My first impresions.

I’m already writing from Odense. Actually, I have been here for 8 days. So I can say I have survived to my first Erasmus week! I’ve been very busy during this week and I haven’t visited the Odense center or other touristic places yet, but I can explain you what are my first impressions of being here and I can show you how has been this week in order that you can imagine how my Erasmus will be.

I’m living in a dormitory called Rasmus Rask Kollegiet (RRK). It is too different from the student dormitories we have in Barcelona. RRK is like a small residential area formed by a lot of small houses. In each house live two persons, so I'm living in a house with two bedrooms and I share the bathroom and the kitchen with Iuliana, my flatmate. In addition the dormitory has a bar and other services, like laundery, a gym or a sauna.

You can see more information about my dorm in: http://www.rrk.dk/index.php

The dorm is located at, more or less, 3.7 Km (15’ by bike) from the Odense center and at 2.8 Km (10’ by bike) from the Hospital where I’m doing my internship.

In that map you can see my dorm (red), the hospital where
is the lab (green) and the city center (yellow)

So, besides applying for the different official documents, the first thing you have to do when you arrive is to buy a bike. You will use it every day. Usually what people do is to buy the bikes from other students that have finished their Erasmus or that have bought a better bike and want to sell the old one. You can be noticed of that in the second hand facebook group that the dormitories have. You can also buy a bike in the Odense police auction, which it takes part on Wednesday every second week and you can buy the bikes that the police have found into the streets for a cheap prize.  

My two bikes :) At first, I got the red one, but today I have
bought the other  one, because it works better.

I’m getting used to bike every morning to go to the Hospital, with low temperatures and snowing. I think it will be even harder in raining days.

My schedule in the Hospital is flexible. I usually begin to work at 9h and finish between 15-18h, depending of the amount of work I have that day, so when I finish my work I can leave. I’m in a neurobiology department, more precisely in Benedikz group and we are working with Schizophrenia. 

In the first link you can read about the Neurobiology department, while in the second link you can see the research group that I'm in  

http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/IMM_Molekylaer_Medicin/Forskning/Forskningsenheder/Neurobiologisk.aspx 

http://www.sdu.dk/en/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/IMM_Molekylaer_Medicin/Forskning/Forskningsenheder/Neurobiologisk/Forskningsgrupper/Benedikz+gruppen

I’m very motivated with my projects in the lab and very glad with my mates. There is a nice atmosphere and we do a lot of activities together. For example, at 10 o’clock we stop working and have breakfast together. Every week there are two people that prepare the breakfast (toast, bread, jam, butter, coffee, tea...) for the rest of people in the group. Then we continue working and at 12 o’clock we stop another time, now for having lunch. In addition, some Fridays of a month they do what they call the “Friday Beer”. I did it last Friday and it’s very funny. We drank beer and played games for few hours. They are a nice team.

In reference to the beers, you should know that I’ll write a blog entrance about them and other alcoholic drinks. There is a big tradition of drinking beers and there are different types. Maybe the most popular beer here is Carlsberg, but Albani is very tasteful and it is maked in Odense.

That is the website of Albani beer. You can see the different types of beer they make and compare their qualities (bitter; tough and dark) 

http://www.albani.dk/produkter/odenseclassic?PHPSESSID=5e070049d6175b89b57168d778183ce0

I’ve been in some parties and I can confirm that the Erasmus parties are special, they are awesome. The best are the ones that begin spontaneous in friend houses but there are also great discos in Odense. I am looking forward to going to LA Bar because everybody says is the best bar, but yesterday I went to a bar called “The gym” and I liked it a lot. It has 3 floors and in the top floor there are some table-tennis tables and you can play a tournament while other people is drinking and dancing. It’s very curious.

In other entrance I have to write about the prizes in Denmark, because the food, drinks, and all things in general are more expensive than in Catalonia or Spain.

In resume, I’m very happy of being here and I’m very lucky of knowing so nice people, who are always helping me and treating me very well. I will spend 6 great months in Denmark! And that has just began! 

Where I go?

I want to give you very basic information about Odense by answering some questions. The answers are clear and short because my intention is showing you further details about the city and Denmark at the same time I’m discovering it. 

Odense, where are you?

Odense is located in Denmark, in Funen island. It is the third largest city in the country, after Copenhaguen and Aarhus, and has a population of 168.798 people (January 2012).

To arrive to Odense I have to take a plane from Barcelona to Copenhaguen (3:05h) and then a train to Odense (1:35h).

                                           

Odense, what you talk?

The official language in Odense is Dansk (Danish), but almost everybody can speak English perfectly. One word in Dansk? Øl.

Odense, what money do you use?

The Danish krone (DKK) is the official currency of Odense. One krone is subdivided into 100 øre. There exist coins of 50 øre and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 krone, and bills of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 krone.

It’s usefull to know that 1 DKK are 0.13€ and that 1€ are 7.46 DKK.

                                        

   

Queen Margrethe II 

     Odense, what government have you got?

Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, in which Queen Margrethe II is the head of state. Royal power has only ceremonial functions and  the polytical function is represented by a parliamentary democracy, who elects the prime minister.

The current prime minister of Denmark is Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is the leader of the social democrats and is the first woman to hold the post.

Odense, do you believe in god?

The most prominent religious is Christianity, in the form of Lutheranism (80% of population) and the second largest faith is Islam (3%).

Odense, what do you eat?

The cuisine of Denmark consists mainly of meat and fish. The meals are dividid into a plentiful breakfast; a simple lunch and a huge dinner.

Some of the most typicall dishes are:

•  Smørrebrød, which is an open sandwich that is very usual for lunch.
•  Boller and karry, that are meat balls in curry served with rice and cucumber salad.
• Apple pork, that are fried pork slices served with compote of apple, onion and bacon.
• Brændende kærlighed (literally "burning love"), which are mashed potatoes made with butter and milk, and in the top of the mashed potatoes there are fried bacon and chopped onions.

                             

                             Smørrebrød

Boller and karry

Beer is the national drink in Denmark, and two of the most popular are Carlsberg and Tuborg.

Odense, how do you move?

Odense’s people use to move by bike. Bikes have priority over cars and it exists a very complete bikeway around all the country. That’s why for example, the 60% of people who lives in Copenhaguen move by bike.

Odense, what sport do you practice?

Football is the national sport in Denmark. Other popular sports are handball, cycling, badminton and some water sports, like sailing.

Fioinia park, the stadium of Odense OB. 

Odense, how often do you see the sunny?

Over the course of a year, the temperature typically varies from 1ºC to 22ºC and is rarely below -7ºC or above 27ºC.

                                         

The length of the day varies over the course of the year. The shortest day is December 21, with 7:02 hours of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17:29 hours of daylight.

                                         

The earliest sunrise is at 4:35 am on June 17, while the latest sunrise is at 3:46 pm on December 12. The earliest sunset is at 10:06 on June 24, while the latest sunset is at 8:48 am on December 30.

                                         

Precipitation is most likely around February, occurring in 60% of days and is least in May, occurring in 42% of days.

                                             

Odense, which important people have lived in you?

Hans Christian Andersen has been the most important resident Odense has ever had. H.C.A was a writer and poet and he was the author of the Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Mermaid or the Ugly Duckling, among others.

                         

                     

        

Another important resident was Carl Nielsen, who is recognized as the Denmark’s greatest composer and is best known for his six symphonies and other pices, like the Helios Overture, which depicts the passage of the sun in the sky from dawn to nightfall.

Odense, what can I visit of you?

Saint Canute's Cathedral

There are different places to visit, but some of the most interesting are:

• Saint Canute’s Cathedral (Sankt Knuds Kirke), where the King Knud, who is the patron saint of Denmark is buried.

 

  

Odense Town Hall

• Odense Town Hall, where fans of Odense FC celebrate the trophies that the club wins.

• H.C. Andersen childhood house and his museum, that woulg give you an overview of the life of writer.

• Odense zoo, that is the only place in Denmark where you  can feed the giraffes. 

Odense, where can I go out to at night?

There are different places to go, for example, the Australian bar, where every Thursday is the Erasmus Day, or a disco called Retro, that is very popular on Saturdays.

                                  

                                     

Jo crec que amb això us podeu fer una idea general d'allà on vaig. Suposo que en futures publicacions, una vegada ja estigui instal·lat a Odense, aprofundiré més en alguns temes, i aniré explicant més coses sobre la ciutat. Així jo també m'informo de les ciutats, dels hàbits i de la cultura del país que m'acull! 

Per suposat, si teniu interès en algun tema en concret, digueu-m'ho i miraré de fer una entrada sobre el que volgueu!

PD: Com veieu, encara no domino el format i les coses es van descol·locant. A mesura que vagi agafant pràctica ja faré el bloc més maco! 

Per què aquest blog?

Encara no sé ben bé perquè escric aquest bloc. No tinc ni idea de com enfocar-lo ni que hi posaré exactament. Però tinc ganes de fer-lo i, almenys una cosa està clara: el bloc girarà entorn el meu Erasmus a Odense.

A part d’això no tinc cap idea concreta, simplement escriure i publicar quan em vingui de gust i tingui alguna cosa interessant a dir. Alguna cosa sobre Dinamarca, sobre Odense, el meu Erasmus o simplement coses curioses i diferents d’allà. 

A més és una altra forma d’estar en contacte amb els meus amics i amb tots els que l’aneu llegint. I potser també ajudo a futurs Erasmus que vagin a Odense. És per això que encara no he decidit l’idioma en que escriuré. Suposo que el faré en anglès i colaré alguna cosa en català.

Això sí! Estaria bé que participéssiu i opinéssiu. Així serà més agraït escriure’l! 

PD: Si voleu saber més coses sobre Odense feu una ullada a la següent entrada. La intentaré publicar en un parell de dies i serà un resum amb informació molt bàsica sobre Odense!