Welcome to Denmark, Mom and Dad!

This past weekend was super special because Sue and Walt visited! I had just seen them in Amsterdam but I was with all my roommates so I didn't get to spend that much quality time with them. But it was so good to get to be with them for a weekend and show them where I've been living. I'm not complaining about the nice dinners we had and the fact that I got to stay in a hotel, either :). They arrived on Friday and I took them to Nyhavn (the famous harbor with all the colorful buildings) and then we went on a canal tour. From the canal tour, we walked back towards my apartment and their hotel and Walt had a conference call while I showed Sue where I've been living. We did a lot of walking to say the least. When it came time for dinner we all agreed we needed to take a cab. No more walking for the day. That night we went to dinner with Halley (one of my roommates) and her mom at this really nice Italian restaurant. So fun to get to finally go out to dinner in Copenhagen. First nice dinner in the city: Check.

The next day we "slept in" until 8:30, had breakfast at the hotel, and set out for the day. We went to the Rosenborg Castle, which I shockingly hadn't been to and it's right by school. It was absolutely beautiful outside!

After the castle, we walked to the Round Tower which has beautiful views of the city. From there, we walked to have tea at A.C. Perch's Tearoom. They make the yummiest tea for the royal family and it was such a fun thing to do after walking so much!

That night we had dinner with a couple friends and went to bed early after such a packed weekend. It was SO nice to see my parents but we definitely missed Matthew. Shout out to my little brother who has been the only family member in the States the past month. Glad he made it without any emergencies :) Well, I'm off to pack for my two week travel break that I leave for tomorrow. On the itinerary: Paris, Barcelona, Italy, and Budapest! Blog post to come when I get back!

Quick Trip to Holland

This weekend, most of my roommates and a couple other friends ventured on a quick weekend trip to Amsterdam! We had a sightseeing-packed weekend and I had an especially great time due to a very special added bonus: my parents are living there for the month. (My friends thought this was a bonus as well. Parents living in an apartment in the city = no hostel or hotel payments) Some of my roommates landed in Amsterdam on Thursday night while the rest of us got in on Friday in the late afternoon. My dad picked four of my friends and me up at the airport, we went to the apartment, and quickly headed out one of my parents' favorite Italian restaurants. We met up with three of my friends from Vandy that are studying abroad in Barcelona and their roommate, which made the night even more special!

Walt and 14 ladies...Lookin' good

The next morning we got up early and ready to pack most of our Amsterdam sightseeing into one day. We somehow all made it out the door at 8 AM (impressive, right?) and headed to one place that we have all missed an unhealthily large amount: Starbucks. (The only Starbucks is in the Copenhagen airport...Not helpful at all.)

 

Fifteen drinks and a whole lot of happy girls later, we started our day. First stop: Anne Frank House. I didn't take any pictures here because it's not the picture-taking kind of museum, but it truly was incredible to see. We got there early because the line gets longer during the rest of the day and we were there the minute it opened. Waited in line for a total of ten minutes. Success. Next stop: Our Lord in the Attic. When Catholicism was prohibited in Amsterdam this church was built in an attic of a canal house. Truly incredible! There were so many levels, twists, and turns it was so cool to see.

After having lunch at THE most amazing lunch place with all the fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, soup, smoothies, etc. that you could ever imagine we headed for the Van Gogh museum. We made a short stop at the "I AMsterdam" sign and took a million pictures. Typical tourists. We were in the museum for twenty minutes and got bored... The sun outside was just too tempting. So naturally, being the vitamin D deficient Copenhagen students we are, we went and laid (not sure if this is the right word) in the grass. After this we went on a canal tour and got to see the entire city, which was great! 

On Saturday night, I had dinner with just my parents. SO nice to have time with just the two of them and get to catch up on the past two months. The girls that got to Amsterdam on Thursday left Sunday morning and the rest of us went on a biking tour of the city because we didn't leave until Sunday night. Amsterdam, much like Copenhagen, is full of bikers so it was fun to see the city from a biker's perspective. After lunch at the same place as the day before (we loved it that much), we said our goodbyes to my parents and headed for the airport. Quick trip, but so worth it. Amsterdam is beautiful and I had so much fun exploring with both my new and old friends!  

Breakfast Baking

This update is way past due, but Parker and my baking skills are back: breakfast style. There's nothing like a little french toast to give you a taste of home. And I must say, we succeeded. Not to brag, but these were good. SO good. It started my Sunday off perfectly and was super easy to make! We dipped the french toast in a not measured mixture of eggs, milk, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Toppings included blueberries, strawberry jam, cream cheese, and, of course, syrup.

YUM :) Don't worry, a longer post about my trip to Amsterdam this past weekend is comin' at ya in the next day or so!

The Land of Whiskey, Kilts, and Castles

In case you couldn't guess from my title this past week I was in SCOTLAND! This trip was similar to my trip to Western Denmark because I went with the same class and the trip was planned by DIS (my study abroad program). However, for obvious reasons, this trip was also vastly different from our exploration of Denmark. There was so much that I saw and did that I couldn't possibly cover on this blog, but I'm going to give you a shortened version of our schedule just to give you a snapshot of my week.

Sunday

My day started way too early. I got up at 4:45 AM, got myself together, and started my trek to the airport. For those of you who don't know, I live one street over from the Red Light District. Literally the only weird part of Copenhagen. It's been an experience to say the least, but details about that will be addressed in another post. So picture this: complete darkness, American girl, large bag on wheels, purse, walking down what is quite possibly the sketchiest street in all of Copenhagen. Not a winning combination. On the plus side I made it! Our flight took off around 8:30 and we connected through Stockholm to get to Edinburgh. From Edinburgh we took a bus to Glasgow, which is only about an hour away. The first day we had an academic visit and went to a museum, nothing too exciting.

Monday - Wednesday

We were in Glasgow for Monday to Wednesday going on academic visits and exploring the city when we had a couple hours of free time. Glasgow is a pretty industrial city, especially when you compare it to Edinburgh. As one of the Scottish men we interviewed for a project told us, "Glasgow is Scotland's New York City and Edinburgh is our DC". Overall, Glasgow was a neat city to see but not necessarily a tourist destination. Outside Glasgow in the country is beautiful though. Full of rolling hills, super green grass, and quaint towns.  Highlights: Willow Tea Room and Glengoyne Distillery. Things I learned: I hate whiskey. But I love scones.

Wednesday - Saturday

On Wednesday morning, after one of my friends set off the smoke alarm in our hotel from trying to put cheese on bread in the toaster (minor detail), we got on the bus and drove an hour to Edinburgh. Right when we got to Edinburgh we dropped our bags off in our hotel and ventured out on a walking tour. SO fun and beautiful!

We also had lunch at the cafe where some of the first Harry Potter books were written. It was a cute little restaurant with a gorgeous view of the Edinburgh castle, which was part of the inspiration for Hogwarts.

On Friday early morning, four of my friends and I got up bright and early to hike up Arthur's Seat, which has the most beautiful view of Edinburgh. If you ever make it over to Scotland, this hike is a must. It's incredible.

Things I learned in Edinburgh: It's possible for it to rain and be sunny four or five times a day. Because of this, I've learned that rain boots are a great invention. And the best part of my trip: Look what sweet friend I found!!! Missed her so much. So glad I got to see you and can't wait to see you again so soon! :)