Western Denmark: Days 2 & 3

     Day 2 of my short study tour began with a delicious breakfast at our five-star hostel.  Our first stop was at Vlademars Slot, in Svendborg.  Vlademars is the castle that belongs to Baroness Caroline.  It seems that wherever I travel, I discover a different castle…but I’m not complaining!  It was slightly more modern than the others I’ve visited, and it is used by Caroline and her family on holiday.  There were paintings literally everywhere; however they were not your average, run-of-the-mill paintings.  These paintings were like giant framed murals that covered entire walls!  Most of them depicted kings of the past, but there were some of barons and baronesses who had lived there.  Another distinguishing feature of this castle was the attic.  It was completely filled with a collection of exotic animals that one of the barons had hunted and preserved as trophies.  There seemed to be every kind of animal imaginable from lions to polar bears.  I have to admit, it was slightly unnerving.

The eyes of these paintings were so well done, that they seemed to watch us as we moved! Creepy...

The chandelier was made in Italy! The picture on the right is of the adjoining chapel.  

     The next stop was in Århus at M2 Films, where we were given a short tour.  The production manager spoke to us about the function of the facility and how their primary product is commercials.  Their biggest client is Lego, and they are definitely proud of that fact.  I would be too, considering they produce the Lego commercials that are featured worldwide. 

     Here is one of my favorite advertisements that they showed us.  I thought that perhaps everyone who reads my blog would appreciate it.  Fleggaard is a grocery store in Sweden, and the specific product they spotlight is Omo, which is laundry detergent.

     Day 3 was our final day in Western Denmark and was filled with a less academic schedule.  To begin with, we toured the ARoS Art Museum in Århus.  The museum had two special exhibits that were pretty fantastic.  One was called “The Nine Spaces”, which used rooms to create art.  The other was an exhibit based on the works of Christian Lemmerz-Ghost.  This collection of art seemed rather disturbing to me, however despite my overall impression, I could definitely appreciate the artistic value of each piece.

The boy is what the museum is best known for and the pictures on the right are a couple of Christian Lemmerz- Ghost's pieces.

Mirror, Mirror.  There's an identical area at MOMA in New York City.

     For our last meal on our trip, we were promised a "traditional Danish meal."  So, for lunch were were given Smørrebrød which is an open-faced sandwhich, usually on rye bread.  We got three different kinds!

     Our last activity for the day was none other than paintball!  Yes, this was my very first experience with the sport of paintball.  Yes, I got hit.  And yes, it hurt.  I have the golf ball-sized bruise to prove it!  Luckily, I remembered to take my boots on the trip, or else my favorite Converse sneakers would have been totally ruined.  The whole thing was pretty exciting…running through the woods, shooting at anything that moved, and almost losing a boot to the muddy creek that suctioned my foot down.