A.k.a. the lobby of the hotel. They’re probably a little tired of me being down here, but they’re probably glad I’m not using my iSight to chat with colleagues any longer.

I’ve been listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong here. It fits.

[To the tune of Ella Fitzgerald, "Begin The Beguine," from the album "The Cole Porter Songbook (Disc 1)".]

Here are pictures from my trip to Malmo, Sweden. We start in the Copenhagen Central Station (wasn’t I just here?)  (Update, 10 May 2005: The DSB’s online trip planner has train schedules, fares, etc.. It’s really excellent.).

Look at that woodwork!

Very impressive stuff

In the interests of keeping the front page of the blog from getting overloaded, I’m moving the rest of the pictures to after the jump.

Moving down from the main station to the platform, we move from wood and brick to iron and glass

The first class on these trains really is excellent. Definitely worth the extra few bucks.

The controls over one of the seats. I don’t know what the music is like- I didn’t bring my headphones with me

A view of first class

I got into Malmo around 11, and walked over to Malmo University.

The Arts and Communication building

Entrance to the school. There’s a piece of artwork on the right consisting of bells that you can control via a computer inside

The view from the Arts and Communication building. Even New Haven is prettier

Looking down along the water’s edge, to the library

In the distance is this unfinished 52-story building

Yes, it is a college campus. From what I can tell, this is a poster expressing solidarity for Peru’s Shining Path and its founder, Alberto Guzman (who was an academic- I’m so proud)

Power to the people!

After visiting the University, I headed into town.

Crossing over the river to the center of the city

I was looking for an art gallery that had an exhibit on digital art. I never got there, but still had a nice time.

In the Lillatorg, one of the many small squares in the city

Charming buildings along the Lillatorg

A somewhat more imposing building on the Lillatorg

After walking around this little square, I headed off, following the pedestrian streets.

Heading off down the Skomakareg

Along the Soderg, looking toward the Stortorget

Some 19th-century buildings facing Gustav Adolfstorg

A building on the Stortorget

Another building on the Stortorget. Note the advertisements painted on the wall

Then it was back to the train station.

Many bicycles. Seeing people bicycle here in the freezing cold encourages me to do it year-round in (what relatively speaking is) sunny Silicon Valley

The Malmo train station

What probably at one time was the ticket office and waiting room

The main terminal of the train station

The platform. My train is on the right

No apples on the train this time, but instead tokens- that said "Jokers Wild," and looked like some kind of Atlantic City surplus- for the coffee machine, which dispensed what was unquestionably the worst espresso of my entire life.

Beware!

However, I survived and made it back to Copenhagen.

The Doom Town Net Cafe

Tivoli Gardens in the daylight

Another view of the movie theatre between the Tivoli and my hotel.

Contrary to my earlier statement, it appears that De Utrolige does not translate into "The Urologists," but rather "The Incredibles." The editors regret the error.

This morning, after Thomas and I finished breakfast, he escorted me down to ITU Copenhagen. The university is somewhat to the south of the city center, and we got there by Metro- the new underground system that is being built, apparently at pretty substantial cost.

I’d seen pictures of ITU, but was blown away by the place when I got there.

The ITU main building

The view from the courtyard

The ramp leads up to an auditorium

The roof lets in a lot of sunlight

The idea is to have a building that’s centered around students (in this case, graduate students): many of the student services are located in the middle of the building, and the computer terminals and study areas all look out over the courtyard, which is flanked by offices and labs.

Looking down the hallway. Tables on the left look out over the courtyard, while departments and faculty offices are on the right

One of the meeting rooms

But the most striking thing about the building is the meeting rooms, which are cantilevered out over the courtyard

A meeting room. Quiet, yet visually very public

The view from inside one of the meeting rooms, looking down

Looking into, and through, other meeting rooms. “ITU” is etched onto the windows

On the sides of some of the meeting rooms are the big displays- with pixels the size of dinner plates- that you can send an SMS message to, and it gets played

Flashing a messages. It’s kind of a cool effect

The displays are green on one side, red on the other. I think the projection system is one of John Maeda’s brainchildren

On the train back to Copenhagen. Malmo is pleasant- lots of interesting historic buildings, and a cool mix of early modern civic space and 20th century industrial and shipping- but I think I like Copenhagen better. But I didn’t spend enough time there to get used to the place.

Malmo University is pretty cool: on the outside it kind of looks like an American community college- it’s much more functional than decorative, and the campus runs right into (and architecturally speaking, fits right in with) a light industrial zone; yet there seems to be some pretty cool stuff going on there.

I met with an interaction design professor names Jonas Lowgren, who’s just published a book with MIT Press on the intersection of interaction theory and design. Thanks to a screw-up with my e-mail, I didn’t actually manage to confirm the meeting beforehand, so I showed up and one of his colleagues ended up calling him in: either foreigners get a little more slack, or Americans have such bad reputations, so everyone was a bit confused but gracious about it. I’ll have to find a place to review his book.

Food is somewhat more expensive here than the states: my shwarma, fries and Coke last night was about $9, and a bottle of Coke Light is close to $3.

On the other hand, the trains aren’t any more expensive than Amtrak, and nicer.

I lost my scarf on the train from Aarhus last night. It’s dark blue, with a red and yellow stripe. If you see it, please e-mail me.

This time I’m going to Malmo, Sweden. I had breakfast this morning with a friend of mine from Stanford, who now is in charge of the National Medical Museum. I think it’s probably been ten or twelve years since I’ve seen him last (barring our crossing paths at a conference), so it was pleasant to catch up.

Then it was down to the Information Technology University, to meet Jorgen Staunstrup, the dean of the faculty. The place is incredible. Pictures later.

I’m now headed to Malmo to meet a pervasive computing researcher named Jonas Lowgren, who’s coauthored a book on design and interaction research. Though the chance to go to Sweden is a big attractor, too. Just being able to add another country to my list….

If I’d visited when I was younger, I would have tried to find a way to live here for a while. I once made a halfhearted attempt to get a fellowship to go to Amsterdam, but after that, never looked for other opportunities. Silly of me. I’ll consider myself a success as a parent if my children spend at least a couple adult years living outside the States.

Twenty minutes into the ride, and we’re now on a bridge. I think we’re crossing over the Oresund. Again, where’s the passport control? This whole EU thing is pretty confusing.