Day Fifteen - Exploring, Brewing,

Yesterday was our only full day in Copenhagen. Bryan and I woke up as early as we could, put down the always interesting European continental breakfast, and got out to the city streets. We saw some very interesting buildings, city squares, statues, and sculptures. Copenhagen, the largest and capital city of Denmark, has a lot to offer when it comes to historic architecture. Mixed in with the classic buildings were some new modernistic designs that I have never seen before.

Republicans!

The group had lunch at a Southwestern US themed restaurant that Bryan and I saw while exploring yesterday morning. We had a very traditional Danish lunch of plaice, sirloin, caviar, and a brick, which turned out to be rye bread. We headed straight from there to Carlsberg Brewery, located a little bit outside of the Copenhagen City Center. We met with a representative from the brewery and he gave us a presentation giving us an inside look at the company and also the entire beer industry. The marketing side of the beer industry is very industry as Carlsberg uses sponsorships to promote their brand. They use a structured approach to marketing and concluded on their current sponsorships of Liverpool Football Club and the European Football Tournament (soccer).

Last night was the true last hurrah for the group. We went out for an amazing dinner at Flora's Steakhouse. An appetizer of shrimp followed by a great steak and baked potatoes with crepes for dessert made for an awesome dinner. We again went out to the downtown district of Copenhagen to find out where the locals hang out on the weekend and found a couple great spots.

The Ice Bar that we went to last night was a highlight of the entire trip. The bar provides you with arctic capes and gives you an ice glass for entry to the bar, made almost entirely out of ice. It was awesome. Most of the group went and we danced, played with the ice, and had a great time.

As I write this all but the 10ish hour flight of the trip is left and I am definitely not looking forward to that. I don't know the next time that I will return to Europe so it is a bittersweet departure. I can't wait to get home to see my friends and family and tell all the stories from the trip. Let me know if you want to talk about anything Scandinavia; I have stories and can't wait get back to the US!

Day Fourteen - Copenhagen, A New City, and Cycling

Loading into the taxis

Yesterday we woke up early, frivolously cleaned until 9 am, and slammed everything I brought and purchased in my bags. Somehow I got everything and we jumped onto some nice Mercedes taxi vans. It is strange to see every taxi a Volvo, Mercedes, or other luxury car.

We got to the Gothenburg airport early so we had time to reflect on the trip. In reflection, Sweden was the best.

The flight was only about 20 minutes and we once again landed in a brand new country, really without any idea where to go. The concierge at the Cabinn Hotel gave us directions to the Cabinn Metro instead of the Cabinn City which gave us an opportunity to see the entire city while carrying our 50 lb. bags. It was a unique experience. That's the most positive light I can put on it. It was awful and took about an hour and a half but I'll concentrate on the positives. The mistake netted us an upgrade at our hotel and now our rooms are tiny instead of minuscule; I'll take it.

Copenhagen Airport, just off the plane

Copenhagen is definitely not as friendly as Sweden but after going out and seeing some more of the city, we had a great time. Danes like to have a good time and concentrate more on the club and bar scene where Swedes are perfectly fine eating at the local cafe's.

The Bike lane, Bikes with lights

Everyone in Denmark bikes. There are bicycle garages in Copenhagen. It's crazy. It was about 20 degrees yesterday and the bikers were just thick. On the way to dinner, Sally and Britt stepped into the bike path at the wrong moment and actually got hit by a bike. I can't believe how they bike so fast and bike even throughout the night with lights on their bikes.

We are heading to Carlsburg Brewery today to meet with Executives to learn about how they market their beer. As our last full day on the trip, we are going to have meals together and try to take in as much of Copenhagen as we can in a short time.

Day Thirteen – Boats in January, Conquering the Mountain, Last night in Gothenburg

If you would have told me that I would've taken two boat trips in January in Sweden two months ago, I would have thought that you were crazy. It happened.

A Ferry and Ice

Yesterday morning we walked out of the hostel into the -8° C weather and found our ferry to get to WirelessCar, a startup tech company in 2000 which provides a service very similar to OnStar. The boat pulled up to the shore through the icebergs and without much assistance we seemingly leaped onto the boat just before it took off for the other side of the river. Martin Lundh gave us a company profile at their corporate office which was an immaculate modern office built on the old shipping industry right on the harbor. Since 2000, the company has been bought by Volvo and offers service on a variety of different automobile and truck manufacturers.

 Conquering the Mountain

After our meeting with WirelessCar, Bryan and I decided to explore the Archipelago Islands. Unfortunately, yesterday was the coldest day of the trip but nevertheless another ferry plowed through the surprisingly thick ice out to the first Island. For all my former poké enthusiasts, the Islands reminded me almost exactly of the Seafoam Islands. Bryan and I checked out the mostly deserted summerhouses and climbed through the ice and snow to conquer the tallest peak which we dubbed K2. Two frozen hands and feet later, we waited for the ferry to take us back to Gothenburg.

Last night we had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant compliments of JJ and Susie. Only problem is that I ate way, way too much at the three course feeding frenzy. Once I recovered from the temporary food coma, the whole group went out to the college union bar to meet up with some students that we met in class. After pairing up with Swedes to get through the door, we saw how the college students at the University of Gothenburg have fun on Wednesday nights. It was a great time.

Bryan and I got back to the room in time to do some late night packing for our trip to Copenhagen today and jumped on my suitcase just enough to get it all zipped.

I'm writing this from the Gothenbrug airport as we wait for our short commuter flight to Denmark. We have a day full of exploring to do in a brand new city. Can't believe it's almost over.

Day Twelve - Lectures, Shopping, and another home cooked meal

This morning we all got to sleep in a little but got to the University in time to hear Claus's lecture on International Business concentrating on the history of the European Union. It was an interesting perspective considering that the entire EU is about the size of the United States. The European perspective on things is just slightly different than the domestic perspective that I am used to so it gives me a different frame of reference to view things in.

Lunch was again great as we went to the Dubliner, a local pub and eatery that had a great fish special with some Earl Grey tea. I feel so cultured after going to an Art Museum, a jazz club, and now drinking tea in an Irish restaurant.

A store in the shopping district

We went back to the university in the afternoon for the second half of the lecture. We had a class discussion with the Swedes and got to air our grievances about Swedish life to them. They thought we were just not used to it and Swedish people are more normal than we think.

Bryan and I then headed to the shopping district to pick up some gifts for home. I found some great stuff, can't wait to come home to tell stories and show everyone what I got.

After spending all of our Kronas in the gift shop, we decided to save money and cook our own dinner again. I made a chorizo pita pizza and it was excellent.

We are rushing off tonight to go to the Gothenburg towers because we didn't get to stay long enough last time. Hope they will let me in. Tomorrow is our last day of company visits in Sweden as we visit Wirelesscar AB. I'm very excited about it.

Day Eleven - Robots, CEO's, and Jazz

Tabor and the group waiting
for the train in gloomy Molndal

I saw my first actual live robot today at ABB. Robots might eventually take over the world; just something to think about. Bert gave us another very informative presentation, this time on product management. It was interesting to see all the different things that each product manager needs to consider as they plan, brand, market, sell, and sustain each product.

Our adventures have led us both far and close to Gothenburg. ABB is of the far variety. Located in Molndal, it is a train ride and a bus to ABB. On the way back, our city transit passes didn't work so JJ tells us, "Get to the back and don't show your passes." So far the strategy has worked and we haven't had to deal with the Swedish Polis.

The office at Skapa on the sixth floor.
Very modern interior design.

Our afternoon company tour was to a company called Skapa, a digital media advertising agency. Erik Ekholm, the founder and CEO, gave us an awesome presentation on digital and social media that was on the cutting of everything advertising. Skapa boasts an advertising portfolio of almost every large Swedish company including Volvo, ABB, ASCOM, and WirelessCar, which we will visit on Wednesday. He gave us great advice on advertising, entrepreneurship, and life. A presentation from an ultra successful person such as Erik is what gives me the motivation to go out, work hard, and be successful myself. Check out their website skapa.se on Google Chrome to translate to English.

Surprisingly, the highlight of the day came after all of this. Homes, Lauren, Gigler, and I had been wanting to go to a jazz club called Nefertiti ever since we got here. We finally had the opportunity to go tonight and it was awesome. Two jazz groups rocked the stage with some classic New Orleans Jazz for the mostly octogenarian crowd. The musicians were ridiculously talented and made a great night.

The tuba player got crazy with his solo
That's all for tonight. Another exciting day tomorrow.

Day Ten - More Cafe's, Gothenburg Art Museum, and Packers win

Apple Pie with white sauce

Double digit days now. I don't believe in countdowns but we have to make every day count from here on out.

The problem with Cafe's is that when I get to the counter, I can never convince myself to get anything nutritionally worthwhile when all of those delicacies are staring me in the face. Bryan and I once again found a nice cafe' today and to top of my lunch I got a piece of Appelpaj, apple pie. The cashier prepared my pie with some interesting white sauce that I assumed was melted ice cream but never really found out what it was. It was an interesting and tasty take on pie nonetheless.

This afternoon was beautiful in Sweden.
We had plans to go to the Archipelago Islands but because of a need to catch up on sleep, we only had enough daylight to get to the Art Museum. It was a great museum with some very interesting modern art as well as a video on poverty in Africa. The question posed, "Who owns African poverty?" still has me thinking. Bryan and I checked out the great artwork and sculptures until we had to head back to show off our cooking skills for the group.

Our group met at the grocery store to pick up some ingredients to make a dinner in the hostel kitchen. After looking at a variety of different things, we decided on breakfast for dinner. Alex Gigler made the omelets, Susie and I cooked the bacon and a lot of the guys pitched in to make a great dinner.

Tonight we went to the North American, a bar near Gothenburg University to watch the most important game of my memorable lifetime. I wish I could've been with all of my packer fan friends, but it was still a great time. I still can't believe that the Packers are headed to the Super Bowl. The last time the Packers were there I wasn't even five years old. It's a dream.

Tomorrow is back to the grind. It has been a great weekend and a great trip so far.

Day Nine - World Culture Museum, Swedish Hockey, and a great night

With Bryan at a black light exhibit

Yesterday was great. After recovering from another good night on Friday night, Braatz, Jon, Bryan, I finally got going and went to the museum of world culture. The free museum featured an exhibit on 'Kimono Fusion.' We all really enjoyed it and took hundreds of pictures. The best part was actually a children's exhibit, but we checked it out nonetheless and had a great time.

The Scandinavium Arena at night, after the game

We had to be back to the hostel lobby by 3 to meet for the Frolund Indian's hockey game. On the way back, I stopped and got lunch at Cafe Cava. None of the cafe's in Sweden have let me down. When we got to the hockey game, it was nothing like a US game. The fans here were crazy and the stadium was a show, especially when the teams came onto the ice. The Indians scored early and often en route to a 5-1 victory. The atmosphere was just like a NFL game but in an arena, so it was louder. The fan section's bass drummer kept the arena as loud as possible all game. Even without fighting in Swedish hockey, the game was still entertaining with some great action and an even better viewing environment.

After the hockey game we had dinner as a group at a nice restaurant. Dinners ranged from grilled reindeer to whole crayfish, and it seemed like every plate they brought out was something that I had never tried. After dinner JJ took us to the Gothenburg tower hotel to go up the 23 stories to the tower bar, the tallest building in Gothenburg. The view from the tower was amazing over the lit up city at night. Another cool feature of the tower bar was the all glass elevator. It felt like the giant drop at six flags as we descended quickly to the bottom with a great view of the city the whole way. 

It was our last Saturday night in Sweden and we weren't about to waste it. A couple of our friends went to a club called Park Lane the night before and loved it so that's where wanted to go. We left around midnight and found a long line out in the cold. After making friends with everyone in line, Jessica and I somehow got in and Park Lane did not disappoint. The club was packed, had great music, and was a really great time. While on the dance floor dancing to the Euro club music, the curtain pulled back and a live band came out of nowhere and played a few songs; they were awesome. We danced until very early in the morning before leaving, stopping by a extremely busy McDonald's at 4am and took the tram back. Another successful night in Gothenburg.

Getting a later start than we wanted today but hopefully we will have another awesome time.

Go Packers!