Going Hjem, it is hygge!

 Guest post by D.

Back in October I had the pleasure of attending a conference at Fraunhofer ISE in Frieburg, Germany and seeing many of my former European collaborators there.  One was the host of my last sabbatical leave in Denmark.  We had some very nice conversations, and I got to see meet one of his current PhD. students who presented a very nice paper on environmental impacts of plastic solar cell production.  She did a full cradle to grave analysis as well as experimental measurements on leaching of materials from cells into rain water and soil.

Not long after, I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by my Danish colleagues asking if I could be an external examiner for this PhD candidate an one other who would both defend on the same day.  I readily agreed, and looked forward to a chance to visit in Denmark.  J. and A. have been back regularly, but I had not been there since we left in 2011.  While I have attended PhD. defenses at several universities in the US, in Denmark, and in Spain, this was my first chance to be an official PhD. examiner since my own institution does not grant PhDs.  My Danish colleagues booked my plane and hotel including a few extra days on each side of the defenses, so I could enjoy being there.  I reached out to several friend in Denmark (with help from J.) and managed to see most of them.

Arriving by plane, I knew I was in the right place when I recognized one of the first non-food stores in the airport.

One of two that I passed in the CPH Airport!

I bought my train ticket to Roskilde and was truly surprised how much it warmed my heart to get off at the Roskilde Station.  It really felt like going home to see the square with the three giant vases...

The Iconic Roskilde Jars sculpture across from the train station.

I checked into my hotel, and my friend J.D. picked me up and took me out for dinner.  This does not sound like a big deal, but eating out at a restaurant was a very rare event for me in Denmark, where the cost of a restaurant meal is significantly higher than in the USA, in part because everyone working in such places gets paid reasonable wages.  That night I unpacked my folding bicycle in the hotel so I could get around on my own without worrying about bus schedules or tickets.

The next day went out on my bike and rode around the harbor and the fjord to the Boserup Forest where we used to mountain bike.  It was a bit cool, but there was no snow while I was there.  I only got caught in the rain once during my stay.

Out around the Roskilde Fjord on my way to Boserup Forrest.

I enjoyed looking at the outdoor portion of the Viking Museum and then up the other side of the fjord to our old neighborhood.  I was disappointed to see that a historic old building (once a finishing school for girls) was being renovated in way that seemed to lose its charm for me, even if the cause is a good one and I know the building was in need of restoration.

Baldervej building under restoration.

Then I went by our old neighborhood, including Klostermarken school where R. and A. were students when we lived here.  The pro-bike culture here is so much stronger than other places I have lived.  I love it.  Here is just one of the smaller bike parking areas around the school on a cold winter day.

Cykel parking outside Klostermarken School.

I also stopped at the library which was one of our regular haunts when we lived in Roskilde.  In the park outside the library was the first place I remember seeing one these public book swapping stands.  This one is still there and still among the best I have ever seen.

My first and favorite book exchange spot

After this I went to meet J.D. for lunch and to see INSP! where she works on a variety of projects.  One of the things I liked at INSP! was the outdoor patio furniture made from recycling shipping palettes.

Clever recycling of ubiquitous shipping palettes.

I enjoyed more sight seeing in the afternoon, including continuing my visits to a variety of Cykel shops, some I remembered, and some new ones.  I did not find myself purchasing anything, but enjoyed seeing what was popular there.  Fewer motorized bikes than in Germany.  Fewer folding bikes than in Spain.  More cargo bikes though including this one I saw while out shopping.

This custom bike is orange, for the Roskilde Festival, and has the name "Clockwork" 

In the evening I had the pleasure to reconnect with two families we knew.  It was extemely hygge (cozy homey Danish feeling) and we talked about our families, politics, work, friends, and many other items.  There were five adults and six kids at the dinner.  It was a fantastic evening.  I enjoyed seeing the boys playing a three person chess game which was new to me.

Three person Chess in the round.  Pieces can move across the center circle on prescribed paths.

The next day was completely dedicated to my official work at DTU.  They have a rule that a thesis defense and examination must be completed in three hours.  We had two of them to do and we had to write up our reports on each as well.  Interestingly enough in the DTU system, the examiners read the theses and provide a preliminary assessment report two full weeks before the defense of the PhD.  That is the only time where the examiners are allowed to request changes to the written document.  In this case, both theses contained impressive amounts of work representing several published papers by the large number of scientists in the research group.  Unfortunately, it was not always clear how much the work presented was led by the two particular students.  I am hugely sympathetic to these students who had to write their PhD. thesis in English (lucky for me) which is not their native tongue (one is from Brazil, the other from Germany.)  One thesis was right up my area of expertise (plus I had heard the student present some of the work at the conference) but the for the other I learned quite a bit of chemistry, as her thesis was much more focused on synthesis of new polymers for making solar cells.  Since both candidates passed their examination, there was a nice social celebration afterwards, and I toured some of my colleagues' labs as well.  At the end of the day, the two PhD. advisors (who are not on the examination committee) took us out for a nice dinner.

I made plans to return the next day to visit with some of my former colleagues who I had not seen while I was busy with the defenses.  This was my second day of riding out to the labs where I used to work.  I rode every day that we lived in Denmark in all types of weather.  I always loved the ride and I still do.  Here are some views from my ride on a sunnier day than the day I arrived.

The Roskilde Fjord looking toward the campground and beach.

The windmills from DTU collaborations, the most financially successful part of the DTU Energy program.

In the windmill picture you can see the main road, but on the far right is the separate road for cycling which exists on both sides of the main road.  It was great to ride there again!  I enjoyed seeing people there and stayed through lunch in the cafeteria before returning to my hotel and packing my bike up to head into Copenhagen.  There was a Scandinavian bike show in Copenhagen, and I was tempted to try and squeeze it in, but instead I chose to visit with old friends.  One in our old neighborhood, and another my former Danish teacher, who was super fun both in and out of class.  We enjoyed a great visit and then I headed for the airport.  Unfortunately my return flight was delayed, so I had extra time in the CPH airport.  In addition to the Lego stores, I enjoyed the bookstores, including this section:

Can you identify the books by their Danish titles?

I came back home very late in Barcelona.  It was good to be home, both here and there!