So now I'm finally home after about 10 days of nonstop travel. I've made some amazing memories and met some interesting people while on my traveling escapade. As much as I love to explore and experience other cultures, it is nice to be home and be able to relax. I guess I should probably tell some stories and show some pictures now, so fasten your seat belts, this is going to be a long post. Here we go!
It all started on Thursday, September 26th, when the Damøs and I packed up our things and drove the 3 hour drive to Copenhagen, where we stayed in their flat for the night. That Friday morning, at 5:00 am, we boarded a plane to London and settled in for the 2 hour flight. The flight went extremely well, even though the man I was sitting next to was the most demanding flier I have ever met. I'm talking about a special altitude blanket (didn't know it existed), earplugs, 3 pillows, "flight slippers", sparkling water, eye mask, and sliced apples; it was ridiculous. I was extremely happy to get off of that plan and away from my primadona fight partner.
Once we dropped off our bags at our hotel, Henrik was off for a lunch with his old friend and Barbara, Emilie, and I had the afternoon to explore and see the sights of London. We saw Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, some old churches, the London Eye, hundreds of monuments, the cavalry stables, House of Parliament, and Regent Street. Here are some pictures from out day of exploring.
An old church
Big Ben and the London Eye
Another old church
A very sleepy cavalry soldier
Cavalry stables
After our explorations, we met up with Henrik back at the Hotel, where we promptly got ready for dinner and the show Let It Be. We headed out to China Town for dinner, and had the most delicious meal I could have asked for. We wrapped it up and hurried off for The Strip (the area where all of the theaters are) to catch our show, preparing for some great entertainment. And boy was it good, the band sounded amazing and according to others in the audience, sounded exactly like The Beatles did live. Although I never had the honor of actually seeing the real Beatles, I am happy to say that I at least have some sense of what one of their concerts was like. The band was an extremely good representation of them and had the crowd energized and excited. Here is a picture of them in my personal favorite costume.
That night we all went out to Barbara's favorite pub (where I had only a cappucino. Such a good exchange student). We laughed and bonded and I attempted to learn more Danish. On this particular Friday night, London was definitely alive, especially when a drunken Englishman stripped down and ran around the square that was outside of the pub. He was finally stopped when a friend of his tackled him to the ground and dragged him to an alleyway where he was forced to re-dress. After the excitement and disturbing sight we decided it was time to turn in for the night.
The next day Emilie and I went out to explore China Town while her parents went to a lunch meeting. There we had another very good and ethnic lunch and went out to explore the wonders of China Town. We saw an amazing bakery, got some really tasty stick things that I don't know the name of, but they are delicious, and then picked up these weird little rice ball things that were disgusting. You win some and you lose some, I guess. Here are some pictures of China Town.
China Town!
Our really delicious lunch
The awesome bakery
The disgusting rice things...seriously gross
After China Town, we stumbled across a giant M&M's World, and, being the child I am, I had to go in and investigate. Long story short, it was beautiful and colorful and a childish candy lover's dream. Here are some pictures.
We finally found ourselves back at the hotel, where we deposited our goods and met up with Henrik and Barbara for Indian food at the best Indian restaurant in London. We finished up a curry filled meal and I tagged along as the parents went out for a nightcap.
That Sunday, we relaxed in the morning, and then went out shopping of course. We saw beautiful little teashops, stepped into London's oldest perfume shop to smell some traditional British perfume, and then explored the oldest department store in the World, Liberty, which was gorgeous and, of course, expensive. We followed up the shopping with some traditional afternoon tea at Fortnum & Masons, which is a famous tea company and the inventors of the cucumber sandwich. We were pampered with scones, hundreds of different teas to choose from, and amazing cakes to satisfy a sweet tooth. I didn't take any pictures of the beautiful building or food because it was considered rude to do so, so instead I will just describe it to you.
Everything was beautiful carved oak with gold fixtures, sea foam green carpeting (Fortnum & Masons' trademark color), and pristine white table clothes covering every table. Chrystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and there were glass cases portraying the beautiful china. While we ate and sipped tea from the custom Fortnum & Masons china, we were serenaded by a piano player in the main hall. To say it was my favorite experience would definitely be an understatement. We followed afternoon tea with dinner at an adorable little Moroccan restaurant that night.
The last day we packed up and caught lunch at a little English pub, where I had some good old English fish n' chips. We then rushed off to the airport and jumped on a plane back to Copenhagen, reluctantly if i may say so myself. I loved London, and will return some day. The people are hilarious and everything is filled with history and beauty. If anyone is every offered the chance to experience London, seize it and take in one of the greatest cities in the world.
Now on to Copenhagen! Monday night, I went to pick up my friend Abby from the station. We went to dinner and had a quiet night talking and telling stories of our travels (she went to Berlin).
Tuesday we were up early making breakfast and heading out to explore Copenhagen. We stayed close to the flat and saw some beautiful parks and buildings. We found ourselves in a little farmers market where we practiced ordering in Danish, to our surprise, we were successful. We headed back to the flat and got ready for the Macklemore concert that night.
The concert was amazing. Macklemore preformed all of my favorite songs and he truly knew how to entertain a crowd. The crowd was energetic and fun, not cramped and uncomfortable like some can be. Abby and I were about 8 feet from the stage, dead center, and had the privilege of helping in holding Macklemore when he stood on top of the crowd and danced. Here are two of my favorite pictures from the concert.
When he was standing on top of us
My favorite costume of his
The concert was finished with an encore, he played "Can't Hold Us" and during the encore, part of the ceiling in the back behind the stage caved in. It was very ironic and very fitting for such and amazing concert. The collapse, however, did not affect the Macklemore nor the crowd, so the encore continued. Abby and I returned to the flat exhausted and amazed.
Wednesday Abby and I met up with two other exchange students, Julian and Guilhermme, to see the sights of Copenhagen. We saw Nyhavn, the queen's palace, the opera house, and some beautiful old churches and parks. Here are some pictures.
That night we drove back to Jutland and said our goodbyes.
It was an incredible week and I loved every second of it, I can't wait until I get the chance to see Copenhagen again and have the opportunity to explore even more.
That's all for now folks, until next time.
Cheers!
Vi Ses!
See y'all later!
See y'all later!
