Valle Scholarship Blog 2
1 November 2009
Fall has set in and the leaves of the trees have a myriad of brilliant colors. The temperature has dropped but so far there has only been one morning frost on the ground. Daylight savings kicked in a week earlier than in the US and it now gets dark here around 5:00PM (or 17:00 J).
I have been in Denmark for almost two and half months—time has been moving quite fast. This month was a busy, fun-filled month. Between coursework and my project at DTU, I was able to do some traveling around Europe because DTU had their Fall Break!
The trip was planned effectively by where a particular low-fare airline had routes to and from. The first leg of the trip was from Malmo, Sweden to Budapest, Hungary! In order to get to the airport in Sweden from Denmark, we took a bus to the train station, then two trains and a cab to the airport. Budapest is an ancient, beautiful city with the Danube River splitting Budapest into “Buda” and “Pest”. Literally, one side of the river is Buda and the other is Pest. The best parts of Budapest to me were the incredible spas in the city. Absolutely, incredible! The spas seemed like they were for kings and pharaohs in earlier times—mosaic walls, fountain sculptures, swimming pools, saunas, glass sky-lights, whirlpools, balconies, steam rooms, ice pools, hot pools, etcetera. Now they are here for everyone to enjoy. I definitely would like to go back some day (Obviously!).
The next part of the trip took us across Europe to Barcelona, Spain. Wow! That place could be on the top of my list of favorite cities. The fresh air off the Mediterranean Sea was almost as refreshing as jumping into the Sea itself. We stayed in the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) near Las Ramblas. The windy (as in twisty), narrow streets made the city seem like a labyrinth. In the mornings, the people awoke later so the streets were quiet and empty, but as the day went on the people starting coming out to join the day and by the end the streets were totally packed. It is an extremely lively ciudad! Parc Guell was an architectural highlight; Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece is a must-see! One really noteworthy experience was riding bikes in the countryside to botegas to taste the different cavas. Cava is a sparking wine made around Catalonian region of Spain. Chin chin!
The last leg of the trip took us back across Europe to a snowing Praha (Prague), Czech Republic. Yes, it was cold, especially compared to a very warm Barcelona. During our visit we had the opportunity to stay with some local Czech friends in their village, which is located about two hours from Prague in a part of the country known as the “Czech Paradise”. We happen to be there during the coldest and snowiest it has been this time of year in memory of the locals, so the rolling hills and pine trees were mostly covered with snow. In this area of the Czech Republic, there are lots of rock formations and canyons that look like a rock-climber’s “paradise”. Also in this awe-inspiring landscape are castles that make it feel like a fairytale. We were very fortunate to have such gracious hosts who treated us excellently. They were more than hospitable to us; they basically treated us like family.
The DTU courses and the project are going well. The Wind Turbine Technology and Aerodynamics course has moved from the aerodynamics part to the electrical part. The assignment for the aerodynamics part was challenging and required using Matlab to solve the questions. The electrical part will involve a lot of time because it has been awhile since I studied electronics and electromagnetic theory. Integration of Wind Power to the Power System covers electrical and power market issues with wind power integration. In particular, a lot of presentations are given on Nordpool, the electricity exchange, and Energinet.DK, the Danish transmission service operator (TSO). The Special Project course is moving along. I was able to get WAsP installed on my MacBook, but it took some time because I needed to get Windows Vista installed on my MacBook in order to run WAsP. Currently, I am going through tutorials on how to use WAsP and researching particular projects of interest to me. The name of Special Project course is called Wind Farm Siting in the Northwest United States.
Life in Denmark is becoming more normal to me by the day as I am feeling more comfortable in my new surroundings. Having my girlfriend, Caroline, here has been delightful. It has been wonderful sharing our experiences together. We have a roommate from China named Cong Lu who is interested learning how to cook American foods. Caroline and Cong have been exchanging recipes and making American and Chinese food together. I have shown her how to cook a hamburger and a standard egg and bacon breakfast. My next specialty to show her is French toast.
Happy Halloween!
Sincerely,
Hiram
