2i

Copenhagen Area

2022

This year, for their study trip, our 2i cohort spent three days in and around Copenhagen, and they finished the week with a class dinner at Nørre G. The week was a great success. There was a much fun and learning, and time and time again, the students visited places where they had not been before, and so our goal to broaden the students’ understanding and appreciation of Copenhagen and the surrounding hinterlands was achieved.

On the first day of the three, the class went into Copenhagen where, at Refshaleøen, we spent the morning at Copenhagen Contemporary. There, with the assistance of two tour guides, we saw the exhibition Light and Space, which featured artists from 1970s California. At the show, we had explanations of the works of such artists as James Turrell and Robert Erwin. Afterward, the class visited David’s Collection, in the heart of the city center. Here, our focus was on Islamic art, sculpture, and calligraphy. This was a special treat, and because many members of the cohort come from Middle Eastern and Central Asian backgrounds, often times, they could read to their classmates and teachers the calligraphic passages from many Qur’ans and other Arabic and Persian texts on display. The day ended with a harbor tour by boat in which the class received a tour through the canals of Christianhavn and Christiansborg.

On the second day, we visited Helsingør. This day also provided us with diverse experiences. In the morning, students were given access to Oresund Aquarium, which displaces the aquatic life in and around the Baltic Sea, specifically in the sound between Helsingør and Helsingborg. Featuring touch-pools that features crabs and reef-fish as well as a wide variety of creatures (such as round fish, flounder, cuttlefish, and barnacles, etc.), the aquarium was a great start to a day. After the aquarium, the class went on the visit Denmark Maritime Museum, an excellent interactive museum featuring the story of Danish maritime history. Finally, in the afternoon, we visited Kronborg Castle, where students attended the Hamlet Tour in anticipation to the class’s upcoming Shakespeare project.

On third day, we went to Roskilde where we had guided tours of Ragna Rock (The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame) and The Viking Ship Museum. Both tours were excellent, and toward the end of the day, we also had a chance to visit Roskilde Cathedral.

Through all of these visits, we strived to experience as many diverse aspects of Danish culture and history as possible, and I am very pleased with the way we did this. The dinner that followed on Friday evening was no less diverse. Consisting of a pot-luck whose dishes were the products of members from the cohort, the food also reflected the fact that the Nørre G’s IB cohorts are themselves diverse, hosting students from all over the world.  We are proud of the success of Copenhagen Week and pleased that its diversity has become a part of our students’ own. 

Impressions from the Study Trip Week in Copenhagen

CM/31OCT22