Trip to Sweden!

We left Copenhagen! Last Friday we took a brief trip to Lund, Sweden to visit two scholars whose work I've long admired. Lund is a VERY short train ride from Copenhagen, and we traveled over the Oeresund Bridge. This incredible structure bridges Copenhagen with the southern tip of Sweden. You no longer have to wait for a ferry to get to Sweden. Unfortunately, it was very rainy when we crossed the bridge -- the views were not as beautiful as they could be. But it was still a great experience.

So, why did we go to Lund? Well, when it became known that I was moving to CBS at the International Communication Association Conf. last May, a mentor of mine at the University of Colorado in Boulder arranged for an "email" introduction with two scholars at Lund University.

They invited me to Lund to meet them and take a tour of the University and town. Dan and Mats, the scholars at Lund University, were quite friendly and spent the afternoon meeting with me and Joel. Dan met us at the train station and treated us to lunch in the town square. He then walked us to the University campus, which included a stop at his new house. I say new house because it is new to him -- but the house itself is not new. It was build mid 19th C. The house was very quaint and beautifully designed in traditional Swedish style.

The campus is quite nice and the facilities are contemporary. Like many Danish Universities, their department also has a full kitchen and eating room. It is customary for colleagues to eat together for lunch. While it seems strange for us to take time to eat together -- and we don't always participate in the group lunches (Joel and I usually just eat at our desks) -- the lunch gatherings always prove fun and interesting. While we had coffee in the kitchen area with Mats and Dan, several colleagues stopped by and said hello. Clearly Danes and Swedes place a high priority on collegiality.

Dan and Mats were very nice to invite me back to Lund as they continue to work on several very interesting projects on identity, leadership, and work.

As for Lund, it was like stepping back into the 18th Century. The town could not be more quaint if Disney designed it. We are looking forward to going back and spending a bit more time wandering around the town's tiny cobble stoned streets and touring the rather large cathedral.