A big thank-you to my Danish friend Mark for every little thing: Providing a place to crash before I moved into my rented room. Navigating me through mobile phone simm card purchases and set-up. Showing me around his neighborhood Nørrebro, which is the Brooklyn of Copenhagen. And last and certainly not least, lending me money. Ok! I met Mark while he was studying at the University of Washington this past year... and lucky for me he returned to Copenhagen before I showed up.
A little on where I am staying: The rather large development is called Solbjerg Have. Its in the outskirts of Frederiksberg, which leaves me an easy 15 minute commute to the city center... and maybe 20-25 minutes to the Danish Academy architecture school. I have a room within a two-story apartment shared with the owner and her ten year old daughter. Apparently the housing project won some awards when it opened in the early 1980's. The programming got all the attention, not the architecture. The idea is that there is a community, which provides specialized care for children and the elderly but in the context of a typical neighborhood. The family housing is contained in perimeter buildings while lower 2 and 3 story buildings in a courtyard house a school and facilities for children and the elderly-- including apartments, dining, and hospital care. And yes, it is true, there does seem to be quite a few children and old people, running around or rolling around respectively. It seems like a great idea, and many people I talk to seem to have heard of the place. My personal apartment situation leaves quite a bit to be desired, but I won't get into that.
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