Day 29 – Copenhagen – Thursday June 21st

We woke up bright and early (7am) to get ready to go to a lecture at Copenhagen University in their Computer Science department. We took an incredibly long bus ride to the university and arrived to meet the very lively professor that taught us for the rest of the day. He was a good lecturer and very interesting. He gave three lectures; the culture of Denmark, the life of Peter Naur, and mobile technology around the world. We had short breaks in between each lecture, so we never were completely restless. The cultural review was very interesting. He made a large point to say how respectful, tolerant, and trusting Danish people were compared to Americans. I thought for sure that he was just talking up his people (to some degree, he probably was), but I do have a story for later that proved his point. The lecture lasted until about 1:30 or so, and the class took a bus back towards the main square near our hotel. We caved and ate at a McDonalds which was much cheaper than any of the local places (though not by much).

Directly after that, knowing that we definitely weren’t going to be able to see the major landmarks given that all of them close by 5pm, we headed for Tivoli, the local amusement park. The place reminded me of the Pavilion at Myrtle Beach, just cleaner. They had plenty of fun rides, including two great roller coasters, a freefall, a pirate ship-style ride, and a ride that spun as it flipped you upside down. We ate at the nearby Copenhagen Hard Rock Cafe where I saw Bob Dylan’s telecaster. Then, we went back into the park and rode some more rides. I got some candy floss (cotton candy) and ate it all. Eventually, the group wanted to go back, so I stayed back with two girls from the group that met up with us and wanted more rides to ride.

During the course of these events, I must have had my camera literally fly out of my pocket because it suddenly just was not there. I thought I should try to find it just soI could know I tried. Somehow (and this relates to the trustfulness of the Danish), my camera had just been turned in when I arrived. He asked me the model, and I said, “I have no idea, but my mom made me put my name on the side. It says Ben Suitt.” That sticker actually came in handy; who knew? We finished the night by watching a light show and letting Jocelyn look in trashcans for cups since returned cups gave you a whopping $1 each.

I came back to the hotel and was convinced to go out to a karaoke bar, so I thought I’d give it a try. I sang “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash. It was pretty funny because people were clapping and cheering for me. I had two guys come up and ask me where I was from. They were from Memphis and San Francisco. Some of the guys sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and other songs. We all had a real great time. I went back to the hotel and went to bed.