Christmas in Tivoli

On November 20th, after (E) and I saw all we could see in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum we walked over the Tivoli.  Even though my feet so much from standing and walking I was really looking forward to seeing Tivoli.  I was told by many people at work that Tivoli is the place to go to for Christmas. After seeing the place I understand why. Tivoli truly was a Christmas light wonderland.

Originally on the 20th we enter the Tivoli gardens in one of the side entrances and you can tell when you walk in this place was going to be amazing.  When you enter you go down a small flight of stairs and you see all these amazing lights and Christmas shoppes.

Side entrance, with shops and Chrismtas light everywhere. The ball of lights on the top left was in the shape of snow flakes.

shops and walk way, notice all the tress have lights on them

These lights were everywhere and some were in different colors. 

 *The following day Nov 21st, (E) and I came across the main entrance of Tivoli and we took a few pictures since were in the area.  The main entrance is quite nice, however (E) and I were disappointed that a few of the sign lights were not light.  You would think with Christmas one of their busiest time - they would have all the lights lite up.

Once inside Tivoli gardens our amazement did not end. We come across the Tivoli Hotel which one of the focal points. It is hard to describe so I will let the pictures do all the talking. But I must mention that if you want to book a hotel room or a reservation at the hotel restaurant you have to schedule it almost a year in advance and be willing to shell out a lot of money.

All over the Tivoli Gardens there were many different types of tree wit lights and other decorations.

 

Also in the Tilvoli Gardens, there are many different rides. This includes roller coasters, swings and a beautiful carousel.

There was also a very unique Chinese area, with a cool lite up dragon and building. I found out later that there is a Chinese restuarant inside the building.

In Tivoli there is also a play house, they were showing Mama Mia! when (E) and I were there. But the way they lite it up it was great.

Another really neat thing about Tilvoli is that every walk way had unique lights above it.

In Tivoli there 80 different restaurants or snack shops, plus a whole bunch of gift shops.  If you come to Copenhagen you have to come by Tivoli Gardens.

Adventure to Copenhagen and the Wrong Museum

On Saturday 20th (E) and I made a trip to Copenhagen. However, before I tell you the adventure in Copenhagen I must tell you about the adventure getting to Copenhagen. The first train we wanted to take was canceled, so we decided to get some Danish pastries so that we can get them on the next train. Of course, since the previous train was canceled the next train was packed and there were no seats. So for the majority of the one-hour trip we were standing, as we traveled some people got off and even more people got on.

Since there were some many people on the train I could not hear very clearly what train station we are stopping at, the majority of the announcements are in Danish. But as you get closer to Copenhagen, the announcements are in both Danish and English. So as we are nearing Copenhagen, I hear the words “Central Station” which is the main station in Copenhagen. So I thought the next stop was the main station and (E) and I get off, in our excitement we did not even realizing where we really got off at the wrong station. We got off at the Valby Station, South of Copenhagen, and after about an hour of wondering around and thinking why can’t we find all the museums or Tivoli Gardens we realized out mistake. So we just hopped on the next bus to central station and finally made it to Copenhagen.

Since (E) was here on vacation and I am now living here I felt it best that she decided where she wants to go with one condition, I really wanted to see the Tivoli Gardens. So our first stop was the SUPPOSED to be the National Museum, and we came across a museum and figured it was the one we wanted. 

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

www.glyptoteket.dk

Anyways we entered, put our coats and other belongings, and paid for our ticket.  This is when we realized we were at the wrong museum, because the National Museum is free, but since we were already there we decided to go ahead a have a look. 

This particular museum contained an extensive collection of statues. 

 

The museum also had a large collection of Egyptian artifacts.

They do have this unique stairway down stairs in the Egyptian exhibit, which lead to another exhibit that was designed like a Egyptian tomb. 

Stair case leading to the Tomb like exhibit.

There was much more to this museum, many paintings, but they were repairing the heating system in that area so it was closed.  I plan to visit again in the spring to get see the other exhibits. After visiting the museum we walked over the Tivoli gardens, and I took so many pictures it deserves a blog post of its own. 

Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas

I wanted to show pictures of my Thanksgiving dinner here in Denmark. My good friend (E) is visiting so I made a nice turkey dinner for the both of us. Now remember I have a very small kitchen so the dinner was small and simple. I roasted a small turkey breast, made smashed potatoes, and honey glazed carrots.




I had a great dinner and of course I had some Jul beer with dinner.


Christmas is coming!!!

It took me a while save money to purchase these items but I bought a pretty Christmas candle and a small Christmas “tree”. I think the Christmas candle is really pretty and it lights up the room.



And my small Christmas “tree” is actually a small snow globe with small Christmas “tree”.

The facility also had a Christmas bingo game on Dec 8th there was so many cool gifts: umbrellas, small gift baskets, fruit baskets and many other things. In Denmark they play bingo in a slightly different way, instead of the five by five square with letters and numbers. The Danish playing cards are 7 squares by 4 squares and they only play rows across. First there is a 1-row winner, we leave our chips on the cards and play for two rows on the same card. The final part of the game we play to fill in the entire card. They did say all the numbers in Danish, but they did write the numbers on the board. So not only did I have fun but I also had a great Danish number lesson. Alas, I did not win anything. They also served snacks and a traditional Danish Christmas drink; I can’t remember the name of the drink. The drink was basically a red wine with spices, almonds and raisins; the drink was warmed up also. It was really good!

We also got a gift from the facility, which I was not expecting at all. Everyone received a big bag of goods. We were given a few apples, pears, onions, potatoes and a nice jar of Danish honey. Danish honey is different from the honey we see in the States; Danish honey has more of a solid state. I took pictures to show all the stuff I got.


Soon we will have a Christmas party next week and I have been hearing rumors that it becomes a fun party, with plenty of alcohol, snacks and food. I will post pictures when I can.

A small agricultural research center in the middle of nowhere

I will try to describe the best way possible the work that I am doing in Denmark. I am working a type of forage grass, and I am developing a genetic map of the genes for this grass. This is done by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), basically it is a way for researchers to gather HUGE amounts of genetic data in a short time frame. This project involves more computer work and bioinformatics work and very little actual lab work. I am excited to start working on this project because it gives me a chance to work on some the newest biology and biotechnology.

The other great thing about this position is that for six months I will have the opportunity to work in a research lab in Wales, UK. Plus I have the opportunity to attend one international research conference; next year I have a chance to go to Ireland for a conference.

I work with really nice and helpful people, and the office atmosphere is great. My father has the Google Earth coordinates if you want to see what the facility looks like. When you walk in the facility it is bright and open. Plus all employees are welcome to one free piece of fruit per day; they have oranges, apples, plums, and bananas. Plus an endless amount of coffee and tea. The facility also has a small gym which I can use at any time.




To get to my office you have to walk further down the main hall. As you tell from the picture the facility is going through a remodeling and there are some new equipment in the main hall.
I really like my office because I have a large desk, an office with windows and my supervisor was able to get me a nice desktop with two large screens.

The other great thing about this facility is the cafeteria, not only do they serve great food but they also have great scenery.


To get to work, since the facility is really in the middle of nowhere, I have to ride the bus. It is only a 5-minute walk from my apartment to the bus stop, but the bus ride to work takes about 20 minutes. It is a nice scenic trip, with rolling fields, Scottish horses, apple orchards and a few big windmills like the ones back in the States.
The picture below was not taken by me, but by a co-worker. During one of the recent snowstorms, the road to the facility was not cleared well, because of that the bus got stuck.

My Apartment in Denmark

I wanted to post this earlier but I have been so busy with the final edit of my thesis. But now that my thesis has been formally submitted I actually have some free time.

So I want to tell everyone about my apartment I live in a complex of apartments set up for students for a local university (it is like of like a community college).

These pictures show the entry to my apartment. The first thing you see is the kitchen, with a small dinner table, as SMALL fridge and a small two burner stove top. The large microwave on the dinner table is actually a microwave and an oven. Yep, you read right, it is also a convection oven. I have been able to cooks small steaks in there. And of course, two small herb plants, I just wanted some plants and with this I get to make some great food.





As you walk past the kitchen there is a small bathroom with at shower.




After you pass the bathroom there is a small hall closet, and the stairs to go upstairs bedroom.

At the top of the stairs you reach my bedroom. And my bed.
Of course on my bed is my Union Pacific bear that was a gift from my boyfriend and of course a small stuff kitty that looks at like my cat back in the states. There are many nights when I am lonely I hug one or both of these. Aarhus University also gave me a second bed, so a guest can have a nice comfy bed, and it is a quite comfy. Right now I do not have a dresser, so right now my clothes are laid out on this bed. The apartment complex also has a small laundry room with three washers and three dryers. However washing clothes cost about $2 a load and to dry clothes cost about $1.5 per load. So to save money I air-dry all my clothes, so the large drying rack in the back is my way to save money. Also the apartment did not come with any blinds or curtains. So I went to a second hand shop and got some curtains and I put those up.

There is another picture of my bedroom, with my back to the curtains and facing the stairs.