Tallinn is gorgeous.

Snow! Winter! Freezing fingers when trying to take photos. I just made friends with a German tourist who was lost... I helped navigate us to the old town then we had some tea. Violating the rules laid out for me already: no talking to anyone if I want to be real Estonian!

Amazing old town looks like a dream with the snow..,

Thinking of the U.S. from Copenhagen

Most of my family and loved ones are on the West coast, thousands of miles away from Hurricane Sandy destruction. Several close friends are in New York and DC but luckily I've heard from most of them. It goes to show how dominant the idea of the nation and national belonging is that I have been approached by so many people here, asking if I'm ok, if my family is ok. It seems to me that international interest in the storm is about as compounded as possible due to first and foremost the magnitude of the disaster but also the perceived impenetrability and immortality of New York City, and the anticipated impact this will have on the election. I honestly can hardly imagine US election coverage being any more ubiquitous than it is here in Denmark. Right now on the online "DR"site - Denmark's public news source - there are four tabs at the top of the screen: Sandy, weather, the US election, and 'crime'. The election and Sandy are definitely important. But it is still so unsettling to me that my country gets such preferential coverage and meanwhile in Haiti Sandy worsens the cholera epidemic. 

Danish/German articles about hurricane Sandy and the US election:
In Danish:
Politiken article on destruction of NY transit
Politiken on the impact to the US economy
Danish public news on Obama's response to Sandy
The US election

In English:
Spiegel International on the final stages of the US election


And now for something completely different.... some photos of some old/touristy parts of Copenhagen by night:

More Nørrebro...

This was one of the most fun camera-wanders I've had yet in Copenhagen. Again I was in Nørrebro, which is in my opinion the most photographically interesting part of Copenhagen - but I was further north in the neighborhood than last time. The first several (with the obvious red patterned square) are from Nørrebro Hallen near Nørrebro station, a public space that opened in 2003 and was just renovated this past year. Throughout the square you can find celebrations of different minority communities in the neighborhood such as a mural of former Chilean President Allende - it's the black stencil drawing on the red wall.

Alright, I'm tired so that's all for now - enjoy the photos :)