at 11pm. The sunrise today was at 4:33 and sunset was at 9:51pm. crazy! we celebrated with a midnight picnic in the park.

æg

2009-06-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

Speaking of food, one of the things that I'll bring back with me from Denmark is a renewed appreciation for the egg, particularly hardboiled. They seem to be a staple here. Me and hardboiled eggs have been on the outs. We had a moment circa 1993 thanks to Frances the badger, which included tiny salt and pepper shakers in my lunch box. But now I've come back to my senses.

euro diet

2009-06-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

No water or hot dogs in Denmark

No wine and panini in Italy

No fries in a cone with mayonaise in Belgium

Here's another photo collection: location-specific "no food" signs. I think it's so funny how each place has its own sign representative of the local cuisine.

orchids

2009-06-19T10:06:00.001-07:00

beautiful birthday present from my flatmate Mia

dog signs

2009-06-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lots of times when I'm walking around a new place I start noticing trends, like funny brick patterns or street lights or something, but I never start taking photos in time to document it in any sort of meaningful way. Somehow, though I've collected a bunch of different dog sign photos from around Europe. Copenhagen, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Zurich, Barcelona...and they're all different!

Where's the B?

2009-06-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

found object location: school parking lot

Blog, Bike

2009-06-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

My (not really) new bike. It's not new for two reasons: 1) I got it about two months ago. 2)I found it on the street with no tires and there are countless rediculous quirks to it, like screws stuck in the brake cables (at least it has back-pedal brakes), it only opperates in 3rd gear, and there are bits of strange hardware and pieces of metal sticking out of it everywhere. Nonetheless, I thought it a bit strange that I spend so much time with it, yet it hasn't has a proper introduction. So bike, blog. Blog, bike.

Monsoon Season

2009-06-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well it's monsoon season here in copenhagen which means not too many photo opportunities, so here's two more Tim photos from Roskilde and Copenhagen.

WHAM

2009-06-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure what was going on in here, but any building with a gold winged horse and a neon sign that says "WHAM" on it must have something cool going on inside. I rode by on my bike but didn't really want to stop to read the sign in the torrential rain.

guest photographer

2009-06-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

Traveling with my dad requires a lot of patience and understanding as he stops and takes pictures of everything he sees. Though I get annoyed, the results are sometimes really cool. This is one of his pictures from copenhagen that I just found. It's a such a nice moment that he captured, and that flourescent lighting setting is genius!

-30 days

2009-06-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but I'm leaving Copennhagen in only one month from today. It's a strange feeling to be closer to when I leave than to when I arrived. It's giving me a new energy though, to see all of the things that I haven't seen yet, to go to the Louisiana Museum one more time, and to see some more of Denmark.

This is the view of the water a couple blocks from my apartment.

great day, cool thing

2009-06-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

There were at least three good things that happened today. 1) I finally found supplies that I needed for my project 2) I went to lecture by a SCAD professor visiting DKDS only to find that another RISD professor that I knew and a designer from Ziba in Portland were there as well. Then we all went out to dinner. 3) I saw a great concert by Cocorosie in Christiania. Good day after terrifically bad day. The world always finds ways to balance things out.

bad day, cute thing

2009-06-09T14:49:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when things are frustrating (ahem, Monday, I'm talking to you) I find it helpful to look at this picture. I have never seen a live animal look so stuffed. Cygnets (baby swans) in the lakes, copenhagen.

one eyed wonder

2009-06-06T16:11:00.001-07:00

How strange, this cyclops building in copenhagen.

Cafe Paludian

2009-06-06T08:25:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorte cafes here, not that I go out much because the coffee is so bloody expensive. But this one is a bookstore/cafe, very hygge on a cold day, which strangely there have been lot of lately.

Silly Large Cat Art of Europe

2009-06-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

"I just wanna be your friend!"

"Whatever, I didn't want you to accept my friend request anyway"

"you called?"

"y'all like my shield? It's extra shiny."

"my daddy was a golden retriever"

I've noticed an alarming trend in stupid-looking cats (and one bear) in old European art during my travels. I mean, really.

Holga II

2009-06-02T13:38:00.001-07:00

Another successful batch of 35mm Holga! I'm never goin' back to 12omm...

use/reuse

2009-06-01T12:55:00.001-07:00

So, one thing that I think the Danes could improve on is their produce packaging, not that the US is any better. There are stores that sell produce in big bins with optional plastic bags, but then in some stores (ahem, Netto) just 8 Roma tomatos come on a styrofoam tray with plastic wrap and big sticker labels. Seems a bit unnesessary. I bought some kiwis yesterday and they came in a big plastic tub with some plastic netting around it. Same with nectarines. The netting seemed so cheerful and maybe useful, so I played around with it for a bit then made these hanging containers and a letter holder from the box. Works for me! And it seems like if you collected a lot of that netting you could make a cool patchwork system or even a textile.

2009-05-31T15:15:00.001-07:00

window, Bruges

Bruges

2009-05-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Bruges was even cuter and more friendly than antwerp with lots of lace-makers and more good chocolate and beer. I climbed up in a 400 year old windmill, saw the only Michealangelo sculpture to ever leave Italy during his lifetime, ate a red wine vinegar chocolate, had the BEST PICKLE OF MY LIFE, saw a nest full of swan eggs, and learned how to properly filet a piece of Sole. The average age in the city seemed to be around 65, but it was a fun place to visit.

Antwerp

2009-05-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

It's kinda hard not to like Belgium. The people are so nice, the beer, chocolate and food is good everywhere, they love waffles (so do I!). It was meant to be. Antwerp was beautiful, all old buildings and cobblesone streets. It was kind of hot when we were there so it reminded be a bit of Savanah, Georgia minus the piggly wiggly's. We had some amazing meals, went to really cool printing museum and saw some Gutenbergs, saw a great show at the fashion museum about paper clothing, found a cool cactus garden, and a Design shop called Walter, and just walked around a lot, exploring the little corners of the city.

Amsterdam II

2009-05-29T03:46:00.000-07:00

I've tried to make a rule of only going to places that I've never been before, but Amsterdam has been an exception. Twice. It's just too good!

going away!

2009-05-21T07:34:00.001-07:00

In about a half an hour I'm meeting my parents in Amsterdam then heading off on a week long tour of the flemmish country. Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, then back to Copenhagen next week. Dui!

viking woodshop

2009-05-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

The vikings use the same benches as we do at RISD in the ID department wood shop. haha. Either our benches are old or the vikings were just very sophisticated. This was at the viking museum in Roskilde.

Louisiana III

2009-05-19T10:39:00.001-07:00

Another cool trip to the Louisisna Museum in Humlebaek. It's my third time, but it was just as inspiring and interesting as ever. I especially liked the water-bottle housing. And we got to see Princess Marie of Denmark, who was also visiting the museum with like 50 photographers and body gaurds at all times. I'm glad I'm not royal, I enjoy my solitude in art museums.

Helsingør

2009-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

My parents are visiting so this weekend we went to the castel at Helsingør, where Hamlet took place. It was very cool seeing a royal palace that had such restrained decoration, which made it feel peaceful. And there was a cool Lego sculpture in the kids area.

10pm!

2009-05-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably light. And these are some cool neon sculptures by my friend Eric.

speaking of maps...

2009-05-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

I thought that this one was cool. The way it's organized really makes sense!

Lectures are cool

2009-05-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to a lecture given by William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle at the Copenhagen Architecture School. He's got a bad case of monotone and he wears a bowtie, which made his opening line "we live in a time of glorious abundance" kind of comical (think Reverand Lovejoy on the Simpsons), but nevertheless it was a very compelling lecture, I thought. I really like his idea about basing technological and urban systems on nature. Some of my favorite phrases were:

"design is intention"

"efficiency in a bad thing is dangerous"

"being less bad is not being good"

"buildings like trees, cities like forests"

"asphalt, just two words assigning blame"

"monoculture of agriculture"

"leave behind habitat, not cement"

I'm telling you, it was a really good lecture! Because I never take notes during those things normally. And he showed this really cool map of global wind currents. Just the image is so inspiring. I'm going to start going to more lectures at RISD if this is what lectures are like.

cupcakes

2009-05-05T13:04:00.001-07:00

These ones are lemon cake with white chocolate chream cheese frosting. This is the beauty of not having the rediculous schedule that I would have if I were at RISD. Not only to I have time to eat and sleep, but I also have time to bake cupcakes for my friends' birthdays. Amazing what real life is like!

my friend Holga

2009-05-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

copenhagen

easter in copenhagen

amsterdam

This is my first experiment with using 35mm film in my Holga camera, which usually takes 120mm, thus requiring some ghetto-rigging. But now that I've tried it, I'm not goin back because it's cheap to get just get the film deveoped and then I can use the digital slide scanner at school to turn them into jpegs. cha-ching!

PDX-->CPH

2009-05-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

Lucky me, I got to see YACHT at Vega on friday night. YACHT is a Portland band made up of Jonah Bechtolt and Claire Evans. Somehow this is the only photo that I took all night. The crowd was a little weird, but it was a good performance and so fun getting to hang out with some Portlanders for a bit!

good trash!

2009-05-01T02:51:00.000-07:00

If there is such a thing, this is it. It just looked so beautiful. The colors are so pure and bright that it looked like candy or toys or something. (Rome)

bad trash

2009-04-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

This is the dark side of the design fair, and the part that distressed me the most. There was so much trash! And I never saw one recycling container that was sponsored by the fair. Not to mention the copious amounts of promotional papers, cards, and catalogues that get handed out. They should know better. There is so much room for improvement here.

Milan Furniture Fair 2009

2009-04-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

the "Dream Rooms" exhibit at the Triannale Design Museum Milan (link here)

at Moroso

gardens in Zona Tortona

Emert Schafer

new at Droog (kevin for scale)

at Moroso

the fairgrounds (almost 1 mile long!)

grey day at the fair

I have mixed feelings after seeing the Salone del Mobile in Milan last week. Just the sheer scale of it is impressive, but also totally terrifying. There is so much stuff, so many things, so many objects that are being created, and I'm not sure what most of it achieves. The city was taken over by the fair. There were a couple hundred independent events taking place around the city in addition to the actual show at a convention center. My favorite places were the Zona Tortona, an area about 10x6 city blocks, and the Salone Satellite which is inside the main show. Both places focused on young designers and student work, which was always the most interesting and innovative. Somehow it didn't occur to me to write down the names of the designers that I liked, but I took lots of pictures! Here's a list of designers that I liked, from what I can remember.

(links)

mammalampa (braided paper lamps)

Pieke Bergmans (mutated lightbulbs)

Anthony Kleinepier (big textile sculptures)

Moroso (famous collections)

Droog (it's droog)

junjun (shelving incorporating tree branches)

Omer Arbel (pleated couch)

DesignDrift (lighting)

Ermert Schafer (cardboard trash can)

Clara Lindsten (re-using scrap material)

Isabelle Olsson (new kitchen design)

Roma

2009-04-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

at the capitoline museum

my crib

cool tiling at the Vatican

steps at the Ara Pacis museum (they had a great Mandini show)

The Roman Baths

the Cenci (RISD headquarters)

at a flea market

Rome really caught me off gaurd. I knew it was going to be cool, but I didn't know how cool. It's such a layered city; the more you look the more you see. I got to hang out with my risd friends and get a taste of everyday life, as well as be a tourist. I saw the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the baths at Caracallo, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, the Coloseum, the Spanish steps, and about a hundred other things that I can't even remember. I loved the pace of rome, very relaxed. Just what I needed!

bike brite

2009-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is my last day in Copenhagen before I head off on a mini tour of Italy. I'm going to Rome to see some friends, then up to Milan to see another friend and also go to the Milan Furniture Fair. I'm so excited to see a part of the world that I've never seen before, and I get to be in good company! I'm sure I'll have a mega blog post when I get back in a couple weeks. Ciao!

no more dark

2009-04-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

It's kind of amazing that this photo was taken at 7:30 pm considering that when I first got here in January, dusk was around 3. Daylight's savings, (which happened two weeks later here than it did in the states-don't know why), seemed to happen at about the same time that spring started, so it feels like the whole place changed in one day. Now it's light until 9, which has tricked me into working late at school a couple of times, and I find myself eating dinner at 10:30 just because it seems wrong to eat when it's still light out.

By the way, this is the Marmorkirken (marble church) about three blocks from my apartment. I get to ride by it every day on my way to school.

Portfolio

2009-04-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Since I've already got my feet firmly planted on my soapbox, I might as well announce that I've made a portfolio blog. It's basically a place-holder for a real website that will be made (hopefully) this summer. Anyway, check it out here. And here's a sample of what you'll find...

food shopping

2009-04-09T14:40:00.001-07:00

This is Netto, where I go shopping almost every day. They're on every corner, and I've probably been to about 15 different ones since I've been here. The style here is to go shopping every day or every other day. The fridges are smaller, the apartments are pretty compact, so it just makes sense, plus then it's all fresh!

In general, the food isn't too different from what I'm used to. The only things that are hard to find are smooth peanut butter and maple syrup. Fish products rule the markets here, as well as very dense, grainy rye bread, and salted black licorice (don't ask).

Graffiti in stockholm

2009-04-07T04:01:00.001-07:00

L’Aquila earthquake

2009-04-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

All of my thoughts are in Italy right now after the terrible earthquake there this morning (see nytimes article here). I'm hoping that it hasn't effected my friends in rome. Its so sad that the beautiful old buildings and towns that carry so much history are also so delicate.

first days of spring!

2009-04-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

Friday was the first sunny warm day that I've seen since I've been in Copenhagen, and the city seems like a totally different place. The sidewalk cafes are now packed with people, there's tourists everywhere, and I can buy an iced coffee without getting strange looks. Today I sat with my friends in a huge park for a couple of hours and it almost could have been summer. I also got a visit from Miles, on of my friends from RISD, and we went to the top of The Round Tower which has a great view of the city. That dark line on the horizon is Sweden!

quiet place

2009-04-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Malmo poster

2009-04-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

I found this awesome poster on my last trip to malmo and

revisited it last week. It looked so much cooler in the sunlight

than it did last time.

(no photoshoppery occurred to this photo)

den lille havfrue

2009-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

The Little Mermaid sculpture is one of the most hyped-up tourist attractions in copenhagen for reasons that I don't understand. It's a nice sculpture based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, but I think that the tourists who go to see it are more interesting.

GirlTalk!

2009-03-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

We went to an awesome Girl Talk concert at Vega on Friday.

bike rescuers

2009-03-29T04:34:00.000-07:00

I guess this has become instalment number 3 in my (accidental) bike series. We were biking by the canal in copenhagen when we noticed this barge. They had dredged up a motley collection of street signs, shopping carts, cafe chair, and bikes, some totally rusty and bent, some in quite good condition. There was a scuba diver who located the junk in the water, then a team of four men who pulled it up and ran the boat. I've never seen anything like it!

bike lane

2009-03-24T18:23:00.001-07:00

accidental sculpture

2009-03-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

must love bikes

2009-03-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Of every big city that I've been to so far, Stockholm, Amsterdam and of course Copenhagen, bicycles have been an essential element. I think that people are happier and healthier because of it, and they just look cool. These are some of my favorites.

music: amsterdam

2009-03-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

amsterdam from Barrett Hanrahan on Vimeo.

I thought that these guys were awesome. It makes me so happy every time I play this video. Let me know if you know what that bagpipe type instrument is, because I've never seen one like it before and I'm really curious.

Amsterdam

2009-03-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

I just got back from an amazing weekend in Amsterdam. All I can think about is how much I want to go back! I had all day friday, saturday and sunday there, so I covered a lot of ground. I walked around the grachts (canals) a lot, which is definitely my favorite part of the city. Much like copenhagen everyone rides bikes, though the general atmosphere is more energetic and eclectic than in denmark. It was a nice change of pace.

I met up with my friend Kevin, who is also on a semster abroad at the Design Academy Eindhoven about 1.5 hours from Amsterdam. We stayed on a boat. It was...cozy. On saturday we walked a lot. We found a really great outdoors vintage clothing/goods market, stopped by a fancy cigar store to pick up some cigars for my dad, went to DROOG (I felt really special to be present for Kevin's first trip to droog :) ), another cool dutch/european design store called Frozen Fountain, visited the Cat Museum, which featured only art with cats in it. We had a great cheap lunch and then coffee and Dutch apple pie later. It was so nice being somewhere where it's affordable to go out to eat! Later that night we ran into some people that we went to high school with (small world!), and went to an Indian themed dance club in a church.

Sunday we took it easy and went to the Dutch funeral and mortality museum so that Kevin could do some research for a project, then we took a canal boat tour. Did you know that Amsterdam is home to europe's largest floating chinese restaurant? Me niether.

There are good vibes in Amsterdam. I hope that I get a chance to go back again soon.

little/big

2009-03-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

This is the view from the front of the apartment and a really small dog.

Blue

2009-03-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

for aya :)

green

2009-03-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

not as sneaky as they think

I got a bike!

2009-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's such a cool feeling to be a copenhagen cyclist!

I got my new bike yesterday at the train station. The bike-to-person ratio in copenhagen is 3:1, so as you can imagine there are lots of abandoned bikes. Every now and then the police go around the central public places and tag bikes that have been there for a while. If they're not picked up within a month or so they get an orange sticker. Post stickering if they're still not picked up they get collected and brought to the dump or auctioned off at the politi (police) headquarters. Orange sticker, no lock, and it's yours. What a beautiful system.

Today I bought a lock and adjusted the seat, tomorrow I'll buy a basket and then I'll be ready to go. My bike is a bit sporty. Some kind of racing/road bike, so it's taking a little getting used to.

And I'm sure the frame is way too big for me, but luckily I have unusually long arms, so it's not so bad.

Because so many people ride bikes here (30% of the city commutes daily by bicycle), the bike lanes are really well developed and extensive. On most streets the bike lane is between the parked cars and the sidewalk and is wide enough for two bikes to ride side by side. There isn't a helmet law, but there is a light law (you must have a light on your bike after dark) which I think is pretty cool.

Can't wait to explore more!

yellow

2009-03-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

this is a zambonie kind of thing at the ice rink accross the street.

orange

2009-03-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

tulips are almost cheap here and they're sold accross the street from my apartment, so sometimes I induldge.

2009-02-27T11:49:00.000-08:00

These are some of the things that I see everyday. The kitchen in the ceramics/glass building, where we all gather and toast our bread, drink our coffee, and where I get my Danish lessons from my friend Mille. And these apartment buildings that are in the blocks between the train station and my school. My commute takes about 20 minutes from the front door of my apartment to the basement of building F at DKDS. I take the Metro from Kongens Nytorv, transfer at Nørreport station and take the train the rest of the way. I haven't gotten too tired of it yet, even though I do it twice a day. However I'm on the lookout for a bike because "it's the only way to really see Copenhagen. Like really, really see it" or so I am told. And I believe it.

One Month

2009-02-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

I can't really believe that I've been here for a month. All of a sudden I'm getting the feeling that I'll be really surprised when July comes and I have to leave, or when my visa expires and they force me out of the country. Whichever comes first.

I feel like I've gotten pretty comfortable with daily life here. I know which grocery stores I like (Irma for fancy things like pineapples, Netto for everything else and good cheap mozzarella), I am comfortable taking the train, the bus, and the Metro. If I get plopped down somewhere in the middle of the city I can usually figure out where I am after I walk a couple blocks. I'm the only one who plops myslef places though, and it's usually because I got off the wrong bus stop or something.

I'm even getting used to the pace at school, which is much slower than I'm used to. I'm only taking one class right now, a ceramics "projekt". It meets 5 days a week, but those days get chopped up by so many coffee breaks and long lunches that I hardly feel like I'm working. At first it really bothered me because it felt unproductive, but now I am starting to better understand the culture that has produced this logic. Meals are almost forcably relaxing and ritual, not rushed and punctuated with work talk like they are in the states. I think these breaks and meals result in more thoughful design.

I would still like to learn more Danish. These are the words I can remember off the top of my head:

lille--small

store--large

og--and

havn--harbor

navn--name

ost--cheese

skinke--ham

fiske--fish

hej--hello

hej hej--bye

tak--thank you

gips--plaster

maelk--milk

mandag--monday

onsdag--wednesday

yej comma fra USA--I come from the USA

godt--good

peber--pepper

precise--exactly

kaffe--coffee

brod--bread

tog--train

yej hille Barrett--my name is Barrett

til--to

fra--from

svenske--swedish

kort--card

en--one

tre--three

biblitek--library

nej--no

Obviously there's room for improvement. Unless I need three small pepper hams at the library on wednesday, thank you I come from the USA.

COLOR

2009-02-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

It just seems so grey sometimes that it's nice to see these little spots of color.

they love him

2009-02-20T11:42:00.001-08:00

I haven't really been asked much about politics or current events, which is strange since I was expecting Europeans to be curious about that stuff. What I heard from a German friend is that they've already talked it to death, so everyone's a bit tired of it. But I still see Obama everywhere. I'm trying to keep up a little bit through the new york times website, but maybe I'd be better off to just ask a Dane what's going on. Obama was featured in a "what's hot in 2009" article in Dansk (Danish) magazine and on this girl's bag.

Springing

2009-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a long winter, so it's nice to see that there's a little hope.

Louisiana Museum

2009-02-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to the Louisana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, about a 30 minute train ride from Copenhagen. It's in a beautiful location on a huge peice of property overlooking the Øresund harbor. The collection was good and it was the opening weekend of a massive Max Ernst show, so it was pretty crowded. The gift shop was really good too, and I found a cool laptop sleeve by the Danish design company Hay. I think the walk along the beach and the view of the

water might have been my favorite part!

Icebar

2009-02-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ridiculous, touristy, and really fun. This was in Copenhagen, but maybe someday I'll make it to the real IceHotel in the artic circle in Sweden...

happy valentine's day

2009-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Detail

2009-02-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

In the dining room in mia and ander's part of the apartment. I love their style.

address update

2009-02-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

Apparently the address I listed earlier (and gave to my bank, school, and the Danish government) was a little incomplete. In denmark if you live in an apartment building you have to give a floor number and specify left or right. What if there are more than two doors? A spiral staircase? Dislexic postman? This system does not accomodate those quite common situations.

Anyway, if you sent me a letter, the neighbors got a bunch of them, then returned them to the post office. So maybe try again with this new improved address!

Update: I have removed my adress because I realized it's probaly not a good idea to put that stuff on the internet. So if you want it, ask me.

Here's a picture of a nice sculpture.

Stockholm Furniture Fair

2009-02-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

I went to the Stockholm Furniture Fair ("the world's premier venue for Nordic design") on Sunday. It was in a huge convention center, and surprisingly most of the stuff was very commercial. But there was a room towards the back of the building where they were hiding all of good booths from design schools andyoung designers. It was really thought-provoking and there was so much to be inspired by. There were a lot of people dealing with sustainability and green design, which was encouraging.

These were my favorites:

Mads H. Pålsrud

Monika Järg

Melina Carlsson

Stockholm

2009-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

there's ice in the ocean!

pickle grafitti

At the last minute on thursday night I got the idea in my head that I was going to go to Stockholm, Sweden, and then BAM! 20 hours later I was there. It's crazy how easy it is to travel around Europe, everything is so close! I took the train up on friday night. It was about 5.5 hours to Stockholm, but the train was really comfortable and the dining car had really good coffee, so I was pretty happy looking into the dark, mysterious swedish forests through my foggy window. I met up with my friend Matt in stockholm, he also goes to risd and was working at a gallery in Stockholm for wintersession.

Saturday we wandered around the city for the whole day. It spread out over 5 or 6 islands, so everywhere you look there's water and bridges, but it was actually pretty foggy, so I couldn't see more than a half mile in front of me. It is a really cool city with lots of windy cobblestone streets and cafes and shops. My only complaint is that the subway gets pretty gross and dirty on the weekends from the party people.

On sunday we went to the Stockholm Furniture Fair, which was really cool (more later), and then I hopped a plane home. Door to door it was only a two hour trip! It's funny coming back to copenhagen as my home. It's nice that I'm starting to feel more like an inhabitant and less like a visitor.

muuto, etc.

2009-02-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

The pencil in the cord is such a simple, brilliant problem solver! This was at an industrial design/rapid prototyping studio we went to today for my studio in ceramics.

We're working with the company Muuto, a finnish word meaning "new perspectives" (muuto.com). We visited their studio on wednesday (2nd picture). I'm excited for the class and it's been really interesting working with students from different backgrounds (denmark, norway, and poland).

new home

2009-02-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

the sqaure down the street

I live on the other side of this block

my building is on the right

my bedroom

I moved into my new apartment almost three days ago, but this afternoon was the first time I've seen it in the daylight. I'm staying on the third (really the fourth) floor of a brick building built in 1909. My landlords Mia and Anders are really cool people. They're a couple in their mid 30s, she's an architect and he's an airplane mechanic. They're so friendly and outgoing, I alreday feel totally comfortable here. My rooms are towards the back of the apartment, which is huge. I have a bedroom and room with a desk and shelves, which are in their own back hallway off of the kitchen. My windows look into the middle of the block which overlooks a courtyard space (no grass, though). It's a great place to come home to! And it's right around the corner from Nyhanv (it means new harbor in Danish), which is probably one of the most beautiful sights in the city.

ikea

2009-02-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

I went to IKEA today after class and they had some really cool and innovative stuff. I really liked the dandelion lamp. Their new range of furniture is really interesting.

St.Peter's Church

2009-02-01T16:28:00.000-08:00

Malmö, Sweden from Barrett Hanrahan on Vimeo.

I happened to walk in just as they were performing a baptism at this church in Malmö, so there was a live choir. So beautiful.

sunlight!

2009-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

Blue Sky!

2009-02-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

I went to Malmö, Sweden on Saturday and it was awesome. A bit more friendly and bubbly than Copenhagen, though less English-friendly. I knew I wanted to go to the design museum, but other than that I just picked up a map when I arrived and wandered around. The train ride from Copenhagen is only 35 minutes each way and I got to see a little bit of Denmark outside of the city. The ride over the Øresund Bridge is also really cool. You can see row after row of wind turbines in the middle of the Baltic Sea. I went to the design museum, the Malmöhus (castle), had lunch at a café, visited the oldest building in the city, a church from the early 1300s, and went in lots of shops to get out of the cold (it was about 27⁰F). Every couple of blocks there was an open square with sculptures or a fountain. I definitely want to go back!

And, the most exciting part was that I saw blue sky for the first time in a week!

2009-01-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Amazing cafe at the Danish Art Museum

2009-01-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

I saw this ceiling in a building that I wandered into yesterday. The birds are raised plaster, I think. Just thought it was really beautiful.

Kobenhavn

2009-01-29T14:52:00.001-08:00

I got in on tuesday morning at 6:30 and got to watch the sun rise over the city as I rode the train into town. My first few days have been a bit of a blur. I've been walking around a lot, exploring the neighborhood I'm staying in right now before I move into my more permanent home. I really love the city, there is a beautiful building or sculpture everywhere you look, cobblestone streets, SO MANY bicycles! (and lots of stylish people riding them). It's been cloudy and hovering around freezing since I've been here, but it seems to suit the city, though I'm sure it will be beautiful in the sunshine, too.

I've been to the Danish National Art Museum, The SAS Royal designed by Arne Jacobsen (not as impressive as I thought), The Royal Palace, the botanical gardens, Illum (the big department store), and multiple hotdog carts.

It's been fun being a tourist, but I'm also really excited to start school.

favel!

2009-01-26T07:17:00.000-08:00

Just as I'm leaving it starts to get good! But I'm glad that our country is in capable hands.

Here's a photo from the inauguration last week. It was a really amazing experience, I'm so glad I went!

(photo by Jon O'Conner)