Category: travel

One part of studying abroad I have taken for granted is the part of my parents visiting and then traveling elsewhere with me. This past week, traveling with my parents through Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, I have been trying to be extremely observant and grateful for their random idiosyncrasies and different perspectives of the various communities and people we met.

my favorite memories from this past week include:

• feet pictures everywhere (had to get it from someone)
• driving across Iceland (saying hi to the sheep and ponies!)
• riding rides at Tivoli with my mom
• eating fresh seafood in Bergen, Norway and lobster in Stokkseyri, Iceland

lobster & lobster soup in Iceland

• frantic search for Airbnbs after a sudden hotel shutdown across Norway (due to a workers union strike)
• waterfall chasing through the fjords

Dad “almost” falling into the fjord

• swimming at the Blue Lagoon; they were recounting how it was 20 years ago, the last (and only) time they were in Iceland

photos of travels and experiences from this past week;

Oslo Opera House

train view capturing

aerial view of Bergen

Roskilde Church

Syttende Mai in Norway

Tivoli Park

Men at Sea, Esbjerg

Roskilde Viking Museum

bridge from Denmark to Norway

Lunch with a family friend, Peter at his boat club in Copenhagen

Surprisingly, the end of the semester is already here. While I have had the opportunity to travel to nine different countries during my four months here, Copenhagen will always hold a large part of my heart.

I have been re-writing my lists of things I need to still see or re-visit before leaving. I am realizing that I have done quite well in “checking things off” my list. Below are a few of the quirks, places and things, that I highly recommend. Thanks to my adventures, here are a few of my favorite things;

• Jumping in the sea, and sauna. [ yes, you can do it in Budapest, Malmö, or Copenhagen ]
• Sitting by the fireplace, watching a futbol match, and drinking some tea

my host family’s fireplace

• chatting up strangers on public transportation
• • variety, and amount of coffee shops in every city across Europe, which allowed me to switch up my daily caffeine intake on the reg.
• Church of Our Savior (Spire), Copenhagen
• St. Peter’s Bakery and their delicious selection of pastries, Copenhagen
• Trampolines at public playgrounds, all across Denmark

Nyhavn trampolines

• historical fountains, their history and also their beauty
• how pancakes are actually crepes in most parts of Europe

Pancakes Amsterdam

• the benefits of good friendships with your neighbors, Hi Peter!
• Prince cookies [really good cookies you can buy across Europe]
• relaxing in public parks, wandering among the trees and seeing how the landscape is used by the community [which was a main focus of my core course class, Why Cities Matter? ]

“the tourist trap”

After a weekend in Amsterdam, I feel happy to still be standing. My friends Christina, Emma and I did a bucket list full of things and I am exhausted. It was a weekend of fun, and I am so happy to have been able to see so much of a city I have heard so many good things about!

I didn’t realize how much of a bike city Amsterdam is. I also almost got hit at least a dozen times while crossing the street, so maybe my Copenhagen bike dodging skills don’t transfer to other locations.

Another great thing about all cities that I love to discover, is the various street art locations and random sightings throughout a city. Here are a few of my favorite sightings from Amsterdam!

“make art not euros”

love me

each event in your life is just part of the puzzle.

One of the top things on my list was seeing the Tulip fields in bloom. While I booked this weekend specifically to see the tulip fields, I missed the memo on how or which fields to see. I had seen on a fellow blogger’s blog last year about her two week trip to Amsterdam, including the tulip fields. She had marvelous photos in the fields. Unfortunately, there was no mention that the pictures were from a field nearby Keukenhof Gardens, not just the gardens. The garden was beautiful, and smelled lovely, but not exactly what I was imagining.

beautiful combination of blooming flowers

feat. the fields I wanted to be in..

these colors just make me want to dance

Another fun adventure was going to the countryside again to see a cluster of windmills which used to produce paint and other goods.

windmilling in the windmill town

favorite jumping picture yet! (thanks Christina)

The last extremely exciting thing besides wandering the canals and eating french fries with mayo, was seeing an art exhibit on Warhol and Banksy. They both make(made) art that looks at the consumerism culture, as well as make statements on society as a whole.

While I have never been to see Cherry Blossoms in bloom in DC or Japan, I think seeing them in bloom in Prague, Budapest and Copenhagen is almost equivalent.

Prague [senior picture fake laugh]

Budapest (near Buda Castle) photo via Mallorie

Copenhagen; just so happy “spring is here”

So while I’ve been traveling and exploring I have racked up a ton of pictures. Rather then posting them to Facebook, I decided to create a tumblr and just post them there.

My reasons for that are not that “I’m too cool for that” but more that I don’t need to brag, or show everyone every single picture of my adventures. Not every “friend” on FB needs to see every picture from my travels, or cares to get an update on where I’ve been this weekend.

My tumblr is more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and you can look or avoid it! The photos are posted randomly, but have some of my fav memories and street art. I invite you to take a gander! Please follow the link below and enjoy!!

http://girlinpinkdocs.tumblr.com