When will you realize... Vienna waits for you

So I’m back in Copenhagen, and while my host family greeted me with a small birthday celebration to brighten my long trip back, I wish I were still traveling, roaming winding European streets and exploring new cities every two days. My sixteen days of traveling were filled with ups and downs, but it was an overall incredible and positive experience. I’m going to do my best to include everything, so be aware that this is going to be long.

Hillary and I left for Vienna on Friday night with a few minor glitches. First of all, we could not find each other in the metro station. You may be thinking how is that possible, but really it took us ten minutes to find each other before we could even get to the airport. Hillary and I like to say that we can never do anything “normally.” It is always more complicated and our adventures somehow turn into a comedy (If you need more elaboration, refer back to my Bornholm biking post). Well, we finally found each other and headed to the airport. To our surprise, there were two other girls heading to Vienna from our program. We just can’t seem to get away from DIS students. They’re everywhere.

So we arrive in Vienna at about 10:00 at night, and the lady at the information desk tells us to take bus number two. We walk outside in the dark and see bus number two and head on our way. I am not going to lie, we were not positive that was the right bus to take, but we got there just fine! Our hostel in Vienna was great. Hillary and I had a double room. It was really clean and comfortable.

When we woke up the next morning to pay for our rooms, I recognized one of the kids staying in another room from Denison. I saw my friend Ryan, who I hadn’t seen since the summer at a random hostel in Vienna. What a small world! We went with him and his friends to the Imperial Palace. The garden outside was beautiful. Hillary and I took so many pictures of parks and trees while on the trip. We kept joking that people would see our photos and think we didn't leave the U.S.

We then went to a market and had an interesting experience buying dried fruit. When we told the vender we were from America, he started screaming, “America! Obama Barack! Barack Obama!” over and over again, proclaiming that he loved America. It was a new experience being in a country where most people did not speak English. In Denmark, I am spoiled by the fact that everyone knows English, and while Hillary and I were traveling we had some strange, interesting, and funny encounters with non-English speakers (More on that later.)

The next morning, we had a small situation with our itinerary for the trip. Hillary’s mother emailed us, saying that we shouldn’t go to Paris because there was a strike planned for the following Thursday, and we might not be able to make our flights. Hillary and I were a little worried since we were supposed to meet Eleanor in Paris and had no way of contacting her. Finally, after much debate, we decided not to go to Paris and instead, spend more time in Prague and Salzburg. We canceled our flights but could not get refunds. We spent the rest of our visit marveling at beautiful works of art at the Leopold Museum and then having delicious marble cake and expressos at the Leopold Cafe (side note: I did not know that when you order an expresso, you literally get a small half cup of coffee. Just a heads up before you order one). Later in the day, we moved on to the next leg of our journey… SALZBURG!!!! We took a train. I enjoyed Vienna, but I think I liked Salzburg a little more.

Our hostel in Vienna. Also, I forgot to add this. On the second night, they had to move us to a different room, but it didn't have heating. They offered to let us stay in the room for 5 euro each, and then they bought two heaters for the room. It was nice and toasty and only five euros for each of us. We were very lucky! Hillary and I bought them some chocolate and left it for them as a thank you gift.

One of the beautiful parks we walked past.

A photo of the Imperial Palace.

The beautiful park outside of the Imperial Palace.

Hillary holding our delicious gelato. (This was the start of my love affair with gelato during the travel break. More on that later.)

In front of the library.

One of the statues in front of the Museum Quarter.

Views of Vienna from the museum.

Marble cake from the Leopold Cafe.

A Proposal & Pumpkin Carving

Today, I received a marriage proposal…from a five year old at my practicum site! He knelt down on one knee, said a few words in Danish and kissed my hand. How lucky am I?

So it is crunch time before I leave tomorrow, but I wanted to dedicate a brief post to my host family and share some of our adventures. They have been extremely kind, and I appreciate all the help they have given me over the past two months. Here’s an example: Recently, we’ve been talking about pick pockets and being careful while traveling. They gave me some advice to get a small purse I can keep inside my coat at all times. When I came home yesterday, my host mom had already bought a small one for me! I was so touched.

My host family has decided that since Halloween is an American holiday, I am an expert "pumpkin carver." So I was feeling a little pressured since my host family subtly mentioned tonight that they bought a pumpkin, and they wanted to carve it! We looked for designs on google and settled on a scary, angry pumpkin.

Here's my end result:

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Last Wednesday, we took a visit to the Open Air Museum. It was founded in 1987 in Lyngby, and it is 86 acres of older homes that have been preserved since 1650. Here's a web page describing the museum: http://www.natmus.dk/sw20384.asp.

Huey Lewis, Hot Chocolate, Hoppípolla & Hygge

Tonight, I’m feeling a bit sentimental and “hyggelig.” If you ever speak with a Dane, ask them what the word “hygge” means. The direct translation in English is “coziness,” but that is not an accurate, complete definition. Hygge is a traditional concept in Danish culture. It describes feelings of familiarity, closeness, and warmth for Danes during the cold winter months. A website shares:

“Gather the family and invite over a couple of good friends. Push the sofas and chairs up close to the coffee table. Douse the electricity and light some candles. Better yet, light a fire in the hearth.

Serve plenty of food and drink. Raise a toast or two, or three, and feel the warmth flow around the table. Look at each other until you see the candlelight shimmering in each other’s eyes. You've got hygge!”

So if I needed a word to describe how a feel right now, that would be it! While I was preparing for my travels in August, I had the most difficult time deciding what to bring my host family for a gift. I eventually chose a Yankee candle with a vanilla cupcake scent and presented it to them when I arrived. We have been saving the candle for a special occasion, and tonight we finally decided to light it. I brought Agnes cupcakes home for my host siblings and host parents. They tried Apple, Mocha, Orange Delight, and Dark Chocolate while I chose Red Velvet. We talked for about an hour over cupcakes, coffee, and chocolate milk. While it was just one night out of the many I have spent in Copenhagen, I know I will always remember it. Sometimes it is the smallest moments that have the biggest effect.

Speaking of small, precious moments in Copenhagen, after my group meeting yesterday I decided to do some reading in a cafe. There are about four per street in Copenhagen, so it was not difficult to find one. Of course, all the prices were ridiculous (Five dollars for a chai tea!?!). Anyways, I could not decide which one to go into until I walked into one and heard “You don’t need money, don’t take fame/ Don’t need no credit card to ride this train/ It’s strong and it’s sudden and it’s cruel sometimes/ But it might just save you life/ That’s the power of love.” If you do not know what I am talking about right now, please go rent the Back to the Future trilogy! That song, “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis has special significance for me. My dad and I used to listen to it almost every day that he drove me to school in high school, so I took that as a sign that I was supposed to read in that cafe and enjoy the rest of the afternoon with some hot chocolate.

As for the last part of my title, “Hoppípolla,” it is the title for an Icelandic song. I heard it yesterday for the first time, and it always puts me in the best mood even if it is not in English. There is something about it that I love. I hope it brightens your day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnAwPeqrdAk

Halloween, Comfort Food & Cupcakes

When someone asked me the other day if Denmark celebrates Halloween, I had to think about it for a bit. My natural answer would be “Of course!” but I recently found out that Halloween came to Denmark about ten years ago. My host sister said she did not know what it was until she was in the fifth grade. Imagine missing such a key holiday of your childhood! Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen pumpkins, scary window displays, and Tivoli, the amusement park in Copenhagen has been reopened with a Halloween theme. Even if Danes think it’s a “silly American holiday,” I still love getting dressed up and going trick or treating. I’m not sure what I will be doing on Halloween since I will be traveling to Austria on my travel break next week!!

The countdown has begun, and let me just say that planning a trip is exhausting and more stressful than I initially thought. Well on top of flights, you also have to consider hostels, transportation, baggage, meals, etc… Hillary and I are almost done planning our entire trip with a few loose ends to tie up. It’s been a month long process, but I’m so excited. Our itinerary is Vienna, Salzburg, Paris, Prague, and then Italy to meet my mom!

Also, I went to a cooking class last week! Hillary could not go, so I went to her class on “Autumn Comfort Food.” Yes, I did successfully cook something that did not require a microwave… We made vegetable soup, bread, and apple cobbler. It was the perfect comfort food after a busy week of midterms. In Copenhagen, the temperature has already dropped to about forty degrees, so the soup definitely warmed me up!

While I am on the subject of food as I seem to be on in every single blog post, I have fallen in love with a cupcake bakery in central Copenhagen called Agnes Cupcakes. Here is the link for all the cupcake lovers out there: http://agnescupcakes.dk/. Check out the cheesecake cupcake! There are so many delicious flavors. I tried caramel and am planning on bringing some home for my host family next week. By the way, my host family did not know what a cupcake was until I explained it to them last week!

Last Friday, my host family took me to “Culture night in Copenhagen.” For 85 krones, approximately $17, all the museums and attractions in Copenhagen had free admission. My host family took me to one of the television studios where Danish talk and reality shows are filmed. (Side note: How perfect was that trip since I love watching Danish reality television with my host family.) We also went to the National Museum and the royal stables. I met up with my friend, Patti, and we went to Rosenborg Castle, where the crown jewels are located. I love roaming the streets of Copenhagen because there’s always something new around the corner.

"Lovely" London

Wow! I just realized how long it has been since I last posted! I had a wonderful time visiting childcare centers in London with my class. The best part was being able to speak with the kids in English! Oh, how I missed that! I had a funny experience with a little girl at one of the centers. She was watering the plants in the garden and asked me, “Aren’t the flowers lovely?” She was so sweet. I said, “Yes,” and then she invited me to paint the playground, so we went around with paintbrushes and painted with invisible paint. That leads me to another highlight of the trip: I loved that everything is “lovely” and men on the Tube say, “Excuse me, Love.”

Also, I saw Les Miserables and Avenue Q. It was the perfect balance because one night I was crying at Les Miserables and the next I was laughing hysterically at Avenue Q. I highly recommend both.

While walking around in Greenwich, a borough of London, we stumbled onto a set for the Pirates of the Caribbean 4. A few students from my class saw him film a scene! Also, on that same day, Johnny Depp made a surprise visit to a local elementary school in London. We spoke with some of the students from the school. Here’s a YouTube video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3LwwqxyZEs.

We also went to a Bollywood dance class. We were dressed in traditional clothing, and all members of the class, boys and girls, learned a dance. Now you may be asking: When did I actually do work on the five-day visit to London? Haha. Well, we did visit a lot of schools while in London to explore multiculturalism in a British context. We visited a Muslim school in Brick Lane, a well-known multicultural area, and we learned that religious education is mandatory in British schools. I thought that was an interesting aspect of the British education system as compared to the U.S. education system.

Here are some photos from London:

The set of Pirates of the Caribbean 4.

My first experience having a Nutella crepe. It was delicious!

Be a Believer

As usual, I am a little behind with the posting, but I want to get caught up because tomorrow I am leaving to go to LONDON with my program.

To add a little humor to your day, I have a funny story about something that happened at my practicum, Galaxen. Two Thursdays ago, I helped a group of young girls paint photos about their favorite vacation spots. Since I can't speak Danish, I did not understand what the girls were chatting about during the painting session. The teacher looked at me and laughed because the little girls were each discussing their boyfriends. It turns out there is a love triangle developing among three five-year-olds. One of the little girls is in love with another girl's boyfriend. The little girl speaks English, and when I asked her she openly admitted that she is in love with Melde even though he has a girlfriend. It was hilarious. Let me just paint you a picture here... Melde kind of reminds me of John Travolta in Grease. He wears a leather jacket on the playground, and he is part of the cool clique at Galaxen. The kids hold hands, and some have even had fake marriages during play time.

On another note, last Sunday I went rocking climbing on the Swedish coast. I decided to push myself to do something out of my comfort zone, and I am really proud I did it! We took two buses and a ferry to Sweden, and our guides set up five climbs for us to try. It was difficult at times but I made it to the top. One of the scariest parts about rock climbing is finding the right rocks to hold onto and place your feet, but it is even scarier to climb down the cliff. My first attempt was a little rough, but our guides who each had British accents, yelled out that I needed to "Be a Believer" and then I just let go. It was a fun experience!

Also, as requested here is a photo of my host family:

From left, Oliver, Asger, Susanne, Clara, Carolina

Bornholm Photos

Here are a few photos from the trip: For a more detailed photo album, you can always consult my facebook photos. Hillary posted some wonderful still shots from the camera footage she took while we were lost. I'm thinking we could make a documentary out of it.

Check out my new shoes! 

Hillary and I walking near the water.

The beautiful beach with the hourglass sand.

The pastry I deserved after biking all day!