Dear JMU students,

I’ll be running Exploring the Good Life in Scandinavia in the Summer of 2024, from May 21st to June 7th. We’ll be based in Copenhagen, Denmark.  You can find the official information (including an explanation of the coursework) and application here.

Basic Information:

On May 21st, you will arrive at Copenhagen airport (CPH) and be transported to housing in the heart of the city. Accommodations will be provided by the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. You will have shared rooms, kitchens, laundry, wifi, and access to bicycles (Copenhagen is the world’s most bike-friendly city). You will get a meal stipend to cover all meals (apart from a few group meals we provide). You will also be given subway passes, although Copenhagen is quite compact and walking/biking may often be easier.

We will have a designated classroom where we will meet most days. This will likely be on located on the Strøget, Copenhagen’s main shopping and people-watching street. We will have formal class meetings for about an hour and a half per day.

On June 7th, you are free to go and will fly out of CPH (or you might want to linger and explore more on your own!).

Copenhagen Highlights:

Highlights of our time here will include:

Exploring the famous harbor, Nyhavn (seen above).

An orientation to the city on a canal tour.

A guided tour of Christiania, a free-spirited commune in the heart of the city.

A food tour in which you’ll sample both traditional and modern Danish cuisine, learn about the New Nordic food movement, and maybe even sip some microbrews.

A bike tour to the seaside fishing village of Dragør.

A day of hiking at the chalk cliffs of Møns Klint, about 1.5 hours south of Copenhagen.

A ferry trip to explore Hven, an island between Denmark and Sweden.

Small group dinners with local English-speaking host families.

Three guest lectures from DIS faculty, focusing on Danish language and culture, psychology, and education.

A daytrip to Helsingør, including a tour of Kronborg (Hamlet’s castle).

A bike tour focusing on urban planning and well-being with a local expert.

Sauna and cold plunge at CopenHot, a waterfront New Nordic Wellness facility.

An afternoon at the seaside Louisiana Museum.

An evening at Tivoli Gardens: thrilling rides, live music, and a nightly fireworks display…if you can stay up late enough. Because, remember, the sun won’t set until after 11 p.m.

Free time to explore areas of interest, which may include the Carlsberg Brewery, the Forgotten Giants, the new ski slope built on the side of a power plant (yes, really), finding the iconic Little Mermaid statue, cruising around in a GoBoat, or just enjoy wandering the city.

Discussions of happiness, savoring, and the good life in parks, gardens, and by the sea. Scandinavians don’t waste a precious moment of summertime, and neither will we!

You’ll fly out of Copenhagen on June 7th with a deeper, first-hand understanding of why Scandinavians are some of the world’s happiest people. You might also decide to incorporate some of what you’ve learned into your own life!

Questions? Interested in applying? November 1st is the deadline. Contact me at kurtzjl@jmu.edu.