ART - AARHUS & KøBENHAVN - DAY 17

An earlier wake up call today than when I have to catch my plane for tomorrow. I rub my eyes at 5:40AM, and get ready for the day. I’m out quickly, but not before strategically jumping over a puke pile at the bottom of the stairs. There was beer pong last night, so it was easy to put the two together. As I jump over, the only thought that comes to mind mid-jump is, “I hope I don’t land too close to slip and fall backwards in it”. I manage to dodge the cheesy, bacon sprinkled bile, and run out to the bus station.

I get to the station to ask about tickets. The info center doesn’t open until 9AM. Damn. Even the help desk can’t open early. I walk next door to a small grocer to ask where the bus is. His colleague KINDLY yells at me to get out because they don’t open until 9AM. I play the dumb American tourist that I am, and squeak that I just have a question. I tell them I’m looking for the FlixBus. Hurriedly and slightly agitated, the grocer I spoke to first answers me, and says it’s outside, across the street and around the corner.

I follow instructions, and see all of the FlixBuses lined up. They’re loading people in, and I’m not certain what time they leave, (online gave me a few separate timetables). I just know it’s leaving soon. I check both ways and run across the street, and directly to the bus driver / ticket taker.

He asks for a ticket, and I ask how much. He looks at me for a moment, and has a bit of trouble with English. I figure out that the ticket needs to be pre-bought on my phone. Va faaaaannnnn! When I asked the front desk last night about this, they told me all the bus tickets are bought with cash, so I shouldn’t worry. I’ve heard that before. The bus driver then asks if I have WiFi. I do, but only back at the station, or hostel. I simply respond, “No, American phone”. He pulls out this archaic machine, trying to take my card. He asks if I’m a student, and I pull my old New York Film Academy card, the one with no expiration date. He barely takes a glance and accepts it. He fumbles over the machine buttons, and the connection to his phone, but after moments of stressful anticipation, it doesn’t work. There’s a line forming behind me now. I’m still prepared to pay cash, but there’s no way, and he refuses to take it. I almost ask when the next bus is, having to accept that I’ll need to take a later one, until he looks at the machine and says loudly so everyone else in line can hear, “It’s coming”, and then motions for me to get in the bus. I know what he’s doing so I try not to make it obvious, but I give him a glance like, “Seriously? Is this okay?”. And again he just motions for me to get inside the bus. I thank him and rush inside so as not to have the line behind me catch on to what just happened. I feel really guilty as I had no intentions of trying to take advantage, but at the same time, I’m very grateful. I know for sure I can get WiFi at the gallery, and download the app to pay for my way back.

I take my seat and find that there’s actually WiFi on the bus.

Excellent! I begin to download.

*Opens App Store. Downloads FlixBus App. Incorrect Apple password.*

Crap.

*Session timed out because password is incorrect.*

Sonofa-

*Tries again with different password. Incorrect.*

Ugh.

*Forgot Apple ID password. Verify email, and phone password. Reset password. Password is reset.*

YES!

*Update Apple payment method.*

Oh my fuck.

*Updates Apple payment method.*

‘The Hell? Where’s my app?

*Downloads app again.*

Finally!

*App downloads.*

I’m already on the bus. I think, “Should I do the right thing and try to buy the ticket? We’ve left by now, and if I try to buy a bus ticket that’s already left, would that screw up tickets and payment”? I have a moral dilemma that I get to contemplate for the next 3.5 hours.

Alas, I stare out my window to explore the view. My eyes rest on beautiful passing farmland and countryside. It began with orange sunshine, warmly lighting the fields, but we come in to a grey foggy day. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s a little refreshing to have seasons while in Europe, and a weather change from Scandinavia’s heatwave. Especially the hot-as-hell two days I’ve had in Copenhagen. My time on the bus is, as they say, very “hyggle”.

I first nap, but unable to fall into a deep sleep, I wake up to read. My eyes are a bit tired, but the ride is pleasant. We arrive, and everyone hops off. The newer apartment buildings look a bit Irish or British. There’s so much rain here, that some of them look worn with dirty with peeling paint, accompanied by small windows and dingy balconies. If I’m being honest, I’m not entirely sure what’s in Aarhus, other than the gallery. We stop, and I want to thank the bus driver again, but he gets off the bus and disappears. It’s certainly my lucky day, as the Art gallery is JUST UP THE STREET from where our bus stops. I enjoy my walk up.

You can see ARoS clear in the distance, with its panoramic rainbow at the top. I’m giddy with excitement. I come inside the gallery, and pay the student price. They also let me keep my camera so I can shoot everything! The first installation I see are from the Chapman Brothers. Disturbing, realistic, and comical. I feel like it belongs in Banksy’s Dismaland. I love it though. This kind of art comforts the disturbed, like me. It retaliates on consumerism, war, organized religion, and racism. It’s shocking, freakish, and so much fun. I get inappropriate and cheeky with the installation, as you can see in the photos.

I move along to see “The Boy”, a few Warholian works, a cut up horse with jarred body parts by Bjørn Nørgaard, a BEAUTIFULLY shot political piece by Hanne Nielsen & Birgit Johnsen, and a keyed Ferrari by Dolk. I’m taking it all in, and enjoying the crap out of myself. I hit the top floor, and nearly run through. I’m not very enthralled by these paintings. Only some of the abstract works, and three long exposure photographs that I could likely do- And hopefully do better, if they let me submit some work. I come to the roof, and play through the panoramic rainbow. I photograph, going around 4 times. When I finish, I notice that I haven’t seen the one installation I really wanted to come here for. I locate it on their lowest level below parking, level 0.

Each artist has only one installation, including my bae, James Turrell. I absolutely love this. I easily could’ve stayed longer had I started here, but it was very crowded with people and some with their families, so to hang out there was a little cramped. I enjoy it as much as possible before finally thinking of my bus back. It’s 1:15PM, and I calculate what time I should get back if I leave soon.

I head for the exit floor, grab my things out of locker #90, (Grandpa's no.), and exit into the cafe for WiFi and charging. This time I have the app for the bus, and I download my ticket. It’s $56! I’m extra glad the driver just let me on for free. I saved a bunch of money!

It’s 1:19PM, and I bet myself I can make the 1:30PM bus. The next bus would have been at 2:30PM, and I would have arrived later for the next gallery at Cisterne. I have almonds in my bag, and accept that I might skip lunch...AGAIN. I swear, if I survive an apocalypse, I’ll be well trained for self preservation and starvation. I’m not happy about this, but I need to stick to a schedule. I scoop up my bag and BOOK IT. I run all the way down the street, but with no food and a heavy bag, I feel particularly sluggish. The road is a ten minute walk, so I’m hoping to make it in half the time by running. I don’t know why I do this to myself, I must be a masochist. I run past the two kabob places where I had intended on eating, and mentally wave a tearful farewell as I pass them. Nearly there, 4 minutes until the bus leaves. People are looking at me run- I guess the Danes are a bit like the Brits in that they “walk but never run”, as Sting puts it so lyrically. I make it to my bus just in time. It’s the same driver and he’s with a colleague. Sweaty, I approach them with a big smile on my face, pointing at my phone that I have a ticket this time. I already feel better that he sees it wasn’t intentional that I didn’t have a ticket the first time. He scans the ticket I have now, no problem. I ask if I have a minute to pick up a sandwich at the cafe next to the bus. 5 minutes, he declares. Perfect. I grab a loaded chicken sandwich for 45kr- The same as a kebab. I know he’s with his colleague, so I thank him a few times. He looks nervous that I’d say something stupid out loud that could get him fired, but I’m aware of his colleague, and casually get on the bus after two or three sincere thank you’s. The colleague assumed I was just grateful that I had time to get a sandwich.

On the bus, I preserve my phone battery and inhale my sandwich. I still have my chocolate bar from Norway. It’s exactly like a Kit Kat bar in the way it looks and tastes. I eat this as well, after my sandwich. The only difference is that the chocolate is somehow chewier, and inside the wrapper are hiking safety tips in Norwegian, as this bar is often eaten by hikers for an energy boost. Pretty cool! I nap again, tired from running, and from this morning. I sleep a little better than the first ride over, but still not a deep REM sleep. When I wake up I finish my book, “The Tribes Of Palos Verdes” by Joy Nicholson. It’s a light, and decent read. The story wasn’t great, but I was super invested in the characters. I finished the book in two days. The sun peers out, onto the fields and sea. I look out my window, admiring and appreciating the magnificent views. It’s interrupted when we pass a farm, and I notice a lonely cow, tail curled up, spraying its urine from its backside...Like a teapot spout, designed as a faucet.

The ride feels longer coming back for some reason. We must’ve taken a different route. In any case, we come to the central station of Copenhagen. I thank the bus driver a third time, with eye contact, and many sincere “thank you’s”, and “I really appreciate it’s”. He’s a very nice man, and says it’s no problem.

I walk up the street to the station. Here, I inquire about the train to the airport tomorrow, the bus to the next gallery, and pick up a small breakfast and dinner for nearly less than what I would’ve paid for my hostel dinner. My stomach is also still a bit funky, so I buy a ginger matcha shot. It’s expensive, but health comes before wealth...*Especially in America, I type bitterly.

For dinner, I buy a nice and simple pork sandwich. And for breakfast, I buy the same, banana and croissant. I take the bus to the Cisterne gallery. The bus can only take card because it’s system is down. The Spanish tourists and I get a free ride. My second one of the day! The guy drives like a maniac, so I hang on for dear life until we come to my stop.

The gallery is just across the zoo, and is underground, in a BEAUTIFUL park. Once again, I'm thanking God, and counting my lucky stars. It’s only open Thursdays until 8pm, but closes at 6pm the rest of the week. It’s 6pm now.

I enter the gallery with another student price. New York Film Academy was the best investment this family has ever made. (As well as me not returning my student card). I go underground into what appears to be a moldy, wet, dungeon.

I. LOVE. THIS PLACE.

I could see a Rick Owens fashion show here, or an intense Emilie Svensson music video. ;)

There are only two art installations, but I spend an hour down here, and I crave more artwork. The first installation is “In Is The Only Way Out” by Jeppe Hein, and the second, “Drypstenene” by Ikke Berøres.

Jeppe’s is a series of slowly rotating, hanging / floating, round mirrors. Some mirrors are distorted, and others are cut into different shapes. Everything visually echos the environment around the mirrors. There’s one mirror that reacts to sensors. As you come closer to it, it shoots fire out more powerfully at you. So metal.

You can hear gongs reverberating in the next chamber. The environment is totally surreal. The concept behind the mirrors is to set the environment in a dark place, so that you can allow the small light to come in- Just as in life.

The next chamber has stationary gong bowls on stools throughout the room. The entire ceiling was rigged with white balls on strings, and had an automated system to swing through the room and hit the gong bowls. It was so dark, that I thought it would be really funny if it accidentally knocked and hit a tourist- You could only see the balls when they were under the spotlight with the bowls.

Some moaning / singing music would play occasionally as well, really setting the hauntingly beautiful tone in both chambers. This place made so happy.

I really, truly desire more art installations here, and wished the dungeon itself were bigger to house more work. However, I take a moment to be grateful that I could experience this at all. I would’ve seriously regretted missing this.

With nothing more to see, and experiencing the same two art installations over and over, it’s time to head home. I catch my bus, (this time I paid), and ride it all the way to City Hall.

There’s an animal rights protest happening, but I stayed for the band- They were really good. I watch the gathering, eat my dinner, and listen to their renditions of “Gimme Shelter”, and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. It’s fun to watch the Danes in their hippie clothes and hairstyles. They’re probably all vegan- I quietly eat my pork sandwich on the sidelines.

When I finish dinner, and the crowd dies down a bit, I head back to the hostel. I shower, and get ready for bed. 7AM wake up call tomorrow to be at the airport by 9AM, to leave at 11AM. I suspect I’ll be there even earlier- the train takes 20mins, and is only 37kr for a ticket. NICE.

Starting my new book, “War and Peace pt. 1” tonight. I’ll see Mom and Dad back in Sweden in Östersund tomorrow! Love you!