A Farewell to Abroad

*Haha see what I did there? Like Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms…eh? Clever, huh?

My last week in Copenhagen flew by. Luckily, I did not have any finals left so I was free as a bird!

Rosenborg Castle

Christianshavn

Saturday was glorious: we chilled in the park…grabbed gelato & hotdogs…went to Superkilen & ended our day at Paper Island.

On Sunday, Lauren & me woke up to see the sunrise at Amagerstrand (beach). Then Jenn & I went to Café Flottenheimer for one of my last Danish brunches – truly magical! She & I then strolled around and shopped for a bit.

Monday, people from my floor and I chilled with beers by Nyhavn to enjoy the sunshine. Afterwards, I went to the Copenhagen Contemporary.

View from Paper Island

Flowers at the Glass Market

Later in the week, Lauren & I went around Rosenborg Castle to see the crown jewels.

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Rosenborg Castle

On Friday, my last full day with my fellow DIS students, Danielle & I hung out by Nyhavn after having breakfast at the Glass Market. It was just a lovely day, and I am so glad I got to spend it outside with friends.

Early Saturday morning I departed for Malta. I would first fly to Munich and have a four hour layover, then continue onto Malta – flying over the Alps, Venice, & Capri (probably the prettiest flight I’ve been on).

Malta, for Melissa & me, was a bit underwhelming ahah, in that it was not as sunny or warm as anticipated. Sad for us, but we made the best of it.

Sunday: We were recommended this fish market in Marsaxlokk and this restaurant, 3 Sisters. We also ventured out to Peter’s Pool. Afterwards, we strolled around Valletta then finally bussed back to St. Julian’s to get ready for dinner.

To get to Peter’s Pool, you have to take a boat over or take on a rocky 35 minute walk there and through a factory. We were on the fence, but opted for the boat as this smooth 10 year old (I’m sure – I asked) convinced us that it would be worth it. She said we would have an hour there…false! We did not. We got off the boat for about five minutes & then hopped right back on the boat. Mel & I just thought ‘we were conned’! While we were joking, we were a bit serious at the same time!

After dinner, we popped up to the hostel’s bar & then we were told to venture to Paceville for a taste of the club scene – but shocker (not) it was not poppin…once again we were conned!

We joked that Malta has a very good marketing team since nearly every activity we planned encountered unexpected bumps in the road.

So when you can’t go clubbing, opt for gelato instead! Like we did 🙂

Fish Market

Peter’s Pool

Monday: We planned to go to the island, Comino to see the legendary Blue Lagoon (not to be confused with the one in Iceland). To get to where the ferry departed, we had to take a winding bus ride which would take an hour. After being very confused (asking 4 people) about which bus stop was correct, we were finally on our merry way.

Blue Lagoon

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The boat ride back

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It was so blue! Lots of tourists, but I can for sure see the appeal. Because there was a lack of sun, I did not dip into the clear blue water 😦 What Mel & I did do, though, was get these giant pineapple cocktails! Very tasty & then we grabbed a water taxi to the smaller island across the lagoon – much less crowded.

(Back in St. Julian’s) Seeing as it was the day before my birthday, we grabbed a romantic dinner by the water ahha. Afterwards, we drank prosecco on a rooftop & Mel surprised me by ordering a slice of birthday cake for me – complete with candle & all! 😀

*Funny side note: the waitress only spoke Italian to us…meanwhile Mel is acting like she understands every word

May 16 – my 21st birthday!

My early flight (6:30am!) stopped through Frankfurt; the Germans are very efficient. When I was still looking at the connecting flights board (long after everyone had left), an employee came up to me asking if I needed assistance! Also, all the employees wear tags that have the flag of the language they speak – super convenient!

For my birthday, we went to an Italian restaurant called, Scarpetta.  Lovely time, and then we were going to try Escape the Room – which I have done before with my class. We went to Clocked In, and we did not escape in time but it was fun anyway!

May 17

Unlike the previous chilly, misty day today was gorgeous! Very warm and bright out.

Giant #1

Giant #2

We started the day off at Luna’s Diner (which was super yummy) and then took a train out to see this garden in Chartlottenlund. Afterwards we decided to go exploring…

Giant #3

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There is this art installation/treasure hunt called the 6 Forgotten Giants. It is so cool – there are 6 giant wooden statues scattered throughout the greater Copenhagen area with no real address so it is up to you to find them! I mean you are given the general area for where they are, but other than that good luck!

I am so happy that my very last day in CPH was a sunny and happy one – it is surreal that these past four months even happened at all. I will cherish the memories I made with the people I met, and I will carry these valuable experiences with me always.

It has been grand, folks. Vi ses.

Chloe xx

1 more week in KBH

May 13th is when I will depart from Copenhagen & travel to Malta with a friend. It is unreal how fast the semester has flown by, though.

I remember arriving on my first day here & seeing snow fall right outside my window – I couldn’t believe I’d be living here for the next couple of months. Then, maybe a month in, I would think: wow, I’ve been living here for a while now…

Fast forward to last week & I didn’t even think about how I’ve come to call this my home.

Here is a recap of what went down this week: 

May Day in the park

Dusk

May 1

It was worker’s day – a holiday in DK! There is this one park that everyone flocks to. We, of course, had to join in the festivities. There was music, drinking, and sunshine – a great recipe for hanging out in the park with friends.

May 2

Väkst

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After taking my final for advertising & surviving my Danish oral exam, I joined other DIS videographers, photographers, & bloggers for the end of the semester media screening & dinner. It was super fun to see all the hard work that everyone had been doing all semester.

We got champagne before moving to the restaurant & I even won a raffle of caramel candies wee!

I was so happy to try Väkst because I had bookmarked it on Yelp. It was a 3-course meal with two different wines – simply spectacular. It was a great time spent with other creative people.

*I also booked a trip to Malta with my friend, Melissa! Need to book accommodations now…

May 3

After dining at Union Kitchen with two friends, we headed on to see Hamlet’s Castle (Kronborg Castle). It was beautiful right on the water & such a wonderfully sunny day! We indulged in a bit of soft serve.

We also met this very lively American woman, named Holly (she added me on FB)…what a character. Luckily though, she informed us that the queen of Denmark would be sailing by & the guards would be shooting off canons as a salute. THANK YOU HOLLY! Later on we found out that this only happens once a year! We picked a good day to go.

We actually saw her from the boat because while a band played for her on shore, she got off into a waiting vehicle.

What a day.

May 4

GoBoat time

Paper Island mojitos

After my last journalism class (sad) our floor had planned one more group activity (free for us! – thanks DIS). We would do GoBoats for 1 hour and then head to Tivoli.

Although it wasn’t sunny, at least it wasn’t freezing cold out on the water. We even made an adventurous pit stop at Paper Island for their legendary mojitos! Shoutout to Will for grabbing them for us.

Then, at Tivoli we rode the swings – such a great view of the city! Afterwards, we went to Wagamama – an Asian restaurant, where I got chicken ramen.

Tivoli at sunset

Sunset in Amagerbro

Up next…

I still need to walk up the Golden Spiral here and go to Rosenborg Castle – there is one more weekend here, though! Let’s get it 😀

Have a great week to all!

Vi ses, xo

Jeg plejer…

Sunny Nyhavn (new harbor)

Hiya there friends. Long time no post…shame on me. The semester is actually, slowly but surely, coming to a close – ah say it ain’t so!

It’s crazy how time flew, especially after spring break – during which I stayed in Copenhagen instead of traveling because flights were too expensive.

There are two things that I won’t miss about Copenhagen though.

1. The damn cobble stones that make me trip everywhere I go
2. The cold that lasts well into late April…I just want some warmth, man

Nørrebro

View from Paper Island

I’ll talk a bit about what I did during my spring break in chilly CPH. I’d say the most notable thing was my friend & me going to Carlsberg brewery on Easter Sunday. Hey, it was open & nothing else was – it had been our Cope to do list too!

You get 2 free beers with your entrance pass and we got to ride in a horse pulled carriage! What a day.

Oh, & I had also visited the Louisiana, a modern art museum, one rainy afternoon!

As the semester winds down, group presentations have been increasing. Luckily, I have one down & 2 more to go! I also have my Danish oral exam next Tuesday – wish me luck.

Christianshavn

Sunny park

This past weekend, I went to Tivoli Gardens (one of the world’s oldest amusement parks!) for the first time! I also had a really nice little get together with people from my Core Course on Saturday night…gonna miss those kids!

Tivoli was so pretty all lit up at night. It was a clear sky, but, of course, too chilly to want to stay there the whole night. I went on 5 rides – I think?

Story time: as my videography group (we were at Tivoli to get night shots) is waiting to get on our first roller coaster…it suddenly starts going. My whole group leaps into action & gets on while I’m frozen back on the platform & yell that I’ll get on the next one.

So as I’m waiting in the roller coaster seat this little 5 year old Danish girl comes up to me & asks to sit next to me (in Danish). I smile & nod – still can’t speak Danish, folks!

So on certain rides they take pictures of you at a point on the ride…at the end we all look at the photo they took of me & this little girl.

The photo is absolutely hilarious. I look petrified on this ride; you can see the terror on my face. Then, when you look at the little girl she looks so unamused it is ridiculous. The contrast between her and me is simply priceless.

Good times…anyway I’m going to try and relish in my last few fleeting weeks here in Denmark. Goodbyes are always hard </3

-CK

Tivoli at night

In between

So this post is a quick blip of my time in Copenhagen between travel break one, Belgium (coming soon!), and travel break two (which will be up shortly after Belgium). As you can tell, I’m trying to catch up as time has just been flying by.

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Spring is slowly awakening Copenhagen & it is fantastic. Oh how I have missed the sun.

My friend also came to visit so I saw her for a day, which was really nice.

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View from the Round Tower

I took her to do all the touristy things, of course. We also popped into a pie shop on pi day! What a coincidence. We also walked up the Round Tower on this gloriously sunny day. Just lovely.

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War Pigs most popular blonde beer

Before setting off to London for travel break two, some people on my floor & I went out. There is this place called War Pigs which I had been meaning to try…they sell American BBQ and beer. I’ll just have to go back to try their hushpuppies haha!

Hope you guys enjoyed seeing a bit more of Copenhagen again!

Vi ses

I’m Late!

Hi there.

This post will cover Feb 19-24, as I was too busy that week before our first travel break (that blog will come out shortly after this one!).

On the 19th, I was so lucky to have been offered a free ticket to a Copenhagen soccer game! I was actually about to go do work, but ended up going to this instead because – when does a free ticket fall in your lap!? It was a great experience…even though no team won haha.

Soccer game: beer & a view

DONUTS

During the week I made a pit stop to The Donut Shop near school & boy was it good! The cashier recommended ‘Daim’, which you can see in the middle right of the picture. I also volunteered at Studenterhuset twice this week & five hour shifts manage to keep you quite busy. I quite like working there, though! I think it’s good coffee making/bar experience – plus the people are fun!

Royal Theatre – during ballet

Newsroom of DR

On Tuesday, my Danish class went to see the ballet at the Royal Theatre! It was fantastic as I had never seen a professional ballet before. Unfortunately, I looked like a hobo (not really) because I had to come straight from volunteering at Studenterhuset. Oh well.

The next day I had a field study (actually 3!), but the most interesting one was to DR Byen. It’s like the Danish BBC and we got to see their newsroom :O

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Anyway, I suppose it warmed up in Denmark by about 3 degrees, but that gave the Danes enough reason to break out the flowers! That and sunshine were welcomed sights.

On Friday I was supposed to meet up with my visiting host family (finally!), but she never answered me after 2 pm to see when/where we were gonna meet. I had bought her flowers, but around 8 pm I was done waiting for her response.

Saturday I would leave for Scotland!..at 7:15 am 🙂 oh my

Vi ses! (See you!)

Busy Bee

Hellooo again,

Diving right on in, last Saturday I went to the Design Museum with a friend. I was a fan for two reasons: it’s free for students (oh yeah) and there were such cool designs in there from everything from tea kettles and bikes to lamps and clothes. Later that night some friends and I were going to try this place called the Greasy Spoon, essentially an American style diner so I didn’t think we would need reservations. Wrong! They were booked for an hour, but luckily we ran into our SRA who suggested a Thai place (Green Mango) in Christianhavn. Eating much later than expected, the curry and pad thai were welcomed sights.

Chairs in the Design Museum

 

Sign found while wandering for dinner

Skipping right over Sunday (because who wants to hear about laundry and cover letters? – it isn’t all fun & games while abroad!), the first half of my week was Core Course week.

Now what is Core Course week exactly? Well, it is a week off from classes when you travel with your core course class (Strategic Communication for me) and go on educational field trips. Incredible!

My class started off in Odense (about a 2 hour drive from CPH) to see TV2, which is a government funded channel like PBS or BBC. An anchor even chatted with us for a little bit! I also got a free pen – woohoo! We also saw the local DR news station (also a government funded network).

Tasting of 5 microbrews!

Dokk1 in Aarhus

That night we went to a microbrewery called Midtfyns Bryghus, which is owned by this crazy American guy named Eddie (married a Danish lady hence his presence in Denmark!). He was great and had many funny stories to share with us – all while we tasted 5 of his beers. Couldn’t have asked for a better night with tasty beers and delicious food! Quite a cool experience. We even got to keep the glasses :O

Tuesday: We traveled north to Aarhus (Denmark’s 2nd biggest city). We got a tour of Dokk1. None of us really knew what it was or what to expect, but it was actually quite unique! It is a library, basically, but also a gathering place…business space…it adapts to people’s needs. I liked hearing about how design was used as a communication tool. A pleasant surprise for sure!

Pink feathered heli

Homeless signs from around the world

Wednesday: On our last day in Aarhus, we explored ARoS. This place is an absolutely awesome art museum. So. Much. Fun! There’s so much movement and interaction throughout it.

“Low Key”

Andy Warhol

I think my favorite piece (tough call) would be the keyed Lambo called “Low Key.” And of course, I had to see the iconic 360 colorful roof…

*Also, it was flurrying snow the whole time – quite scenic…but also very cold haha.

Overall, the trip was fantastic! I loved all the visits and it was a nice break from the typical classroom setting.

Core Course continued today with two different guest speakers, but a friend and I found a hidden gem during our lunch break! It’s a little café called ‘Voulez-Vous?’, and we chatted to the store worker  – from Lyons, France! We practiced our extremely minimal French, but it was nice to discover a quieter space with less students. I’ll be going back for sure.

There is one last visit tomorrow to cap off Core Course week, where we will go to the Mystery Room which is the Danish equivalent to Escape the Room.

Coming Up >> This weekend I venture out of Denmark! I’m going with a friend of mine to Stockholm, Sweden. Catch ya on the flip side…

-Chloe

One week at a Time

Hej again!

So I figured writing weekly is a manageable task, which will also allow me to gather enough interesting things to write about!

Last Friday I went to my training session at Studenthuset (essentially a student union) to volunteer as a barista & bartender! It was super fun; I practiced making my own latté that I then got to drink it (woo!) and pouring draft beer which I also got to drink. It was about three hours long between learning the espresso machine and hearing the general rules, but the time flew by.

On Saturday, my SRA’s planned a little boat tour on the canals for our floor. It was a beautiful sunny day – thank you weather gods!

Christiansborg Slot view from the boat tour

Then on Sunday, I finally joined a gym (fitness dk). Hopefully I will be able to use it at least three times a week…who knows maybe even more if I’m lucky.

Life Hack: going to the grocery store early Monday morning. I ventured out to grocery shop my first time alone & it was actually quite peaceful. I was tempted to get the double stuff oreos but resisted and opted to try these Danish cookies, which are really good!

Sadly, though, I think I’ve caught a cold 😦 Ooh no. I’m hoping it’ll be over quickly because having a sore throat and being congested is no fun!

Tuesday, I went to a DIS Videographer meeting – so exciting! There are five (including myself) on the team, one producer, one editor, and three videographers. Throughout the semester we will work on the Spring 2017 DIS yearbook video.

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace

Earlier that day, a classmate and I went to Christiansborg Palace for our Danish class & it was stunning! Glad we got to go because it was on my Copenhagen bucket list.

*Update: Wednesday I felt like death with a fever and a headache on top of the previous symptoms. I even took two naps – & I never nap!

Brunch at Mad & Kaffe

DIS videographer gifts (DIS flashdrive & notebook)

With that being said though, I did make previous plans that I followed through on (I had been really eager to do both). One, I finally got to go to this famous brunch place called Mad og Kaffe, where you get to pick five small plates. I ordered a yogurt parfait, avocado, poppyseed pastry, eggs, & oatmeal. It was so, so yummy – I will be going back for sure! And to help my immune system, my friend Mary and me got ginger shots.

Later that night, some girls and I had booked a floating hot tub ride on the canal! I had already paid and I wanted to do this even before I got to Copenhagen so I gathered all the strength that I had & went along!

CopenHot – hot tub on the canal

We had champagne (I was sick though so couldn’t have any), roasted marshmallows, and played music all while cruising on top of the water in our hot tub! – kindly steered by our driver, ‘T’ (his real name is too hard he said).

Wish me luck getting over this illness! I think the steam and naps did help though because I’m feeling a bit better this morning. Until next time!

-Chloe

When in Denmark, do as the Danes Do

Wooo! Here I am finally – settling in for the next four months…it has been a whirlwind so far & I’m going to give a quick run down of how my first week has been going.

I arrived early Saturday morning (sadly sleeping for only 1 hour on the plane) where everyone was ushered to a hotel where we were then put onto different buses according to housing.

My Residential Community is so nice! Each room has their own bathroom and kitchen! My room has nice big windows so I could easily see the snow falling outside – so picturesque!

The view from my room

Exploring

The first day was pretty rough in that I was super tired, but fighting the jet lag! On Sunday, our SRA’s planned a scavenger hunt which was awesome (even though my team didn’t win haha).

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On Monday there was orientation where CHINAH performed. They’re a Danish band, and during their last song I realized I had listened to them before but had no idea they were Danish!

In my free time I’ve gone to the grocery store where I’ve tried to decipher all the Danish foods. A lot of people know about the influx of Americans through DIS, but others don’t. The woman checking us out at the grocery store asked, “Is there some American thing going on?”

The Metro is also very easy – just like DC! Only faster…and more modern. Luckily, my RC is super close to the Metro – under a 5 minute walk.

Brunch at Paludan

Nyhavn with floormates

On Tuesday, I tried the Danish way of brunching & I was not disappointed! I also got to cross off two sites I wanted to see: the street trampolines and Black Diamond (library). In addition to those, we visited Nyhavn & Christiania.

Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in Christiania (“hippie commune”, sort of utopia place), but it is extremely cool and interesting. There’s a lot of art and chill vibes in that place.

Wednesday, I tried ‘onsdagssnegle’ (cinnamon roll) from Sankt Peders Stræde, apparently Copenhagen’s oldest bakery.

Skipping right on to Thursday: first day of classes! Woohoo. So I absolutely loved my two classes: Changing the News and Strategic Communications. I feel like the teaching style is just so different than an American teaching style – it seems more like we’re equals. My professors in both classes also brought coffee/tea with biscuits! So overall, I’m very excited about those two classes.

Overall, I’ve had a pretty dang great first week in Copenhagen. I’m very excited to see what my abroad experience has in store – here we go!