Paris, je t'aime!

So apparently I'm really bad at this whole "posting regularly" thing...but I feel like there's just always so much going on! Last week was a whirlwind of tests (why do they have those abroad?) and counting down the days to Paris! I left on Thursday and had a short layover in Zurich. So I guess I can check Switzerland off the list! Also, for anyone flying around Europe right now, Swiss Air was the besttt. I checked my bag for free, which was awesome, but the best part--the complimentary food! Over my 4 short flights between Copenhagen, Zurich, & Paris, I got 2 little brie baguette sandwiches, some delicious Swiss ice cream, and chocolate bars on every flight. The flights were all really short though and it was funny watching the flight attendants speed down the aisle throwing food onto our trey tables to make sure they got to everyone before it was time to land.

And then there was Paris.... I've been before with my mom a few years ago and we sped through everything so quickly that I knew I needed to go back while I was here. Every time I am there I feel like I just shouldn't leave. And it was so fun reuniting with high school friends in a totally new/foreign place! And you could tell that even though they've been there a short time they've already got the hang of things and were awesome tour guides. I stayed in Alexandra's apartment which was adorable and right on the same street as an outdoor produce market. All of the food looked SO much better than produce here in Copenhagen. I feel like all of the fruit & veggies here are packaged so weirdly (picture shrinkwrapped cucumbers...) it was nice to buy food this way. My first night we picked up some baguettes & brie and ate some avocados & tomatoes from the market with all the girls before wandering around la Bastille.

Friday we explored Alexandra's neighborhood and walked around the Marais and grabbed some lunch at a cafe. It was one of those typical French places with outdoor seating all facing the street and it was so great being able to order and understand everything in French! Je voudrais un croque monsieur! After being surrounded by a language that is so unfamiliar it was really nice speaking in a foreign language and being understood. I was surprised at how much I remembered once I was thrown back into it. I forgot how nice it is to be able to read signs around me, too! My French classes for the last 12 or so years definitely paid off...I can't wait until I go to Nice and I can practice again!

Then we walked to the Musee d'Orsay after a quick stop at the Arc de Triomphe and walking around the Tuileries and the Louvre. We couldn't have asked for better weather. The Musee d'Orsay was amazing and luckily we got in for free! Being a student definitely pays off in Paris. It was close to closing time by the time we got there but we still got to squeeze in some Van Gogh and Degas as well as some other things that I've studied before. It was so great being able to see things that we've talked about so much in class. 

Overlooking the Seine

Here is the inside of the Musee d'Orsay...it used to be a train station!

Just some Van Gogh....

Alexandra and I went to dinner Friday night at a cute restaurant on the Place de Voges, which is the oldest "place royale," or planned square in a city with a completely symmetrical design and identical house fronts on all the edges, and a statue of the monarch in the center. They became very important in European city planning in the 1600s and Copenhagen has quite a few of these place royales as well. We learned all about this in my history class the next day when I came home! After dinner we met up with Elizabeth and some other friends and went out in the city. It still amazes me how late Europeans go out at night, I can still barely keep up. Friday night we went into one of the bars around 2:30 and it was basically empty, but my 3am it was so crowded there was a line outside! Luckily we got there just in time to avoid the line and it was fun talking to people switching back and forth between French and English. We met some people who had actually lived in Copenhagen for 6 months, and my friends in Paris were invited to a picnic the next day! Yay for making friends with the locals!

La Bastille at night--Alexandra lives so close to this! It was also good place to grab our daily crepes haha

Saturday we woke up and headed for Versailles. It was amazing. Ridiculous. Not real life. It also continues to baffle me that all of these enormous things were made so long ago before they had so much of the technology that we have today. All of the painted ceilings and cloths and statues were crazzy. Thinking about what a huge deal it would be to construct (and maintain!) something the size of Versailles today makes me realize just how absurd it was for the time it was built. I also just can't believe that people actually lived there. Not going to lie I was definitely humming songs from the "Marie Antoinette" soundtrack and picturing Kirsten Dunst running around the place in her giant dresses the whole time I was there. Probably not exactly the most historically accurate thing to be picturing, but it was still fun.

It was also packed...lots of big groups with tour guides and you had to be kind of aggressive to make sure you saw the stuff you wanted. Also one of the best parts--we got into the castle for FREE! Paris sure knows how to treat it's student tourists. We only had to pay 8 euro to get into the gardens! Here are some picturess! I took a zillion pictures like in every single room but I thought it would be excessive to put them all on here haha so if anyone wants to see more they are on my facebook or just email me or something!

Hall of Mirriors

Pace does Versailles

The Queen's Bedchamber--I'm OBSESSED with the fabric patterns 

Gardens!! 

Back view of Versailles

Some more gardens--can't believe how well kept they are! There was not 1 stray leaf!

We also made the long walk through the gardens to see le Petit Trianon. Louis XV had it built and his mistress Madame du Barry stayed there for a long time. When Louis XVI took the throne he gave the baby castle to Marie Antoinette so that she could escape the court and all of the crazy nobles at Versailles. It was really cute inside and managed to be beautiful even though it was not anywhere near as ornate as Versailles. 

Saturday night Alexandra and I visited the Eiffel Tower and made sure we were there when it lit up and sparkled, which happens every hour on the hour after 10pm. We got crepes (sooo mannyy crepess--I may or may not have gotten one today in Copenhagen as well...problems) and sat and just stared at the tower for a long time. SO BEAUTIFUL.

So those are the highlights of my Paris visit! I was so glad I went and the mix of being surrounded by familiar faces and a somewhat familiar language made me so so happy! I still have a lot more to write about but I think this post is already long enough and I have my first Danish quiz tomorrow so I have to go study! I've had 2 really interesting study tours the last 2 days though so expect some posts about the Danish Citadel, Amalienborg (the Royal Palace), and Christiania! But I also leave for Madrid on Saturday for a week--hopefully I can squeeze it all in! 

Norge

I'm back from Norway! It's been an adventurous and tiring weekend, but totally worth it! And the whole world is still rocking I still feel like I'm on a boat.  Friday afternoon I boarded the cruise ship with Annie, Karen, Lindsay and a postcard with Sammie's face, because she couldn't make it but wanted to be there in spirit. The ship was much bigger and nicer than we expected, and there were a ton of people! There were two whole decks of cars that people drove onto the ship, too! To give you an idea of how cheap/teeny/tight our room was, we stayed in a room that was actually below the two decks of cars. I'm pretty sure were underwater--there wasn't a window (probably a good thing) so we had no idea.We decided that if we were in the Titanic we definitely would have been the ones locked in the bottom who weren't even allowed to try to escape. Lowest of the lowest class--that's us.  But the room ended up being really cozy and comfortable for what we needed. The ship had so many places to hang out with amazing views that it didn't matter at all.
We had absolutely perfect weather and tried to make the most of it by sitting outside but it was so windy that we had to retreat indoors after the ship debarked except for some obligatory pictures with the sunset. Then we tried to locate the pool's "Adventure Club" promising a sauna, steam room, and pool. The name was a little bit ambitious for the size of the area but it was nice to relax somewhere warm. Then we all showered and got ready to go out after dinners made of various snacks we brought on board--everything on the boat was SO expensive! There were some fun places to go out and dance on the boat so we did that and then hit the hay so we could have energy for Oslo!

I'm on a boat!! (sorry I had to...)

When we landed in Oslo about 930am we were a little confused and probably should have better planned what we were going to do for the day. We ended up buying tickets to one of those hop-on, hop-off buses that takes you to all the big attractions in the city, which I think ended up being a good move. We probably could have gotten a better price for just transportation to where we wanted to go but it was nice to take the scenic route and see things we probably wouldn't have seen, like the Royal Palace and this huge shopping street. And there's this giant ski jump in the middle of the city that we got to see from afar. The first place we got out was this amazing sculpture garden--Vigeland Sculpture Park. There were hundreds of sculptures of people spread out and they all were made to depict different human emotions. They had old people and babies and parents with kids and couples and friends and it was so weird because usually statues don't really seem to have personalities, but I really wouldn't have been surprised if these guys had just started walking around.

We hopped back on the bus and rode out to Bygdoy which was much more rural and had beautiful rolling hills and woods and things like that. We stopped at the Norwegian Folk Museum, but actually entering the museum was unfortunately a little pricy so I just browsed the gift shop for presents from the homeland for my family. We did a lot of walking into the lobbies and outside of museums but failed to enter any of them because we were too cheap and were running out of time. I'm kind of regretting that now, though. Hopefully it won't be my last time visiting Norway. I keep being torn between feeling like I should just suck it up and spend money where I am because who knows when I will have these opportunities again...and also realizing that there are other places I will want to travel and that I should probably remember to keep saving for those things too. That seems to be my biggest struggle here...deciding what is worth spending on and what is not. Unfortunately pastries really seem to be winning in the "worth it" department so far....

Anywayss....we hopped back on our bus and headed back to downtown Oslo where we walked around some shopping streets and along a harbor. We ran into some kind of food festival which was filled with free samples! I tasted fresh apples, all kinds of smoked salmon, and crepes. There was SO much food and it was all free it was amaaazzing. Next on the Norway List was to hit up a few touristy shops and find ourselves some authentic Norwegian sweaters. Andd I got one. It's awesome. I am actually wearing it now. Definitely goes with the pastries under the "worth the money" category....it's soft and fuzzy and my favorite colors--cream, grey, and various shades of blue! Surprise!
We attempted to go to the National Gallery, which my guidebook promised was free, but alas, another museum fee. Stupid lying guide book...the group I was with was still not into those fees, so unfortunately we didn't get to see the famous Edward Much painting, "The Scream," which I was actually really looking forward to. By this point in the day we were fading fast and all I could think about was my cozy boat bed (which was actually one of the most comfortable places I've ever slept) but we decided to make one last stop at the national opera house. And I am SO glad we did! I don't know anything about architecture but I can tell you that this building is one of the coolest most brilliant buildings I've ever seen. It's right on the water and the roof basically is connected to the ground by these ramps....never mind it's hard to explain but I will show pictures! And I got to eat an adorable Norwegian heart-shaped waffle with jelly while sitting on one of the slanty parts. Perfect ending to the day!

As soon as we got back on the boat all 4 of us crashed and took a nap and woke up to watch the ship debark. Overall I'm really glad I decided to go to Norway. I picked up some soil for you, Aunt Barbara, but I didn't see any of the names you gave me! It was cool to think that I have some anchient ancestors that could have hung out around where I did, and if I go back I definitely want to stay longer and go up into the countryside, it looked beautiful.
That evening we hung around like old people playing cards and reading until "dinner"--more pb&j/nutella sandwiches and going out again. One of the clubs had karaoke, and another had a live band playing ABBA songs and Grease medleys, which all made me the happiest girl in the world. It was stormy last night on our way back and the boat was way more rocky than it had been the first night. I think that might be why I actually still feel like I'm on a boat. It's a really funny feeling.

Today after I got back I had yet another transportation struggle. As some of y'all know I managed to lose my bus pass on my short study tour last weekend....I purposely put it in a zippy pocket that I was sure it wouldn't fall out of. Fail. It obviously fell out somewhere because it was not in my bag when I tried to take my bus back to my kollegium. So I've been biking a lot more which has been awesome, and I no longer wince every time I sit on my rock hard teeny weeny bike seat anymore! It's a big step. Anyways....I bought this 10-ride clip card that I'm supposed to stamp before I ride a train or a bus so that you can tell when it's used up. Taking the metro home today, we couldn't find the stamper and just assumed there was some Sunday deal that sometimes happens with transportation discounts (which turns out is only the first Sunday of the month), so I just got on the train anyways assuming that it wouldn't be a problem because in the whole month I've been here nobody has ever bothered to check my train ticket. So of course y'all can see where this is going.......it ended up with me getting written up by the transportation officer who didn't really seem to care that I was just a tired and confused study abroad student who had actually paid for my clip card and actually looked for the stamper and couldn't find it and that I really wasn't trying to take advantage of the system. Needless to say I'm still a little bitter. Mostly because I have to pay a whopping 750dkk fine. Which is equivalent to about $150. Oh yay. Clearly Danish transportation is just not my thing.

On a happier note, I'm really excited about this week! I have a test tomorrow and Tuesday. Tuesday's class in my Espionage in the Cold War test was explained to us as one that "has no right or wrong answer I just want to see what you think" so hopefully I don't fail that one. And tomorrow's test will be in traditional European style where I already have all the questions and someone from the class will pick which question we actually have to answer. And then Paris on Thursday! I'm so excited to go see how much French I can remember and frolic along the Seine with Elizabeth and Alexandra and eat brie and baguettes. It will already be my third weekend away from Copenhagen in a row though and I think I'm going to appreciate having the weekend after this one here. I still haven't seen the little mermaid! I should be ashamed. I'll update again soon!

Procrastination at its Finest

Helloo! I have my first test tomorrow, so naturally I'm blogging instead of studying. The last few days have been busy and full of fun! Also, today is a very important day because it is the Danish Parliamentary election day! The results will be released later tonight, but from the earlier polls, it was looking like Denmark might have their first female prime minister. The Danish Parliament is full of many parties and they end up forming coalitions to support one another to get laws passed, and it's basically divided into a "red" side and a "blue" side. Currently the "blue" side( the more conservative and pro-capitalism one by Danish standards, but still extremely far left by American standards) has the majority, but the "red" and more socialist side might gain the majority tonight.

Here's what else I've been up to....

Eating delicious and adorable cupcakes from a new market that opened nearby
with Alexis from high school

Making friends with statues of seals outside the City Hall 

(while on a scavenger hunt/assignment for class)

Frolicking through the Royal Library gardens--anyone who visits me will be taken here, weather permitting, they are perfect and quiet and beautiful. And used to be part of the old harbor and completely underwater!

Climbing the Round Tower. This thing was amazing. King Christian IV built it for his father because he had such a love for astronomy. There are no stairs--it is a spiral ramp going to the top so that a mini horse-drawn carriage could get to the top. Way too much walking for royalty, obviously.

This is the inside of the tower...

And the view from the top! With some friends from my Urban History of Copenhagen class

Then I baked my own pop-tarts for tea with Cyndi on Wednesday! Overflowing with blueberry jelly...whoops. They were insanely easy to make, especially because I just used a pre-made pie crust....just fill with jelly and bake! I'm not quite at the making-your-own-pastry-dough-level of comfort here yet with cooking...silly me even forgot that the ovens here work in Celsius not Fahrenheit! It took me a few minutes to figure out why the oven would only go up to 250! Dumb...

Tomorrow I have my test and then I'm cruising off to Norway! I'll only be in Oslo for about 8 hours before we take the overnight cruise back to Copenhagen. I'm so excited, though. Even though I don't really know any of my Norwegian side of my family except for my grandma since it was so long ago, my nerdy history-loving side of me is freaking out and I think it's cool that I get to go to a place where part of me is from! My aunt told me that I will be the first one of my family (from Norway) who will have been there in 134 years! Thanks Barbara! I'll keep my eye out for the names you gave me! And I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

Hope everyone at home is doing well! 

Back from Western Denmark!

Wow it has been such a busy last few days. I've seen SO much. The bus ride out to the western side of Denmark was beautiful, but at some points almost felt like I could have been driving at home. There seems to be something kind of universal about driving through a remote countryside. But then you see a street sign in Danish and you're righttt back where you actually are.

We left bright and early for a bank called Middelfart Sparkassen. This place has won countless awards and has been dubbed "The Happiest Place to Work in Denmark." And, because Denmark has been called the happiest place in the world, does this make this bank the happiest place to work in the whole world? They are housed in this brand-new building that has already won tons of architectural awards and a lot of it is based on completely open space and glass so that everyone can always see everyone. We were told that the bank was designed with maximum communication in mind, because the company believes communication is totally crucial to success. The employees all eat together in an organic dining room for lunch and dinner at the same time and there are no closed off private offices or rooms that belong to anyone. Except there is one office for the CEO, but he only uses it for meetings. Otherwise the CEO is working out in the open with the other employees. They try to downplay hierarchy. Which I thought was a bit ironic considering the fact that their whole building design was based on triangles.
They are all about self regulation and believe that people preform at their best if they have to regulate themselves, and this only works if people are in jobs that are vell well suited for them. Because of this, everyone who applies has to take a specific personality test to see if they are the right type of person who would fit in with the working environment here.
Some other interesting things were that if you don't seem to working well in a specific position, instead of just firing you, they look into other positions at the bank that you might fit into better, and if that does not work they help train you and give you more experience so that you can get a good job when you get out. I want to work here pleaseee!

This is the main lobby...also used for concert and presentation spaces so the stairs are also used as seats.

The meditation room/library

CEO's office

This is the whole building from the top down inside

Next stop...Koldinghus Castle! It's one of the oldest castles in Denmark and a lot of the royals used it as a summer home. Some form of residence has been here since the 1200s but the actual castle that resembles what I saw was built in the 1600s. SO OLD. It's so weird to think about how old stuff is here compared to America. Also this spot is home of the first Protestant church built in Denmark! The castle was really cool because it's burnt down a few times and been re-done so it was a mix of really really old as well as some newer architecture that has been added on. 

Little lake village in the distance...

Inside courtyard

There was an art gallery inside one of the buildings and this one is called "Clouded Mind" haha

This is the ceiling of the first Protestant church in Denmark...so beautiful! 

Me on the top of a tower after climbing about 900 steps in a spiral staircase. Definitely worth the view though!

Another view off the tower

The next morning after some bowling (weird...I know) and a stay in a hostel in Fredericia we made it to Århus, the second largest city in Denmark with 300,000 people. It was BEAUTIFUL and the weather was absolutely perfect and Arhus is home to an incredible art museum, the ARoS museum. The same architect, Olafur Eliasson, that designed the bank we visited before designed an installation dealing with colors and prisms. The most notable part was called the Rainbow Panorama.

Little canal with shops and food and things along the water

Muesum! The rainbow panorama is on top!

Some views from up there....

Meeeee! haha.

We did & visited a lot of cool things but I feel like I'm writing wayyy too much so I won't go into too much detail. At the muesum we met with my teacher's friends Rasums Jacobson. He started his own company and mainly mentally coaches athletes to help them stay in the zone and don't let any mental distractions get in the way of their performance. He claims to rely strongly on hypnotism and helps them get in touch with their emotional awareness and create positive identities that they can tap into when they are playing sports. He has worked with some awesome soccer players and one biker that is the Dane predicted to do the best in the upcoming Tour de France. I know a lot of it sounds a little bit like crap, but he explained everything really well and seems to have some great results from his work. Either way, I think there is definitely something to be said for being in the right mindset when setting goals and attempting to achieve them and staying positive during that process can be beneficial no matter what!

The last place we visited was an alternative school called Kaos Pilots. Rasmus was actually a graduate of the three year program. Its a very small school with only 35 people per year, or "team," as they call it. They focus on social entrepreneurship and as their senior project everyone has to make a company. My favorite part was that their companies all have to have a "win win win" concept. Not only do the company and whoever they provide a service for  benefit, but some outside third party has to benefit as well. They focus a lot on playing to your strengths and passions, and like the bank, strongly believe that if you are working on something that you believe in that it will be successful and that it is extremely important to be actually wanting to do what you do. The woman who presented to us started a company that helps kids who have to travel & move to different countries a lot a lot because of their parents' jobs  understand different cultures and attempt to wrap their mind around the different ways that people live so that they are not completely shocked every time they move. But, she realized after a year or two that she did not feel as strongly about it and she felt she had accomplished the goal. After she realized this she knew she could not run the company the best way it could be run, so she sold it and decided to go after a new dream that she could again feel passionate about. 

Overall it was an extremely eye opening trip and I learned a lot about different applications of positive psychology. Even though nobody directly worked with positive psychology we learned the ways that it could be intertwined with other jobs and parts of life and it defintely gave me a lot more to consider when I think about what I actually want to do with my life...which is still a mystery. It was cool seeing all of this stuff coming straight out of the business minor program, though. I like seeing ways that psych & business can be combined and the idea of using psychology in a more uplifting setting than therapy or social work. 

Today and Sunday have been pretty normal days....I went to church again yesterday and did a lot of homework. I have 3 tests coming up on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. AND I'm taking a night ferry to Oslo this weekend, so I have a lot to do! It's so weird how fast everything is going! After Oslo, I'm spending the next weekend in Paris visiting Alexandra and Elizabeth! YAY  and THEN I go to Madrid for a week with the same group for my Positive Psych study tour. And THEN Billy comes to visit! I can't believe how busy things are getting already! 

Love & miss everyone tonsss!