60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between China and Denmark~!

May 11th, 2010 marks the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between China and Denmark~! My friend Rachel was somehow miraculously invited to this 60th Anniversary Party held in the Chinese Embassy in Denmark on May 11th, and I went there together with her. That's why I had the chance to enjoy a great free buffet of some delicious Chinese dishes that I missed so much and listened to speeches given respectively by the Chinese Ambassador to Denmark and the Danish Foreign Minister.

Danish Foreign Minister (left) and Chinese Ambassador to Denmark (right) toasted the friendship between China and Denmark:It was a very happy experience because I had not seen and talked with so many Chinese people together for quite a while. It felt like home. I thought it was supposed to be a kind of formal celebration, but it ended up very relaxing and enjoyable, thanks to the great food, I guess. XD I believe it is human nature to be passionate about food...Regardless of nationality and gender...Very amiable Danish Foreign Minister. The Chinese Ambassador to Denmark, Mr. Xie Hangsheng, is also a very friendly person. He is from Hangzhou as wee, where ZU is located.The view from outside the Chinese Embassy:

Have a nice week~! :)

May 8th: 2200 Neighborhood. Street Party

"In the name of love for the 2200 neighborhood you are all invited to an atmospheric one-day experience with everything your heart may desire." That's what the invitation for the street party online says, for more details: http://hellocopenhagen.dk/2010/05/blagardsgade-streetparty/

"2200" is the post code for that particular neighborhood in whose name this party was held. To give you another example, the post code of my neighborhood is "1366".

The street party contains DJs, outdoor bars, BBQ, and a small music festival called "Clash" containing five bands palying in a huge tent,which looks like the venue for a circus show; all of the activities were located in the street called "Blågårdsgade" and a square near the street. I think there were at least one thousand people on the street at around 11:00 p.m.

I admire the Danish people for they really know how to relax themselves - they just danced to music on the street without any shyness, and everyone could tell from their dance and facial expressions that they were enjoying themselves fully. I remember someone shouting to us "don't be shy; don't be shy". I guess we just had the word "shyness" written on our forehead and that's why everyone knew that we were being shy. It also reminds me of anthor discussion that I had with some Danish friends regarding the topic of "shyness". It seems that the definition as well as reception toward "shyness" are quite different from China to Denmark, or more generally from Asia to Europe - such as (1) how to define shyness; (2) is it a personality drawback or somewhat virtuous? I may do a mini research on it and present the result in later posts. :)

Now back to the story of the street party...Approaching midnight, the streets got more and more crowded, music louder and atmosphere of relaxation rose higher and higher. But because the camera ran out of battery, I am now only able to present you a few photos of earlier times. Hope you enjoy!

Ourdoor Bars:Flee Market:Temperature was as low as 5°C but they still enjoyed sitting outside...unbelievable!Corner of the big tent where concerts were held at night:

Labor Day! :10000+ people picnic in Fælleden Park, Copenhagen

It is already May!! It is officially spring, but the weather is still very very cold in Copenhagen, around 10°C as the highest temperature. I'm told that every year on May 1st, in Fælleden Park (a big nice part in central Copenhagen), there is a big outdoor barbeque/picnic activity that may attract thousands of people. Since May 1st is the International Labor Day, parades and politic speeches about socialism and workers' welfare will "flood the town". :) It is quite interesting to me because I should definitely believe that the welfare for workers here is far better than that for workers of China. In a sense Denmark is a far more socialist country than China.Generally the traffic condition in Copenhagen is exceptionally good: easy transportation even during rush hours of the day. May 1st was the first time that I experienced traffic jam in Copenhagen because everyone at that time of the day was heading toward Fælleden Park.

May 1st was a day of great fun, except for the bad weather...It rained and became cloudy and sometimes sunny and rained again...Outdoor activity was meant to be held in great weather and under sunshine, though the weather did disappoint me. I was shivering in cold wind and drizzling rain drops, yet still so happy to be with my friends and to see how all the people in the park enjoyed themselves to the full despite the bad weather.XD

Kunst Haus Wien (Vienna Art House)

To my own surprise, my favorite city of this Easter travel is Vienna, the capital of Austria. I had thought before that Vienna could be the most boring one, compared to Prague and Budapest, but it turned out to be a delightful surprise.

I love it basically because it is a very comfortable city to stay in: convenient transportation, clean streets, friendly residents, beautiful city parks, great concerts and ballet at affordable prices...It is a pleasure to simply be there. Plenty to see and plenty to do. Or doing nothing, which is also a delight. That's what I felt about Vienna.

Also in Vienna resided a very admirable architect - Mr. Hundertwasser (1928-2000). People say that Hundertwasser is to Vienna what Gaudi is to Barcelona. "Kunst Haus Wien" is one of his designs that exists in today's Vienna. I love the playful colors he used in this house. The house looks brilliant and lively under sunshine.

Kunst Haus Wien viewed from outside:Poster for current exhibitions:Table and chairs designed by Hundertwasser (colorful shadow under sunshine):According to my observations, "Every museum has a museum shop" (when art meets commercial stuff...lol):

So the conclusion is, Vienna is a lovely place to go, and don't miss Kunst Haus Wien if you go to Vienna. :) For more info: http://www.kunsthauswien.com/index_en.html

2010.4.16 Dainsh Queen's 70th Birthday

Yesterday was the Danish Queen's 70th Birthday. I went with my friends to see the Queen wave at people from her balcony. She also sat in a carriage pulled by horses, waved at the people standing on both sides of the street afterwards. I had a glimpse of her when she was only two meters away from me. She looked really elegant and beautiful. Yesterday was great fun~~.

Kids led by their teacher to see the Queen.

Budapest: A Lovable City

I love the city Budapest a lot. It has abundant historical architecture, beautiful river and bridges, and friendly people. Before I went there, many people told me that Budapest was not a safe city and one should be very careful travelling to there. But it turned out all right. And acutally I found Budapest a city that one outsider can feel close to at some point or another.

A small tip:Budapest is well-known for its Turkish baths. One should not miss it while visiting Budapest.

City view from the Royal Castle. The Chain Bridge.

Lovable houses in Buda.

The most impressive place for me in Budapest is actually a small city square, where modern art sculptures are displayed and young people gather to play skateboard, rollerskating and other extremem sports. Bathed in sunshine of April, it is a place that I feel full of life. Also there I saw the most good-looking young girls and boys I had ever seen in Budapest, and maybe in Europe. But I cannot find out the name of the small square, nor did I take any photos that day. Sorry about that. :p

I guess it is sometimes better just to keep the place you love most in your own imagination, rather than recording it with photos or anything. :)

Back from Easter Travel & Prague

First I'd like to say sorry for the lateness of this post, because I have been travelling on road for the past two weeks and internet access is really unstable. *_* As compensation I will post two or three posts in a row to share with you some interesting bits of my Easter travel. :)
Basically I have been to Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg (such a long trip...- -。) Overall I think travelling is denifitely a good experience. It strikes me with so many new ideas and feelings when I see something I have never seen before, and think of some issues I have never thought of. During the trip when I got a little bit tired, I did miss Copenhagen a lot, and the easy cozy life of living in a well-facilitated city where people all speak wonderful English. Without going away for some time I might never have realized that I actually started regarding Copenhagen as my second home.
I think Prague is a city to be viewed from the top, especially at night, when it is breathtakingly beautiful.

The hospitality of Prague people really made a very good impression on me. Once I was wondering through different streets so happily that I could not find my way back to the Old Town Hall Square, two Czech girls walked with me for twenty miniutes to lead me there. Because they speak very little English, we could hardly communicate with each other, but they took out their English textbooks from their bags and managed to say to me, "Go...with me." And they just simled at me all the time.
I also went to several concerts and performances in Prague. My favorire is a Czech musical "KUDYKAM". Though the entire play was in Czech language, and I could not understand what the lines and lyrics were about, I still enjoyed it tremendously because of the fabulous music, stage design and acting. See more info at http://www.opera.cz/en/repertoar/kudykam.html