Norway!

An Epic Norwegian Adventure... complete with couch surfing, sheep, hitch-hiking, cruising through the fjords, and shopping for sweaters :)

It was Thanksgiving last week, so naturally my DANISH school gave us a long-weekend to celebrate. We just got that Friday off classes, but all the kids at my school nonetheless turned this somewhat-longer-than-usual weekend into a full-fledged travel week, myself included.

On Thursday night, I was off to the airport with my friend, Alisha, who I met way in the beginning of the year on my trip to Sweden. She goes to Georgetown and plays frisbee. We bonded. For the Redhots who read this, be impressed, Alisha played on the JUNIOR NATIONALS TEAM and went to the Junior Worlds Tournament her senior year of high school. Now, she's in the running to play on the Nationals Team (since she's no longer a junior). Moral of the story, she's really good at frisbee and a pretty awesome person.

Couch-surfing is pretty much the coolest way to stay at a total strangers house in a foreign city.

Anyway, so Alisha couch-surfs all the time, so she organized all our hosts for this trip and I just followed along, but it ended up being AWESOME. I've decided that I love couch-surfing and want to do it more.

(For those who don't know what couch-surfing is: It's an online site where people post profiles about themselves and offer their couches for travelers to sleep on for free. It's an awesome way to meet people, and really not as creepy as it sounds. You chose your hosts based on age/sex and read reviews from past surfers to see how people liked them).

Example A: Our host in Oslo, Norway: Kjerstin, 25. So our flight got delayed 4 hours due to snow, so we actually didn't get into Oslo until 2:30am Friday morning. We felt horrible about showing up so late at our host's house and contemplated sleeping in the train station to make things easier. Alisha calls Kjerstin to see what we should do. Her response: "That's no problem! I'll be awake. Don't sleep in the train station. It's not safe." So, we arrive at her house just before 3:00am, and we meet the most cheerful, adorable Norwegian girl. She made us bruschetta and tea and chatted away with us. In the morning, (after a solid 3.5 hours of sleep), we wake up to find Kjerstin already awake in the kitchen making us oatmeal and tea. It was great.

What did you do for Thanksgiving? Oh, just went on The Most Beautiful Train Ride in the World. No big deal.

So on Friday, after spending only 4 hours in the dead of night in Oslo (to our dismay...stupid flight delays) we were off to Flåm! We took a 5 hour train ride between the two cities which is rated as The Most Beautiful Train Ride in the World, and it truly was. The train ride was probably my favorite part of the trip. Norway is one of the most (if not THE most) beautiful place I've ever seen. I sat their looking out the window and literally couldn't stop smiling from happiness from how beautiful it was. I'll let the pictures speak for me (although they don't do it justice):

Flåm, Norway: There's always a party when you're staying in a Norwegian mountain town with a population of 25 people

So Alisha and I arrive in Flåm around 2:00pm on Friday, only to realize that EVERYTHINGS CLOSED AND NO ONES AROUND. Hahaha. The town is a tiny little village in the middle of a valley in the Norwegian mountains. In the summer, the place is hoppin'. But in November, when its around 10*F, there doesn't seem to be quite as many people hanging on the beach... We explored around town, which meant walking down a singular street, and walked into the only two buildings that were open: The Flåm Museum (one room) and a cafe. Great. We laughed looking around town and realizing why Alisha couldn't find any couch-surfers to stay with here.

Flåm, Norway

However, all is not lost. We checked into our Bed and Breakfast hotel room, which had the most beautiful view of the fjords. Then, we curled up on the couch and watched a "How I Met Your Mother" marathon (I highly recommend watching the show).

View from our porch

Once it was dinner time, we bundled up and walked to the only open restaurant/bar in town. We were one of 5 people there, including the bar tender. But it ended up being a pretty fun night. We both got cider (delicious) and chatted with the Polish bar tender for most of the night. Plus, he made us a delicious pizza for free :) What's better than free food?? (Especially in Norway...everything is SUPER expensive).

The next morning, we took a hike up to a historic mountain town with buildings from the 17th century. Really cool. Plus, we saw SHEEP!! And we met an old Norwegian man who came to the mountain to pick up his salted sheep leg that's been drying in a shed for the past 2 years. Oh Norwegians.

On our hike back to town, we realized we were cutting time pretty close to catch the ferry to Bergen. It only leaves once a day, so if we missed it, we'd never make it to Bergen. So, what to do other than hitch-hike??? (Mom and Dad, I'm alive. I promise). We figured that this is a quaint mountain town with a population of 25 people... Anyone willing to give us a lift is probably pretty cool. And we were right! After being passed by about 7 or 8 cars (they came by rather infrequently) a guy pulled over for us! Score. He was a 27-year old Norwegian guy who lives one town over from Flåm and was on his way to pick up a friend. Dropped us off in Flåm and we made it to our ferry just in time (literally).

At 3:30pm, we said a sad goodbye to Flåm, as our initial cynicism toward the town turned to love by the end, and were off on our cruise through the fjords to Bergen! We traveled through the fjords at sunset (yes, that's at 4:00pm in Norway in the winter) but it was GORGEOUS. Plus, we went these 3 Spanish guys who were also visiting and on their way to Bergen.

Bergen: A town with people! cafes, beautiful views, and where the mountain sheep have been made into grossly over-priced sweaters.

Once in Bergen (the 2nd largest town in Norway), our host, Kim, came and pick us up from the train station. Awesome. It's pretty cold in Norway in November at 9:00pm at night. So here's the best part about couch-surfing: it gives you a chance to meet the locals and they can show you around town. So Alisha and I walked around town with Kim and we met up with our three Spanish friends from the ferry and we all went out to a bar together and hung-out all night. It was a great time. Plus, Kim treated us to a true Norwegian hotdog on our way home (delicious).

The next day, Sunday, Kim pointed out all the cool sights-to-see in Bergen, and Alisha and I were off bright and early to go sight-seeing. You really can't sleep-in in Norway at this time of year because (no joke) the sun starts setting at 2:00pm and by 4:00 its dark. So, at 9:00am, we were off! We rode a funicular up to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city, and then hiked around and down the mountain. Such a cool view. Then, we found a frozen lake, and had a great time running and sliding on the ice.

We walked around town, stopped at a delicious and adorable cafe, and shopped for sweaters! One of my goals in coming to Scandinavia was to return home with a Norwegian sweater, so I was on the hunt. We looked in every sweater store that was open, and the CHEAPEST sweater I could find was $300. It hurt my heart. Most of the sweaters were $500-$800. WTF Norway?? So alas, I did not buy an $800 sweater. But my heart was nonetheless torn when I flew home with no sweater in hand.

BUT, aside from the ridiculously expensive sweaters (and really expensive everything in Norway), our Thanksgiving weekend trip was a wonderful success and I had an absolutely awesome time. I like Norway. I want to visit again in the summer months.

Biking in Copenhagen!

The story of my first experience biking in Copenhagen:

Following the crowd when you're lost is good advice to live by... Right?

In my first 2 weeks here, my mom had told me, "You know, it's a bit ironic that you just biked 1,800 miles, and now that you're in a city where everyone bikes, you don't have one." Well, just my luck, in my third week here, I got a bike! And by "got" I mean I was given one for free :) A Dane who lives on my hall named Magnus told me he had an old bike that's just sitting outside in the bike parking lot that I could ride. The bike's nothing pretty. Only one break works, the gears don't shift, and the seat's torn. But I don't care. I was just excited to have a bike! Plus, icing on the cake, it was FREE. Magnus showed me which bike it was, gave me the key, and showed me where the closest public tire pump is (right behind my dorm, yessssss). Now I can live like a true Dane! Or so I thought...

So that Saturday, I took the bike for a test ride. I biked my route to school with no problem (to make sure I knew how to get there come class on Monday), then I toured around the town. It was great. No problems. Bike rode great, and I didn't get lost.

So, come Monday, I was excited to bike to school for the first time. Like a true Dane, I wore a skirt with leggings, a cute shirt, and a scarf. Good to go. Unfortunately, there are three main roads that fan out in all directions from where I live, and at 8:30 that morning, I mildly forgot which of the 3 led to school. I looked around a bit, then saw a huge line of bike traffic (many riders looking like students) taking the road to the left. That must be my road, I said to myself. Wrong. Soon, I found myself utterly lost and standing in front of the Queen's palace, about 20 minutes away from my school. After attempting to ask directions from Danes, and having to embarrassingly spell out the names of the roads I was looking for since my pronunciation was so poor, I finally made it to my school. I was nervous and shaking from a combination of being lost and being late for my class. The 2 mile ride that was supposed to take 10 minutes took about 55. But, (be impressed, Mom) I was only 5 minutes late to class! By my clock, that's on time. Because, I have gotten into the habit of leaving really early for my classes in case (just in case...) I get lost/the bus is late/traffic is bad etc. What is Denmark doing to me???

Biking (for real this time) like a true Dane

So now that I'm over 3 months into my semester here, I have become a champ at navigating my way to school, weaving through bike traffic, and biking away in any outfit or footwear. It's my favorite thing about the city I think, how bike-friendly it is and how Danes are such die-hard bikers. I now really look forward to my morning ride to school in the chilly morning air. It's an incredibly refreshing way to wake up, and it beats taking the slow, crowded bus any day.

Plus, Danes bike in ANY weather. I mean ANYTHING. It doesn't matter if it's sleeting and dark outside. There WILL be people biking. I guarantee it.

Example A: The past two days, there's been freezing rain. This is the only time when the weather here really is miserable. The cold is not bad, I bike to school in it each day, no complaints. I quite like it actually. But cold, wet, and windy?? Sorry. I took the bus. But you better believe I looked out the window admirably as lines of bikers cruised next to me on their morning commute to work (one of which, no joke, was a 60+ year old lady. She showed me up as I sat on the heated bus. Let me tell you, that woman had my respect).

Example B: IT SNOWED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY!!!! We got about 2-3 inches. It was glorious, but also quite cold. A group of us was heading out to celebrate my friends 20th birthday (she's a youngin), so of course all the girls were inappropriately dressed for the weather in sockings, dresses, and skirts, and as we walked from the metro to the bar, there were people cruising by us on bikes at 11:00pm, in the snow, in 20* weather. Nothing stops them.

However, this morning, instead of taking the bus (oh so tempting), I too jumped on my bike and biked to and from school today, surrounded on all sides by snow. It was actually really fun. Nothing makes me feel more Danish than biking in weather that (by the standards of any other country) is un-bikeable.

Travel Break: Week 2

London—The greatest break from school is staying in a REAL house, with real food, beds, bathrooms, couches, and kitties :)

I arrived in London last Friday, and my uncle met me at the airport. My aunt and uncle live in London in an area called East Putney, which is about 30 minutes SW from main-area London. Over the weekend, I went to a Fulham football match with my aunt and Toby (my 11 y/o cousin), on a sight-seeing bike tour with my aunt and uncle, and to a play called “Tribes” with the whole family (my aunt, uncle, pierce-20, luke-17, and toby-11). Then on Monday morning, I went to the Tate Modern, a really cool museum in an old power plant with my aunt. THEN, I was off to Dublin!! (Don’t worry, I came back to London).

My cousin Toby after the football game-- we found gelato in London, too!

My aunt and I on the bike tour of London

What do you do when you visit Dublin? Go to the Guinness Factory.

So from Monday evening to Wednesday night, I hoped over to Dublin to visit my friend, Kevin, from Richmond. He’s studying abroad there and is a fellow Frisbee kid :) He took me around the city, and we toured Dublin castle, and THE GUINNESS FACTORY.

My friend Kevin and I

The Guinness Factory is just the coolest building. It’s 8 floors, all with interactive stuff about the history and production of Guinness. Then, when you’ve gone through the museum (it takes 2+ hours), you go to the 8^th floor to the Sky Bar, which gives you a 360* view of Dublin, plus a free pint of course. Such a cool view. Kevin and I were up there at sunset and it was gorgeous. We also went out into Dublin both nights, which was of course a ton of fun. So my visit was short but sweet and it was great to have gotten to see Ireland! Then, on Wednesday night, it was back to London! (Plane tickets between London and Dublin are really cheap…hence me planning this mini-trip).

London is even sweeter when you’re there with a best friend from home.

So I returned to London Monday evening and met up with one of my best friends from high school, Bre. She’s studying abroad in Norwich, England (2 hours north of London) for the year, so she took a train down and stayed with me at my aunt and uncles house from Wed-Sat. It was so great seeing her! The combination of seeing her and my relatives was a much-needed dose of home. Plus, it was great because her and I did all the touristy things around the city, and my aunt and uncle didn’t have to worry about entertaining me during the day.

BRE!

On Friday morning, my uncle and I went out for a horseback ride in the English countyside (my life right now really is a fairy-tale). It was AMAZINGLY fun. We went out with a group of 5 people, and just rode through the woods and were galloping through fields. It’s been so long since I’ve rode and I loved it! There was just one minor detail… MY HORSE FLIPPED OVER. Don’t worry, she was fine and so was I. But the ground was pretty wet (unavoidable in England…it rains everyday) and when we were galloping, my horse tripped on a bump in the ground and actually went falling to the ground and flipped over, probably because we were moving a quite some speed. I went flying too but was able to roll out of the way and the horse didn’t land on me. The horse and I both got up, a bit shaken and a bit muddy, but neither of us were hurt and we all rode back to the barn from there. My uncle said the only thought that went through his mind when he saw me fall down was, “Oh God, Kathy is going to kill me.” None-the-less, it was still so fun!

My uncle and I-- Going for a ride in the British countryside :)

The rest of my time in England was spent exploring the city with Bre (in the rain… not the best weather) and going out into the city my Bre and my cousin, Pierce, and relaxing at the house.

My cousin Pierce and I

My aunt and uncle have 2 cats who are the coolest cats I’ve ever met. They act like little puppies—super loving and cute. PLUS, one was pregnant and she gave birth while I was there! The baby kittens were the most fragile, pathetically-cute things I’ve ever seen. They looked like little mice. Adorable.

Baby KITTENS!!

Now, I’m home in Copenhagen! Class starts tomorrow… WHAT?? I’ve forgotten what school is. I've been too busy galavanting around Europe ;)

Travel Break: Week 1

So my two week travel break has come to a close, and I got back to Copenhagen this evening. I visited Rome, London, and Dublin, and I had an amazing time.

When in Rome… eat gelato EVERYday (and sometimes twice a day)

So I spent the first 5 days of my break in Rome. Not too shabby, I guess ;) I went with my Classical and Renaissance Rome class (which is a 1 credit class that people take for the sole purpose of going on this trip) and our professor. There was about 25 students, and our professor named Thyge (try and pronounce that…none of us could. We restored to calling him Too-gee, which is a gross mispronunciation of his actual name but it’s the best we could do). Anyway, Thyge is an absolute Rome fanatic. He was like a walking guidebook and encyclopedia in one. He’s Danish, but he told us he’s visited Rome 37 times. A bit excessive in my opinion….but he clearly REALLY likes Rome.

So, while in Rome, we saw the Colosseum, the Vatican Museum, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus, the Roman forum, the Trevi Fountain (most gorgeous/magical fountain ever), St. Peter’s Basilica, the ancient Roman port city of Ostia Antica, and MANY many more. Thyge had us on a pretty tight schedule during the day, and then we were free to explore on our own after 4pm. There’s no way I could have seen Rome like we did without Thyge leading us around, so it was tiring at times but I’m definitely glad I visited Rome on this trip rather than on my own time.

Me at Ostia Antica- the ancient port city of Rome

The Colosseum!

The Trevi Fountain *magical*

Rome itself is full of delicious food, overly eager and insistent street-market sellers, lots of amazing ancient/historical statues and buildings, lots of tourist stores and restaurants, and LOTS of tourists. Rome is strange because in one direction you’ll see ancient ruins, in another a majestic renaissance church, and in another a modern strip of stores...and everywhere in between you'll see tourists. The streets and public transportation are absolutely jam packed with people. I don't know how Italians actually live in Rome...and truthfully I don't think many do. I kept having to remind myself I was in Italy because I saw so few Italians.

The BEST pizza I've ever eaten

Of course though, the greatest thing about Rome is the GELATO. There’s a gelato place on every single corner of Rome and you really can’t walk more than 5 minutes without encountering at least 2. We ate gelato literally every single day, and on some days twice. There was one particular gelato place that sold 100 different flavors. It naturally because our favorite place… so much so that the workers there actually recognized us and actually made fun of us a bit for coming so frequently. But, our policy was when in Rome, right?? I mean really, when’s the next time I’ll be there? I had to stock up on the gelato when I had the chance :)

SOO much gelato :)

PLUS, we had absolutely amazing weather (apart from one day when it absolutely poured). Otherwise, it was 65* and sunny the whole time. We went to the beach one day (awesome) and another we all broke out our flip-flops and t-shirts. It was just gorgeous. Us Scandinavian kids haven't seen sunshine like that in a while, so we soaked it up for all it was worth.

Rainy day by the Coliseum

BEACH! On the coast by Ostia Antica