I bought a bike. I'd take a picture for you, but it is dark out. I would say tomorrow, but I'll probably forget.
It is a decent used bike I bought from a shop. The guy told me 800kr ($133). I asked if that was negotiable and he said maybe. I left and looked at a different place, but they only had new bikes and the cheapest was 1300kr. I asked the front desk receptionist at DIS if she thought 800kr was negotiable (and maybe how negotiable). She thought it might be able to be brought down 50-100 kroner at some places, but at others probably not.
I went back and ended up paying 790 kr. He threw in a new lock and changed the front tire (it wasn't in very good shape). The bike has a 3 month warranty, so if it has any problems I can bring it back and they'll fix it for free.
It is 3-speeds. The gear system is different than a US bike. The chain doesn't move, but rather it is an enclosed system (of gears I guess). Turning the pedals backwards puts on the brakes like it would on a kids bike. I like that. :) It is a more mountain bike frame with thick tires. Most Danes ride "city bikes" with thin tires, etc.
Hopefully I can sell it before I leave for close to what I paid. Otherwise I guess it is a birthday present to myself! It is much too nice out to sit on a bus for 30 minutes each day.
Friday, April 27, 2007
DIS show off week
DIS has been entertaining a group of administrators and professors from a bunch of US universities this past week. I guess they are trying to sell them on the quality of the DIS program. These people have been sitting in on classes, etc.
It was kind of entertaining to see them going through some of the same things we did when we got here. Just today, I saw:
- A lady almost getting run over by a bike.
- A guy taking pictures of a taxi. (All taxis in Denmark are Mercedes)
- A guy showing up late to class because he had problems figuring out the public transportation.
They all seem unconfident and uncomfortable, which is humorous to me for some reason. :)
It was kind of entertaining to see them going through some of the same things we did when we got here. Just today, I saw:
- A lady almost getting run over by a bike.
- A guy taking pictures of a taxi. (All taxis in Denmark are Mercedes)
- A guy showing up late to class because he had problems figuring out the public transportation.
They all seem unconfident and uncomfortable, which is humorous to me for some reason. :)
Health Care
I'll move the topic from tabloid-friendly royalty babies to something a bit more substantive. :) Susanne sent me this email:
I was just in that park they filmed in yesterday. I saw some people filming, but it wasn't the ABC people. (Danish TV I think)
Denmark has won those surveys before about being the happiest people.
As far as health care, it is taxed and run by the county. There used to be 13 of these in Denmark, but this year (or maybe last year) they restructured this to 5. So, about a million people in each county. Health care is about 75% of the county's spending. You can choose which hospital/clinic you go to, and the government publishes "average wait" for each hospital. Danes don't just pay into a giant national pot, but to a more local level.
Different areas in Denmark might be slightly different in what they offer. Our history professor said his daughter in Copenhagen got "top of the line" braces for the 7 years she had to wear them. In western Denmark, they might cover braces but not the leading edge expensive variety. Overall the quality of Danish public hospitals and health care is very good.
Denmark also has a couple private hospitals. They always have some private business competing against the public entities, because then you can tell if the public entities are less efficient than a private company would be. My politics professor says that if the public entities aren't competitive, then you can just sell them and everyone is better off. So to keep the public services, they have to be competitive. The hospitals also compete across the county borders, since people have a free choice which hospital to go to.
Denmark does the same with buses, trains, schools, etc. There is a large national rail services, but also a few private companies that run some routes.
Denmark pays $2,743 per capita for health care (2003). US payed $5,711 per person in 2003. Canada spent $2,998 a person . So overall we really pay twice as much for our health care, and still have tens of millions of people who can't afford it and don't have any. Maybe the higher taxes aren't too bad. :)
Denmark was just named the "Happiest Country on Earth"!
Was watching a morning news show ABC's Good Morning America and they interviewed some happy person who was in charge of the survey to find the happiest country. She said that Denmark is the happiest country because the people have such low expectations of everything. Said don't get her wrong, they aren't pessimistic. To the Danes pleasure in life is a gift. They are a satisfied people.
They are modest.
Showed the crown prince and his family and various places in Copenhagen. Interviewed a Dane who had a broken leg and was unable to go to work. He was happy because he knew that he would be taken care of by the government and its good health care system and that he could go to where ever and get the cash that he would need because he couldn't work. As an aside, the interview did mention how
much the Danes have to pay in taxes for health care.
Find the video here: www.ABCNews.com/GMA
I was just in that park they filmed in yesterday. I saw some people filming, but it wasn't the ABC people. (Danish TV I think)
Denmark has won those surveys before about being the happiest people.
As far as health care, it is taxed and run by the county. There used to be 13 of these in Denmark, but this year (or maybe last year) they restructured this to 5. So, about a million people in each county. Health care is about 75% of the county's spending. You can choose which hospital/clinic you go to, and the government publishes "average wait" for each hospital. Danes don't just pay into a giant national pot, but to a more local level.
Different areas in Denmark might be slightly different in what they offer. Our history professor said his daughter in Copenhagen got "top of the line" braces for the 7 years she had to wear them. In western Denmark, they might cover braces but not the leading edge expensive variety. Overall the quality of Danish public hospitals and health care is very good.
Denmark also has a couple private hospitals. They always have some private business competing against the public entities, because then you can tell if the public entities are less efficient than a private company would be. My politics professor says that if the public entities aren't competitive, then you can just sell them and everyone is better off. So to keep the public services, they have to be competitive. The hospitals also compete across the county borders, since people have a free choice which hospital to go to.
Denmark does the same with buses, trains, schools, etc. There is a large national rail services, but also a few private companies that run some routes.
Denmark pays $2,743 per capita for health care (2003). US payed $5,711 per person in 2003. Canada spent $2,998 a person . So overall we really pay twice as much for our health care, and still have tens of millions of people who can't afford it and don't have any. Maybe the higher taxes aren't too bad. :)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Ten days
Ten days without a blog post. I seriously have thought about writing something many times since then, but unfortunately thinking about it and doing it aren't the same.
The Danish crown princess Mary had a daughter yesterday. The first baby girl born in the Danish royal family since 1946. The Copenhagen buses were all driving around with their two little Danish flags flying above the windshield. They did that for the Queen's birthday too. Very festive. All the newspapers had a picture of crown prince Frederik with a big smile on his face with the quote "hun er fantastisk". She is fantastic.
For those of you who haven't kept up on your knowledge of the Danish royal family, it is the oldest monarchy in the world. It goes back to Gorm the Old in the 900s, and his son Harald I Bluetooth who united Denmark. Queen Margrethe II has been queen since 1972.
Her son Crown Prince Frederik is next in line to the throne. Crown Princess Mary is his wife. They also have an 18 month old son, Christian. Princess Mary is an Australian who met Prince Frederik at the Sydney Olympics.
The royal family is very well liked by the people of Denmark. They don't play any role in government beyond a symbolic one, and are kind of the face of the Danish people. They don't take any opinions or positions on any political issues. Some Danes question why a modern society still has royalty (and gives them money, a palace, etc). In the end though, they are very well liked and nobody would seriously consider getting rid of the royalty. Maybe if they did something terribly outrageous and embarrassing to Denmark, but that isn't going to happen. The royal family might be analogous to the American flag in some sense. A non-political nationalistic symbol of a people...?
The Danish crown princess Mary had a daughter yesterday. The first baby girl born in the Danish royal family since 1946. The Copenhagen buses were all driving around with their two little Danish flags flying above the windshield. They did that for the Queen's birthday too. Very festive. All the newspapers had a picture of crown prince Frederik with a big smile on his face with the quote "hun er fantastisk". She is fantastic.
For those of you who haven't kept up on your knowledge of the Danish royal family, it is the oldest monarchy in the world. It goes back to Gorm the Old in the 900s, and his son Harald I Bluetooth who united Denmark. Queen Margrethe II has been queen since 1972.
Her son Crown Prince Frederik is next in line to the throne. Crown Princess Mary is his wife. They also have an 18 month old son, Christian. Princess Mary is an Australian who met Prince Frederik at the Sydney Olympics.
The royal family is very well liked by the people of Denmark. They don't play any role in government beyond a symbolic one, and are kind of the face of the Danish people. They don't take any opinions or positions on any political issues. Some Danes question why a modern society still has royalty (and gives them money, a palace, etc). In the end though, they are very well liked and nobody would seriously consider getting rid of the royalty. Maybe if they did something terribly outrageous and embarrassing to Denmark, but that isn't going to happen. The royal family might be analogous to the American flag in some sense. A non-political nationalistic symbol of a people...?
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Pictures
I have a lot of catching up to do. Apparently I hadn't uploaded any pictures from March before I left, so here are a bunch I found on my computer. From around Copenhagen and from Malmo Sweden. Click on the picture to go to that photo album. I recommend doing the "slide show"...you can click on it on the album page once you get there.
These are pictures between March 3 and March 12 before I left on my trip. I think the pictures and albums have dates.
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
Click above to see all the pictures in that album ^^^^^
If you read the blog, please leave a comment! It's really nice to know that people are reading it. :) It is also helpful to write with an audience in mind...so it is nice to know who the audience is.
Mange tak! (many thanks)
These are pictures between March 3 and March 12 before I left on my trip. I think the pictures and albums have dates.
 |
| 2007_03_03 Christians |
 |
| 2007_03_05 Strøget and a park |
 |
| 2007_03_08 Osterbro |
 |
| 2007_03_09 Malmo, Sweden |
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| 2007_03_11 Spring in Copenhagen |
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| 2007_03_12 Ungdomshus |
If you read the blog, please leave a comment! It's really nice to know that people are reading it. :) It is also helpful to write with an audience in mind...so it is nice to know who the audience is.
Mange tak! (many thanks)
The other Copenhagen
We had our IBE (business program) dinner last night. It was at a restaurant called the RizRaz downtown Copenhagen. It was a buffet-style meal which turned out to be all vegetarian. Certainly different from any buffet we'd see in Minnesota I think. Some foods were better than others, but overall it was a good meal. DIS bought us 2 drinks as well.
Today I went to a seminar on "strategic planning". It was an optional thing which DIS offered for the first time. One of the professors at DIS (he teaches the international terrorism class) works for the Danish Intelligence Agency, and has taught this little seminar in other places before. So they decided to do it here too.
Strategic planning is a way to "prepare for an uncertain future". Basically it was a way of taking a really complex issue, simplifying it, and then drawing conclusions from that on what the future might hold. Used by intelligence agencies, businesses, etc. The class went from 9am-4pm today, and we tackled the issue of "the world in 2027". It was very interesting -- I liked it.
Walking home afterwards, it was really stunning to see the difference in Copenhagen from just last Monday when I got back. That was a colder, windy day and there was nobody around. Today is almost like summer, and it was like being in a different city. Tons of people everywhere enjoying the sun. All the squares and along the canals are full of people enjoying the weather. Every restaurant has large outdoor seating areas setup, which were just packed with people. The contrast with the earlier Copenhagen is really huge.
I'm visiting the Been family tomorrow afternoon, and then going to the F.C. København soccer game tomorrow evening. They play OB. FCK is the best team in Danish soccer and OB (from the town of Odense where Hans Christian Andersen was born) is the second best. It is required for my danish class, so they bought the tickets for us. Should be very exciting.
Two big papers and a lot of other stuff to get done in the next 1-2 weeks, but I'm really going to try and write about this trip...
Vi ses!
Today I went to a seminar on "strategic planning". It was an optional thing which DIS offered for the first time. One of the professors at DIS (he teaches the international terrorism class) works for the Danish Intelligence Agency, and has taught this little seminar in other places before. So they decided to do it here too.
Strategic planning is a way to "prepare for an uncertain future". Basically it was a way of taking a really complex issue, simplifying it, and then drawing conclusions from that on what the future might hold. Used by intelligence agencies, businesses, etc. The class went from 9am-4pm today, and we tackled the issue of "the world in 2027". It was very interesting -- I liked it.
Walking home afterwards, it was really stunning to see the difference in Copenhagen from just last Monday when I got back. That was a colder, windy day and there was nobody around. Today is almost like summer, and it was like being in a different city. Tons of people everywhere enjoying the sun. All the squares and along the canals are full of people enjoying the weather. Every restaurant has large outdoor seating areas setup, which were just packed with people. The contrast with the earlier Copenhagen is really huge.
I'm visiting the Been family tomorrow afternoon, and then going to the F.C. København soccer game tomorrow evening. They play OB. FCK is the best team in Danish soccer and OB (from the town of Odense where Hans Christian Andersen was born) is the second best. It is required for my danish class, so they bought the tickets for us. Should be very exciting.
Two big papers and a lot of other stuff to get done in the next 1-2 weeks, but I'm really going to try and write about this trip...
Vi ses!
Monday, April 9, 2007
Home?
I'm back in Copenhagen, where everything is familiar and I don't understand a word. :)
Was up at 3am to get a taxi to Victoria Coach Station, then a bus from there to Stanstead airport. Arrived at the airport a bit before 5am. Checking in went quite smoothly, so I had a little time to waste. Malmo-Sturup airpot is about an hour bus ride to Copenhagen. I'm really not sure how much cheaper or better this route was. In the long run it was probably cheaper, but I did end up spending about $60 getting to and from the airport (and I had to be up at 3am). Cheaper, but maybe not significantly enough to justify the hassle.
Copenhagen was its sleepy self. I woke up at 3am in London to car traffic outside the hostel. At 11am in Copenhagen there weren't more than a handful of cars. More people walking and biking, but even those people were few in number. Half of them were tourists...you can tell because they are always looking around, staring at maps, holding a camera, etc.
I'll write about the trip when I get ambitious.
Was up at 3am to get a taxi to Victoria Coach Station, then a bus from there to Stanstead airport. Arrived at the airport a bit before 5am. Checking in went quite smoothly, so I had a little time to waste. Malmo-Sturup airpot is about an hour bus ride to Copenhagen. I'm really not sure how much cheaper or better this route was. In the long run it was probably cheaper, but I did end up spending about $60 getting to and from the airport (and I had to be up at 3am). Cheaper, but maybe not significantly enough to justify the hassle.
Copenhagen was its sleepy self. I woke up at 3am in London to car traffic outside the hostel. At 11am in Copenhagen there weren't more than a handful of cars. More people walking and biking, but even those people were few in number. Half of them were tourists...you can tell because they are always looking around, staring at maps, holding a camera, etc.
I'll write about the trip when I get ambitious.
Friday, April 6, 2007
London
I made it to London after some transportation adventures in Parma. I think the Beardsley school is bigger than the Parma airport. I'm paying 1.50 pounds for 20 minutes on this internet, so not going to type up a lot right now.
I'm staying at Meininger hostel in London, which is in the Baden-Powell House. Baden-Powell was the guy who started Scouting. The Queen had this place built in the 1960s, and they have some exhibits, etc on scouts. Nice free breakfast too.
Did a free tour of London today. They used the tour to try and sell their other (pay) tours, but I didn't bite. The guy was quite good though.
I'm spending quid like crazy here. The exchange rate is horrible (1 pound = 2 dollars). A meal at McDonalds/Burger King is about 4-5 pounds with drink, fries, and burger.
Not much time left... I leave Monday morning from Stanstead airport at 6:50am. Stanstead is about an hour outside of London, so I'm definitely going to be up early. That was the only flight to Malmo, Sweden on the cheap RyanAir though. Malmo will be about another hour bus ride to Copenhagen...but it is much cheaper going this way. Most of the cheap airlines don't fly into Copenhagen airport.
I'm staying at Meininger hostel in London, which is in the Baden-Powell House. Baden-Powell was the guy who started Scouting. The Queen had this place built in the 1960s, and they have some exhibits, etc on scouts. Nice free breakfast too.
Did a free tour of London today. They used the tour to try and sell their other (pay) tours, but I didn't bite. The guy was quite good though.
I'm spending quid like crazy here. The exchange rate is horrible (1 pound = 2 dollars). A meal at McDonalds/Burger King is about 4-5 pounds with drink, fries, and burger.
Not much time left... I leave Monday morning from Stanstead airport at 6:50am. Stanstead is about an hour outside of London, so I'm definitely going to be up early. That was the only flight to Malmo, Sweden on the cheap RyanAir though. Malmo will be about another hour bus ride to Copenhagen...but it is much cheaper going this way. Most of the cheap airlines don't fly into Copenhagen airport.
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