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 ;)
Friday, March 23, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
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!
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!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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 :)
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
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
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