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Departure

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Well, I guess one more entry from Copenhagen.  I’m in my usual breakfast spot, only this time, for the first time in over a week, I’m not surrounded by classmates.  About half the class is in transit at this moment.  Me, I have a later departure today, so I’m leaving with a large pack of folks around 11:00.

Programs like this can be a weird beast.  It’s rare that one gets a chance to intensely study a specific subject in a foreign place with a group of folks who are, at the beginning of the trip, largely strangers.  This class represents the sixth such experience I’ve had–three in high school and three as a grad student–and it seems the ending of these brief periods always define themselves much more distinctly than other life experiences.  The difference, maybe, is that they create a completely transitory community, one that can only exist for a brief period before scattering.  (I’m somewhat reminded of that town in Canada that was intentionally shut down after the local mine closed.)

There’s also a weird quality to time on trips like these, especially when away from one’s loved ones.  I’m not just talking about the general acceleration that happens as a trip nears its end, but how the timeline of the trip itself begins to contort.  I’m looking forward to seeing my wife and son later today, but in some ways it feels like I was with them just a few days ago.  Oslo, on the other hand, seems years distant.  History as I feel it is different from what clearly must be true.

I have a ridiculous amount to write about from the class and the trip.  (I’ve apparently been using “ridiculous” quite a bit over the past two weeks.  Also, “rabid.”)  The subject matter may have to wait a bit, as I’m really split on a number of items covered in the class.  There’s something going on here, but the idea of corporate social responsibility, and the way many organizations are approaching the topic, may be distracting people from deeper, more important issues. As for the cities and the experiences, I’m already arriving at the point where I’ll need my photos to remind me.

Eight hours to Amsterdam, 18 to Minneapolis. More later.

Posted in Education,Journal,Travelog at 8:58 am

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Saturday morning, the start of my last full day in Copenhagen.  I’m in the breakfast area of the Savoy Hotel–or, as I’ve been describing it, Lake and Cedar with fewer dead people–and am only a few hours away from my last MBA class.

My initial reaction to Copenhagen was anything but positive–it seemed just like Oslo and Copenhagen, except dirtier, with uglier architecture, and with graffiti everywhere–but I’ve softened on it since, and now it may actually be my favorite city of the three we’ve visited.  The city has a bit of a New-York-in-the-1970s-vibe that is kind of endearing.  One key problem with that analogy, though, is that I’ve never felt unsafe here.  I commented to a fellow traveler last night that I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a cop, and he mentioned that he couldn’t, either.

The food here, especially that of the baked variety, is great. The coffee is a crime against humanity.

Well, it’s approaching 9:00, and I have to return my bike to the central train station before I head to class today.  (The hours for pretty much everything other than alcohol are inconvenient.  Most stores are open from 10:00-6:00, a fact that has foiled us almost every day.)  I have to be going.  This will probably be my last post from Copenhagen.

More later.

Posted in Journal,Travelog at 8:53 am

Stockholm, Part II

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Monday morning in Stockholm. Once again I’m blogging at breakfast.  The second week of the program is officially underway — in just under a half hour we’re off to more site visits, and then this evening we’ll be on the overnight train to Copenhagen.

Stockholm has been amazing, and I’ll definitely have to get Lisa and M over here sometime.  The weekend was a mix of relaxing on the islands, museum hopping, bars, and amazing food.  (I had three fantastic meals on Saturday, and that’s not counting breakfast.)  The weekend will likely be better described through commentary through photos, though, so I’ll wait until I have time to do that to share more.

In one way this trip has been like both of the other Carlson trips I’ve been on:  It’s long and fast at the same time.  It feels like we’ve been here forever, but at the same time it’s difficult to believe it’s more than half over.

Well, I need to finish packing. More later.

Posted in Journal,Travelog at 8:43 am

Stockholm

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Friday morning in Stockholm. Once again I find myself blogging in the breakfast area, but I guess that’s OK as I’m apparently one of the early risers on this trip.  When I did the Carlson seminar to India there was a huge group that gathered each morning to discuss the previous day’s events, but this is tuning out to be more of a dissection-over-beer kind of trip.

Stockholm was kind of a shock, especially after the relative Portland-like style of Oslo.  The first day in Oslo I commented–jokingly–that the city appeared to be populated by slackers.  That cannot be said here.   This city seems to have more in common with London and New York than it does with the capitol to the east.

Today we have a couple of site visits, a class, and discussion on what the hell to do over the weekend.  There’s no shortage of options for the weekend, so we’ll have to plan carefully… And aggressively.

Well, the breakfast crowd is showing up. More later.

Posted in Journal,Travelog at 9:10 am

TraveLog: Oslo

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Wednesday morning in Oslo. I just got back from a 45 minute jog around parts of the city center, which was both awesome–hey, I’m jogging in Oslo–and horrible–bricks and pavers everywhere. I’m currently in the midst of breakfast, which, aside from the time opened up by rising early and depriving myself of sleep, is pretty much the only open time I have here.

After a gentle opening on Monday, the class started in earnest yesterday. I obviously can’t speak about the organizations we visited, but wanted to say days like yesterday kind of justify the decision to pursue a MBA. (Hopefully I’ll still feel that way when my crushing debt load hits around January.) The fact we are in class does make it kind of difficult to see the city–I’m not complaining, we of course knew that beforehand–but with with many of the museums and such closed on Monday, and shutting around 6:00 weekdays after that, we’ve been faced with some extremely narrow windows to take in the city and its culture. That led to things like lunch yesterday when a group of us decided to skip food and do the National Gallery in 20 minutes. If given appropriate time, we would’ve been there for at least a couple of hours.

Today we have more site visits, and tomorrow we’re off for Stockholm. I’m excited to go to Sweden, but at the same time am sad about leaving, as I was just starting to get a feel for this city, it’s people and its rhythms.

Well, I need to get ready for one of our site visits today, one for which I may have to be politely combative.  More later.

Posted in Education,Journal,Travelog at 8:30 am

Hello Norway

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So, we’re in Norway. To make the most of the open day before the class begins, we decided to take the Norway in a Nutshell tour, an 18+ hour train, boat and bus journey that has proved to be more of a march of attrition than it has a tour. That’s not to say it hasn’t been awesome, but we are all completely wiped and are dreading the mile or so walk back to the hotel.

This country is ridiculously expensive, especially for food. (Today I spent over $10 for a hot dog and soda.) I’ve already stocked up on cereal from a grocery near our hotel–$15 for corn flakes and milk–which I hope to use to cover dinner for the next few days. Aside from that, my strategy is to make extensive use of the breakfast included with our room and eat as little as possible outside of that.

Well, my brain is failing, so I’m going to try to reserve my remaining faculties for the walk. More later.

Posted in Journal,Travelog at 11:07 pm

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