Berlin

July 10, 2012

Today we woke up early and took a bus to the airport for our flight to Berlin.  Once we got to Berlin we had to take a long bus and walk a long ways, or what seemed like a long ways while carrying a 35 pound backpack and 2 other back packs.  The hostel was awesome though.  After we got there, we couldn't check in til 2 so we had lunch and a drink in the bar at the hostel.  We then checked in, unpacked, and Kevin and I walked around Berlin.  Then we came back to the hostel hung out, read our books, had dinner and then went to bed early because we were very tired.  

July 11, 2012

Today we woke up and took a free tour of Berlin.  It was 3 and a half hours long, but we saw almost everything there was to see in Berlin.  We saw the Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag, stood over Hitler’s Bunker, the Holocaust Memorial, the Book Burning Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, SS Headquarters, The Berlin Wall, TV Tower, Gendarmenmarkt, Museum Island, Pariser Platz, Luftwaffle HQ, Bebelplatz, etc. We then had to go to the main train station called Hauptbahnhof to get the rest of our train tickets for the trip.  While we were there Kevin and I stopped at a shop and he helped me pick out a new scarf and purse.  Then we came back to the hostel, relaxed and hung out with friends we made.  

July 12, 2012

Today we took an hour hour train outside of Belin to Oranienburg to see the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp.  This was not one of the main concentration camps, however it was still very sad and worthwhile to see.  Then we took the train back and after a day of travelling I was tired so we had a few drinks again at the bar downstairs in the hostel and then went to bed, as we had to catch a train in the morning.

Stockholm

July 7

I decided that from now on I'm only going to do posts after every place we visit, because it's to hard to keep up on the posts otherwise.
It was bittersweet leaving Copenhagen today.  I loved Denmark so much I did not want to leave, but I was ready to travel and see some other places and cultures.  Kevin and I left for central station extra early so that we could register our euro rail passes and make sure we knew which train to get on.  We spent the 5 hours on the train ride watching Project X, sleeping and reading.  When we finally arrived we were tired and just met up with Mick and got some food to eat.

July 8

Today we got up, had breakfast in our hostel, which consisted of cereal, coffee, OJ, cheese and bread.  Mick, Kevin and I then wandered around Stockholm then found a canal tour where we saw all of the main tourist attractions in Stockholm in 5 hours, including Tivoli where we had lunch.  We then went back to the hostel and relaxed, read a book and watched some TV.  Then we went to a Cafe to eat and called it a night early again.

Kevin stoked to be in Stockholm on the canal tour!

Tivoli-Stockholm

Stockholm on a grey day

July 9

Today we went strolling down this street with a bunch of shops on it and hit some souvenir shops and walked around.  We stumbled upon the most strange and weird looking statue I have ever seen (picture below).  Stockholm is on a bunch of different islands, so the smell of the ocean reminded me of home and I wanted to swim so badly.  We then went to a grocery store where we got swedish meatballs and pasta  for lunch and dinner.  Swedish meatballs are probably the most tasty thing I've had.  Kevin and I went to bed early as we had to get up extra early for our flight in the morning.  

Last Night in Copenhagen

July 6
Took my final exam early in the morning and after Marissa and I finished, we went back to my place to have a few beers to celebrate her last class as an undergraduate.  After that we went to the super market, called the netto, and Robin made us a great going away dinner.  Later we all went out to Heidi's bar.  Soon after that Kevin, Laura and I went to the Happy Pig, Francis Pony, Disco Bar, and a couple other bars.  It was a fun and crazy last night in Copenhagen and it was sad that we had to leave.

Robin is the best cook

Last family dinner 

Laura, Kevin and I

Tivoli

July 5
Today was not as exciting as the other days.  I went to class as usual and then went to Tivoli.  Tivoli is a cool amusement park, kind of like Disney Land, but more of a park.  Since you have to pay for every ride you go on in Tivoli, my friend Marissa and I just walked around for a little bit and then went back to DIS to study for our final exam we had the next morning.

Tivoli Hotel

4th of July-Copenhagen Style

July 4
Today was the usual day in Copenhagen.  Woke up, went to class, had a delicious sandwich at Eat Me, came back, did homework, and then had dinner.  Later that night Skindergade 40 went out to Skindergade 14 to celebrate the 4th of July.  It was fun, but not as exciting in the United States, as no one in Denmark really cares about July 4th.

Red Light District- Copenhagen

July 3

Today was nice because I didn't have class until 8pm.  I slept in, did some homework, prepared my presentation, and also prepared myself for the red light district  in Copenhagen.  It was very interesting to see and experience, and was not as scary as I was expecting it to be.  After that I went to Kuløbar where I met up with everyone in Skindergade 40.

Another Lazy Day

July 2

Today was another lazy day in Copenhagen.  I think the lack of sleep caught up with us.  I went to class, like normal, where we went on another field study.  Then I did my homework and study for my final.  After enough of that, I joined Robin, Mick, Kevin, Tori and Jess and watched 300.

Lazy Day

July 1

Today we slept in, which was very nice.  Then Kevin, Mick, Robin and I watched wedding crashers.  Kevin and I then went to Kings Garden to watch the showing of the Euro Cup final, where Spain dominated Italy. 

A Danish Graduation

June 30

Finally making it back to Copenhagen, I woke up early and did my laundry from the week.  Then went to the Netto, the grocery store, with Kevin, Mick, and Robin.  After we made dinner together, we went to our SRA Robin’s parent’s house to see a Danish style graduation celebration for his sister.  In Denmark, after you have you graduation ceremony from high school, you get on a truck with you class and celebrate.  They go through the streets blasting music, drinking, and making lots of noise.  All day long they make stops at each of the parent’s houses of the graduates where the parents provide food, drinks, and a bathroom.  They stay there for about 10-14 minutes and then they move on to the next house.  After they have made it to all of the houses, they go back to the school and have a party.  It was really cool to experience because it is completely different from the states.  Instead of wearing graduation caps, they wear these special hats that have different color bands symbolizing what schools they went to.  They will wear these hats the entire week, not just on graduation or at their ceremony.  After we got back, we went out with everyone in Skindergade 40 to A Bar for our last weekend in Copenhagen.  

the truck

some of the graduates with their hats

Final Day in Brussels

June 29

For our last day in Belgium, our class went to Leuven, which is about 20 minutes away from Brussels.  First we had an academic visit with a researcher.  We then had lunch and a tour at Huisbrouwerji Domus, which is a restaurant and a small brewery.  We then went to Stadhuis, which is the town hall of Leuven, as well as St. Peter’s Church, which is across from the town hall.  We only had a short amount of time before we had to catch a bus to the Brussels airport and depart back to Copenhagen.  

Tour of Huisbrouwerji Domus

Study tour class

Outside of Stadhuis (town hall)

Anatonium and Mini Europe

June 28

Today we started by meeting with a sex therapist and had an educational presentation and wrap up afterwards.  Today we had a lot of free time, so most of the people in our class decided to go to the Anatonium.  This structure was built for the World Fair in Brussels in 1958, but now it is a permanent exhibition.  The Anatonium is 335 feet tall and at the very top you get a panoramic view of Brussels.  We also explored each of the spheres and climbed to each one by steep escalators and stairs.  We then went to Mini Europe, which is next to the Anatonium.  Mini Europe is just how it sounds; it is a display of all the top sites in each of the countries in the European Union.  Each of the models is on a scale of 1:25 and has so much detail in each of the structures.  It was very interesting to see all of the structures and get an overview of all of Europe, even the places I am not going to make it to on this trip.  Today was one of the hottest days yet, almost 90 degrees.  Most of us were tired and dehydrated so we went back to the hotel and hung out until it was dinnertime.  We met as a group to go to Rose Blanche for dinner, which is in the middle of the town square of Brussels.  Afterwards, most of us went to a bar again to watch the Germany vs. Italy game.  It was difficult to watch this game because most of the people in the bar were Italian fans and I was cheering for Germany.  At half time I left with my roommate, went to get a souvenir, and went to bed after a tiring day.  

Anatonium

Cleaning the Anatonium

Escalator up

Mini Denmark

Mini Leuven 

Another Day in Brussels

June 27

We went to the Magritte Museum today and had a tour guide show and explain paintings done by Magritte.  We then ate lunch at the top of the Musical Instruments Museum and then took the metro to have another educational presentation for our class.  Then we went back to the hotel, took a shower, and went to a bar for dinner and to watch the Portugal vs. Spain game.  This game was very entertaining as the people in the bar were very into the game and when Spain won, everyone went crazy, all night.  You could even hear people still celebrating and honking when we got back to the hotel to go to bed.