A Girl's Travel Dreams...

Goodbye

2011-05-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Closing Ceremony

As the week continued, my days in Copenhagen were narrowing down. May 17th, was the day to start the goodbyes. That day our school, DIS, gave us a closing ceremony, which was at one of the theaters near our school. Before the ceremony started, they showed pictures they purchased from students throughout the year (I made about $80 for the semester by doing this). As the slide show went through the pictures, I saw 6 of the pictures I had taken on the screen, which was cool and weird at the same time. Once the ceremony started, the realization that I was leaving the next day really hit me. As I sat there listening to the DIS String Orchestra and the CBS International choir play sad songs about good times coming to an end, I began to reflect on my semester. I thought about all the great times I had with my new friends, the many different sights I had seen, and many other wonderful times. All I could really think about was, where had 4 months gone? I couldn't believe how fast time had flown! After 2 hours, the ceremony had ended, which meant we were now alumni at DIS. Afterwards, my friends and I went over the the champagne party to get our free drink and snacks. Our next stop was home so we could finish packing and get ready for the night. That night most of went into the common room to celebrate one last time. During our celebration, we spent most of the night taking pictures and talking about all the good times. The whole night our whole group was sad that we would be leaving each other.

Some of the group

We had grown into one big family, the Tåsingegade (T-Gade) family. Later in the night, we went to the after party being held by DIS. The party was a lot of fun.

The next morning was one of the saddest mornings I have had in my life. It was the day to say goodbye to Copenhagen. I finished up packing and said goodbye to friends. I knew I had to leave and I was sad about it, but the tears didn't hit me until I had to say goodbye to my friend Ari. As Ari and I were saying goodbye, we both started to cry. I couldn't believe my time was coming to an end when I felt like it just started. Once she left I was in even sadder mood. At noon, my time had come. With my 100 pounds of luggage and one duck taped suitcase, it was my turn to leave. I took one last look around my new home and prepared for my goodbyes. Saying goodbye to my friends and SRAs was hard. Of course, I started to cry again. Leaving Copenhagen was a bittersweet moment. With my bags packed in the taxi, I took one last look at my home and left. During the car ride I took in the beauty of Copenhagen one last time...sadly with tears filling my eyes.

While I was excited to go home and see everyone, I was sad to be leaving Copenhagen. This city had become my new home. Leaving the T-gade group was also sad. All of the good and crazy times we had together will always be in my heart. When people ask why did you choose Copenhagen, all I can say is why wouldn't you choose Copenhagen!? This city had given me the best semester I have had in college and many memories I will never forget. Copenhagen will always have a special place in my heart and I will forever consider it a home.

NY Carlsberg Glyptotek and Louisiana

2011-05-18T02:11:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Copenhagen, I had to make sure I made a stop at the 2 most well-known museums, Glyptotek and Louisiana. On May 14th, I went to them. My first stop was Glyptotek. I spent about an hour there, which was a good amount. When you first walk into the museum there is this very weird fountain of a woman feeding many children. Strange. Then I saw the main statues, such as the Wounded Amazon. The special exhibit there was Cleopatra's World, which was interesting.

Part of Cleopatra's World

Wounded Amazon

Later in the afternoon, my visiting mom picked me up so we could go to Louisiana Modern Art Museum. The rest of the family couldn't make it because of other things going on. When we went to the museum, the special exhibit was Picasso. The special exhibit was really nice. We spent around 2-3 hours walking around the museum. Afterwards, we went to the cafe to get a dessert and enjoy the view. The view was of the sea. In one corner, I was able to see Sweden. It was so awesome. Around the museum, there is also a garden, so windows throughout the museum show a beautiful sight too. Sadly, this was the last time I got to spend time with someone from my visiting family. It was so sad. They were such a wonderful family. The mom told me when I come back to Copenhagen, I must contact them!!

My visiting mom and I

The Final Week

2011-05-18T01:42:00.000-07:00

With my finals finally over on May 13th, the time to explore and see Copenhagen had finally come. Most of my final week was spent with friends and seeing the sights I wanted to. I went shopping for jewelry that would always remind me of Copenhagen, went back to the Little Mermaid Statue, walked around the area by where I lived, picked up multiple pastries (leaving Denmark would not be complete without them), Stopping by Nyhavn at night, and many other things.

A part of being with DIS is we got a food stipend. During this last week I had about $200 left. What did this mean? Time to feast and buy the most expensive food and drinks. My friends and I had a large expensive meal almost every night. It was a great way to leave Copenhagen.

One last big event I did with my floor was hold an "Around the World Event." Groups of us had to make a certain drink from a different country. My friends and I had to make mojitos. Sadly, they did not turn out well. The event was so much fun. It was a great way for all of us to be together. I am going to miss the group!

Kings Garden

Nyhavn at Night

Carlsberg Brewery

2011-05-18T01:27:00.000-07:00

After my European Business Strategy presentation on May 5th, all of the International Business classes had the chance to go to the Carlsberg Brewery. As a group, we headed over to the old house of the founder. There we had free pizza and beer. Once we finished that, we went to the old brewery. We got to see the Carlsberg horses. Some of my friends and I were about to take a picture with one of the horses and the horse started to eat my friends hair. We saw the an old car used for the brewery, the mansion the founder used, and the old brewery. Our tour headed over to the new factory, which was started by the son of Carlsberg after disagreeing with his dad on the brewing process. The elephants that are by the new factory are the 2nd most photographed sights in Copenhagen, behind the Little Mermaid Statue. Sadly, we couldn't get into the new brewery since it was after 7pm. Instead we headed over to the Jacobsen Brewhouse where we got free drinks for 3 hours. Going on this trip was a nice chance to say goodbye to all my class and spend one last time together.

Carlsberg Elephant

Jacobsen Brewhouse

As My Time Comes to an End

2011-05-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

As of May 6th, I no longer have classes to attended at DIS. The moment was bittersweet. On one hand I was happy because I didn't have to go to class, but sad because it was more realization that my time in Copenhagen is coming to an end. The experiences I have had here and my love for the city are not going to make leaving Copenhagen easy. While I am excited to go home, I am sad to be leaving Copenhagen. The city has grown to become a part of me. I find myself doing traditional Danish things, such as not jwalking.

The weather isn't helping my feeling of not wanting to leave the city. This spring is the warmest spring Copenhagen has had in 22 years!! Most days are filled with sunshine (the sun rises at 5am and sets at 9:30pm) and in the 60s. Since the weather is so nice all I want to do is explore the city. My visiting family has told me a few times that Copenhagen is much better in the summer. When I got back from my study break, I could see the difference in the city with the nicer weather. This nice weather makes leaving sadder because I want the opportunity to leave the city during its best season.

While I am sad about leaving, I will continue to reflect on the many wonderful experiences I have had here and the more that will happen within the last week. Now, it's time to finish up my Copenhagen to do list!

May Day

2011-05-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

On May 1st was Copenhagen's May Day. For countries in Europe, this day is synonymous with International Worker's Day. As a way to celebrate, the city enjoys a day at Fælledparken, a local park. The day in the park isn't just a normal day where people have a BBQ with friends. Instead, the park is filled with thousands of people, food stands, several concerts, a few amusement rides, and people having a great time with friends. The day is also filled with drinking. Since the park is down the block from my housing, a few friends and I decided to go experience May Day. When we got there, we were surprised at how big of a deal this celebration was. Once we got there, we walked around and went to see the reggae band. After spending a few hours in the park, we headed back home. Another great cultural experience in Copenhagen.

Tivoli

2011-05-01T05:34:00.000-07:00

China Town in Tivoli

While living in Denmark, my time here would not be complete without a trip to Tivoli. Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world and is the most visited theme park in Scandinavia. Since the park opened while I was on spring break, my fellow floor mates and I have been anxiously trying to get to the park. On April 29th, a group of us finally went. As we got to Tivoli, I felt like a little kid again. I couldn't wait to step in the park and start going on the rides. When we walked into the park I was already in love with it. Like the rest of Copenhagen, Tivoli was quaint and adorable.
Trees, brightly colored flowers, and arches with colored lights adorned the paths of Tivoli. As soon as all of us were in the park, we headed for a ride. The first ride we went on was a little roller coaster that had a track that was built during the 1800s. The breaks of the ride were controlled manually by a man who sat in the middle of the ride shifting the gears. The next ride we went on was the swings. The view from the swings was amazing!! I could see most of the city! During my time at Tivoli, I was reunited with my love for cracklin' fresh (the crispy outside of the pork) that I had in Berlin. My friend and I were so excited for it because we haven't seen cracklin' fresh anywhere since we went to Berlin. Of course, the pork sandwich with it was delicious! As our time continued at the park, we went on more rides. When the sun went down, my love for the park intensified. The different colored lights in the trees, on the rides and on the arches were so pretty. Around 10pm, the free concert came on, which we stayed to watch for a little. I loved my time at Tivoli and can say it was one of the best things I have done here!!

Entrance to China Town

View from the line of Demon

Gardens

Barcelona

2011-04-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Similar to our Venice trip, Eric and I didn't arrive in Barcelona until 11:30pm. The good thing was our hostel for the night was located off of La Rambla street. The down side, our hostel was not the greatest. The room was in a separate building from the main building and the room didn't have any lockers to store our valuable things. Luckily, we only had one night there.

April 20th

In front of Arc de Triomf

Eric and I woke up early in the morning so we could get to the apartment a family friend of his was letting us borrow. When we arrived at the apartment, it was a huge step up from the hostel. We were located a few blocks from the Sagrada Familia, had our own rooms and bathrooms, and the best part was we had a balcony with an awesome view! After getting ready, we started our adventure around the city with the goal of getting to the beach. On our walk to the beach we passed Sant Joan Park, went into Salesians Church, Jetuan Square and Dr. Robert monument in Jetuan Squar. One of the bigger sights we saw was the Arc de Triomf and the Liuis Company's Passage. By continuing on our path we ran into the Ciutadella Park. In the park, we saw the National Zoology Museum, Gaudi's Cascade, and a lake. After walking for an hour, we finally made it to Barceloneta Beach. Eric and I sat along the boardwalk eating our lunch and enjoying the view. Before we left the beach, I made sure I stuck my feet in the Mediterranean Sea.

Feet in the Mediterranean Sea

Once we were done at the beach, we decided to hike up a large hill to get to the 1992 Olympic Stadium. On our way to the hill we saw the Gate of Sana Madrona and the Monument of Colon (Columbus). Eventually we made it to the hill and began our hike. At one point we lost track of the path so we ended up taking a nature path. Once we reached the top of one section we were greeted with a magnificent view of the city.

View of the city from the hill

Olympic Stadium

After spending some time enjoying the view of the hill, we continued on our mission to find the Olympic Stadium. When we finally reached the stadium we walked around for a little. Even though both of us were tired, we continued our adventure around the city. Some of our other destinations included the National Art Museum of Catalunya, Placa d' Espanya, the Font Magic (Magic Fountain), and the Nou Camp Stadium (where FC Barcelona plays). After spending most of the day on our feet, we made our way back to the apartment to take a break before beginning our evening. Once we were a little rested we walked around the area to find a place to eat dinner. For dinner, I had a strange combination of foods. My dinner consisted of a kebab, a sunny side up egg, and salad. Since the FC Barcelona and Madrid game was on that evening we stayed in the restaurant for a little to watch the game with the locals. The rest of the evening we sat on the balcony eating cake, drinking wine and enjoying our view of the city.

April 21st

My day started with a Fat Tire Bike Tour. I did a tour like this in London and loved it so I wanted to do another one. Before our tour started, I was really excited about riding around Barcelona and for the fun to come. At the beginning of the tour, our tour guide told us if we ring our bell 3 times and people don't move we can run them over. I'm sure he was joking...I think. Our tour started in Sant Jaume Plaza, which is one of the most important squares in Barcelona. Other stops included Rei Square, Palau de la Musica Catalana, Barcelona Cathedral, Parc de la Crutadella, and Placa de Toros Monumental (where bull fights are put on). One of the bigger sights we saw the Sangrada Familia. Here our tour guide told us the church isn't finished. The city would like to have it done by 2026, but most people know that won't happen. Being added to the church is more towers so there will be a total of 18. Gaudi, the man who designed the church, said it would take 200 years to complete Sangrada Familia making the completion year 2092. After spending a few minutes there we rode to our last few stops. The last few stops were Port Olympic and Barceloneta beach. At the beach, we had a break to eat. Another girl and I decided to split a few drinks of delicious sangria. What a great way to spend the day. Enjoying the warm and sunny weather on the beach with some sangria. At 4pm our tour was over and I met up with Eric again.

Fruit stand at Boqueria Market

We went to Boqueria Market to look at all the food vendors. At the market, we enjoyed a fresh bowl of fruit. From the market we walked along La Rambla and the neighboring streets to find somewhere to eat for dinner. Next, we went back to the apartment to relax before dinner. On our way home, we stopped at Torre Agbar. Once we were somewhat rested, we started our walk to downtown for dinner. During our way we sawy Gaudi's Casa Mila La Pedera, Gaudi's Casa Batllo, Casa Amatller and Catalunya Square. That night we ate dinner at the restaurant Les Quinze Mity in Reial Square. We had to wait an hour to get in, but we had plenty of entertainment in the square. There was a couple ballroom dancing and a woman playing the violin. The man called the Aaron Experience was the best. He juggled up to 5 bowling pins, did tumbling, and balanced kids from the line on his shoulders. Plus, his song he performed to was very catchy. Once we made it into the restaurant, Eric and I ordered Fideua a traditional Catalan dish.

Fideua

When we finished dinner we decided to walk to the Magic Fountain to see if it was one. Of course after walking 30 minutes, the fountain wasn't on like it should have been. Oh well. The rest of the night was walking around the city.

April 22nd

Sagrada Familia

Our last full day in Barcelona. Even though part of the day was rainy, we didn't let that stop us. We started our day with the Sagrada Familia. Once we made it in the church we were in aw. The interior was stunning and huge! We spent a while looking at everything in the church before we went to the Gaudi Nature exhibit and museum located below the church.

Afterwards, we walked along the Passeig de Gracica before going to La Rambla Street. Once on La Rambla we went to see Gaudi's Palau Guell house. Park Guell was our next stop for the day.

Hill leading up to Park Guell

Getting to the park was a bit of an adventure. Along with taking the metro we had to hike up hill. Luckily, Barcelona installs random outdoor escalators. In the park, we went to see the terrace and houses designed by Gaudi.


Main entrance to the park

The rest of our evening consisted of walking through the modern parts of the city, seeing Hospital de la Stant Creu and Sant Pau, Barcelona Cathedral,St. Maria Square, St. Maria de Mar Church, and sitting around Reil Square. Since it was our last night in Barcelona we figured there was no better way then to enjoy sangrias and crema Catalana (a traditional dessert).

Before we went back to the apartment one last time, we enjoyed the street entertainers on La Rambla and walked past the Sagrada Familia.

My time in Barcelona was wonderful. I really enjoyed the city and would have to say it is one of my favorite cities I have visited.

More pictures of my trip can be found here

Venice

2011-04-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

After spending 5 wonderful days in Rome, I continued by stay in Italy by heading off to Venice. While the Rome trip started and ended smoothly, the Venice trip didn't start smoothly. Our flight to Venice was supposed to depart at 8:30pm. As my friend and I reached the gate, we were informed that our flight was delayed 2 hours, which caused a small problem. Since we were staying at a guest house, we were told to try and be there by 11pm. Obviously getting there at 11pm wasn't going to happen. Next step was to call the guest house. When we called, I was greeted by an Asian man who didn't understand English very well. Luckily everything worked out. Around 10:30pm, we were off to Venice. After walking the empty streets of Venice, my friend and I made it to our hostel around 1am.

April 17th

St. Mark's Basilica

After the start we had to our trip, I was ready for what our first full day in Venice had to bring. That morning we met the 2 other people staying in our room, which gave me another reason to think how small the world is. Turns out one of the boys was from Purdue University and his roommate went to my high school. After Eric and I were ready, we started our long day. The first thing we visited was the Rialto Bridge since we were a 10 minute walk from it. After we headed over to St. Mark's Square.

At the square, we tried to go into St. Mark's Bailica, but it was closed. Instead, we walked around the square, looked at Campanile, and looked at the gondolas along the water. After, we continued our day of walking. Since we didn't have a map, we walked along the main tourist path. Our walk led us through many of the main shops, which we stopped in to look at Murano glass items and masks.

Once we found a map, we were able to find the other major sights we wanted to see for the day. Our walk provided us with views of many picturesque canals and old homes. We continued along our original path since it lead us to several sights. Some of the sights we saw included the church of Santa Maria of Giglio, The Museum of Music: Artemino Versari Collection, Campo S. Stefano (square), the church of San Vidal, and a garden near the church of San Vidal. Eventually, we reached a bridge that over looked the Grand Canal so we stopped for a few minutes to take pictures, enjoy the sun, and enjoy the view. We then continued on our adventure through the streets of Venice. As we continued walking through the beautiful streets we continuously stopped into shops and took pictures of the endless canals. Another sight we saw was the Bucintoro Rowing Club Museum. Inside the museum we saw several items, such as the Duchess of Genoa's Cup (the first major award won by the Bucintoro Rowing Club), photographs, trophies and the social banner. After spending a few minutes in the museum we continued on our tourist path. Our path led us to the church of Saint Maria of Salute. We walked around the area near the church, which had a statue of a naked boy holding a frog and enjoyed being surrounded by water. We had hoped to go into the church, but it didn't open for a few more hours. To pass time, we headed back to St. Mark's Square to go in Doge's Palace.

Doge's Palace

Doge's Palace was awesome. Of course, there were signs saying not to take pictures. Did I pay attention to those rules? No. Guess I've learned to be extra sneaky. During our tour, we saw the golden stairway, the Grand Council Chamber, Senate Hall, Hall of the Council of Ten, Hall of the Compass, Voting Hall, and the Chamber of the Great Council. My two favorite rooms in the palace were the Chamber of Great Council and the Council Chamber. Both rooms had ceilings adorned with gold molding and large paintings. The Chamber of Great Council is the largest room in Doge's Palace and one of the largest rooms in Europe. This room also holds the largest canvas painting. Our tour also led us through the old prisons. Near the end of our tour, we walked through the Bridge of Sighs. Looking through to the other side was awesome. At the end, our tour led us to the courtyard near the Giant's Stairway.

Council Chamber

Inside the Bridge of Sighs

Once we were done at the Doge's Palace we headed back to Saint Maria della Salute to view the inside of the church. Inside was very pretty. Once we were done walking through the church we took a gondola ride across the Grand Canal. As we continued our day of walking in the wonderful weather, Eric and I saw the church of Saint Moise, the Museum of St. Marko Square, the boardwalk, the Sighs Bridge, and the Arsenal.

Bridge of Sighs

After spending about 9 hours of walking, we headed off to dinner at a restaurant suggested to us by a museum helper. On our way to dinner, we walked through the lesser known streets of Venice. The less toursity streets helped me enjoy Venice even more. I had the chance to really see how the people of Venice lived. Plus, we saw many more picturesque canals. Once we arrived at dinner, the atmosphere at the restaurant was exactly what I needed after a day of walking. We received a complementary dinner drink and sat along a canal, which provided us with an enjoyable view.

Canal we saw on our way to dinner

When we finished dinner we ventured back to St. Mark's Square to see the view of the square and water at night. Like the rest of the views we had seen during the day, our evening view was just as picture perfect. After spending some time in the square enjoying the live music being performed by restuarants, we went back to our place. Of course, stopping at the Rialto Bridge to take a night photo. I can say that after 12 hours of walking around, the first day in Venice was a success and very enjoyable.

Rialto Bridge

April 18th

Murano Island

Our morning started off with taking a tour of St. Mark's Basilica. The basilica was stunning. Adorning the ceiling was gold and mosaics. After we finished walking around the basilica, we began our day trip to Murano Island. Since the island is know for its glass, we spent most of the time on the island looking at the shops along the main canals. After spending several hours looking in shops, we left for the main island in the early evening.

Man working in his shop

Once we were back on the main island, we tried to go see if the Arsenal was open. Sadly, it was closed again. On our way to dinner we decided to walk through more side streets. The rest of the night was dinner and walking around Venice.

April 18th
Our last day in Venice. Originally, the hostel said we weren't allowed to keep our bags there once we checked out. Luckily, Eric's Chinese came in handy. He asked the woman in charge of the hostel if we could keep our bags there. Once she found out he understood Chinese she said we could keep our bags there. Thank goodness. Carrying around a 20 pound backpack through the narrow streets of Venice wouldn't have been fun. Since we had seen most of Venice, we only had a few places to stop. Our day consisted of going to the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the church of San Rocco, a public garden and walking along the streets near the Rialto Bridge. Around 4pm, we left Venice to continue our spring break in Barcelona. While Venice is one of the smaller cities I have been too, I enjoyed my time there. Of course, I had to end my trip the Italian way by eating gelato.

Pictures from my trip can be found here

Rome

2011-04-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

From April 9th to April 25th was my spring break. Of course days off meant traveling. My first destination: Rome. For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of traveling to Rome. I wanted the chance to throw my coin into the Trevi Fountain, see the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica, and enjoy the Italian cuisine. Due to my Classical and Renaissance Rome course, I had the opportunity to travel to Rome from April 11th to April 16th.

April 11th

In front of the Trevi Fountain

With my backpack filled to the max with everything necessary for 2 weeks, my adventure began early in the morning. Around 1pm, our class landed in Rome. On our bus ride to the hotel, one of the first major sights we saw was the Colosseum. As we passed it, I was in aw. I couldn't believe I was in Rome finally living one of my biggest travel dreams. Eventually we made it to the hotel to drop off our bags and begin our tour of the city. Since we were staying a 10 minute walk from the Trevi Fountain our first stop for the day was the fountain. As we walked up to the fountain I was in aw again! I couldn't have been any happier. I was in Rome with warm and sunny weather and seeing some of the most well-known sights in the world. Our next stops for the day were the Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Pantheon.

Pantheon

Being at the Pantheon was surreal. To be at a building that has been around since 126 AD was awesome. We had a few minutes to look around inside. The interior was stunning, which was intensified by the lighting coming from the central opening of the dome. Inside were monuments to kings, alters, and Raphael's tomb. Next, we went to Bernini's elephant on Piazza Minvera.Then we headed over Largo di Torre Argentina. This used to be the location of 4 Roman republic temples. It is also known as a cat sanctuary. After, we had time for lunch. During lunch, my gelato intake began. I know it may sound a little ridiculous, but I pretty much had gelato twice a day for the whole duration of the trip. Well worth it though. Once lunch was over our tour continued. Other sights for the day included the Tiber River, the Tiber Island and Temple of Aesculapius, Campo de Fiori, the oldest bridge built since the Roman Empire, and Piazza Navona and the Fountain of the Four Rivers. The last spot our professor showed us was Della Palma: the store with 100 gelato flavors!

Only a small section of the 100 flavors

After our professor showed us the shop, we were free to do what we wanted. Now being right next to one of the largest gelato shops in Rome, the most logical thing to do is stop in. My friends and decided to make a mental note of the place so we could come back multiple times. The rest of the day involved walking around with friends, making a stop at the Spanish Steps, a group dinner, spending time at the Colosseum, and getting gelato. First, day in Rome was a success.

April 12th
Main destination for the day: The Vatican! Once we arrived at the Vatican Museum we received a 4 hour tour. During our tour we saw a lot of different items, such as the painted marble copy of Augustus Prima Porta, the Vatican Gardens, Pine Cone Courtyard where the pine cone from the old St. Peter's fountain is located, the Statue of Triumphant Perseus, the Laokoon Group, Belvedere Torso, rooms painted by Rafael, and Rafael's The Academy in Athens. After our 4 hour walk through the museum we made it to the best part of the tour: The Sistine Chapel.

A portion of the Sistine Chapel

As I walked into the Sistine Chapel I was greeted by a funny sight. The first thing I see is security off to the side, a ton of people holding up cameras, and a sign that says "No Photos." Clearly the rule was not enforced well. The Sistine Chapel was stunning. Sometimes there are things you hear about how grand they are, but when you see them you can be a little let down. The Sistine Chapel was not one of those moments. Every where I looked there was something to see. The paintings were amazing!! Well worth the 4 hour tour through the museum. After our tour ended, we had time on our own to walk through the museum so a friend and I looked at Roman antiques, which included armor, chariots, jewelry, and amphoras.

View from the top of St. Peter's cupola

Our next stop for the day was St. Peter's. The square was amazing!! Once we arrived in the square, we were on our own. A group of us decided to climb up 551 steps to reach to top of the cupola. The climb was well worth the view! From the top, we could see most of Rome! After spending some time enjoying the view, we went to look at the interior of St. Peter's. Like the rest of St. Peter's the interior was stunning!!

View from St. Peter's Cupola


Bernini's bronze baldachin in St. Peter's

Italian Dinner

After spending some time in St. Peter's a group of us walked around the area, got gelato and then went to rest for the night. That evening my friends and I went out for a delicious Italian dinner, gelato and a walk through the sights.

April 13th

The day was filled with looking at ancient Roman architecture. The first stop was the Colosseum. Standing inside something built during 69-70 AD was unbelievable. We had some time to look around the Colosseum, which was awesome. After the Colosseum, we headed over to the Forum Romanum. During our time at the Forum, we had to sketch the ruins. For the most part, none of us can sketch. At one point, my friend and I couldn't stop laughing because of our sketches. The amount of stares we got from people only added to our laughter. During our time at the Forum, we saw the Temple of Vesta, The Arch of Severus, The Curia, Temple of Castor and Pollux, House of the Vestal Virgins, Temple of Divus Romulus, along with many others. The end of our tour was atop of Palatine Hill, which provided another great view of the Forum! Other sights of the day included the Imperial Forias (Imperial Caesar, Imperial Augustus, and Imperial Trajan), the Trajan Market, the Presidential Palace, Sant' Andrea al Quirindle Church, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, and Fontana del Tritone in Piazza Barberini. Once we ended our tour at the square, we had the rest of the evening on our own. A group of us went to Capuchin Crypt beneath the Capuchin Church of the Immaculate Conception. The crypt has 6 rooms that are filled with the bones of 4,000 individual monks. Later that evening I went out to eat with friends to the restuarant Fraschetteria Beltramme, which supposedly has the best carbonara in town. The rest of the evening was gelato and relaxing.

April 14th

Cemetery at Camp Cestio

Another wonderful day in Rome. Campo Cestio was the first stop of the day. At Campo Cestio we saw the Pyramid of Sestius, the Aurelian Walls, John Keats grave, and Percy Shelley's grave. Our professor also gave us time to look around the cemetery, which was very pretty. Termes of Caracalla, ancient public baths, was our next stop. The baths were huge! Some of the areas still has mosaics.

Termes of Caracalla

Mouth of Truth

The rest of our daily tour included Santa Maria Basilica where the Mouth of Truth is, Forum Boarium, Temple of Hercules, Theater of Marcellus, and Piazza del Campidoglio on top of Capitoline Hil. We also had a tour of Capitoline Museum where we saw one of the few original Roman bronze statues, the statue of Remus and Romulus, marble script of Council names, the real Marcus Aurelius statue, and Capitoline Venus. Also during our tour, we got an amazing view of the Forum Romanum.

Forum Romanum

After the tour through the museum we had the rest of the day to ourselves. My friends and I went shopping in the shopping district, where I bought authentic Italian leather made by the family who runs the store. We also looked around the market at Campo de Fiori, Basilica SS Ambrogio Carlo, Chiesa Di Gesu e Maria Al Corso, Piazza del Popolo, and Villa Borghese gardens.

Piazza del Popolo

After both of my friends went back to the hotel, I walked around a little by myself. I went into Basilica Parrocchiale Sant Maria del Popola, which has the famous Cerasi Chapel, a few other churches, and walked around the area near our hotel. The rest of the evening was dinner and going out with a group.

April 15th
For most of the morning, our class spent the day at Ostia. Ostia was the harbor city of ancient Rome. During our time in Ostia, we had to sketch more buildings. Our professor also showed us around. The things he showed us included old mills used to ground grain, Roman highrises, bars (where hot food was made), the Ostia Forum, an old fish market, a rich man's house, the Temple of Cupid and Pyske, public toilets, the Theater, and the Square of Corporations.
After our time in Ostia was over, we had a few hours to ourselves before dinner. My friends and I decided to go to Villa Borghese. Once we were at the park, we decided to rent a bike cart. The hour on the bike cart was so much fun. Each of us took a turn driving. After our hour was up we decided to go to the terrace and get a beatuiful of Piazza del Popola. When I went to ask a woman and her husband to take a picture of us, the woman asked where I was from. I told her Indiana. She then asked what part. I told her Northwest. Needless to say she kept asking more since she has heard of Northwest Indiana. Then her and her husband said they have heard of my town and drive through it. I was stunned. I came all the way to Rome and I find someone who has heard of my town...weird. After our time in the park we went back for group dinner. The rest of the evening was going to the Trevi Fountain to throw my coin in the fountain and going out for drinks with the whole class.

April 16th
Sadly, the last day in Rome. The first major sight we saw for the day was Ara Pacis, Augustus' alter to Peace. After, we ventured over to Castello Sant'Angelo (Castel Sant'Angleo), which is the Pope's safe sanctuary. We took a tour of the inside, but the view from the top was the best part.

View from Castel Sant'Angelo

After spending sometime enjoying the view, my friend and I walked over to St. Peter's. We spent some time enjoying the square.

Once we were done, we met up with the rest of our friends to walk around until we had to be back. We went to the old Jewish Quarter and a few churches. At 4pm, we were back at the hotel to begin our departure.

My time in Rome was nothing but absolutely amazing!! The weather was sunny and warm. The food and wine were delicious. The sights were magnificent. My time in Rome had to be one of the best trips I have gone on it. Now that I have thrown my coin in the Trevi Fountain, I am looking forward to the next time I go to Rome. For now, ciao bella.

More pictures of my trip can be found in these albums... part 1, part 2, and part 3

Ice Bar

2011-04-08T10:31:00.000-07:00

On April 6th, my friend Ari, Catherine, Alex and I went to the Copenhagen Ice Bar for Alex's birthday. Our 40 minutes in the bar was a lot of fun. As we walked into the bar in our ridiculous looking outfits, we were greeted with a room full of ice sculptures. Almost everything in the bar, except the floor was made of ice. The bar was smaller than we expected, but still awesome. As part of our fee, we got a drink of our choice, which was served in a ice glass. During our time, the only other people in the bar were 3 guys from the UK. They were a lot of fun to talk to. At the end of our session, we got to smash our classes on the bar.

To go into the Ice Bar you are assigned a shift because they don't want too many people in at once. This precaution is to ensure the ice stays in the best condition.

Vistor in Copenhagen

2011-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

April 1st - April 4th, my friend Liz came to visit me in Copenhagen! The last time I saw Liz was during our adventure in Berlin. Getting to see her again was exciting, but getting to show her around the city I fallen in love with and consider a home was going to be even better. When Liz arrived on Friday afternoon, I treated her to a pastry from one of the best bakeries in town, Lagkagehuset Bakery, since desserts seem to be lacking in Budapest. What a shame. Later in the evening our school was throwing a mid-semester party so my friends and I decided to take Liz. As we stepped out the door, our sneaky tactics began. Since we live a little a bit out of the city, DIS provided us with transportation passes. Unfortunately for Liz, she would have to pay the hefty 24 kroner per bus ride (about $5). Luckily, my friends and I know a few tricks. When we got on the bus, my friend and I went on at the same time. My friend fumbled getting out her pass while I walked right by with mine. As I walked, I handed off my pass to Liz without the bus driver knowing. Worked like charm every time. When we arrived to the DIS party, more trickery took place. For the party you needed a school ID to get in, which Liz didn't have. My friends and I told her to just say she lost her ID. Of course, the lie worked. The guy checking her in asked her how she gets into the building and suggested she get a new one. For part of the night, my friends and I joked with Liz saying she really should get a new ID. Our first stop at the event was the free gourmet cupcakes from Anges Cupcakes. These cupcakes were AMAZING!! After our difficult cupcake choice was over, we went to go find a seat to talk. As we were sitting around, my friend Ari and Catherine decided it would be a good idea to go karaoke. At first Liz and I weren't too sure about singing karaoke, but we eventually were fine with it. Around 10pm, our turn was up. We walked confidently onto the stage ready to sing Britney Spear's "Baby One More Time." As we were up there, the crowd was singing with us. After, I couldn't believe I just finished doing karaoke because I never thought I would karaoke! Big step for me! The rest of the night was going out.

Singing "Baby One More Time"

Saturday, April 2nd
Today was a full day of showing Liz around. Our first stop for the day was Rosenborg Castle. During our tour through the castle, we saw several of King Christian IV's favorite rooms, such as the Long Hall. The best part of our tour was the Treasury! From the Crown jewel collection we saw Christian III's sword, King Christian IV's crown, brooches and many other items.

King Christian IV's Crown

After, we walked around King's Garden and enjoyed the booming flowers. Our next stop of the day was the Trinity Church and the Round Tower. Due to the wonderful weather, the view was amazing. As we were by the Round Tower, we noticed a homemade jewelry market. Of course, Liz and I had to stop and look. Liz and I walked away with a pair of semi-precious green Chalcedony stones. Of course, a trip to Denmark wouldn't be complete without a traditional Danish. On the way to Kongens Nytorv, we picked up a Danish and sat at Højbro Plads/Amager Market and High Bridge Square. As I sat there enjoying the street musicians, eating my Danish, and soaking up the sun, my love for Copenhagen grew.

Next, we went to Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn. The trip to Nyhavn was the first time I have walked along the harbor during Spring weather. Seeing the colors of the houses in the sun, the outside cafe seating, and the many people sitting on on the edge of the pier was a whole new experience. Nyhavn truly is one of my favorite spots in Copenhagen. During our walk along the harbor, we made a spontaneous decision to go on a canal tour. The sights we saw on the tour included the Opera House, Little Mermaid Statue, Christiansborg Palace, Christiania, and Amalienborg. The last stop of the day was the infamous Little Mermaid Statue. The rest of the evening was hanging out and showing her the Copenhagen night life.

Hoosiers on Nyhavn

Little Mermaid!

Sunday, April 3rd
The day started off with me attending a Danish mass with Liz. Once mass was over we were greeted with rain, but we didn't let this ruin our day. Since we were near Frederick's Church (The Marble Church), we ventured inside. The interior was stunning. Christiania, was our next site.

Christiania is a self-proclaimed neighborhood in Christianshavn. The town is regulated by its own special laws. The area is filled with graffiti. As we neared the street, pusher street, we were greeted my multiple signs that said no photos. In order to protect the pot sellers located on the street, photos aren't allowed.

Our next destination was Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour). After looking inside, we headed towards The Black Diamond, Christiansborg Palace, the Royal Garden and the Riding grounds. The rest of our downtown time consisted of getting bagel sandwiches (bagels in Budapest are nonexistent), eating gelato, and walking along Strøget. We embraced our inner child by playing in the Lego Store. During our walk, we noticed a candy store with a section called "Taste of America." On this wall one would find Doritos, Reese's, fluff (even strawberry fluff) and bubble yum. Like anything American in Copenhagen, the items in the "Taste of America" will cost you. Two Reese's were about $4.

Banana chocolate, brownie and kiss and tell chocolate gelato

On Monday, Liz left to go back to Budapest. Saying goodbye to Liz was sad. I really enjoyed having someone from home come to visit me and showing her around the city. I'm glad she came to visit!

I AMsterdam

2011-03-28T02:25:00.000-07:00

A Friday with no classes meant another weekend to travel around Europe. This weekend's destination: Amsterdam. A group of 7 of us (Ari, Angela, Catherine, Esther, Eric, Alex and I) left Thursday evening to start our weekend trip. After our flight landed around 9pm, we ventured to our hostel. Our hostel was in a great location, about 10 minutes from Central Station, and in the center of Amsterdam. Around 10pm all of us except Ari (she had an earlier flight) made it to Hotel Our Home, the hostel we were staying in. As soon as we opened the door of our hostel, we were greeted by the steepest stairs any of us have seen in a while. Our first was reaction was just to stand there laughing. Eventually, we went to check-in and met Ari. After we were checked in Eric, Esther, Angela, and I went to walk around the area near our hostel. As we were walking, Eric saw a street that had a lot of lights on so we decided to walk down the street. Within a minute, we realized we were in the Red Light District. The street was filled with erotic shops that had videos, costumes, bunnies with penises, and places to watch live porno shows, and of course the women in the windows. As we were near the end of the street, these shop guys said to us, "Girls. American girls like big c***s. We have them. Come licky licky." When they said that we just walked by laughing. After our walk down the Red Light District, we headed back to the hostel.

Friday, March 25th

National Monument in Dam Square

With a busy day ahead of us, we got up early. Before we left, we went downstairs to the kitchen for our home cooked meal: eggs and toast. Afterward, we went on a free 3 and a half hour walking tour. Our tour started at the National Monument in Dam Square. Other sites our tour included were Oude Kerk (The Old Church), The Jewish Quarter, Royal Palace, The Jordaan District, The Dutch East India Company, The Begijnhof Covent, the Widest Bridge and Narrowest House, the tallest point in Amsterdam (1.2 meters about sea level), Nieuwe Kerk (The New Church), numerous canals, and much more. During our tour we were able to get a free sample from a cheese shop since cheese is huge in the Netherlands (Holland). The cheese aged for 2 years and was delicious.

During our tour we learned the following: Oude Kerk (Old Church) is as old as the Red Light District. The location of church in the Red Light District is on purpose because the church sold salvation so they thought the Red Light District was the perfect spot to sell salvation; In the Red Light District the youngest prostitute is 18 years old and the oldest is 82 years old. The 82 year old has a 2 week waiting list. The streets of the Red Light District have the Big Mama street, the Asian street, the pretty girl street and the structural street. Don't take pictures of any of the women. If you take a picture of one woman, all of them will come beat you up; the Royal Palace has been under renovation since 2006 and was expected to end in 2009. Sadly, the plan has not been going well. The palace originally started as a town hall; the houses in Amsterdam lean because they city is built on mud. In order to stop the houses from moving more, pillars have been added into the foundation.

above: The Sin statue outside the Oude Kerk

right: The group at Begijnhof Covent

in front of 1 of the 1,082 canals in Amsterdam

After our tour, we went to get lunch in Leidseplein. This square is known as the entertainment square. As we eating lunch, we were able to watch men break dance and an African band perform music and martial art dancing.

While in the square I couldn't resist trying the traditional frites. Anywhere we walked in Amsterdam, we saw a place to buy frites, which are just french fries in a paper cone with a topping on it. Usually the topping sauce is frite sauce, which is similar to mayonnaise. Although, other toppings are available. I thought the frites were okay. I wasn't a huge fan of the sauce, but what is traveling without experiencing the food culture of the city?

Anne Frank House

Afterward, we went to the Anne Frank House. Seeing the house was surreal. I can't believe 8 people stayed in the Secret Annex for two years. During our tour, we saw actual pieces of the wall that showed the growth of the children, the posters Anne Frank hung on her bedroom wall, the actual toilet from the home, the actual attic still intact, the Oscar awarded to Shelley Winters for her performance in the film The Diary of Anne Frank, and the actual diaries Anne Frank wrote in. It was a great experience to see the house and envision what life was like for the 8 people living in the house. To think that a many pieces in the house are still intact.

After about an hour and a half in the Anne Frank House, we headed back to the hostel to relax and figure our the rest of the night.

The rest of our night included walking around the main area of Amsterdam. Since Ari, Alex and Catherine didn't see the Red Light District at night, we went back down the street.

Red Light District

Church of St. Nicholas

Saturday, March 26th

My last full day in Amsterdam was another busy day. In the morning, Angela and I met Angela's friend and then went to the Keukenhof Gardens, which are also known as the Garden of Europe. The park is the largest flower garden in the world. According to the Keukenhof website, approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the park, which covers an area of 31 hectares.

The weekend we went was opening weekend so a lot of the flowers didn't bloom yet. Either way the garden was gorgeous. During our 2 and a half hour walk through the garden was saw tons of flowers, swans and a wooden windmill. We also embraced our inner children and went to the kid section of the park. There we enjoyed looking at sheep, bunnies and baby pigs.I really enjoyed my time at the Keukenhof Gardens and I glad I went since the gardens are only open March to May.

After the Keukenoff Gardens, the three of us headed back to Amsterdam to meet up with the rest of the group. Our first stop before we met them was the infamous "I amsterdam" sign. Trying to take a picture with the sign was difficult since so many people were there. Luckily, I was able to get at least one without tons of people.

While waiting for the rest of the group, Angela's friend showed us around the area. We walked around Museumplein (the area with the "I amsterdam" sign), Vondelpark, and Hoofstraat (the street with the most expensive stores and the location of the only Tiffany's in the Netherlands). When we finally met up with the group, Ari, Esther, Catherine, Alex, Eric and I headed to the Heineken Experience.

The Heineken Experience was awesome!! One of the first things we did was try to fit 6 of us into the old Heineken label to take a photo. After our photo shoot, our 2 hour long walk through the old brewery began. During our experience we saw old bottles, the different phases of the Heineken logo, the gold medal Heineken was awarded in Paris, the ingredients included in Heineken, the old brewing room, part of the bottling process, the Heineken horses and stables, soccer jerseys of the teams Heineken has sponsored, and much more. We even got to go on a simulated ride that made us go though the brewing process. Halfway through our tour we got a free tasting. During one point, we even played a game to see if we are beer pouring masters. Our tour ended with 2 free drinks in the Heineken bar.The Heineken bar was a lot of fun. The TVs around the wall showed pictures of many famous cities around the world.

Once our Heineken Experience was over, we walk around a little more on a mission to find some dinner. Since most of us had to catch a flight at 9:35am on Sunday, we had a relaxing night of just walking around.

My time in Amsterdam was a lot of fun. I didn't know a lot about Amsterdam before I booked my trip so I wasn't sure how much there was to see. After looking up information on the city and going to Amsterdam, I quickly realized there was tons to see. The city was so pretty with the different buildings and the endless canals.

Field Study to Crowne Plaza

2011-03-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

For my core class, European Business Strategy, I went to the Crowne Plaza hotel. The trip to the hotel was our second field study. At the hotel, we learned about what makes this hotel so different from the other hotels in the chain. The biggest differentiation factor is the hotel's sustainable efforts. Originally, the management of Crowne Plaza wasn't too thrilled with Copenhagen's hotel desire to be sustainable, but now the Copenhagen Crowne Plaza receives a substantial amount of press. During our visit we received a 40 minute speech telling us about the hotel. The hotel's sustainable efforts include: using solar panels; recycling food for other purposes; having the house wine that is almost completely recycled (everything except the actual wine); and using lights that have microphone sensors, which will turn on lights when sound is heard. After our speech, we got to tour 3 rooms. We saw the normal room, the club room (a little bigger than the normal room), and a large room on the top floor. The rooms were amazing! I wish I could have stayed there. After the tour, our field study was over.

Visit to the Visiting Family

2011-03-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I had another chance to eat dinner with my visiting family. I went over to their house for a traditional Danish meal. The meal consisted of frikadeller, 2 kinds of potatoes, and red cabbage. After dinner, we sat around talking before dessert. When I went over to their house, I brought with me gummy bears from Albanese Candy my mom sent to me in my care package. Before giving them the gummy bears I hoped they would like candy from my home. Luckily, the family loved the gummy bears. The boys couldn't stop eating them. The rest of the night was sitting around talking to the family and watching the Danish news with Inger and Neils.

During dinner, I told them my mom sent me a care package. First, they asked me what a care package is. I told them it was things, my mom sent me that I was missing from home, such as bright colored clothing and Reese's. Then they asked me what Reese's are. Since I know Europeans don't like peanut butter I knew telling my visiting family about Reese's was going to be funny. When I told them Reese's are peanut butter covered in chocolate, the family looked at me with a kind of grossed out look and then the mom said that sounds gross. I just had to laugh and say it's an American thing.

I had a wonderful evening with my visiting family and I can't wait to see them again.

F.C. København vs Brøndby

2011-03-27T11:36:00.000-07:00

Back in the States, our sports world revolves around several sports, such as football, baseball and basketball. The thought of having soccer as a main sport to watch hasn't really crossed the mind of many people. Here in Europe, football (soccer) is THE SPORT!

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get a free ticket to the F.C. F.C. København vs Brøndby game on Sunday, March 20th. If you are enrolled in a Danish class at our school, you got a free ticket from your Danish class. I'm not in Danish, but my friend gave me her extra ticket. That night a group from my floor and I went to the game. At 6pm, the match started. Football matches here are 90 minutes long and have half time at 45 minutes. During the first half, Copenhagen wasn't doing too well. When Copenhagen had the ball, Brøndby would take possession right away. At the end of the half, Copenhagen was down 0-1. Although, the second half got interesting. Within the first few minutes, Copenhagen found their momentum and tied up the game. Not much longer, Copenhagen scored again. The crowd is now going crazy with streamers and cheers! Since F.C.K. was winning, my friend and I decided to leave a few minutes early so we could go buy an F.C.K. scarf. By us leaving early we missed the final goal of the game...luckily made by Copenhagen making the final score 3-1.

During the game, I noticed one thing. The fans here cheer like crazy!! The entire game, the F.C.K. fans were cheering. The fans even had the cheers coordinated. One side of the bleachers would say one thing and the other side would respond. On top of that, the fans had several cheers! My friends and I joked how the Danish football fans put the American sport fans to shame.
Although all the cheers were in Danish so none of us could join in. This would be another point I knew how to speak Danish.

The night was a lot of fun!! I am so happy I can say I have been to a European football game!

Random Fact: My visiting family told me that the Brøndby fans have to get their fingers scanned before coming into games because of the trouble they cause. Since the system was new, the Brøndby fans boycotted the game we went to.

St. Patrick's Day in Copenhagen

2011-03-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

On St. Patrick's Day in the States one would see people dressed in green, leprechauns, shamrocks, gold coins and green beer all over the place. Walk around Copenhagen on St. Patrick's Day, the chances of you running into a person dressed in green with a shamrock painted on their face, is slim, with the exception of Americans and the Irish. Celebrating St. Patrick's Day is definitely an American thing. Back home, I would find decorations in stores weeks before St. Patrick's day. Here in Copenhagen, I barely saw any. When some of my friends were walking around with their leprechaun hats on, Danes looked at them like they were crazy. During the day students said that people came up to them asking what they were celebrating.While the holiday isn't widely celebrated in Copenhagen, some Danes still join in on the festivities. Although the Danish culture doesn't widely acknowledge St. Patrick's Day, my friends and I lived the American way and went to the Irish bar, Irish Rover. The night was a lot of fun. The bar was filled with Americans, Irish, and a few Danes. At the bar an Irish band played traditional Irish songs along with some classics. Of course the night would not be complete without drinking an Irish beer...Guinness to be exact. Whether or not St. Patrick's Day is viewed as a holiday to celebrate, the night was a lot of fun!

Edinburgh, Scotland...A Haunted City

2011-03-17T13:09:00.000-07:00

On top of the wonderful time I had in London, my friend Becca and I went to Edinburgh for the weekend. Before going o Edinburgh, I never imagined myself visiting the city at this point in time of my life. In the end, I loved my trip to Edinburgh. The city is filled with the old-world charm of stone buildings and cobble-stoned streets, awesome Scottish accents, beautiful views at all angles, and of course more Harry Potter references.

March 11^th

My trip to Edinburgh continued right after my trip to London, which made getting to my flight a little stressful. I had to make a mad dash from Wimbledon in my business suit with a 15 pound backpack to the train station to catch an express train to the airport. Luckily, I made it to the airport with 30 minutes to spare before the gates closed. Although, the flight was delayed for 40 minutes due to traffic. I arrived at the hostel later in the evening. Once I was settled in, I went to dinner and walked around the area near the hostel. Our hostel was in a great location, 5 minutes from the Edinburgh Castle, in the city center, and had a lot of bars and restaurants near it. Since Becca and my flights were at different times, due to flight availability, I had to explore by myself. When Becca finally arrived she dropped her bags off and then we went out to the bar Three Sisters down the street.

March 12^th

A day full of exploring! At 10am, Becca and I decided to walk around the area near us, where we saw a cute little market. At 11am we went on the free walking tour our hostel held. Some of the sights on the walking tour included: Greyfriars Kirkyard which is one of the most haunted cemeteries (apparently Edinburgh is one of most haunted cities in the world); George “Bloody” Mackenzie tomb; George Herriot's School which inspired the design of Hogwarts from Harry Potter: Greyfraris Bobby statue; The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter;

National Galleries of Scotland; St. James Monument; North Bridge; St. Giles Cathedral; the heart spot on the ground on the Royal Mile. This spot is where people used to pay taxes and today it’s the only spot legal to spit in Edinburgh. Of course I had to spit in the heart; Deacon Brodie’s Tavern; The Scotch Whiskey Experience; the Edinburgh Castle; the Last Drop bar, which is where people would have their last drink before they were hung; Maggie Dickson’s Pub. After the tour was over, we went shopping before our next tour: City of the Dead. The tour took us to area near the South Bridge and into the underground vaults of the South Bridge. Before we entered the vaults, our tour guide told us the vaults were some of the most haunted places in Edinburgh and that the show Ghost Hunters has filmed segments here. Going into the ground and 1^st level wasn’t too bad, but going to the 2^nd level was the most frightening part. Before we went up the second level, our tour guide gave us a little speech. He hold us that many people who enter the vaults don’t like to go up to the 2^nd level because weird and freaky events happen up there. Since he needed the money, he was going to take us up there. The next thing he told us was if we feel a cold spot, not just cold because we are in Scotland, but tingling and the feeling of needles, then we should move. If we get the same feeling twice, we should get his attention right away because one of two things is going to happen. Either we are going to faint or going to get scratched by the spirits in the room. When he told the group this, Becca and I looked at each other with the look “he has to be kidding,” and “what did we get ourselves into.” Our time on the 2^nd level wasn’t too bad, just a little freaky. Of course to heighten the tense atmosphere, our tour guide told us 2 stories: one being about a little girl being led by the black spirit into a corner and another boy being badly scratched. Luckily, Becca and I both came out of the tour without scratch. Our next stop for the day was the Scotch Whiskey Experience. During our experience, we took a ride in a whiskey barrel to learn about the whiskey making process, sampled one kind of whiskey, and saw the largest whiskey collection in the world, which contains 3,384 bottles.

Afterward, we went shopping on the Royal Mile and Princes Street to find the cashmere scarves Scotland is known for, which was a successful mission. For dinner, Becca and I decided to go to the restaurant Mums and eat haggis like our tour guide at the hostel suggested. Before I ate haggis, I had no idea what it was and was told not to find out. Not knowing what haggis was, I would say that the meal mashed with the neeps and tatties was okay. After finding out haggis is sheep liver, heart, and lungs minced with onions, oatmeal, suet, salt, spices and mixed with stock, I won’t ever be eating that again. Later in the night we went out to 2 clubs down the street, both being the complete opposite of each other. Opium played rock and metal music to dance to whereas Sneaky Pete’s played techno. Never in my mind did I imagine I would be dancing to metal music, but the night was a lot of fun.

March 13^th

The first thing we did on our last day in Edinburgh was the Edinburgh Castle.

During our walk through the castle we saw the Great Hall, National War Museum of Scotland, The Regimental Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and the Military Prison. By far the best items we saw at the castle were the Honours of Scotland, the nation’s crown jewels. The jewels were amazing!! After the castle, Becca and I walked along the Royal Mile to pass time. On our walk we stopped at Fudge House to get some fudge. We kept walking down Canongate and ended up at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen’s Palace in Scotland. We only walked around the outside of the Palace.

Across the street was the Scottish Parliament. Near the palace was Holyrood Park. In the park is the Salisbury Crags, a large cliff. Since Becca and I had time before we needed to go back to the hostel, we decided to walk up the cliff. The view from the cliff was amazing!! You could see a wonderful view of most of Edinburgh. At 2pm we left the wonderful city of Edinburgh.

Mind the Gap...A Week in London

2011-03-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

From March 6^th to March 11^th, I was in London for my long study tour. The week was filled with academic visits, cultural tours, sightseeing adventures, and Harry Potter references. I learned how to navigate the tube, ate fish and chips (fries), learned to squeeze my way into a jammed backed tube during rush hour, and of course to mind the gap. To add the the amazing week of activities, the weather was nothing, but perfect and sunny!

March 6^th

In the early hours of the morning, 5:40am to be exact, a group from my housing and I left for the airport. At 6:45am, we had to be at the airport to meet our core course. At 9.35am, we arrived into London to begin the amazing week. After we checked into our hotel, we were off to lunch for the traditional fish and chips. Although, the fish was more like frozen fish sticks. After lunch we headed off the British Museum for a guided tour. Random people attempted to join our tour, but our tour guide continued to say this is a private tour. As a joke for other tours, our group would say this is a private tour. At the museum we saw several exhibits, such as the mummy exhibit. One of the best items we saw was the Rosetta Stone. At one point our group was trying to take a picture of the stone, but some guy was in our way. So my group and I decided to wait, but this guy decided to intently look at the Rosetta Stone as if he was reading it. All of us just laughed and tried to get him out of the way. Eventually he did and we were able to get our picture. After the British Museum, we went back the hotel. The rest of the night, Libby, Becca, Maria, Esther, Dafna and I went out to dinner and a bar.

March 7^th

Today was the first day we experienced the tube during rush hour. The tube during rush can be compared to canned sardines, jammed back. Traveling with a group of 20 doesn’t make traveling easy in general, but trying to smash all of us into the tube was a difficult task, but was accomplished. Our first stop for the day was the Danish Chamber of Commerce in London. Afterwards, we had time for lunch. A group of us went to Harrod’s to explore the shopping, Egyptian escalator, and food market. Once our lunch break was over, our class split into two groups for our next visits. My group went to the Bank of England Museum then Llyods of London. The Bank of England museum was kind of boring so Esther, Tom, Maria, Dafna, Dan and I went down the street to Leadenhall Market, which used to represent the area of London near The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley in the film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Our academic visit to Lloyd’s of London was interesting. We heard about some of the crazy items insured, such as America Ferrera’s smile for $10 million and Madonna’s singing voice. We also received a tour of the building, which included going in their outside glass elevators to view the top of the city. The archicture of Lloyds is extremely interesting in the fact that the items, such as the heating and cooling and elevators, are outside of the building in order to save space inside. After our academic visit was dinner at the Indian restaurant, Banglore Express. This was the first time I have had Indian food and it was amazing!

After dinner was a trip to the London Eye, the highlight of my evening. Walking to the London Eye was amazing! The walk was magnificent with blue lights adorning the trees and the London Eye glowing blue. The time on the London Eye was even better! For 20 minutes we got to see the city light up on a crystal clear night! After the London Eye, was going out of the night.

March 8^th

Two Words: Biking Tour. One of the best events of the day was our 3 hour Fat Tire Bike Tour. We couldn’t have had a better day to go biking…clear skies and sunny. Along with the amazing weather, we saw so many sights. We saw Kensington Palace, Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House(where Prince Charles lives), Trafalgar Square, Parliament (Big Ben), St. James Park and Horse Guards. One word of caution: riding a bike and trying to take one handed pictures may not be the best idea. Several times pedestrians almost got run over or I almost fell off my bike. After our amazing bike tour, we walked for an hour to lunch. Why we walked, who knows since there were tons to tube stations everywhere. When we got to lunch our professor commented on how much all of us were smiling. We told her because we loved the bike tour and didn’t want it to end. Later we split up into small groups for our academic visit. My group and I went to Christie’s Education.

After, Libby, Esther, Becca, Maria and I went to King’s Cross to go see Platform 9 and ¾ and eat dinner. That night, a majority of our class went out to a club together. Going out together was a lot of fun and a great way for all of us to bond. This way by far of my favorite days in London.

March 9^th

Our first stop for the day was to Westminster Abbey. When we arrived at Westminster Abbey all of us were under the impression we were going to receive a tour of the church, but wrong we were. Our tour guide told us that Westminster Abbey was closed until 11am because of Ash Wednesday Services. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay until 11am because we had to go to our next visit. Instead, we toured the area around Westminster Abbey. Our next stops for the day were the National Portrait Gallery and lunch at The Smith’s Square Bar and Restaurant. Since we didn’t have any academic visits for the day, we were free to leave the group at 2:30pm. Becca, Libby, Maria, Esther, Dafna, and I left to go explore for the rest of the day on our own. Our exploration took us to Kensington Palace, where we saw the Enchanted Palace Exhibit. The exhibit guided us through the palace, which was gorgeous. Each of the rooms were princess setups. The rest of our day included tea time at the Orangery and shopping on Oxford Street.

March 10^th

The Imperial War Museum was the first stop of the day. At the museum we saw the different tanks and guns used by the British military, and a Holocaust exhibit. After the museum we had free time so Tom, Dafna, Libby, Becca, Esther, Maria and I went to Notting Hill/ Portobello Road since some scenes from the movie Notting Hill were shot here. The town was so cute. One street had different colored houses painted in pastel colors. Later was our academic visit with Green Baby. After we had some time to relax and get ready, our class went to dinner and to see the musical “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion Theatre. When we got to the theatre, our professor was still at the ticket booth, which was weird since she left dinner early. Apparently the theatre didn’t have our tickets for the show because they booked us for May 10^th. Susanne is a quiet and soft spoken person in general, but Anders told us she made a scene and got us our tickets. The musical was a little weird, but was still good. After, we all went out.

March 11^th

Sadly, our last day in London. The only thing we did for the day was take a trip to Wimbledon!! Our hour long tour included FJ Perry statue (the last British man to win Wimbledon); FJ Perry statue (the last British man to win Wimbledon); the player reception desk. During Wimbledon all players must check in and if they fail to check in they are fined 2,000 pounds; the press room where the players are required to have an interview. If the players don’t show up for an interview they are fined 10,000 pounds. During our time in the press room we got to sit in the chair the players sit in for interviews!!! AWESOME!

Centre Court which is where the main match happens. When we were there, we got to sit in the original seating which is where the press sits today;Court 18 the location of the longest tennis match in the world between John Isner and Nicolas Nahut, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes and required 183 games, Area where the big Screen is placed; Court 1; Southern end of courts. After our tour, we got a presentation from Richard Atkinson, the CFO of Wimbledon and then time in the Wimbledon Lawn Museum. The museum was really interesting. We got to see racquets for the early ages, uniforms from the early ages, the different stages of tennis balls, and uniforms from champions. Although, the best thing we saw was the actual trophies the winners receive!! Going to Wimbledon was amazing! My trip to Wimbledon was a highlight. I can now say that I sat at Centre Court, sat in the player interview seat, saw the trophies of Wimbledon and TOUCHED the grass of a Wimbledon Court. After my time at Wimbledon, I had to rush out at 12:30pm to catch my flight for Edinburgh.

You can find more pictures of my trip here

Or here

This was my second trip to London, the first time being in the summer of 2007 for a day and a half. Having more time in London made me fall more in love with the city. I truly had some highlights of my life during this trip.

Gay Bar Excursion

2011-03-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Having the opportunity to go on field studies with my classes has provided me with experiences I never thought I would have. Case in point, my most recent field study. My fourth field study was for my Gender and Sexuality class. For the field study, we had to go somewhere I never pictured myself going...a gay bar. Before the class headed to the variety of gay bars located in Copenhagen, we met at the center desk of the school to split into small groups and to learn about our assignment. My group consisted of 4 other girls and one guy. Part of the field study was for the group to ask someone in the bar questions about homosexuality in Denmark. Once our groups were assigned and we had our assignment sheets, we were off to our assigned destination. My group was assigned the bar Centralhjørnet, the oldest gay bar in Copenhagen. When we walked in our group definitely got the look of "what is this group doing here." In the beginning, there were only 3 older men and the bartender. We went to sit at a table in the back corner of the bar to figure out the best way to approach asking someone in the bar questions. First, we went to get a round of drinks since DIS was paying for one free drink. As we were ordering our drinks, the bartender started joking with us. Because of this, we decided he would be the best person in the bar to interview. We had to ask him questions about what it means to be a homosexual in Denmark, is there a gay identity in Denmark, does he participate in the homosexual political movement, and what is dating life like. Through our interview we found out he doesn't really participate in the political movement, the way people view homosexuals is up to them and will vary from person to person, there is not a gay identity that homosexuals live up to in Denmark, and that when gays want to hit on someone they don't buy drinks they just go straight up to the person and say "you want to fu**." After we finished asking him the interview questions we just talked to him to get to know him better. We found out that he has been working in drag for 30 years (since we have 15!). Because of this he has lived in German quite a few times. One thing he found weird about his drag job was that he would find out 2 years in advance where he was going to be living. He also told us why Danes don't partake in small talk. He said that when Danes have a conversation with someone, they want the conversation to mean something and have depth. For them, small talk seems fake. Although that doesn't mean they won't talk to someone new, others just have to initiate the conversation.Interviewing the bartender was a lot of fun for my group and I.

At 9:15pm we had to head back to school so we could discuss our bar experiences. Overall the night was different and interesting, but still fun.

Second Visit with the Visting Family

2011-03-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

On February 27th, I finally I got to see my visiting family again. Since they were on ski vacation for a week and had busy schedules, I haven't had the chance to see them in a few weeks so it was nice to meet up with them again. For our visit, they took me out to brunch and showed me around town. When my family picked me up, the mom told me they wanted to take me to a nice cafe near me, but it was too crowded. Instead, they were going to take me to a place the boys like to go. The restaurant the boys love is called O's American Breakfast and Barbecue. When we arrived at the restaurant I had to laugh a little. Of all the cafes and restaurants to go, we went to a place that served American food...a little ironic. I told the mom I have been wanting to try the food here since I pass the restaurant every day on my way to school. In a way I was a little curious about the food. Was it really going to be similar to American food? Were the pancakes they offered going to be the large and fluffy like the ones in the US? As I ordered my food, I was excited to try the pancakes, sausage, and hash browns. To my pleasant surprise the food was very similar and delicious...exactly what I have been craving. After our delicious brunch, the family drove me to the harbor where the son of Jørn Utzon designed a cool looking building. We also drove around the area where the American Ambassador lives and other million dollar homes. The million dollar homes in Copenhagen are different from the US in regards to size and grandeur. In general, homes are smaller and less flashy, which is a result of Danish culture's desire to not flash wealth. Either way the houses are extremely nice and near the water. Afterward, they dropped me off since the father had soccer practice.

One of the Lucky Few

2011-03-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

On February 23rd, I had my third field study, which was for my Copenhagen history class. Now, this field study wasn't to just anywhere it was to Amalienborg Palace. That's right the home of the Royal family!!!

Our field study started out with us walking around the area of Frederickstown. We saw several sights, such as Nyboder (the old naval houses) and Citadel (a bastion still in place). After we walked around for an hour, the most interesting part of the field study began.

When we go to Amalienborg Palace, our professor told us we were very lucky because tours of Amalienborg aren't open to the public. In order to get a tour, you have to apply and be approved ahead of time. When we began our tour we had to put all our coats and bags in a coat room. We had to wear blue plastic booties, like the ones doctors have to wear, over our shoes and we weren't allowed to bring our cameras with us. These precautions were taken in order to preserve the palace since many pieces of the palace are still intact from the 1700s and 1800s. Our tour guide showed us around and told us about the palace for a little over an hour. Also during this time, we were followed around by the palace security.

Amalienborg Palace was MAGNIFICENT. Originally the palace was built for four noble families, but when Christiansborg Palace burnt down in 1794, the Royal family bought the palaces. Many of the rooms, such as the China room, had tapestries on the walls that have been there since the day they were hung. An interesting fact we learned about the tapestries in the China room was the artist who designed the pictures never went to China. Another interesting fact, artists were involved in tapestry making since they were the ones who designed the sketch of the scene and the sewers were the ones who created the tapestry from the sketch. We saw several other rooms, such as the Grand Hall. The Grand Hall was GORGEOUS! The rocaille was made of wood and gold. Our tour guide told us that carving out of wood required some of the best skill, which made the wood carving very expensive. Having gold along with the wood made the rocaille extra expensive. Another room we went into had an interesting story about the tapestry on the wall. When the fabric was chosen for the room, the family believed there was enough fabric to adorn the walls and furniture. As the family was close to finishing the wall, the fabric ran out. In order to hide the mistake, a painting from painting archives was hung. Amalienborg has to be one of my favorite palaces I have seen. Unlike many palaces, the interior wasn't cluttered with paintings and furniture. The interior was simple, but still displayed wealth and magnificence with the fabrics, paintings, flooring, gold, and tapestries.

Oh, did I mention I was in the same room as Margerthe II, THE QUEEN OF DENMARK?!?! Well, kind of. Although the house we were in is not regularly used by the Royal family, the Queen periodically goes to the building or uses it for special occasions, such as the Grand Hall for New Year's celebrations. As we were in the China room, someone opened the door. Our tour guide and the man started speaking in Danish. Then the door was shut again. Later, our tour guide told us that the man who opened the door was with the Queen. SO AWESOME!!! I can say I was near the Queen!!

Chelsea Soccer vs FCK (Copenhagen)

2011-02-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

No!!! Come On!!! What are you doing?!? Why are you going that way?!? Go Go Go!!!

Only some of the words being yelled around the common room right now as the Chelsea vs FC Copenhagen soccer (excuse me football) is underway in the first half. Sitting at the edge of our seats and shouting, my fellow floor mates and I cheer for our respective team. As the first half is underway Copenhagen is down with a score of 0-1. Chelsea has been having a lot of possession of the ball. Oh no Chelsea is getting close to the goal. ”Where are his teammates?!?” has just been shouted. Sadly, the game isn’t looking too good right now for Copenhagen.

The second half is underway. Chelsea is up 0-2. Wow these refs don’t know how to make any calls. A player from Copenhagen just got fouled, but of course there was no call. Twenty minutes left in the game, the intensity in the game and in the common room has just been heightened. Come on Copenhagen get your act together there is less than 20 minutes left in the game. All they need to do is score at least 1 so they don’t lose by 2 points. What a sad game. Copenhagen gets procession of the ball, but is unable to make it into the net. Come on Copenhagen!! “You are ruining our evening” was just shouted…clearly a frustrating game for us in the common room. Last seconds of the game “SHOOT”!!!!!! Well, that’s the end of the game…Copenhagen lost by 2. Many sad/frustrated people in the common room right now.

Random shouts

“Chelsea is not the children of God. Sons of the Devil”

“You are ugly”

Adventures in Berlin

2011-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend I traveled to the awesome city of Berlin with some friends (Ari, Alex, Claire, and Eli) from my floor. My friend Liz, who is currently studying abroad in Budapest, met us at the airport on Friday. It was so surreal to see Liz in Berlin rather than in Bloomington. For the most part, everything went smoothly…well besides the fact that I thought like I was missing something or lost something, such as my Danish transportation pass, almost every minute. Of course there was the feeling of burning through cash. The way I look at this trip is it's a learning experience for my trips to come. Either way, Berlin was wonderful.

Friday evening we left to catch our flight. We arrived in Berlin around 10:30pm and made our way to the Wombat Hostel. We were given instructions on how to get there so we thought “oh hey these instructions should be helpful.” When we got to the train area, we quickly found out they were not clear. Trying to get to the hostel was definitely an adventure. First, we stood in line to get tickets for the train for about 40 some minutes since the people ahead of us kept having problems. Although I can’t complain because the couple ahead of us bought 3 extra tickets and handed them to Ari, Liz and I for free. (each ticket was about 3 Euro). Nice way to start the trip. As we headed toward the train platforms, we couldn’t find the one we needed so we decided to ask the German security guards. They didn't speak English well so it wasn’t as helpful. So we decided to wing it. Finally at 1:30am we made it to the hostel, only after being in Berlin since 11pm.

Saturday morning we went on the free New Berlin walking tour of the city. We saw all the major sites, such as the Branenburg Gate, the most expensive hotel in Berlin (the one Michael Jackson dangled his child Blanket over the balcony), The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, The Berlin Wall, The Former SS Headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie and Museum Island. After the tour we went to the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum, which consisted mainly of ancient Roman and Egyptian items. The museums were okay, but the most interesting item there was Queen Nerfertiti's Bust, which is 3300 years old, and the Pergamon Altar, built by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. Although one of the best things that happened was us getting into both museums for free because Eli sweet-talked the ticket people into believing we were a school group. After the museums we went to this amazing restaurant, Weinhenstephan, to eat traditional German food. The food I ordered was DELICIOUS!!! It was pork, with the restaurant’s homemade beer sauce, potato dumplings, and cracklin’ fresh. After our dinner we went back to the hostel to rest before going out for the night.

On Saturday, Liz, Ari and I went on a tour of the concentration camp, Sachsenhausen. On our way to the camp we made the same walk the prisoners had to make to Sachsenhausen. The camp was surrounded by homes. When the prisoners were taken to the camp, the neighborhood was told the prisoners were going to the camp because they needed sport and work to fix them. The camp was used by the Nazi's from 1936 to 1945 and then by the Soviets until 1950, which made it one of the camps used the longest. During its use, about 200,000 people passed through the camp. Originally the camp was used for political prisoners, but other groups (criminals, homosexuals, gypsies and Jews) came later. The Nazi's used Sachsenhausen as their model concentration camp, ran medical experiments, and also used it as center to counterfeit American dollars and the British pound. It is estimated that 35,000 and 69,000 people were murdered there. During our tour we saw bunkers, the lookout tower, several mass graves, and the shooting range. Sunday evening our group went to the last night of the Berlin International Film Festival, which was located in Potsdamer Platz. We saw a screening of the award winning Spanish film Even the Rain. The movie was about a director filming a movie during the 2000 water crisis in Bolivia. The movie was excellent! After the movie we saw 5 short films.

Monday - Our last day in Berlin. Since Liz had an earlier flight, she left us after our relaxing breakfast. The rest of us made our way to the East Berlin wall. After that we went to the Topography of Terror Nazi history museum. It is located in Niederkirchnerstrasse, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, on the site of buildings which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal instruments of repression during the Nazi era. The museum showed the Holocaust from the perspective of the Nazis. The museum was all photos and documents. After the museum, Ari and I went to the chocolate store, Fassbender & Rausch. The store was amazing!! Inside were chocolate sculptures of Reichstag, Branenburg Gate, and a chocolate volcano. Along with the sculptures there was a 55ft long buffet of chocolates! I couldn’t resist all the chocolate so of course I had to buy some! Ari and I walked around a little before we had to go back to the hostel to begin our trip home. The adventure how was interesting. As my friends and I were walking from the trains to the airport, I had my head turned talking to my friends instead of looking straight. Because of this, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. As I was walking, I was abruptly stopped. Apparently I was going to get in a woman's way so instead of walking an inch to the side she stopped put her arm out and shoved me in my shoulder. My friends and I laughed and couldn't believe she just couldn't walk an inch over. Our time at airport security was so funny. Our friend Eli carries around his mascot for his school, which is a geoduck. When he was going through security, the guards confiscated the geoduck. As we were watching the guards they were smelling the geoduck, swinging it around like it could be used as a weapon, and one was putting lotion on his hands so he could inspect it. The guards even put the geoduck through the scanner. Eventually they let Eli have it back once he explained it was his school mascot.

This trip was my second time visiting Berlin (first time in 2007). Going back for the second time was a different experience. The first time we spent a lot of time on a bus seeing the sites. This time around it was nice to see some of the same sites from a different perspective and have more time in the city. I really enjoyed going back to Berlin.

By the end of the trip I realized how much I love Copenhagen. I was even missing the city..clearly a sign how Copenhagen has made itself my home.

Random Observations:

Musicians love to sing/play on the train. One time late at night there was a man playing a guitar and another playing the saxophone. Another time a girl and a guy got on the metro and sung a song about drinking vodka.
Teenagers love to hangout in the metro/train station at night
Many people bring their dogs on the train or into stores
Germans love the rocker style

In Love

2011-02-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

As the month of February comes to an end, the realization that I’ve been in Copenhagen for a month dawns on me. Many days I think about how quickly the time has gone by, which scares me because of how many things I want to see and do while being here. After being here for one month I can say one thing with the utmost confidence…I love Copenhagen. Yes, the weather is cold, but not as cold as Northwest Indiana. Yes, the sun is barely out, but the days are starting to get longer. While there are downsides of Copenhagen (every city has them), my love for Copenhagen won’t dwindle. I love how Copenhagen isn’t a touristy city. As you walk down the cobblestone streets you won’t be stuck in a swarm of people trying to find a building or find the streets lined with trash. Instead you walk around the surprising small city admiring the architectural features of well-preserved buildings and old world charm while taking in the heavenly smell of the many bakeries adorning almost every corner. The thought of leaving Copenhagen and going back to houses that all look the same, having to drive everywhere, and dirty streets saddens me. For the time being, I will live my life in the charming city of Copenhagen and continue accepting Copenhagen for its differences

Cell Phone: Text messages here are called SMS. QWERTY doesn’t exist on my cheap phone so it’s back to the days of T9. Europe cell phone plans aren’t the same. I am charged for every text and call I send. The price depends on the carrier and the location of the person I am calling and texting. The good thing is I do get free incoming calls and texts.

Danish keyboard: The first time I used a Danish keyboard I encountered a few challenges. For the most part the keys are in similar spots expect the incorporation of 3 extra letters. The trickiest part was trying to figure out how to get the @ symbol to work. Since the keyboard has the Alt button, you would think to press Alt 2 to get the symbol. When I first did that I got a menu. But using the strange Alt Gr button in combination with the 2 button will get you the @ sign. It was funny the first few weeks seeing everyone ask how do you get the @ symbol to work.

Buttons to open the door: Now buttons to open the door may not seem like a big deal, but it’s a little strange to have a button to open the door from the inside. At our school if we want to leave the computer lab or the floor to go to the stairs we have to press a little white button and then use the door handle. At my housing, we also have to press a door button before the door will open.

Night bus: At 1am the normal bus shift ends, which means instead of catching a bus home every 10 minutes, I have to wait 1 hour. Trying to time when you leave a bar to the schedule of the night bus can be a little tricky at times since the time depends on your location.

Prices: 35 for a pastry?! Oh wait that’s in kroner so $7. At first, it took some time getting used to high numbers for small items. Now diving everything by 5 has become a normal occurrence. But, items are still expensive.

Music: The Danes love our Top 40 Music! Many days I have walked into clothing stores on Strøget and heard Michael Jackson. For a while, the song “Black and Yellow” was everywhere. I remember when my visiting dad took me home, we listened to the song in the car. Every once in a while Backstreet Boys, N*Sync or Aqua will come on. Random Fact: the band Aqua originated from Copenhagen.

Squeegee: By the end of the 4 months I will be a pro at squeegeeing floors. As a part of my daily routine I have to squeegee my bathroom floor since my entire bathroom floods due to the fact the shower is free standing.

Yogurt: When you think about buying yogurt the thought of purchasing it in a milk carton wouldn’t cross your mind in the states, but if you are living the Danish way yogurt comes in milk cartons. Even the texture of the yogurt is different. I would compare it to being less thick then the yogurt I eat at home but thicker than a smoothie. Either way the yogurt is delicious and relatively cheap (about $2 for quart).

Dijon mustard: 2 words: abnormally spicy. The first time I made a sandwich, I wasn’t aware of this fact so I put a generous amount on both sides…not good.

Shawarma: Shawarma stands are all over the place. But I guess it’s a good thing for a college student on a budget since they are relatively cheap. Plus, they are delicious!

Hot dogs: Hot dog stands are everywhere! Hot dogs are so popular here that for the no food sign on the bus it’s a hot dog instead of the burger and fries we would see in America.

Tzatziki sauce: The Danes love their tzatziki sauce and they put it on almost everything. For a burrito, tzatziki sauce is put on it instead of the dressings we usually put on them.

Cucumbers: On everything! The other day my friends and I went to get lunch and there were cucumbers on our burgers.

Gummy Candy: Beware gummy candies in Denmark are not as chewy as the ones in the states.

Excursion Around the City...Part 2

2011-02-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

In order to complete my Copenhagen History homework, I spent another two days exploring my new home. With my camera and autoguide in hand I ventured off to more of Copenhagen’s well known sites.

One of my visits was to Trinitatis Kirke/Trinity Church and Rundetårn/ Round tower.

The Round Tower is an unique building in European architecture. There is a 660 foot winding arched access ramp that takes you up to the very top. During my adventure to Rundetårn, I went to the top to observe the city. Of course, I went on an extremely windy day, but the view was amazing. I loved being able to see the whole city. I plan on trying to go back up when Spring comes.

Another stop on my adventure was Gråbrødre Torv/Greyfiar's Square. This square is considered one of Copenhagen's most beautiful squares. Many restaurants and bars surround the area. Once the weather gets nicer, I plan to revisit the square.

Helligåndskirken/Church of the Holy Spirit was another site I was assigned to visit. The church once housed the first hospital in Copenhagen, which was founded in 1295. In 1474 King Christian I expanded the hospital into a four-winged monastery.

The picture to the left is of Amagertor and Højbro Plads/Amager Market and High Bridge Square. During the medieval ages, Amagertor was the site for the market where people would sell vegetables. Højbro Plads is a relatively new square. After the great fire of 1795, the site was left open as a fire protection strip.

This site is known as Kongens Nytorv/King's Square. The statute in the square is of King Christian V, which was the first equestrian statute in Copenhagen. Around the square are several prominent buildings, such as Charlottenborg (one of the very first castles in Copenhagen), Thott Mansion, Harsdoff House, and the Royal Theater.

As my friend and I were walking around this area, architects were uncovering parts of the medieval wall that once was the fortress protecting the city.

Another stop on my assignment was Christiansborg Slotplads/Christiansborg Palace Square. This location is known as the very beginning of Copenhagen. Christiansborg Palace has burnt down twice. The current palace was built in 1928.

Also during the assignment I had to look at the buildings surround the area, such as Bourse and the Naval Church.

Another stop assciated with Christianborg Palace was the Library Garden. The garden was very nice and I can't wait to go back in Spring.

Combined with Christiansbog Palace is Ridebanen/Riding Grounds. In the past, the wings were used as stables. Today, only a few of the wings are used as stables.

One of my favorite stops for the assignment was to Rosenborg Slot/Castle and Kongens Have/Royal Garden. The Royal Garden here is the oldest Royal Garden in Denmark. Rosenborg became Christian IV's favorite home.

I wasn't able to go in the castle at the time, but visiting at later date is a must. The castle houses the Danish royal jewels, artifacts from various reigns and a magnificent hall.

One of the most well known, if not the most, sites is Nyhavn/New Harbor. Nyhavn was built in 1669. Since the harbor has never suffered a fire, Nyhavn preserves many of the houses from the 17th and 18th centuries. At one point in time, Hans Christian Anderson lived at Nyhavn 67. Once the weather is nicer, I place on making many stops to Nyhavn to sit at the edge of the harbor and admire the nice weather.

Short Study Tour - Western Denmark

2011-02-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 3^rd

I left for my short study tour, which is for our program’s core course. My core class is my European Business Strategy class. Our class had to meet that morning at Frue Plads at 8:30, which turned into a problem. The day before we had to leave, we received an email from DIS saying there is a possibility of a bus strike, always a great thing to hear. As my friends and I were leaving that morning we looked to see if we would see a bus going past. Since we saw a bus we thought we were in the clear, little did we know we weren’t. As we got to our normal bus stop we looked to see when our bus (the 14) was going to show up. We saw it would be there shortly so we let the 1A bus go. Thankfully, a nice-old Danish man told us the 1A bus was the only bus running. A few minutes later we caught a bus to take us semi-close to where we needed to be. With our bags in hand we walked a distance to our meeting place. Let me tell you walking in heels on cobblestone streets and my ability to walk in general made that walk feel twice as long as it should. Thankfully we made it to our meeting place to go to Coloplast, our first company for the tour. At Coloplast we received a lecture from 10-noon and a free lunch. The lecture was really interesting. We got to see some of their major products, learn about the company’s values, stories about how the company lives up to its values, and how the company achieves its short term goals. After our presentation we had a 3 hour drive to Skanderborg, which is on the island Jutland. During our drive we saw the second largest suspension bridge. By the bridge was a small island. On this island was a building that was formerly the Institute for Overally Sexual Promiscuous Women. Our 3 hour drive led us to the castle Kolding Hus. By the time we got to the castle, we didn’t have much time to look around. We got a guided tour to learn about the history of the castle and the church.

The best thing we saw there was the Beatles Forever exhibit. We got to see clothing, what a bedroom looked like, posters, magazines and other stuff from the era of The Beatles. We also saw pictures of the Beatles during events, clothing and other items that had The Beatles on it. After our time at the castle, we headed to our hostel for dinner and socializing.

Friday, February 4^th

For the second day of our study tour, we got to visit the company Vestas. When we walked into the presentation room, the company had bags of free stuff for each one of us. YAY!! Got to love free stuff! The presentation was very interesting. Our presenters discussed with us how Vestas used to be focused on winning and profits. In the past, companies would call Vestas saying it would like to order a turnbine. Now Vestas has found itself getting into trouble with is nothing but winning and profits strategy. (I could have told them that…thank you Kelley School of Business for teaching the importance of customers) In order to overcome its difficulties the company has changed its strategy to customer focus. After our presentation was over we had a quick bus ride to downtown Århus where we had lunch and time to explore the city. Århus was a small, but adorable city!

After walking around for a few hours, my friends and I met the rest of the class at the ARoS Museum. What to say about ARoS? I sit here pondering with the words interesting, strange, freaky, weird and amusing crossing my mind. I suppose all those words describe the experience of ARoS. Our group received a guided tour. Our tour guide started us off with paintings, which was by far the most normal exhibit there. Next we got to see the infamous boy statue named BOY.

The temporary exhibit is where things got interesting. The first piece was saw was a sculpture of a baby made out of nothing but margarine. This sculpture has been well preserved for years because of the ingredients in margarine…kind of disgusting to think we eat it…definitely reconsidering eating margarine again. As we were about to go in the next room our tour guide asked if we would want to see it because an earlier DIS group had a student faint. Once we said that our group looked around and had an expression of “what the hell is in this room?” Well this room contained some grotesque sculptures. There were statues of people cut open, Michael Jackson with no head and using his head to give himself head, people covered in blankets, Mickey Mouse’s exploding, Jesus (made out of silicon) all cut up and blooding (but was really a self deception of the artist), a man giving anal to a corpse with only half a body. Strange, very strange. After our guided tour we had time to look around ourselves. Thankfully, the exhibits did not get any stranger. After ARoS was the hostel, and then a night out on the town.

Saturday, February 5^th

The last day of our study tour of course would not be complete without a 3 hour bus drive. As we were leaving one of our trip leaders announced that he brought medication for headaches because he knew we wanted to go out. As we walked down the bus he would ask people who wanted the medication if they wanted to sleep or not to sleep. When he asked people this we just laughed. After our drive we arrived at our location, which consisted of the café we were eating at, Gavnø Slot (Castle) and Føniks Slotsryggeri (Castle Brewery). We received a guided tour of Gavnø Slot (Castle), which really shouldn’t be called a castle because it’s basically a mansion.

After our tour we went over to the brewery for a tour of their brewing process and a taste test of 6 of their beers. Once we finished our session at the brewery we made our way to home sweet Copenhagen.

I had an amazing time on the study tour! It was a great chance for our class to get to know each other, plus we have a really great group of people. I can’t wait for our week long trip to London in March!

First Field Studies

2011-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

On February 2^nd, I had my first two field studies. Field studies are chances for our classes to go to a business, organization, or something else that will pertain to the subject of our class.

My first field study was for my Gender and Sexuality class. Our class went to the NGO Sex& Samfund, which would be similar to Plan Parenthood. Our lecture was from 9am-11am. We started our session off with little ice breakers. We did one game where you would say something about ourselves and if it applies to anyone else they had to step forward in the circle. Another ice breaker we played was we had to say something, a lie or the truth, and everyone had to decide if it was the truth or a lie. My lie was I never drank pop, and everyone was like oh that has to be a lie. When I said it was the truth, they were shocked. After we played some ice breakers we learned about sex education in Denmark. While Denmark is a lot more open about sex than the US and starts sex education early, most teachers and students feel the sex education here isn’t that great. After talking for a little, we played a game where we ranked what we thought was important in sexuality. Another game we played was we had to sit in a seat and our presenter would read something off relating to sexuality. We had to switch seats if we agreed with the statement. Overall the field study was interesting. It was nice to hear about what is sex education is like in Denmark compared to the US. Denmark is more about giving you the right information and knowledge about sex whereas the US is more about trying to convince you not to have it by scaring you with diseases.

Side Note: While being in Denmark, I have noticed how much Denmark isn’t afraid to show sexuality. Recently in class we discussed porn and how many teenagers, starting at like 15, have experiences with porn. Some teenagers will even have porn viewing parties with their friends. Porn can be purchased in 7-Elevens, porn stores, and many other places. Newspapers have page 9 girls, which are girls in very limited clothing telling about themselves, and sometimes topless women on the front page. There are even sex bars where people go to naked and just have sex all over the place.

My second field study was for my European Business Strategy class. We went to the clothing company IC Company. Our presenters told us about the history of the company. The company has 11 brands under its name and most of them are middle ranged priced. At the presentation they told us about the company and the strategy they use to maintain their business. Some of the things the company is doing to maintain its business is focusing on its core competencies, and moving production to China. After the presentation I have seen several of their brands around Copenhagen.

Meeting the Visiting Family

2011-02-01T09:50:00.000-08:00

As a way to help students immerse themselves in the Danish culture, students can live with a host family, have a Danish buddy or have a visiting family. I chose the visiting family option, and I’m thrilled I did. Last night I met my visiting family for the first time. The mom’s name is Inger, the dad is Niels, the daughter is Sarah, and the two sons are Lukas and Elias. I went over to their house for dinner that evening, which included salmon, brown rice, salad and garlic bread. Before dinner, the mom gave me a tour of the house. It was so cute and a typical Danish house with the white walls and the use of paintings to create the cozy feeling. After dinner we had hot chocolate, cookies, chocolate and licorice. During our dessert Sarah was working on her English homework. So Inger, Niels and I tried to help her since she wasn’t sure what to write out. She wasn’t sure what the term paragraphs meant so I told her. Something small like this may not seem like anything important, but I was really happy that I could help and found it interesting. Around 10pm, Niels drove me back to my place since it’s only at 10 minute drive from their house to mine.

Before meeting them I was so excited. At the same time I was nervous because what if we didn’t have enough to talk about or we didn’t get along. I had definitely had nothing to worry about. The whole time I was at their house we never ran out of things to talk about and the family was so nice and sweet!! When I took my shoes off, Inger gave me a pair of her slippers because she didn’t want my feet to get cold, they were telling me all the places they want to take me around the city, and they said if I was interested they would like to try to take me to Sweden for a day so I can go skiing with them!! (AHHH :D) As we were saying our goodbyes, Inger and Sarah gave me a hug (the boys were in bed and Niels was heating up the car)!!!! I had a wonderful time at their house!! I can’t wait to see them again!

Random Observations

2011-02-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

A big thing in Denmark is making people pay for glasses of water in some restaurants. Wrong, just wrong. I don’t understand why it can’t be free. I guess that means I am always going to need to ask the restaurants if the water is free before I order any.

Most Danes are not a fan of 40+ Americans on a bus. One night we were on a bus, of course being loud since some people were drunk and there is 40 some of us, the bus driver told us to stop being so loud. So we started shhing and then some drunk Danes did the same. When we got off the bus the older Danes looked relieved and apparently we even got flipped off. I guess the best thing for our group is to start traveling in smaller groups.

Biking Culture: Cycling is absolutely crazy here! In Denmark, there is a separate lane for cyclists. No matter what time it is there will always be someone on a bike. Some people have big compartments for their children in the front of the bike, younger children will ride bikes with their parents near them or by themself, and some girls will ride bikes in a skirt or heels. I learned quickly to stay out of their way! They don’t really stop for anyone and the bike lane is nothing but dangerous.

That was an Intense Game of Handball

2011-02-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday evening was the handball championship game between France and Denmark. My fellow Tåsingegade floor mates and I sat in our common room watching the game. Let me say this, it was an intense game! Denmark was behind France for most of the game, but in the last few minutes Denmark tied the score. So exciting! Overtime is where the high suspense and crazy began. For a little Denmark was up, and then France scored making it a tied game. At the half of overtime, France was up 34-33. Once half time was over the intensity began again. Luckily Denmark scored tying the game. But sadly, France scored a few more times and ultimately winning the game 38-34 making France repeat world champions.

During the game, I went into my room a few times and I could hear the Danes living above me stomping and yelling at the game.

When we first got here and heard about how big handball is a lot of us kind of laughed about it. Once we started watching some of the games, we couldn’t stop watching. Some of the saves the goalies made during the championship game were insane. Sometimes they would fall into splits just to send the ball in another direction. Also, the goalie for Denmark is only 21…crazy!

Excursion around the City

2011-02-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

For my Copenhagen: History and Contemporary Urban Issues class we were given an assignment to learn the historic legacy behind the city. We were given a guide to Copenhagen history and a map. Our professor told us to have fun and explore the designated areas. The area covered in our assignment is the oldest part of the city, which is referred to as Medieval Copenhagen. With our guide, map and cameras in hand, my friend and I eagerly set out to explore the inner Copenhagen.

Our first stop was the corner of Vestergade/West Street and Rådhuspladsen/ City Hall. This area was the site of the original Vesterport/West Gate. The gate was used by travelers arriving or departing on the road to Roskilde. Today, Rådhuspladen/City Hall Square is Copenhagen’s central square.

These markers are in several places around the city. I have walked past this area a few times and haven't noticed this marker...kind of sad. But the markers indicate where the medieval Copenhagen end.

The second stop was Gammeltorv and Nytov/Old Market and New Market.This area is the oldest square in Copenhagen and was the city’s central square until the construction of Rådhuspladen/City Hall Square. In the square is a fountain with a woman and her children. Apparently, the water will come out of the woman's boobs. My mom told me about this fountain and I told her I don't know where it is, needless to say I walk past it everyday as I get off the bus.

The third destination was Frue Plads/Square of Our Lady (Cathedral Square). We tried to go in the courtyard of the University of Copenhagen, but the door was locked. However, we did go in the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke). The inside is wonderful!

Nørreport/North Gate was our fourth stop. In the Medieval times, this area was the site of the entrance/exit gate to the city for traffic coming from or going to the north-west. Now Nørreport Station stands there. Here we can catch the metro, the commuter train (S-trains), regional trains, and buses. In the future, ventilation towers will be added.

Our final stop for the day was The Ramparts: Israel Plads/Square and Ørstedsparken/Ørsted Park. The park was so pretty. Since the sun was shining, the ice and snow on the lake were glistening. We walked around the park admiring the many statues. Part of our assignment was to observe the shape of the lake, which was a zig-zag since there are remains of the original ditch and bastion.

After we the park we decided to go treat ourselves by going to a bakery. So on our way we walked down the street named Teglgårdsstræde, which is one of the best preserved and most charming Neoclassical neighborhoods in Copenhagen.

After walking down the street we headed towards one of the best, if not the best, bakery in town. As we approached the window of Lagkagehuset Bakery on Strøget, my friends and I were ready for some of the best tasting pastries. Deciding which pastry to eat was a difficult task, but I finally choose the jordbærkage. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! After that dessert, I have decided to try almost everything at that bakery…I mean I do have about 3 and a half more months. After our stop, we went home for the evening.