Day 33
I can’t believe I’ll be coming home in 9 days from today. This is the most I’ve felt like I’ve been on vacation. Everything is so fun and carefree and easygoing. I never have to worry about studying or money or planning. There’s always someone else to talk to or hang out with so I don’t have to do things on my own. I have barely studied at all and today and tomorrow are my last two days of classes. It’s like living in my own little Copenhagen bubble. I feel like a completely different person here!
While I’ve been here I constantly have songs stuck in my head. The songs I’ve been singing the most are Party Rock Anthem, Run The World, You Be Killin Em, and No Hands. I think I’ve realized I have a few artists that I like consistently: Pitbull, Britney Spears, Trey Songz, Pussycat Dolls, and Beyonce :)
Yesterday I ate about ¼ of my Nutella jar. Thank you, PMS.
I don’t know how I’m going to be able to survive the Texas heat when I get back. The weather here is always 50-70ish and it’s mostly rained on the few weekends I was traveling outside the country, so pretty much perfect. I am falling in love with scarves and I definitely put all my cardigans to good use. I’m also falling in love with the Metro system. It is so convenient and quick and takes me everywhere and I walk so much - I’ve never felt so in shape before. There’s almost no point of ever wearing heels because of the cobblestone and no one really drives cars. Living in Europe has been such a great experience after living in Texas pretty much my whole life.
Thurs, July 7
The business school put on a Danish Folk Dancing lesson for us. At first we thought it was super awkward because they were all old people, but it was actually a lot of fun learning the dances. I was laughing so hard trying to figure out which direction we were supposed to be moving.
Then afterwards the school got us VIP access to a really nice club called Karel Van Mander. The bathroom was soo cool; there were couches, shaggy carpets, a coffee table, vanities, and a lady next to an entire make-up display. The dance floor was really nice too and every once in a while there would be an air freshener mist sprayed so it felt and smelled really good lol. All the regular people coming in looked like runway models. I heard that it usually costs 100 Krones for entrance fee ($20).
Sat, July 9
We went to the Copenhagen Beach Party. The beach was pretty nice but it was a bit chilly and the water was freezing. Then we went to the Red Bull Cope n’ Waken event, which was actually really lame. It sucked that the only tan lines I got were from my tank top while walking to the Red Bull thing. Ooo then I went home and finished the series finale of The O.C. finally! :) It took me 9 weeks to finish the entire series lol.
Sun, July 10
We spent most of the day at Kronborg Castle, the castle where Shakespeare’s Hamlet play is based on. It was so confusing trying to figure out which train to take and the ride took 45 minutes. It was really pretty and relaxing though and the weather was perfect.
That night we were planning on going to a bar called Rub-A-Dub but the metro closed down while we were on it so we had to walk the rest of the way and got lost in the city. We ended up getting food from 7-11 (which is really big here in Copenhagen..there’s one every few blocks) and hanging out by a nice lake. Then the metro and the trains were closed and we didn’t know how to take the bus, so we ended up walking home for almost half an hour and finally caught a taxi.
Tues, July 12
After class we climbed about 20 flights of stairs/ladders to the top of the spire of Church of Our Saviour tower. You could see so much of Copenhagen from the top of the tower and everything was so beautiful :) Then we went to Christiania, which is like an independent area inside Copenhagen where marijuana is legal. It was pretty sketch so we took a really quick walk through it lol.
Wed, July 13
After class the school put on a Danish film for us called Adams Aebler (Adam’s apples). It was supposed to be a comedy, but I guess it was Danish humor. IMDb’s description of the movie: A neo-nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devotional priest.
At night there was an International Night Party but it was a hang-out-at-a-coffee-shop kind of atmosphere. It was pretty lame so we didn’t stay long lol. Then we went to L.A. Bar but it was too crowded so went to McDonalds and got 2 Big Macs, fries, and a drink for 70 Krones! Then the metro was closed again so took a taxi home.
Thurs, July 14
We watched Harry Potter 7 p2 at 6 pm…and I actually liked it! It cost about $17 but apparently that’s a regular price in Denmark.
Fri, July 15 – Sun, July 17
Despite everything that happened, I tried to enjoy myself on our weekend trip to Berlin, Germany. We had to meet at 5:30am for an 8 hour bus ride including 1 hour where the bus was on a ferry. The city was so beautiful with lots of tall trees and tall buildings and so much culture and the weather was really nice all weekend. We stayed at Seibert Hotel and I shared a room with a girl named Eva.
On Friday night we had dinner at a restaurant called White Trash. I ate cheesy potato soup, a goat cheese and pesto burger, and a brownie a la mode. The place felt really Austiny :) Then the school took us to a bar called Sky Beach which was an outdoor beachy place on the roof of a mall lol so random. Too bad it was kind of cold when we were up there so we left in about an hour.
On Saturday we had a 3-hour tour of the city and then had free time. We ended up walking 9 ½ hours straight! My favorite part was when we rode a 6-person circular bike and since I was the 7th person I got to sit in the middle on the handles! It was only 1 Euro each :) Then at night the school took us to a club called Cascade. The happy hour drinks were buy 1 get 1 free and the music was really good. It was a great night lol.
On Sunday I woke up and was rushing to breakfast when I realized that my clock had been set an hour fast…so I was packed and ready before most people were even awake :. We had a 2-hour tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was such an eerie experience and it felt weird taking pictures with people in them. I heard stories and saw places that no one should ever have to experience. Then I slept 5 of the 8-hour bus ride then when I got home I slept another 11 hours.
Mon, July 18
We cooked a Danish dinner at our Danish friend Jakob’s apartment. We had a great salad, garlic bread, Danish meatballs, boiled potatoes, and a yummy red wine gravy sauce. It was the most deliciousss dinner I had in Copenhagen! Then we ended up playing drinking games till 1am and missed the last S-train home and had to take a taxi.
Wed, July 20
Finally had some retail therapy! Nora and I took the Metro to Kongens Nytorv and shopped at H&M for over 2 hours lol. I spent 480 Krones and she spent 600. Everything in Denmark is so expensive :\ But it felt sooo good to shop!
Then at night we went to the amusement park TIVOLI!!! The rides were so good and the food was yummy and place was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We got unlimited-ride passes for 290 Krones and went on 6 rides. I felt like such a carefree child and I was so excited the whole time! Oh, and Tivoli spelled backwards is I lov it! :)
Possibly one of my favorite days of my entire trip <3
Thur, July 21
It was pouring the entire day but the school organized an International Dinner for us. I just brought a pack of chocolate chunk cookies lol. It was so cool trying food from all over the world for free! I would stack up my plate with food then walk and eat as I kept grabbing more food. There was a Mid-Summer Party afterwards too but we decided it was too rainy and we needed to pack for our trip.
Fri, July 22 – Sun, July 24
We went on our own weekend trip to Stockholm, Sweden. We had to wake up at 5am to catch our flight that was only 45 minutes. Then we had to figure out how to navigate the city to get to our hostel. We stayed in a 14-person mixed room that was actually really fun. It was pretty much the attic lol. And there was free wifi and breakfast and the comforter was really comfortable. The city itself was BEAUTIFUL. We stayed at a hostel that was facing the water and the entire city surrounded the lake/Baltic Sea. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of everything because it was all so perfect. Even the weather was amazing even though it was pouring Copenhagen all weekend.
On Friday we went to an amusement park Grona Lund. It was soo much fun!! I ate so much junk food it was great :) We only had time to go on 5 rides. Then we walked around the city and ate at a fast food place called Max. My cheeseburger was only 15 Swedish Krones! Then we hung out by the water and watched the sun set :)
On Saturday we did a Hop-on Hop-off Tour so we saw the Royal Palace, City Hall (where the Nobel Prize banquet is held), and Skansen Open Air Museum. Then we spent forever trying to figure out the Metro system to get to IKEA, which originated in Sweden. We ate Swedish meatballs and they tasted just like the ones at home lol. Afterwards we got Belgian waffles with ice cream and bought souvenirs.
On Sunday we did a Boat Tour and went to the Vasa Museum. It’s this HUGE Viking ship from the 17th century that floated for only 20 minutes then sank lol. Then we had to leave for the airport :(
So pretty much almost every day is jam-packed. I’m constantly making lists of what we’ve done and what we still need to do or see. I should really be settling down to start studying for my exams next week (mine are both on Tuesday back to back ugh) but I don’t want to put off going to the last few places I want to see still! And one day I will upload all my pictures onto Facebook lol.
