Erasmus Accommodation - Håndværker Kollegium

Erasmus Accommodation - Håndværker Kollegium

Throughout my stay in Copenhagen I have been living at the Håndværker Kollegium in Emdrup. The accommodation is standard with a single room and sink (like Nixon Court in Leicester). There are two kitchens per floor shared between ten people each and each floor also has three toilets and showers.

The layout of the floor is a lot different from what I have experienced before, as the whole floor forms a single corridor across the entire building with rooms on both sides (22 rooms per floor). This is quite different when compared to Nixon Court where the floors are separated into flats consisting of six or ten people.

There are two washing machines and dryers in the basement. The washing machines charge 10 kroner per wash (about £1) but the dryers are free. In addition to this, the basement also has the Kollegium's bar and a TV room, which can be booked out.

After living here since August 2009, I have found the accommodation to be fine for how much I paid for it and I have met a few nice people whilst staying here.

Internet is available in the Kollegium and every room has access.

There have been kitchen meetings once a month but as attendance wasn't compulsory and that I did not have any issues to raise myself I didn't bother attending after the first two. This wasn't a finger up at the floor but more of a sign of disinterest as some people in these meetings spoke in Danish knowing myself and other members of the floor could not understand them. Most of the Danes on my floor have been quite reserved in social interactions but with other Erasmus students in the building and my girlfriend on Skype it didn't really matter.

Transport was either by bike or the s-train (you could also use the bus but i didn't due to the rudeness of some drivers). I had a bike for the whole year and I used it most of the time except during the winter (the snow caused slippy conditions). It takes 30-40 minutes by bike to get to the centre and the S-train takes about 15 minutes (see blog entry on transport for more information).

So all in all, I've found the accommodation to suit its purpose and I've really turned my room into a place I called home.