Final Airport Reflections

Well, everyone. I have come to the end of this crazy whirlwind of an adventure. I am currently sitting in the Detroit airport after having eaten a BLT and drinking a fountain Diet Pepsi. I am very happy to be back in the country, and I feel so much more secure after having gone through customs and all that jazz. This post will probably be pretty long as it'll deal with our last day in London and just my thoughts about the trip, as a whole.

So...our final day in London. The morning started off a bit rough after we had breakfast at the same restaurant we visited the day before, Streaky Gin's. The food was delicious. However, we spent quite a bit of the morning finding a Western Union that was willing to work with us. I won't really go into detail about it, but it was quite a ridiculous situation and incredibly frustrating for both of us. I did get money though, and we saw Buckingham Palace and walked through St. James Park, which was beautiful. We did experience a pretty typical British day, as it began to rain around 11 am, but it really wasn't too awful for us. We got to tour Westminster Abbey, and I have to say that I was crazy impressed. I feel that I've seen quite a few beautiful churches in my times abroad, but this one definitely topped them all in terms of its beauty and history. I was really moved, and that hasn't really happened when visiting a church in that setting before. After our tour, we had afternoon tea in Westminster Abbey with a full pot of tea, sandwiches, scones and little cakes for each of us. It was quite an experience and SUPER delicious. I loved it. We walked around by Big Ben and the House of Parliament, also.

A side note that was really interesting to me-as we were leaving Westminster Abbey, there were a TON of police surrounding the courtyard and demonstrators were there. At first, I thought we'd just ignore them and walk by, as I would typically do in the US. However, I noticed quite a few individuals with disabilities there, particularly people in wheelchairs and started looking around. I was handed a flyer about how there have recently been cuts in funding for independent living for those with disabilities. I found this interesting, because I am not particularly sure how much federal funding there is in the United States. Here's a pretty basic article of what I saw (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-28074848). I've loved noticing all the different special education systems throughout Europe and talking to future special education teachers.

ANYWAY, Hannah and I went back to the hostel quickly to charge phones and contact her friend, Gigi, who lived with one of Hannah's cousins briefly a while back. She's Spanish, but is currently living in London working as a chef. We met up with her for a typical dinner of fish and chips, and then we headed to a salsa club! The end of the Colombia v. Uruguay game was on, and everyone was super excited. Once the game finished, we participated in the dancing and got to dance with quite a few good guys! It was a wonderful end to our last night abroad. Brief story about going back on the tube though-we got out at our station and as we were walking toward the stairs, this girl jets off from the line and pukes SO hard-straight up beer. It was absolutely disgusting, but pretty hilarious too.

But, Hannah and I made it through this crazy and stressful adventure, and we still like each other, which is saying a lot. It was definitely more challenging than I anticipated to have such a fast-paced trip, but I'm so glad I did it. Here are a few tips that I've been thinking about and, per my usual OCD self, lists of what I'll miss and am looking forward to.

Recommendations:
-Research your hostels-24 hour reception, free Wifi, free breakfast, LOCKERS-do you have to bring your own padlock or buy it?, free linen/towels, location-how close of a walk from the train station?
-Don't do night trains. We did not feel that they were worth it. First of all, they still want you to have a reservation, so you're not really saving much money by not being in a hostel, and you feel unsafe and uncomfortable. You're also woken up quite a decent amount.
-Separate your important belongings into different bags, always.
-Wear a money belt. You'll probably feel pretty dumb, but I feel so much more secure about it.
-Don't try to do everything at once and don't always do what everyone told you to. We had a lot of fun choosing what we really wanted to see and made it happen.
-Talk to the people in your hostels. I think Hannah and I would both say that we loved seeing the sights and cities that we did, but we adored talking to the people we met. It was amazing to get into intense discussions about different cultures, traditions, opinions and personal lives.
-TRY. This kind of sounds ridiculous, but if you make the effort to speak in the language of the country you're in and work to respect them, you will have a much easier and better time.
-Be American, but don't be defensive. People told us that we were good ambassadors for our country, but we also learned a lot by listening to their opinions about our country, and it's important to get outside perspectives on our country that is viewed under a microscope by everyone.
-Bring a backpack. Seriously...no suitcases, ever.
-If you're a female traveling with another female, be prepared for some creepy moments. Also, understand that your activities at night may be limited due to safety concerns. It was a bit frustrating at times.
-If you're an introvert or just really value your alone time, be prepared to feel overwhelmed. Being surrounded by people at every moment of the day and having people expect you to talk with them is really stressful at times, for me.
-The emotional roller coaster is extreme. We had some absolutely incredible days, but we also had some moments where I literally wanted to curl up in my hostel bed and not move until flying out. Get yourself up and keep going, even though you're tired and frustrated.

Things I'll Miss:
-Having access to amazing food, beer, and wine at all times.
-Public transportation. It makes life so easy.
-Listening to other languages on a daily basis. I feel like I was picking stuff up in only a few days, which is awesome.
-Beautiful architecture and scenery, always.
-Stylish people and stores everywhere.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:
-Time by myself
-Driving
-Seeing a few certain people
-My dogs
-Fountain drinks (Diet Coke)-First thing I got in the Detroit airport
-Access to food and drink all the time in my house
-Knowing the currency
-English
-SLEEPING
-My own bed
-Full access to my phone and the Internet
-Feeling safe
-Separate checks

Ranking of Where I've Been:

1. Copenhagen-Even though I did spend the most time here, there are many reasons why this is my favorite. First of all, I really did like the climate. It was cool and not too hot most of the time. I really, genuinely loved the group of people I was with, and the city itself was really active and fun to explore. The canal was beautiful and living right next to it was awesome. Also, I think I just really fit in with the Northern European personality and culture. I dressed relatively similarly, and I enjoyed it.

2. Interlaken-I don't know what else I can say other than it was insanely beautiful. I could sit there all day and just look around me. It is a pretty small town with a bit of a touristy vibe, but it was amazing, and I felt it was really peaceful. There's also quite a bit of active things to do.

3. Nice-This really was pretty touristy and reminded me of cities in Florida. However, the people we met there were awesome, and the entire city was very young. The beach and area around it are gorgeous, and it was so wonderful to swim in the Mediterranean.

4. Berlin-Surprisingly, my favorite major city that we went to. Our hostel was absolutely fantastic and our friend, Mitch, also helped in this experience. However, the history there and the awesome food also really made me appreciate this city. The city was super clean and the subway system was also easy to figure out, so that's always nice.

5. London-I feel like some people are going to be upset that I put this city lower down on my list, but I also did not get to spend too much time here. The tube was incredibly easy to figure out, and I love how welcome I felt here, both as an American and as a woman. However, the areas that were more natural in Europe were my favorite compared to this very city-like feel.

6. Brussels/Waterloo-Brussels is beautiful and also felt much smaller and more manageable compared to the other cities that we visited. I didn't see a ton here, but I really enjoyed the feel of it and people seemed really friendly and international.

7. Vienna-I was really surprised by how much I liked Vienna. It felt quite a bit smaller than I anticipated, and it was insanely gorgeous. The buildings are beautiful and the culture was amazing. I definitely felt welcome, and the music community is really cool to observe.

8. Paris-Paris is beautiful. There's absolutely no doubt about that, and its historical significance is awesome. However, I thought that it was absolutely gigantic, and there was no way to really walk and see everything. It also smelled quite frequently and was not the friendliest place. I loved seeing the sights here and drinking some great wine, but it was not my favorite.

Thanks so much for reading my blog posts! I really appreciate everyone's interests. Hopefully I'll get to travel again soon and keep you all updated.

The Final Stride

Our final day in Paris was definitely eventful, and we did tons of walking, but we saw lots of sights! We started the day off with breakfast in our hostel and then we took the metro to eventually find Notre Dame. Before then, we passed the bridge with all the locks on it, which was very cool, and we checked out Notre Dame from the outside. After that, we headed to the area by the Louvre and ate lunch in the Tuilleries, which was beautiful, and we really enjoyed it. We walked down the Champs de Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe before attempting to go to Versailles. The train ride was going to take quite a bit longer than originally expected, so we decided to stay in the city and had ourselves a super nice glass of red wine at a bar that had been open since 1776. We ate charcuterie at one restaurant and then ate real dinner at Hippopotamus, a chain that we ate at in Nice, as well. We headed back to our hostel after that and relaxed with our roommate, Sadie, who was from the UK for the night. Unfortunately, the Wifi wasn't working, but we got some sleep before our early morning train to Belgium.

The next day, Hannah and I caught the first train of the metro at 5:30 am and got to the Paris Nord train station bright and early for our train into Belgium. That went quite smoothly, but we had to wait a bit once we got to the Brussels Midi station. It wasn't too bad though, and we were picked up by Sigrid's lovely mother who took SUCH good care of us while we stayed with her family. We got some pastries at Paul, a bakery, and went shoe shopping, so Hannah could get some new shoes after they got relatively destroyed from the dust all over Paris. We ate at the Valentin's house and chatted, so they could catch up with everything going on with Hannah and her family. It was really nice and relaxing, and we got to take REAL showers, which was amazing, of course. Carl then took us to the Butte du Lion, or Lion's Mound, which was resurrected in the site of the battle of Waterloo. It really was pretty cool to see, and then we checked out Hannah's old neighborhood. We drank some Swedish ciders before dinner, and then we headed to a delicious restaurant where I got beef curry. Carl, Astrid, Hannah, and I went to the Snug, which is where Hannah used to hang out in high school in Belgium, and we talked for quite a while before heading home.

Our last day in Belgium was quite nice, and Hannah and I slept suuuuper late. We are incredibly exhausted on this tail end of the trip, and we stayed up for 20 hours straight the day before, but it was wonderful to get some rest in a comfortable and safe place. After getting up, we ate a delicious breakfast of pain au chocolat, strawberries, and bread with Swedish butter and wonderful jam. I will truly miss the food from everywhere when I get back to the States. Once we ate breakfast, Hannah and I went into Brussels and checked out the Grand Place. It was really beautiful and more understated than some other cities we have been to. I really enjoyed the city, cause it seemed so much smaller, but it was still quite cultural and beautiful. We saw the Manneken Pis, which is basically a statue of a peeing baby boy, which has significance to Belgium pride from a battle, but it was very interesting to see how popular this small statue is, cause it's very strange. Anyway, we looked at some chocolate and souvenir shops, and we also went to a super fancy chocolate store and a wonderful tea shop, with a guy who is so attentive and personal. It was wonderful. Got some nice gifts there :) We eventually headed back into Waterloo and ate dinner with the entire Valentin family, except Sigrid, which was super sad, but the family was great! I loved the intelligent conversation that we could have and the absolutely amazing food. I had truffle ravioli with mushrooms and incredible red wine and chocolate mousse. I was very happy. Astrid and her friend, Sophia, Hannah, and I went to a bar in Waterloo to watch the second half of the Belgium game against South Korea. It was really fun to watch with all the Belgians and see their crazy reactions. It was definitely different than any experience I've had.

Finally, this morning, Hannah and I got up to eat and get ready to head back to the train station for our FINAL train trip of our Euro adventure. SO exciting. I am very over trains. Anyway, we had to go through customs and everything as we headed into the UK, but our train into London went quite smoothly. We dropped our things off at our hostel, which is near Hyde Park and really nice, and ate really good food at a restaurant nearby with some really friendly waitresses! I love being in a country that speaks English. Honestly, it makes life so much easier. Anyway, Hannah and I checked into our room and then drank some tea from the hostel. We made friends with an Australian boy and chatted about literature a bit and then decided to head to Leicester Square to go to the TKTS stand and find a show to see in West End for tonight! First of all, the fact that the TKTS stand was approximately a 3 minute wait was shocking compared to New York, but I was also super excited, cause we got to see Once! We changed back at our hostel (good thing the Tube is super easy to figure out) and ate dinner at a lovely, small restaurant called Porcupine near our theater. As soon as we walked into the theater, the actors were onstage playing their instruments and singing. It was such a nice environment, and there weren't really ushers, which I liked. People are capable of finding their own seats. However, there were people taking drink and food orders, which was pretty cool. At intermission (or interval, as they call it here), Hannah and I went up to buy drinks on stage and take some pictures. The show itself was wonderful, and the lead guy had an amazing voice that I loved. It was a great production, and now we're back at the hostel getting ready for bed and our busy last day of sightseeing in Europe tomorrow! Can't wait to head home on Sunday.

France!

No more night trains. Thank goodness. Hannah and I were planning on taking a 12 hour train ride to Nice from a smaller city in France, but we missed our connecting train, so we ended up staying in a hotel! It was really nice to have a room with just us, a BATHTUB, and a hot water heater. We were pretty excited, haha. We woke up early in the morning and headed to Nice. We got there in the afternoon and took some showers. It was super easy to figure out the town, and it was pretty touristy, but it was also gorgeous to be in the South of France. Hannah and I walked around the town and checked out the shops and the coast. We had a drink by the water and then we ate at a tapas bar before heading back to the hostel.

In the morning, we met our Irish roommates in the hostel, Nathan and Michael. Hannah and I headed out to breakfast at a nice little cafe, and then we went to the beach to relax for a bit! It was awesome to swim in the Mediterranean Sea, even though it was super salty. So weird compared to the Great Lakes. Anyway, we ate lunch and walked around Old Town for a while, before climbing up lots of stairs and seeing the lookout point. It was an awesome view, and then we went back to the hostel. Nathan and Michael didn't really have any plans, so they came out with us as we walked around the beach and then had a drink by the water. Then we got some wine and pizzas to go so that we could hang out on the beach and talk with a beautiful view in the background! It was a super fun time, and I know that Hannah and I are really grateful to have met such awesome people in our time abroad. After the beach, we went to an Irish Pub for a little bit to watch part of the USA game and went back to the hostel to sleep!

Yesterday, we all got up and got ready to get out of the hostel. Hannah and I had a quick breakfast near our hostel and went to the train station to catch our train to Paris. We got here and figured out the metro so that we could get to our hostel. After showering, we had a delicious Korean meal for free at our hostel and headed out to the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful time of day to see it, and it wasn't overly crowded, so that was nice. We stopped at a cafe nearby, and I ate some Nutella banana crepes and drank tea. It was really lovely to walk by the water and see the Eiffel Tower.

Today, Hannah and I plan to go see some sights and head to Versailles this afternoon. It's definitely a quick turn around here in Paris, but I am enjoying just seeing the major parts of the city! Can't wait to continue our journey and go on to Belgium and London soon.

Recovery

Hannah and I were looking forward to heading to Interlaken in order to recover from the fast pace of three major European cities. We ended up needing to recover from a bit more though! Our night train from Vienna to Interlaken started off quite well, as we found a compartment with an Austrian business man who was getting off relatively early in the ride and a couple that was also going to be getting off. That meant that we would be able to stretch out and lay down. However, as we were woken up around 7 in the morning from train officials to check our tickets, I realized that my purse, which contained basically all of my important documents, was gone. Hannah had to pay for a ticket for me, and we frantically searched the whole train compartment. So, my purse was gone, and we quickly called our parents and figured out what to do. We ended up getting off the train in Bern and going to the US Embassy so that I could get a temporary passport. It was a very long wait and really stressful, but I ended up getting that, which is the most important. Sadly, my Eurail pass is gone, which means that I have to pay for all the train tickets and get reimbursed after the fact.

After that stress, we headed to Interlaken, where we checked into the hostel and showered (cause it'd been a while) and went to the police station to file a report. By that point, we hadn't really had anything to eat for nearly 24 hours and were exhausted, but we got it all accomplished. Honestly, this is definitely one of the worst situations I could have imagined during the trip, but Hannah and I are both okay, and I think we handled the situation pretty well. It sucks not having access to money and missing lots of documents and whatnot, but we're safe, and the worst day of the trip was followed by, easily, the 2 best days of the trip.

So, the day that we got into Interlaken, I met up with Livia, who is a friend of my best friend, Josiah. He's visited here before and told me that I must meet up with her, cause we would get along. We definitely did. She's also a future special education teacher, so we had lots to talk about in that regard, and she also lived in the US for a year. We got ice cream with her, and she showed us around the town a little bit. It was a really nice way to end a really horrible day. I love meeting friends of friends, especially in a situation like this! After that, Hannah and I went to bed pretty early and rested up for two amazing days.

Yesterday, Hannah and I had breakfast on the terrace of our hostel, which is amazing and then headed out to the town. We walked around a little bit and shopped some before heading up Harder Kulm, which is one of the mountains. We decided to take the railway car up the mountain. It was pretty awesome and reminded me of the cars they used to go up the hills in Valparaíso. After getting to the top, we took tons of pictures and looked out over the lake. Then we decided to eat some food (meat and cheese platter, because...Swiss cheese) and have some local beer while looking out over the mountains. Being surrounded by this beauty has really helped me feel better and appreciate where I am, even though I lost a ton of my important documents. It started to rain a bit while we were up there, so we had tea indoors, but it cleared up quickly and we went hiking for about an hour and a half in the woods! We got pretty creative with some picture taking, but it was a super fun walk and not too challenging. We took the railway car back down the mountain and ended up getting some dinner at this pizzeria. After dinner, we thought we'd try to find a cool place to watch some of the World Cup games, so we looked up pubs online. Hannah found an interesting Irish pub, so we attempted to walk there, but we ended up in some super residential area pretty far away from the actual center of Interlaken, so we came back and watched in the lounge of our hostel.

Honestly, I have loved staying in hostels. We have met really, really awesome people who are so intriguing and friendly. Last night, as we were watching the games, we started talking with the guy next to us named Tyler. He's from Alberta, Canada, and he's been studying in England. His trips sound amazing so far, and it's just really nice to talk to some other people once in a while (I love you, Hannah, but 24/7 is a lot! ;) ). Anyway, we drank wine and watched the games and played some cards, so it was a good relaxing night.

Today was probably the high point of the trip, in my opinion. Again, we had breakfast on the terrace of our hostel, and then we checked out. We decided that we were going to go kayaking (on a recommendation from Josiah) and asked one of the workers here where we should go. On our way out, we ran into Tyler again, and he decided to come along with us! So, a short bus ride later, we were on Lake Thun and kayaking while surrounded by the Swiss Alps. To put it mildly, it was the most breathtaking view I have seen, and I would totally move here and live in these mountains. It was gorgeous and so relaxing. After kayaking, we laid outside for a while and listened to music and then had lunch. We decided to take in some more of the view after lunch and sit outside some more, and then we came back into the city! Hannah, Tyler, and I are hanging out in our lounge on computers/phones, and Hannah and I will be catching a train later to Nice. Last night train of the trip, thank goodness!

Night Trains and Vienna

I feel like so much has happened since my last post, cause I've experienced a night train and an entirely different experience as we prepare to head to Interlaken, Switzerland tonight. However, I'll catch you all up on the crazy shenanigans we've experienced.

After relaxing at the hostel in Berlin, Mitch, Hannah and I headed to a tapas bar that was relatively close to our hostel. I don't know that I can really express how amazing the food and wine were. Seriously...it was incredible and will be hard to beat on this trip. After that, we walked around for a bit and eventually headed back to our hostel to watch the World Cup at the bar there. We hung out for a while and then went down to the lobby and played cards and chatted for a bit. It's great to meet new people while traveling and staying in hostels has truly been a wonderful and surprising experience so far. Hopefully our luck with hostels continues! In the morning, Mitch, Hannah, and I went to a bakery down the road and then went to the Reichstag dome and Parliament building. We had to wait in line for quite a bit, but as soon as we got near the front, they told us we could go in right away instead of scheduling a time hours later. The dome was great! It was so beautiful. We got some food after that, and I had some currywurst in order to try some typical German food. It was really good, and I was happy with it. We went back to the hostel to charge phones and whatnot and then we saw Mitch off! Hannah and I ate some pizza at our hostel's bar and then headed to the train station for our first night train experience of the trip!

To say the least about the night train...it was exhausting. We had two connections throughout the trip, and it was our middle train we got to sleep on, so we were constantly making sure we didn't miss a stop or anything. However, at the place where we were supposed to get our first connection, an older Russian woman informed us (in German) that it would be an hour late. Therefore, our train didn't come until 12:30 am instead of 11:30 pm, which wasn't awesome. We made it to Vienna though and slept pretty hard, even if for a short period of time, on the train. Once we got to Vienna, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel and made a long trek out to the Museums Quarter. We had a delicious brunch at Cafe Leopold in the Leopold Museum. Then we headed into the actual Museum and checked out some pretty cool, more contemporary art. We walked around a bit and headed back to the hostel to shower, cause we were feeling pretty gross and relax from walking and traveling a ton. That night, we made the wonderful decision to get standing room tickets for the State Opera House. Before that, we got dinner at 1516 Brewing Company, and I had some amazing grapefruit beer (my first craft beer of the trip, and I was quite happy). There was a ballet at the Opera House last night, and it was wonderful. It was seriously such high quality, and the final piece had a female opera singer accompanying the dancing, which I loved. We also met some cool Americans in line for the tickets, Katie, Samantha, and Connor! I love bonding with so many people while traveling, even though it is tiring to always be on the go and socializing. Anyway, we crashed last night after that.

On to today! We woke up and met one of our roommates in our hostel room, Laura! She was born in the UK, but she grew up in the US and went to school in Seattle. We invited her to breakfast with us and chatted a bit. Let me tell you, the food here has been beyond all comparison. Literally everything has been amazing. It's going to be rough when I get back to the US, and it's a nice change from the smørrebrød, pizza, and hot dogs from Copenhagen. Anyway, after breakfast, we had a BUSY day. We went to the Spanish Riding School and watched their morning exercises, which was really cool and professional. Then we headed to the Palace and Gardens, where we had a nice little snack/lunch and white wine/rose mixture. Again, the food was superb.

As we walked to St. Stephen's Cathedral, we encountered the Aida bakery, so we had to stop, and I tried this strawberry shortcake type thing. We climbed the South Tower of St. Stephen's Cathedral, which was real intense with all the stairs. However, the views were great. We checked out Mozart's House and went to the Kunsthistorisches, or Art History, Museum. It was crazy beautiful on the inside and out and reminded me a lot of the Met in New York. We ate some dinner, where I had a potato and sausage goulash, and now we're back at the hostel charging appliances and relaxing until our night train to Interlaken, Switzerland later tonight! It's definitely been a busy trip so far, and we're real tired, but we're also super excited to be in a more natural and relaxing place! Can't wait. 

On the Road Again

Well, currently I'm in my hostel in Berlin! However, I'll catch you all up on what has happened before this point.

On Wednesday, our group took the bus, ferry, and bus again back to Copenhagen. We checked back into our hostel, and then Jimmy, Melissa, and I got delicious pizzas and then went souvenir shopping! We had our final dinner as a class, which was really nice, and we all filled out our final SOS forms for both the classes we took. It was a nice recap of everything we learned up to this point and to see everyone altogether for the last time. Then, Melissa, Jimmy, Tori, Angela and I sat by the canal and drank some Danish beer. After that, I packed up and relaxed in the hostel before heading to bed.

On Thursday, I went to the airport with most of our group and said goodbye. However, then Hannah arrived! We dropped our luggage off at the hostel and walked around the city for quite a while. I made her try the street food-pizza and hot dogs, because it was always awesome. For the most part, we just hung around the canal and ate around there while catching up. Unfortunately, there were some pretty creepy birds that kept nearly dive bombing us (Mom, you would have freaked), and every time we would say,"Birds," they would chirp. It was super weird. BUT, it was still super nice to see Hannah again and get ready for this awesome trip! We spent the night hanging out in the lobby in the hostel and chilling in our room. It was super nice, cause instead of rooming with randoms, we got to room with Tori and Angela, from my trip, and some random Spanish guy that was gone all night and only got back when we were leaving in the morning.

So...on Friday, Hannah and I got up bright and early to head to the train station and head to Berlin. We got our Eurail passes activated and got some awesome breakfast (chocolate croissants and orange juice) and then got on the train. We had to switch trains once and then we drove onto a ferry for a little bit, but it was a pretty good ride. Nothing too exciting but napping and reading and crossword puzzles. Hooray! After we got to Berlin on Friday afternoon, we headed to our super cool hostel (as recommended by Mr. Josiah Grimm) and checked in. We walked around the area by our hostel, which has lots of shops and restaurants, and ate some amaaaazing pasta. Then we headed back to the hostel's bar and watched 2 of the World Cup games there. We made friends with some British and Australian guys, and it was really fun to hang out here with lots of young people.

Today's Saturday, and we have gotten a lot accomplished so far! We woke up and got ready and headed to the hostel breakfast with one of our hostel roommates, Mitch! He's from Vancouver, but he's living in Germany for 4 months, and this weekend he's in Berlin! We have 2 other roommates in our room, but we haven't talked with them too much. Anyway, Mitch, Hannah, and I took the subway over to the Brandenburg Gate. It was a bit rainy, so we took a break in Dunkin Donuts. Then, we walked around and found the Reichstag building, but there was quite a wait, so we think we're going to do that tomorrow morning! However, we then went to the Holocaust Memorial, which was absolutely incredible. Seriously though, I would highly recommend going there if anyone is ever in Berlin. We only had to pay 2 euro for the audio tour, and it was so touching. I really enjoyed seeing it, and it was really meaningful. It was super weird to search for my family's names and see that people did pop up. Then we went to Potsdamer Platz and checked out pieces from the Berlin Wall. We had lunch over there and stopped at the mall in Alexanderplatz. Currently, Mitch, Hannah and I are relaxing at the hostel to dry off from the random rain we've experienced today, and we'll be heading to dinner soon with probable plans to watch more of the World Cup tonight. I'm loving that there's always something to do at night here.

Winding Down

Well, on Sunday we took a bus for about an hour and a half until we got to the coast, and our bus drove onto a ferry. I thought it was really similar to the ferry from Michigan to Wisconsin, but some other people had never seen anything like it. It was really fun to relax on the water though! Then we had a quick bus ride and walk to our hostel. To say the least, the hostel is very small. I'll post pictures soon, but it was definitely more what I was expecting from a hostel than our place in Copenhagen.

Interestingly, on the ferry, Cam ran into Aries Spears, a comedian who used to be on MadTV. He gave us 17 free tickets to his show that night! It was so strange. We downed some burgers or chicken sandwiches from Sunset Boulevard before the show and ran over, cause we thought that we were running late. Turns out, we had the time that doors open, so we just hung out there for a while. The show was realllll raunchy, so it was a bit awkward to be sitting there with our two professors, but it was pretty hilarious, for the most part. Afterward, we all walked around Aarhus and hung out in the courtyard of the hostel all together.

Monday was a pretty chill today, which was very nice after the fast pace of Copenhagen. We got up a little later than usual and ate breakfast. The next thing we had on our agenda was lunch, so we just hung out until then! We ate lunch at this place near the harbor, and I had a DELICIOUS hot dog. They're really great here, which is kind of funny. They love pizza and hot dogs. Anyway, we then were going to take a bus to this Psychiatric Hospital, but we ended up getting off way earlier than we were supposed to, so we had to walk a ton. It was a pretty walk though! The actual hospital was pretty stuffy and small, but it was interesting to see some of that stuff. I think that most of us were interested in the fact that they still have fences up around portions of the buildings so that people who currently live there cannot get it. It was a bit freaky, cause we don't see that kind of thing in the United States. Anyway, after the tour, we took a brief walk along the water and checked it out. It was PACKED, because it was a holiday here. However, it was beautiful. We all went to dinner together at an Italian place near our hostel that night and had pizza and listened to Jordan's friend, Frank, talk about being a philosophy teacher at a really interesting school. Students are not graded, and it's totally based on their own free will. Subjects are more artistic, like music, art, nature studies, philosophy, etc. We all went to bed pretty early and relaxed as people have been getting sick and getting run down.

Yesterday (Tuesday), we had breakfast at the hostel again, which was pretty delicious! Then a group of us went over to the beach that we briefly visited yesterday. At first it was a bit chilly, but it warmed up well, and we got to go swimming in the Baltic Sea! It was pretty amazing and super salty-much more than I was expecting. I loved it though, and I got some sun, which is always nice in the summer. We headed back to the hostel so that we could go to the ARoS art museum at 2 with everyone. Melissa and I went through the museum pretty fast, but it was pretty cool! The rainbow room was definitely the most unique part. I really enjoyed it. Jimmy, Melissa, and I went shopping in Aarhus and checked out Tiger, which is a pretty famous store here that is kind of a mix between a dollar store and IKEA. Very interesting set up and items included. We went to an awesome buffet place last night where we got filled up! Then I did some laundry at the hostel and hung out with the group in the courtyard again and headed to bed!

This morning we're heading back to Copenhagen on the bus and ferry.

The Weekend!

Well, Friday and Saturday were both pretty exciting and active days, so I'm happy that today we're traveling and not having to walk a crazy amount. On Friday, we took a long trek out to Lavuk, which is a school and after-school club for students with disabilities, ranging from ages 12-25. It was really interesting to hear about their philosophy in helping these students and their culture revolving around education. Jimmy, Paige, and I talked to a pedagog, Pia, for a long time about their school and educational system. Basically, they really value recreational skills and building these students' self-confidence rather than focusing completely on educational content. The kids did seem to really enjoy themselves at the club and relaxing with one another. However, we also had to consider the fact that they are completely segregated from their same-aged peers. A very interesting paradox.

We hung out at Lavuk nearly all day and got to chill with the students as they did scooter races and arts and crafts. The group also walked to their harbor where they have sailing and ate lunch there. We headed back into Copenhagen and Melissa, Jimmy, Cam, and I got some AWESOME pizza (spinach, onion, and feta) and hot dogs, which we downed super fast. As we were still hungry, we ate dinner at the hostel with our group and chatted about our trip that day. Then, we went back out to Lavuk for their dance that they have every Friday. I didn't dance all that much, but I did get to play Uno with some awesome and super friendly kids. After the dance, we went to Tivoli Gardens to hear a free concert that was PACKED (about 5,000 people) and ride the swings, which was so cool, especially at night. They're 260 feet up in the air and one of the tallest swing rides in the world, which gave us an amazing view at night with all the lights. A bunch of us chilled there, nearly until the place closed, and then we wandered the streets until we found a nice place to hang out. The Mermaid Bar was our location of choice, and we finally saw some loud Danish people! There's a first time for everything!

We had our first full free day on Saturday, which was really incredible, even though it was exhausting! Cam, Melissa, Jimmy, and I started off the day searching for a place to have brunch. We found a wonderful place that had eggs and bacon and ORANGE JUICE. For those of you who know me well, I value orange juice more than any other beverage in the world, and I have not had it in a week. I was ecstatic, to say the least, and it was delicious. After that, we walked for what felt like forever trying to find this flea market people had talked about. Honestly, the walking was kinda of awful, but we found the market, and it was huge. It was kind of like a gigantic garage sale, but I found a cool dress there, and it was just an interesting experience. From there, we got a bit lost with the buses and had to reroute to get by Our Saviour's Church, which has a HUGE spiral tower at the top. Jimmy, Cam, Melissa, and I walked up a ton of stairs and got to see the amazing view from the top. It was really cool and refreshing up there. I really liked it. We headed into Christiania to explore a bit more after that, and we got to relax and actually see the residential area of the place, which was nice. From there, we headed to Nyhavn, which is the famous place with all the colorful buildings on the water. It was insanely packed, cause the weather was nice, but definitely good to see. Next (super busy day), we walked to the mermaid statue. This was also quite an insane walk, as people kept telling us, "It's not that far." Actually, yes, it was very far away. However, we made it and took lots of pictures there. We took a train back and got McDonald's here, cause we were super hungry. Then, we relaxed at the hostel and went to bed early to pack and rest our super tired feet. 

This morning (Sunday), we ate breakfast, packed up, and checked out in order to start our day of travel to Aarhus, which is the second largest city in Copenhagen and it has a university. We're excited to go somewhere new and have some more experiences. Miss you all, and hope you're doing well!

Educational Experiences

Alrighty, everyone. On to the next few days...

After Christiania on Wednesday, we had dinner as a group and then Gabby, Ashleigh, Cam, Jimmy, Melissa, and I walked around the pedestrian streets here trying to find a good place to get some desserts. Originally we wanted pastries, but all the bakeries seemed to be closed. Instead, we found an awesome Spanish tapas place and got creme brûlée, chocolate cake, and amazing raspberry sorbet. Seriously though, the food was delicious. The night wasn't too exciting, and we were in bed early, but it's always nice to check things out.

Yesterday (Thursday), we traveled a bit out of town to the most accessible building in the world! It's crazy to think about how much time and energy went into its creation. It currently houses a ton of nongovernmental organizations that support disabilities in some way. As it was their Constitution Day yesterday, a man from LEV came in on his day off and spoke to us. It was incredibly nice of him. He talked a lot about the history of intellectual disability and treatment in Denmark, but then we got to talk more about institutionalization and the differences in views between the government and other groups. It was pretty fascinating, and we could relate well with certain issues in the United States. Personally, I found it interesting, because he kept talking about making "reasonable adjustments," and I feel like we don't support that enough in the United States. It's so easy to make a reasonable adjustment for someone and help them succeed.

After that talk and heading back into the city, Melissa, Jimmy, and I headed over to Rosenborg Castle and Gardens. It started to rain, unfortunately, cause we wanted to hang out in the beautiful gardens, but it was still gorgeous and the castle was pretty amazing. I love seeing crazy stuff like that, and the crown jewels! After that, we found a pretty swanky cafe called Electricity (in Danish) and had some nachos, and I tried my first Moscow Mule, which was delicious (thanks for the recommendation, Jimmy and Melissa!). We headed back for dinner with the group, and then Caspar (Ashleigh's Danish friend) took us to Distortion. Honestly, that was one of the best experiences here so far, socially. This music festival switches locations every night and approximately 200,000 Danish people attend each year. There were older individuals, children, and college age students listening to music and hanging out in the streets. It was a pretty crazy experience, but I loved seeing their culture and community so vividly in one place. 

We headed back on the bus and hung out in the lobby with Jordan and Meaghan (our professors) and talked for about an hour and half. It was nice to actually relax with them and discuss research, Denmark, graduate programs, and our education program at CMU. It definitely was a nice way to end the day, and I'm excited to start again this morning! 

Premiere Copenhagen Days

Hello, everyone!

So, originally I had decided that I wasn't going to continue with this blog from when I studied in Chile, but as I've been here, I've realized that we are doing so much each day, and I am learning so much that I don't want to forget. Therefore, I decided I'd keep it up for whoever is interested. However, the posts may dwindle as I continue to travel.

For those of you who don't know, I am currently studying in Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a premiere faculty-led study abroad trip for Special Education majors. There are 15 of us from Central Michigan University, and, honestly, it is an awesome group. Everyone is so friendly, and it's a great environment. After this, Hannah (my lovely roommate from CMU) will be meeting me and we're traveling to 6 other countries in Europe.

I flew out of Michigan on Sunday and arrived here on Monday morning around 11 am (this time, which is 6 hours ahead of MI folks). After walking to our hostel and being assigned an AWESOME room (16th floor looking out over the canal and city), about 10 of us walked along the canal and checked out the swimming pool that's a part of the canal. After that, we picked up 3 more members of our group and headed to the pedestrian walking streets and tried the national Danish beer, Carlsberg. I thought it was pretty delicious! It was really great to meet up with everyone and catch up with some funny stories, especially from the people who had traveled beforehand. We had dinner as a group that night and headed to bed early to work on our jet leg.

On Tuesday, yesterday, we got up early and headed to UCC (University College Capital) and heard some presentations about their training. We got to talk to future teachers from India, the Philippines, Denmark, Ghana, and Turkey. I seriously loved it. Everyone's perspectives are so different, and I learned a lot just from one conversation. Here in Denmark, they have "pedagogs" who are typically preschool teachers, but they are the only ones really trained to work with students with special needs, even though these students are frequently included in the classroom. It's a very different inclusive setting and teacher training than we're used to, but fascinating. We then went on an incredibly rainy canal tour, which was beautiful, but very wet. I went off with a few friends (Jimmy, Melissa, and Gabby) to find a coffee shop (AMAZING chai tea latte) and explore for a while before heading back to dinner. After dinner, the group went to Tivoli Gardens and Amusement Park. We walked around for about an hour and then, Jimmy, Melissa, Gabby, Ashleigh and I decided to find someplace to hang out and talk. We went to a really small pub called Her-er-o and chatted. We wandered for a bit more after and found another place that was so great. We made Danish friends, and they invited us to play foosball with them. We talked to a guy from New Zealand, danced with other Danish people, and really got to experience more of the culture on our own, which was fantastic.

Today, we started the day at the Ministry of Education and had a nice presentation about their inclusive education here. Then, we went to another campus of UCC and had more presentations and conversations with lots of Danish students! I learned a ton today about their system and view on intellectual disabilities, which was wonderful. The students have all been so friendly, and I'm excited to add them all on Facebook to hopefully keep up the connections after this. We had a tour of Christiania from a resident there, which is this commune in Copenhagen where they live completely democratically. All the members (800 of them) have to agree to every decision made, and it is a very sustainable and relaxing place. It's right on the river, and it was really a beautiful place to explore with the group and check everything out. We just finished our dinner with the group, so we're getting ready to head out and explore more! Hope you all enjoyed hearing these random stories.

ALSO-Paige, a girl in our group, has met Miley Cyrus' sister and Steven Tyler so far. Crazy.