The Wright Kind of Democracy

One Airport goodbye led to another adventure for myself, I was off to see my family!

The next week was going to be spent in London, Paris, and back in Copenhagen. A week that was going to be full of some interesting stories to say the least.

After a long line in customs and a solid 3euro spent on wifi I was in Londontown greeted by my Brosef who left his luke warm beer behind. I was excited to see my family, and of course have a beer or two! Getting in pretty late left me no time to site see, instead time for a little shopping. The Topshop in London is AMAZING. But with the statement "would you really pay that much for that" several times over from my sister, I came out empty handed. Rough life. The night was capped with a hipster dinner of traditional English fare. I can say that I enjoy Fish n' Chips and not their organic cider.

The next day was spent rummaging through the flee markets. There were soo many vintage items my sisters head was spinning, much of our excitement was to our brothers dismay. I came away with two necklaces and a hand stitched purse. EXCITING. After walking the streets and enjoying the people watching we split ways. My mom and my sister enjoyed the sites of London, while me and my brother were on the hunt for Arsenal tickets. Bucket List of mine is to go to a European soccer match. They are wild, drunk, and from the looks and sounds of it a TON on fun. to our dismay we could not find tickets since this was such an anticipated match. We settled on a quick Carlsberg to drown our sorrows. Since we had so much time to kill I insisted that we find Chipotle... Every study abroad students dream when they visit London. We did find Chipotle.. that was under construction. May have been the worst 10 seconds of my life. We met up with the family later and settled upon staying in again that night. Me and my brother picked up some thai cuisine as well as had ourselves a mini bar crawl before we put dinner on the table. Knocked back a couple more beers than went to sleep, early wake up tomorrow for the Chunnel!

 *** If you were wondering, I did not see a single London site, except maybe a phone booth. Accomplishing task you if you ask me.

The Chunnel is an interesting and freaky concept. Traveling by train underwater is an easy way to drown in my opinion. To my mothers dismay we did not see any water as we went underneath it. A quick 2.5 hours later we arrived in Paris. Time to secure our bags and not make my mom look like such a vulnerable tourist. Pickpockets galore in Paris. The thing about Paris is the need for French, which the only French speaking member of my family is my mother. Same mom who hopped in a random "cab" in Rome and paid 90$ for a ride that maybe should had been 15$. We were a little concerned to say the least. But In the end she did Great! Add on the 1000+ times me and my brother said Bonsua/Bonjour and we were practically french.

After being in Paris for 3 days I can honestly say it is beautiful. I had my doubts that is for sure, but I find myself sitting here typing wanting to go back. The lights, the monuments, the food... AMAZING. The one monument I could have gone without is the Louvre, given we spent a whole 30 minutes in it covering the staples like the Victory statue, Mona Lisa, and some others pointed out in the pamphlet. I say it all the time that I wish I was more appreciative of Art, Im just not.

Paris was also amazing due to crazy happenings....
1. The first is our trip to Normandy, the historic site of the WWII battle. Getting there was the challenge. If you were smart you would join a tour group that drives a bus straight up there. If you were Wright you would rent a car the day off and hope to god it worked out. In Europe automatic cars are not readily available, so we were stuck with an manual. My sister was SOO excited when our eyes all turned to her, the only person in the family who knew how to drive a stick shift. Lets just say that our lives flashed before our eyes a couple times and that car will never run again judging by the harsh smokey smell. Thank god we got insurance, and the hell out of that rental car lot. But back to Normandy, it was awesome. To see the cliffs that our soldiers had scaled and read about the troubles they encountered is rewarding. You learn about all this in history class but to see it is a different thing. I am so fortunate to have gone.
2. The second was our trip to Monet's hometown. I have always loved Monet and his famous Water Lily paintings. To see the actual pond and gardens where he drew inspiration for these paintings was incredible. You could truly point out what he was looking at. I would recommend it for an out of the ordinary day trip from Paris since its only an hour outside the city, and the cute little french town will make anyone happy!
3. The FOOD. Baguettes on Baguettes on Baguettes as well as croissants, eclairs, meats, cheese, etc! We became regulars in the three days we were there at some bakery. They were even comfortable enough to mock my brothers french. But the best meal by far was my sisters trip advisor find of a french restaurant right off the eiffel tower park. My family cant say enough how good it was. Goat cheese and roasted red pepper salad, Rump roast, Scallops, Truffel salad, non fried calamari, and deserts that melted in our mouth. If I knew the name of it i would tell you to go back, just fabulous!
4. The fourth mot amazing thing was the Eiffel tower. It truly is spectacular. I know the french hate it but boy do the tourists love it. Make sure to hit it at night time on the hour when it comes alive with light. You will understand the need of every study abroad student to upload a picture in front of it once you see it for yourself.

With our time ending in France it was off to my hood, Copenhagen! I was excited to show my family around, only wishing we had more time. It was the shortest leg of the trip by far. The thing about Copenhagen and my lack of appreciation for most things historical, is there is not much to do if the weather sucks. We took advantage of the nice weather by sitting outside on Nyhavn with a couple of beers and hours to kill. I was aslo glad to have my family there so they could see, and i could justify, how expensive Copenhagen is. My mom now knows why her credit card bill is maybe close to 10,000$. Dont worry I am paying her back...eventually.

I was so fortunate to have two weeks of loved ones visiting. It really makes studying abroad great that you can share your experiences together and have an eternal bond overtime of that one time at the one place in Europe. Many more trips to come with the fam, thinking Eastern Europe or the countryside of Ireland.

Another day of saying goodbye to someone meant yet another day of me leaving on yet another adventure. This time is was a two week last hoorah through Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Vienna, and Munich! going out with a bang and a huge history lesson. I really cannot believe I am almost done with my studying abroad. I seriously need to win the lottery or learn how to count cards because there is no way I am not coming back to every country in Europe before I die.

Off to the region of great beer, lots of sausage, and a whole lot of history..

Cheers from Chels :)

Another Raint Day in front of the Arc de Triumph

Claude Monet's Home

Omaha Beach

Nyhavn

The Car that will never live again.

Christmas Card worthy shot :)

The Prince in Denmark

I don't think you can stress enough how fast time flies.

For almost 75 days now I had the date March 30th etched in my calendar. I found it impossible that it was already here. The one thing standing between me and that date was a HRM final. Why was this date deserving of a countdown?? The prince himself, Jack, was finally going to be in Copenhagen. 

In anticipation of picking him up from the airport I may or may not have finished my final a little to early. Given that it was a 4 hour allotted time test, i only took about 2.5, still a solid effort if you ask me. Finishing early ended up being even worse cause I sat in anxiety at the airport for over and hour and a half waiting. Did I mention I had text message updates on arrival time changes, landing, and baggage claim. I don't know how many times I received a text saying the flight had changed arrival time by about 5 minutes. Sitting there was actually interesting tho because you were able to see all the people reuniting with their loved ones. Couldn't wait for it to be my turn. There really is nothing like an airport pick up after long absences. 

Thankfully when Jack arrived it was actually nice out. "warmest" weather we had all week and it was really sunny. Great day to explore the city a little. Its amazing how lively Copenhagen is when there is just a little bit of sun out! It was crucial first that we grabbed a couple of beers. 12.5% beers I might add. We scoped the city from classic Nyhavn, The Opera House, and all the places in between. Limited time before the Jetlag would actually kick in. 

The rest of the week was spent bundling up from the 20 mph winds the lack of pure sun and the occasional rain fall. Somehow it managed to be one of the worst weather weeks in a while. So finding stuff to do inside that did not involve drinking was hard. This led to more beer, coffee, and pastry's than I have probably consumed in my whole stay in Copenhagen. Some could call us experts in the field. Lesson learned Wiebro beer is strong, Hoeegarden is a great choice no matter what, you must get the homemade poptart from Lahagureshdkahfsdlkjhaflsh (dont know how to spell the name), a cinnamon roll from brodenhoffs, and a monkey bread-esque thing from Lauras bakery along with the rosemary bread, hop on over to the coffee collective for the best drip coffee and cappuccino in the whole city. Oh and we can't forget a classy cocktail at the Jane, madmen inspired bar even if they are 20$ a pop. So many other delicacies that we were lucky enough to taste.

Highlights of the trips were my trips to Helsingor castle, the inspiration for Hamlet. Helsingor castle lies in the city of Helsingor and is a cute little town. It is basically a downscaled version of Copenhagen with 20x more liquor stores for the Swedes who travel the short distance across the sea. We also made it to a deer park, sounds lame but quite interesting to see thousands of deer roaming. Also a fun game to see how close jack can get to them.. And we must not forget the failed attempt at going to Berlin, easy jet you are on my shit list. 

Overall it was a great week that was WAY to short. With only one month till I am back in the states tho I think I will survive. There really is nothing like being in Europe tho with your Prince ;) I truly will never forget that week.

Cheers from Chels!

The Most Danish Guy I know 

Helsingor Castle

2 trays of fisk shots coming right up...

Ice Bar Copenhagen

Hunting Lodge at the Deer Park

Punk.

Danish Final Exams + EUROSHAT

Danish Finals are weird.

Today I took my first Final at Copenhagen Business School. I was allowed to bring my book, my notes, all the lecture slides, any calculator, and basically the world. How do you study for an exam when you are going to have all the materials anyways???

The allotted exam time was 9am to 1pm. 4 HOURS?!?!?!? wtf. was not into this. I was pretty confident that I would not need that time. But I did indeed. The difficulty level of this exam made me a little less worried for my other 3 finals coming up. I basically have to be prepared for them all by next friday. VISITORS. Well worth the week of hell that I am about to endure.

UPDATES:

Just booked a two week long trip from April 16th-April 30th. I could not be more excited to go back to some of my roots :) Berlin>Prague>Krakow>Vienna>Salzburg>Munich. All that include the Berlin Wall, Auschwitz, The Sound of Music Tour, SpringFest (mini Oktoberfest) and much much more!! The sad thing is it might be my last trip but I can not complain. I will be fortunate enough to spend my last three weeks in Europe in my city, København. I can't believe I will be on a plane back to the USofA in 56 days. WHAAAAA. I truly am so Lucky that I have been able to study abroad. I don't think I can thank my family enough.

To Recap, My european adventure will have included:
1. Stockholm, Sweden
2. Amsterdam, Netherlands (Utrecht)
3. Budapest, Hungary
5. Rome, Italy
6. Oslo, Norway
7.Brussels, Belgium
8. London, England
9. Paris, France (Versaille)
10. Berlin, Germany
11. Prague, Czech Republic
12. Krakow, Poland
13. Vienna, Austria
14. Salzburg, Austria
15. Munich, Germany
and last but not least...
16. Copenhagen, Denmark

14 Countries, 4 Months, WOW.

I soon will return to Europe. I must see Greece, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland, Turkey, Croatia, Morocco (africa), Iceland, Finland, and hey lets throw in Russia.

Traveling truly is a bug.

Love and Miss you all! (See you in 6 & 14 days ;)

Cheers from Chels ;)

Another Weekend Down

This weekend was the first one spent in Copenhagen in what seems like FOREVER. I had the pleasure of my first visitor, Erin! Its kind of exciting to have someone come and be responsible for showing them around. The good thing about having visitors is it forces you to explore the city. This weekend I saw more of Copenhagen than I have since I have been here... Ooops.

Thursday night was a whirlwind. Erin's flight arrived at 10 pm. Crunch time. As i was waiting for her at the airport I ended up chatting with an old man, who was picking up his "lady friend." He was so sweet. We were commenting on all the people passing through, like where they are from, who are they meeting. Something about the airport pick up is so Hollywood, watching people reunite, even if it is a short absence, is magical (as lame as that sounds). Can't wait to do another one in 18 days :) Anyways back to the whirlwind. Thursday nights are big going out nights in Cope. So 10pm arrival meant we had to get back and ready fast. Luckily Erin and here friend Sarah are super fast at getting ready. Before we knew it we were on our way to Kulor Bar, meaning one thing Cages. They were intrigued do the the club vibe that Kulor Bar has. The night ended short when I got in a little pickle with the bouncer. 3 am was late enough as it was..So we could call it Perfect timing, aside from the fact that the Metros were closed till 5am so we had to cab.

Friday morning we awoke to the grey day, but it was necessary to explore the city. We walked through this amazing market, the Danish version of a Farmers Market with fresh bread, fruit, pastries, and crazy looking fish. Other things on our agenda were the Round Tower, the lakes of Copenhagen, Stroget street, The famous picture of Copenhagen (Nyhavn), and many more. We even found trampolines built into the sidewalk to entertain ourselves. So much packed into one day, but I liked it. The night consisted of tooo many things. I took them to 2 of my favorite bars, Francis Pony and The Happy Pig. We cut the night short because we wanted to seize the next day.

Saturday was pretty much chill day. We walked around a tad more and headed through Christiania. Just imagine Hippies and Gypsies. Not literally. But this district is insane. They have a green light district, a market, and the group of most eclectic people living there. Fun fact: In order to live there everyone in Christiania has to approve of you. The weather was kind of messy, so we decided to stay in for the day and watch countless shows. We made it through Just Go With It, Role Models, Vampire Diaries, The Lincoln Lawyer, Inception, and lastly the Vow (easily the saddest movie ever, tears may or may not have been shed)

Sunday awoke us with bright sunshine. Could not be happier for them to see what Copes real potential was. When the sun is shining it is a totally different city. Everyone is out on every street bench, sitting drinking a latte, walking there dogs, and just being plain happy. Study showed that Danish spend 70% of their time inside because of the weather. We started the day at my favorite brunch place, Cafe 22. They were in heaven. We even got to sit outside because the weather was so beautiful. We were right on the shores of the Lakes. Picture Fall in Minnesota and that is what it felt like. Afterwards we walked along the shores a while longer. We made it through this great park with the Roseborg castle and along the shores to the Little Mermaid. It was a GREAT day.

Having my best friend here made me that much more Homesick. Its amazing how the people you are with make your mood. I love my friends in Copenhagen (Jenn ;)) don't get me wrong. It was just a nice breather of the people I am used to...

Next weekends adventures bring me that much closer to Home, Brussles, Belgium where I will be reunited with everyone in Gphi abroad it seems. Sensation White is the reason. I cannot wait to dedicate a whole night to some House music and WHOMPING :) Can't wait to see what the weekend brings.

Hope all is well with everyone back home and elsewhere in Europe.

Cheers from Chels!

I'm on a Boat!

My whirlwind week was not quite finished. After arriving home at about 11pm, I found myself yet again packing for another trip.. This time Oslo,Norway ! Although I would only be in Oslo for 9 hours I was still excited. This was also my first time on a cruise, not quite the Caribbean but still..

The boat was Interesting. Imagine 200 crazy exchange students and the rest of the ship consisting of small families trying to enjoy a leisurely weekend. Boy were they in for a surprise.

Our cabin was anything but spacious. Throw in a classic case of pneumonia and pink eye and I was ready to get the hell out of there by Sunday. One positive was the comfy pillows. Nothing else. The boat itself was pretty cool along with the vacAtion package. All of our meals were paid for which was a nice change as well as an unlimited wine night. Dangerous. Best this I ate was Brie cheese. Obsessed with it, over here it is so much better. Other highlights of the trip were all the spaniards smashing their bottles on the ground and almost going to jail, several instances of puke in the elevator, how many times josh hacked up phlem, and the non breakable alarm that went off at 8 am each morning...

As for the real reason or the cruise.. OSLO! Norway for the short time we were there was breathtaking. The people are adorable, the view are amazing, and it was fabulously sunny. We had a three hour bus ride where we saw a famous sculpture park, ski flying jumps, and the site of the infamous terrorist attack this past summer. Our your guide was awesome. She was all sorts of sassy and knew how to deal with 50 college kids. How many times she said Norway was the best or number one deserves an award. After the bus we had some free time to explore the city a little. My time was spent in a souvenir store, paying for a 30$ baked potato (wtf) and shopping in Zara. Jenn was about to fall asleep walking along with the rest of us so we decided to go back a little early and nap. One of THE best naps I have ever taken.

The next morning did not come soon enough. Time to get off the damn boa t! Overall tho the experience of being in Norway itself was great. I would live to go back and really experience what it has to offer. But when bake potatoes cost 30$ I don't think I could afford a whole weekend.

This weekend is another weekend in Copenhagen! I also have a special visitor, ERIN! I love that she is visiting me since nobody else seems to find any I interest in Copenhagen. They are truly missing out on a great city that has an amazing atmosphere and essentially no tourists. So what if it's a little chilly, we all come from Minnesota right?? (bitter) I plan on taking her to
Christiania, the round tower, and obviously Kulor Bar. Hopefully she lives this city as much as I have grown to.

As always..
Cheers from Chels :)

When in Rome

Sitting in the ruin pubs of Budapest with Laura it hit us, why not go to Rome straight from Hungary. It's is cheap and we didn't feel like going to school for the week. Study abroad is all about the crazy decisions so why not do one. Plus Rome was 70 degrees...Copenhagen was 35....

We arrived in Rome fairly late which posed a problem for bussing to downtown. I was about to have a an anxiety attack because there was three people telling me what they wanted and I was in the middle. 50 euro cab ride later we made it to downtown. Note: they do not have credit card machines.

I was very excited to see Erin. I hadn't seen anyone from Madison since then! It was almost a breath of fresh air and normalcy. We had to scurry to our hostel to check in before midnight. To our surprise we were staying in the battered women's shelter ( or so we liked to call it) where we had a curfew of 3 am. This was a problem we were unaware of... A problem we would deal with when we came to it. We headed off that night to Scholars, as Erin said the Kollege Klub on the exchange students in Rome. It was an Irish lib setting with cheap specials, sports games, and kareoke. Safe to say it was a good first night.

Day 2 was filled with sight seeing and search of pizza. We made our way to the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and numerous other buildings that I'm sure are really important. Ignorant I know. We did not avoid the numerous cat calls from the creepy Italian men. This makes me appreciate the Danes and their blonde hair even more. For anyone that has ever called me a ginger, the Italians prove you wrong ;-)
We managed to make our way through the shopping district like Gucci, Pravda, fendi, etc...even went into the stores. It was a tad awkward cause I knew I couldn't afford a single thing. Beautiful items I will one day be rich enough to afford. All this walking worked up our appetite and we ate at Erin's favorite pizza place and downed a bottle of wine. Pizza is truly amazing here. Thin crust may be the only way to go.
The day ended with the night at Scholars where we sang a little karaoke, something I had never done in public. Spice up your life was our choice of song to many peoples dismay.

Day 3 I started it off solo. I walked around the city of Rome by myself. It was almost weird since I knew where I was going based in my memories from 9th grade. It was so beautiful out. The Vatican and saint peters square is truly beautiful.
I walked the path that my sister took to class and back everyday straight to her apartment and the restaurant that our family loved and forever will remain one of the best bologneses I have ever had. I sat there by myself eating pasta and drinking wine while old men sat around for business lunches. It was kind of fun to watch these old Italian men. Their culture is intriguing. I was pampered with free wine and desserts by the cutesy old man ever. Hopefully it isn't 6 years till I return again.
Afterwards I met up with Erin and the other girls in her apartment where we drank wine and played cards into the night. Red wine equals nasty teeth and nastier hang over. Two boxes later and we were in a deep sleep cuddling in a twin bed while the bachelor was playing.
The night ended yet Again at Scholars , kreature status for the week. Me and Erin ripped out the old school Eeminem "without me" and Vitamin C's "graduation" (not the biggest crowd response) but hey we went with it. Our night did not end at scholars, we made our way to Erin's "Jimmy Johns" of Italy where they make you paininis till late. They ended up being closed, but lucky to us (luck plus pounding on windows and extreme yelling) we got them to open up the shop. It was the perfect ending to the night.

Day 4, my last day, was once again a beautiful day. It was also Erin's day to catch up for her Italian test later. So I just chilled. It helped I had been to Rome before so I didn't feel obligated to go see everything again. I joined Erin on her art history. Pass where it is basically a walking tour of the city and many amazingly designed buildings. On the way we stopped and got gelato, strachiatella, just like I remembered. I wish I had the metabolism I had in 9th grade where I ate it 3 times a day... No joke. My Italian trip was complete.

It was yet again off to the airport. Ciao Roma it was nice to see you!

Up next Oslo, Norway- talk about extremes. Can't wait to see where that one takes me. As always miss lots of you, I cannot believe I leave Europe in less than 80 days. It is crazy how fast it really goes.

Cheers from Chels

Budapest- My New FAVORITE

I never thought I would have spent this past weekend in Budapest, Hungary. It never really crossed my mind as a place that I MUST go to. But after this weekend, I am more than happy I did. Budapest is by far my favorite city thus far in Europe. Maybe even more than Copenhagen (oops). The main factors are that it is cheaper, a tad warmer, and seemingly more sites and areas to see.

Study Abroad is all about cheap flights and the "experience." Our first glimpse of this was when we booked a flight out of Malmo Airport to go to Budapest because it was significantly cheaper. $70USD was the base fare for a round trip flight. This did not include credit card booking fees, boarding pass printing fees, and some more bullshit fees. After all that is was around $165, still fairly cheap. Throw on a $100 more dollars in taxi cab fairs to Malmo since you missed both your trains and buses at 4 am in the morning... Than you really should have just paid to fly out of Copenhagen. HASSLE FREE. Those several minutes where I thought I wouldn't make my flight to Budapest were pure anxiety (in need of a xanax) attack.

Arriving in Budapest, was well, Different. Ive had yet to get off a plane where you go down the stairs on the tarmac and take a bus to the baggage claim. It was crowded and pointless. Discount Airlines!! We took a shuttle down to the city center of Budapest. My travel buddy gets motion sickness easily and looked as if she was going to throw up. Crazy driver. We were greeting by our Hostel owner, Sándor. He created one of the most positive experiences ever. He was awesome and could tell he loved his job. He showed us around the city quick than brought us to our hostel which was really just a cute apartment that was conveniently across from the number one bar in Budapest, we shall get to that later. He whipped out a map and several pamphlets of things that we should do and spent an hour making sure we knew the lay of the land. I would recommend this Hostel to anyone. Super cheap and quaint. Blue Danube Hostel for Reference. And if you skip hostelworld.com and book directly through him you save 10 percent ;) After he left we made our way to the scheduled wine tasting we had at the Faust Wine Cellar up on Castle Hill.

We decided to walk to the wine tasting so we could see a couple of sites along the way. The city is absolutely breathtaking. The Danube River helps set the perfect scene. We made it to the Chain bridge, the first bridge connecting Buda and Pest (actually two different cities), than up to fisherman's bastion, the old Royal Buildings, and Mattias Church. BEAUTIFUL. We of course made time for cliche jumping pictures and statue poses. This wine cellar was located 54 steps to be exact  underground in the Hilton Hotel. It was an old cellar and didn't even have internet capabilities or a bathroom. Great setting. The two hosts were adorable and were so happy to please us. We picked the white wine lovers tour and got to sample 8 different wines from the various regions of Hungary from the dry whites, fruity chardonnays, and the super sweet dessert wines. I ended up buying a bottle to bring home with me. Worth the splurge and the memory. Along with the wine tasting we received hungarian pastries with cheese on top as well as a cheese platter of several delicious cheeses. I felt so posh.  Everything hit us when we walked up to the daylight around 4 pm, 8 wine samples + 1 full glass deep. Trouble. We made out way down Castle hill in Buda, crossed the chain bridge, and made it safely to Pest. We continued the fun at various cafes and pubs indulging in the Miller Lite of Hungary, Shiproni. We had a pitcher of beer for about $8, dirt cheap in Europe and even in the US. I wil never get over how cheap everything is here. For example a HUGE bottle of water here is less than a dollar, about 178 HUF (215 HUF = 1 USD) confusing to see a price of 10,000 HUF places, but in actuality it isn't that bad. We were wiped from the day between missed trains, anxiety and wine. We ended up falling asleep at 8 pm.

Saturday was another tourist day. We decided to spend money on the Hop on Hop off tour. This enabled us to avoid buying a metro pass, plus it included a free beer and goulash soup. The bus was a little hot and stuffy, and preferably I would have enjoyed walking. But you can't please them all. We made it all over the city, from Heroes Square to Citadel Hill where the views of the city a mind blowingly beautiful to the Parliament building and the shoes on the Danube. Negatives of our bus tour were that sometimes you couldn't hop on a bus because it was too full.. BS.. and it smelled like it was going to blow up in flames trying to climb several hills. But overall it was worth it. As they say.."A picture is worth a thousand words.. and 5000 HUF."

Saturday night we had a reservation at a restaurant called SPOON. It is a boat on the water that was absolutely amazing. For around 10,000 HUF or about 42 USD I had 1 absolut and soda, 2 glasses of chardonnay, an appetizer of goat cheese bruschetta, monkfish in a coconut curry, and amazing dessert selection. Thats unheard of in the US and definitively in Copenhagen. We ended the night at this interesting bar, called a Ruin Bar. They are interesting because they have short term leases and the owner can tear down the building whenever he pleases. They are filled with flea market finds and old furniture. Super eclectic but a lot of fun. We met some kids who studied in Budapest from the United States. They love it here, and so did we. Two draft beers for something like 5 dollars. Highlight of the night had to be the food we got after. Qdoba substitute basically. Mexican is something that Copenhagen lacks. We managed to find ourselves with jars of salsa and queso along with a huge bag of chipe mysteriously in our purses.. OOPS.

Sunday was another big day. Started out a little rough when I was locked inside my room trying to go to the bathroom. torture. Once we got up we made our way to the New York Cafe, supposedly the second best cafe in the world. I had an amazing Vanilla Latter (probably my 7th one of the trip because they are so cheap) and scrambled eggs. I miss Marigolds and Sunroom Cafe. Our waiter was obviously Hungarian and spoke little english. He would always say please and thank you when it did't make sense to add it to the conversation. He tried. After brunch we made our way to the Szcheni Thermal Baths. This is a phenomenon in Hungary, and particularly in Budapest. They are heated pools that are outside. So even when it is like 0 degree old men are out there playing chess and basking in the heat. It was definitely a once in a life time experience. I could have laid there for hours. But obviously I began to burn, awkward, and my hands pruned up like no others. Something to cross of my Euro bucket list. Afterwards we stumbled home with intentions to go to the Holocaust memorial center. Things went array when we found this place that had been raved about, MENZA. Holy hell it was amazing. And for about 20 USD I had a glass of wine, a tall beer, Garlic Soup with traditional hungarian bread, Baked Eggplant with meat and tomatoes, and a Menza burger that was awesome. Not to mention the atmosphere was great too. I love to bee a foodie. Its how I would love to spend my European travel time. In need of some dessert we went to another cute cafe where desserts were spinning in the window, literally. We indulged in some Baileys and Coffee for me of course and some other fine desert cakes. Pure bliss. Our walk home was bittersweet seeing that it was our last night in Budapest.

Budapest is seriously amazing and if it wasn't on your travel plans before it should be now. The views are awesome, the price is right, and the food is amazing. I want to come back this late spring if I have the opportunity. I just love it.

Next stop, and spur of the minute decision by myself, ERIN DONGOSKE IN ROMA HEYYYYYY. Couldn't be more excited to see her, see rome, and indulge in some tasty Italian food. My life seriously is not real.

Cheers from Chels ;)

I Live in the Best City in the WORLD

This is not an opinion.. its a FACT.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/copenhagen-probably-the-best-city-in-the-world-842782.html

Not only do I live in Copenhagen, but Minneapolis made the list too. Proud moment right there :)


Cheers from Chels!

Sweating Out the Weekend

This past weekend was my first weekend fully spent in Copenhagen in a while. I thought I would have the stamina to travel every weekend, but it is just not possible!

Thursday night was my first experience at a "club" called Nexxus.. Why the parentheses around club? Funny you ask. This "club" is actually located on the ground floor of our school...It resembles a high school homecoming dance with everyone you go to school with there, the randoms that they bring with them, and groups of people huddling around a flask they snuck in. FUN! Don't get me wrong it was a lot of fun actually. They even ended up having a huge dance floor and legit DJ. Safe to say me and my friends took advantage of that. The Danes could learn a thing or too from us and spare us there incriminating stares. Sorry were fun! Consequently my friday was shot.

Saturday was a majorly productive day for me. Me and two of my other friends headed to Cafe 22 for their weekend brunch. For $20 (cheap here) we had a buffet of a great assortment of food that we could not produce ourselves. There were pancakes, chicken wings (random breakfast item), scrambled and hard boiled eggs, lox, pesto, brie cheese, so many different spreads, turkey, chorizo, fruit galore, etc etc. You get the picture. I also had an amazing vanilla latte here, my first in europe! My mom would love this place solely for there lattes. They one thing I am confused at is why they put them in large glass cups.. holy hottness. The etiquette of a buffet is somewhat different here. The danes eat everything on there plate. My standard buffet consists of sampling one of everything. They eat everything because you are intended to use the same plate for each round at the buffet. Stupid Americans-- we did not follow this rule. My favorite item from the buffet by far was brie cheese, pesto, and rugbrod (their classic bread). So simple but so amazing. Brie cheese here is like cheddar cheese in the U.S., not a bad substitute in my book. I will be back again!

After brunch we headed to another coffee shop, Baresso. This is the Starbucks of Denmark. You will find one everywhere. The perks of Baresso is the free wifi. It was the perfect place to spend saturday sipping lattes while studying for our many classes (the real reason we are here.....) I yet again ordered another vanilla latte, semi obsessed with them here. Something about being in Europe, in a cafe drinking coffee makes it taste so much better. After a solid 4 hours of studying, flight booking, and facebooking we headed back home to our dorm to prepare for our night out. Tonight there was a party, in a "club", in the ground floor of one of the student dorms. Still amazes me. This dorm called tieten-something was amazing. It was modern, clean, visually appealing, and way cheaper than the "suite" (that has been broken into and robbed 4 times) I live in. The one downfall of this place is how far away from everything else it is. But back to the "club," 800 people replied that they were attending, and this place could fit about 150, maybe. So we got there fairly early. The drinks were super cheap, cheaper than the U.S.(gasp!) But it was way too crowded to have an enjoyable time so me and Jenn left to go to an even better bar ;) This was the joke of the night. We were actually embarrassed to tell everyone we were just going to get food so we made it sound like we were going to this really awesome bar that nobody knew about-- in actuality a pizza place. This was the cheapest and probably best meal I have had in Copenhagen. Brings me back to the days of Ian's pizza. All I needed was some ranch. Consequently (again), sunday was shot. I did however plan two 10 day trips throughout Italy and Spain respectively.

But today, Monday, usually a dreaded day, has been a great day. Me and my friend Jenn got up early and headed to the gym, Fitness dk. This is the Lifetime of Denmark. Early in the morning you get the before work crowd, during the day around 10-1pm you get the older crowd of people, the ones who smell, and the later in the day you get all of the students and younger adults. This is where it becomes a scene. How dressed up can you get to go to the gym? This is why LuLu Lemon makes  a killing, their (Almost put "There" but Lauren and Aaron would have a hissy fit, sorrynotsorry) workout clothes are cute and fashionable. It is a sea of beautiful people. I was of course repping my "I'm going to the KK" shirt (oh if only I actually was) and my Wisconsin shorts. Pretty successful workout. I plan on joining this heinous place this wednesday when there is no $60 signup fee, after all Lauren & Joe's wedding is only 144 days away (:-o) !!

Im looking forward to my long week of school with over 21 hours of pure class time. The highlight will be friday morning when I fly out to Budapest, Hungary! I cannot wait to see this amazing city. Can't wait to fill you in on the adventures I have!

Cheers (-ing water) from Chels!

Copenhagen Bloggers

If you Would like another perspective on Copenhagen visit these other blogs I have linked. These people are highly entertaining, ENJOY!

http://cultureshockincopenhagen.wordpress.com/

http://waibelsbible.tumblr.com/

http://howtocopen.wordpress.com/

Cheers from Chels :)

How to Piss off a Dane

This article was recently shared with some of my friends. Read it, it is highly entertaining.... And True!

How to Piss off a Dane

Americans, myself included, are pretty successful at this. I can't smile at your kids? I can't wear sweatpants in public? FIRST WORLD PAINS.

Cheers from Chels!

Whats Up Next

Planning my European adventure has been quite the event. But well worth it. Here is what I have planned so far for you to look forward to ;)

Feburary 24th-27th -- Budapest, Hungary
*A beautiful city with current temps of 40 degree. Tank top weather ;)

March 2nd-4th -- Oslo, Norway
*School planned trip where we will take a cruise to Oslo.

March 16th-18th -- Brussels, Belgium
*Sensation White Festival with a ton of MADTOWN people :)

March 30th- April7th -- Jack meets Copenhagen ;)

April 7th-April15th-- Wright Family visit
*London, Paris, Copenhagen

May 4th--Avicii in Copenhagen

May 19th--Chels leaves Copenhagen

In the works I have plans to visit Berlin, Prague, Italy, Spain, and Croatia for Georgies 21st BIRTHDAY!! Less than 95 days left in Europe. It sounds like a lot but I know it will fly by.

Cheers from Chels!

Amsterdamnit

Amsterdam Canals

Eurotrip #2 Complete. But this one came with a little complications.


Last Thursday we embarked for out second trip while in europe, to Amsterdam. Safe to say the boys were peeing there pants with excitement. Most of us know why ;) Ill admit, I was quite excited myself. Amsterdam is a cliche place to visit, and after seeing Anthony Bourdain's the Layover in Amsterdam I was ready for the weekend. 


We arrived at around 1:30 on thursday afternoon, giving us plenty of time to explore the city while there was still daylight. Hopping off Central Station puts you right into all the action of Amsterdam. The Red Light District was on your left, Coffee Shops everywhere, and Persians galore (???). First things first we checked into your Hotel. Being a girl I whimped out on the whole Hostel idea. And judging from what my friends said about theres, it was a good idea. They were offered shrooms from their bunkmate. I mean I guess it is Amsterdam and anything goes. After dropping off our stuff we hopped over to a coffee shop for the boys entertainment. They were in HEAVAN. It literally is like everyone says. You can go into a coffee shop, buy marijuana and sit there and smoke it. They also have edible things like brownies and space cakes. Of course I did not participate. After the boys were finished we went to the Anne Frank House. This was a must do while we were in Europe. After reading the book in 8th grade it was almost creepy to walk through there. Her pictures she pasted hanging up and the height chart of her and her siblings was still etched in the wall. I still cannot fathom that people lived like that and the other human beings could be so cruel. To think it was less than 70 years ago. How times have changed.. or have they?? 


"Despite Everything, I believe that people are really good at heart"-- Anne Frank


Its amazing how after everything this child has been through she can still find the good in people. Should be a lesson that all of us can take away.


After the Anne Frank House we went back and took a nap. This was to our disadvantage. We ended up sleeping till about 9:30. This is where I encountered my first Shworma experience. Its turkish food thats kind of like Gyros. At only 6 euros it was right in my budget and pretty good if you ask me. Add some chili and garlic sauce and it was even better. By the end of the trip I think we had eaten it twice, some of the boys 3 times. We wondered through the Red Light District at night. It is a whole different world. We saw a transaction go down, really messed up. What surprised me was the lack of bars open at around 2 am. We did find a rock bar in the middle of the Red Light District where we had a Beer. It even came with a front row seat to a drug deal in the alley. After being sufficiently creeped out ended up going back to the hotel and crashing. I should mention, they have beer in the vending machines at out hotel. Step up AMURICA!


The next morning we were determined to be productive. We went of a free walking tour of the city.. on THE coldest day there. Fun fact, Hunter Boots, even with inserts do not keep your feet warm. They do not insulate at all. Biggest waste of $40 I ever spent. My feet felt like they were going to fall off. Our tour guide was awesome. She was a younger woman from germany who had moved to amsterdam about 7 years ago. Giving tours was her job. She showed us around the Red Light District, East Amsterdam, and other various places. 


Fun Facts from the Tour:
1. Marijuana is in fact ILLEGAL. But nobody has been arrested for it in over 30 years. 
2. You will not die from Marijuana. If you call the ambulance they will come give you orange juice and a 400 euro bill. 
3. The Oldest prostitute in the Red Light District if 84 years old, with a 2 week waiting list.....
4. If you take pictures of the "Ladies" in the windows they will come out of their window with a stale cup of urine and throw it on you. (Even this didn't stop some of our friends from taking pictures)
5. There is a church right in the middle of the Red light District. It used to be for sailors to repent there sins after they were naughty. 
6. To become Prostitute, you have to register with the city as an Entrepreneur. I would like to see that on someones Facebook profile. HAH

7. They are trying to ban all these activities to tourists, and making them solely available to people residing in the Netherlands or Hollands.. Which one is it? I don't really know.






After the tour we went to the Heineken Brewery Museum. Safe to say it was way cooler than the Carlsberg one, but it is also a much bigger brand. The Museum was awesome. Lots of visuals and interactive segments. We tried "Wort" which is a mixture of barley and water heated up I believe. We also got to "Become the Brew." This was like a 4D video show with sound effects, water, and moving platforms. It was fun! Other highlights included a lesson on how to drink/pour Heineken properly. (Quick summary: Big foam head to keep the carbonation, huge gulps, let it sit in your mouth that swallow, this allows you to taste the bitterness, and you better finish you whole beer.) I also personalized a bottle with "Lake Life" in honor of Georgie, Erin, and Gordo. Cannot wait to be out on Lake Minnetonka this summer sipping Heinekens the RIGHT way ;) After that we got a bite to eat, surprise surprise more Shwoarma! and some tequila. AY AY AY. Alcohol was way cheaper here, so we were definitely taking advantage. At night we were trying to go to this club called Paradiso, for the second night in a row. But the boys we were with were too cheap to spend any money. So me and my friend Jenn went to a different bar without them. It was soooo crowded and supposedly members only. Being a girl does come to your advantage. We saw a whole slew of people. From the gangstas in the corner, to the athletes towering over everyone, and the random netherlandish (someone help me out here) people we made friends with. Too much tequila was involved in this night, and resulted in us leaving early and some sketchy food place. I don't even want to know what I ate. We got back to the hotel and I had some sort of fetish saying the word "HOUSEKEEEEEEEEEPING" over and over till I fell asleep. HOUSEKEEEEEEEEPING. I was the favorite roommate obviously. 

We woke up the next morning feeling pretty great. Our hotel was right in the middle of the Museum district, and was located on the Rodeo Drive of Amsterdam. It was so legit and not scary at all. We walked around a little bit before we headed inside the Van Gogh museum. This was a must do while in Amsterdam as well. The disappointments I had about this exhibit was its lack of "The Starry Night" portrait and the fact that the paintings were covered in glass. It didn't allow you to see the full effect of the brush stroke. 









The biggest highlight of my trip was Saturday night. Our friend Parker, a Whomp enthusiast, pointed out a concert call Winterkriebels. IT WAS AMAZING. One of the best nights of my life. It was in the city of Utrecht, a short train ride away. It was everything I live for in music.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FHqF_ff1NI&feature=related


We stayed out until 7 am. I have never had such an adrenaline rush in my life. Favorite DJ of the night were the Bingo Players. Pure Genius. This only made me more excited for Avicii and Sensation White coming up later in my travels. 


The fact that we stayed out until 7 am put a damper on the next day, we did not wake up until 3pm. In major need of food and water me and Jenn went out for Sushi. It was the best sushi that we have had in Europe by far. Spicy Tuna x2 and Seaweed salad, my go to. Such a cleansing feeling. After we met up with everyone at this Heineken bar where we just chilled and drank a couple pints of beer. Everyone was exhausted. It was nice just to hang out and chill. I really like the group of people that I travel with. Everyone brings something different to the table. After about 2 or 3 pints we called it a night. Well most of us. Some boys took the absinthe route and hallucinated through there last night in Amsterdam. I cannot even imagine what there brain was thinking. 

Drinking Heineken Properly

Pancakes! Amsterdam

With that we concluded our trip and headed to the Airport. I will gladly say that I had an amazing time in Amsterdam, but will never be back again. Once is enough. It is cool to say you go there. But considering I am not a museum person, I am not interested in prostitutes, and I am not interested in Marijuana, there is not much there for me. I found it somewhat sketchy and dirty. But I DO recommend everyone going there once in there life. And if you can time it right, in the summer. Way more things to do and see.



Monday morning, our last day in Amsterdam. We finished off the trip with some traditional dutch pancakes. They were amazing. So light and thing. I had a banana pancake with mixed nuts while Jenn and her brother had three American pancakes with Bacon. MMM MMM GOOD. We attempted to skate on the canals since the whole weekend they were frozen, the first time in over 15 years. The site of everyone skating on the canals was soo cool. There was even little stands set up selling hot chocolate and other various goods. Unfortunately we were a day too late, and a heat wave of 37 degrees started to melt the ice. We decided to then head over to the I AMSTERDAM sign to take a couple of pictures. You can guarantee at least 3 other randoms in your picture. Still a must see. 

BOMB THREAT

BUT WAIT. our trip did not end her. To our surprise some idiot lunatic decided it was a good idea to lock himself in a bathroom stall and claim he had a bomb. Bomb Threat.. Really?? I thought that only happened in America. We were stuck waiting to enter the terminal for over 6 hours. Granted we were provided free water and coffee it was still awful. The good news is that there was no bomb and the kid was hauled off to jail. I dont think that kid realized how much money and time he cost the world as well as how much his life is going to change. It would be cool to hear what his thoughts were. But finally 6 hours later we took off for home, Copenhagen. It was nice to finally lay in my own bed with all the comforts of my dorm. Candles lit i was ready to fall asleep. I am looking forward to spending a whole weekend in Copenhagen. Can't wait to go out with all my friends. 


Love and Miss everyone back home!


Cheers from Chels!