Danny Visits!

Since my trip to Spain things have been busy but amazing. Getting back to DIS and seeing every one was great and it sounds like my friends had some amazing European adventures. I was beyond happy to be at Kulor with Syd on Tuesday night along with probably half of the DIS students. Unfortunately two weeks of going and going caught up with me and I got a nice 24-hour bug from Thursday until Friday but luckily it did not fully ruin my weekend. I had gone so long without being sick but I guess it had to happen at some point!


After waiting for three months, Dan's visit to Copenhagen finally arrived and it was an incredible five days. I have to admit, I was a lot more nervous for his arrival than I thought I would be. I was running around like a mad man getting everything ready and was so excited I hardly slept Tuesday night. He got in at about 11 on Wednesday morning and after a long hug and being reunited, it felt like we had never been separated. Before Dan came we both agreed that we would have a "spontaneous" trip with zero planning and just "going with the flow" each day and I'm really glad we did. It made the trip that much more fun. On Wednesday I showed him my favorite spots in the city. I'm glad that Dan got to visit at this time of the year. Copenhagen is known for being really magical and beautiful during Christmastime and I can see why. The streets are lit with Christmas lights and every window in a shop is decorated for Christmas with trees, gifts, and ornaments. In addition, you can't go more than a few blocks without finding some adorable Christmas market. That night we went to a final presentation class for my Migration and Conflict program followed by a dinner with the entire group at a Turkish restaurant called Sultan's Palace. While I was beyond excited and happy to have Dan with me, it was sad to know that it would be the last time all of the MC group would be together. As we were walking together my friend Ben commented that it felt like we were back in Turkey since all of us were going in a huge group together. I can't believe Turkey was over a month ago! All of the individuals in my program made my experience very special and I know that I picked the right DIS program. Not to mention being taught my Jakob, who was such a great mentor. After dinner Dan and I went for a nice walk around the city and headed home for some much needed sleep.

The next morning I took Dan to DIS to show him the school and introduce him to some friends. We then headed over to Nyhavn, where the streets were lit with lights every where. We had a late lunch at an adorable and cozy restaurant called Nyhavn 17. I was so content having hot chocolate with a nice meal and seeing all of the Christmas markets outside. Dan and I both agreed that it was easily our favorite meal during his visit, both because of the food and atmosphere. After admiring the Christmas markets, both in Nyhavn and along Stroget, we headed over to Tivoli, where I had never been before. If you're looking for a Winter Wonderland in Copenhagen, then look no further than Tivoli.  It was so incredibly festive and every one was joyful. There were cute shops all around that sold cider, Christmas decorations, and food, and there were lights of every color all around. We spent about two hours in Tivoli just walking, talking, and admiring how beautiful it was. We then headed over to one of my favorite places, Stella's, for a late Thanksgiving dinner. Both Dan and I commented on how weird it was to be away from home on Thanksgiving, however, I was very thankful to have him there with me. On Friday we explored the city more and had lunch at a place called Dalle Valle. Once again, it was a nice, cozy restaurant. After more walking around the city and showing Dan The Cathedral of Copenhagen, I took him to Sankt Peders Bageri for some hot chocolate and cake. The bakery is probably my favorite in all of Copenhagen. It is small, delicious, and not at all expensive. Plus the girls who work there are so friendly. Afterwards we headed back to my apartment to have dinner (and wine) with Natasha and her boyfriend. It was really nice to be able to stay in and talk with both of them. That night Syd and Katherine came over for some drinks and food before heading over to Kulor. After talking non-stop about the place to Dan, I was glad he finally got to experience it. It was also incredibly fun to be able to dance together again after so much time apart and I'm really glad he got a glimpse at the nightlife in Copenhagen.

On Saturday we went for a walk along the canal and over to Norrebro, which is a trendy and artistic area in Copenhagen. After more walking around the city and admiring all of the festive stores, we headed to a cafe for some hot chocolate and just sat and talked. Though the cafe was a little pricey, but it was definitely worth it. The atmosphere is cozy and fun and the drinks are delicious. We headed back to Nyhavn to admire the Christmas markets once more and then had an early dinner at a place called Cafe G where we both had a delicious meal. Since it started to rain and Dan was leaving in the morning, we headed back to my apartment and spent the night relaxing and watching movies. Despite the fact that I'll be seeing Dan in three weeks for Christmas, I was so sad that he was leaving. Not only did his trip go by too fast but we had such a great time together that I really did not want it to end. However, I'm so thankful he was able to see Copenhagen and that we were able to spend time together after being apart for so long.

It truly baffles me that three weeks from now I'll be back in Syracuse. This is my last week of classes and I can so vividly remember my first day and how new everything was. I never expected this semester to go by as fast as it did. One day I was writing about being in Copenhagen for only a week and the next thing I know I'm writing about having only three weeks left. Despite the fact that a lot of those weeks will be spent writing papers, I still plan to take in every last moment that I can while I'm here. While I heard about what everyone was thankful for this Thanksgiving, I thought about how thankful I am for this experience and all that it has taught me. I honestly feel I'll be traveling back to the U.S. as a new person with a different perspective on so many things. 

Family and Tapas

Of course the travel break FLEW by.

These past two weeks have been busy but amazing and rather than go day-by-day (that's a lot of writing for this girl), I'll highlight two big parts of my two-week break, which was my family visiting and seeing Shelby in Madrid. Mike and Lauren arrived on Friday afternoon and it was so great to see them and just have family around. We spent a good three hours walking around Copenhagen, where I showed them DIS, my favorite places in the city, and Nyhavn, which is where all the famous canal pictures are taken. Since they were tired and I had just finished paper/midterms week, we had an early dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Stella's, and both called it a night. On Saturday we visited the Rosenborg Castle, where the crowned jewels of Denmark are kept. I won't lie, those were some insane diamonds. I made sure to let Mike and Lauren that I wanted just a few for Christmas. We then headed over to Christiania and had a traditional and delicious Danish lunch at a quaint and adorable restaurant on the water. Afterwards we spent time walking around Christiania. Christiania is an autonomous neighborhood in Copenhagen that houses around 900 residents. They put a large emphasis on community living, which was really unique to see. After Christiania we headed back to the center of the city for some drinks and cake, where I had the most incredible chocolate banana cake. I swear, Danish desserts never cease to amaze my taste buds. That night we had a late dinner and went to Kulor, one of my favorite clubs/bars in Copenhagen. We met up with Syd and Ben and had a great time dancing, talking and drinking.

After a much-needed morning of sleeping in, I walked the Round Tour (free tickets come in handy) and got to overlook all of Copenhagen. It was such a beautiful sight. I then met Mike and Lauren and we walked around and had a late dinner at a small but amazing Italian restaurant. The pizza was incredible and the three of us split a bottle of wine. It was so nice to just relax after a hectic week. I then took both of them to The Dubliner for some drinks and people watching along Stroget. It still baffles me that The Dubliner was the first place I ever went to in Copenhagen. That first day seems like ages ago. It's so incredible to realize that I know my way around the city so much better compared to where I was in late August. The next day we headed over to Roskilde, which is a town just outside of Copenhagen. We walked around the town, went to the Viking Museum, and I finally had sushi for the first time in three months. I then took them to my apartment to relax for a bit and meet Natasha. They loved the apartment and the location. That night we went out for drinks at a restaurant in Norrebro. The atmosphere was great. Everyone was simply joyful and content with life and the beer was pretty awesome as well. I'll definitely go back before I leave. It was then on to yet another amazing dinner at a Thai restaurant that overlooked the canal. I forgot how much I love Pad Thai.

Between being with Mike and Lauren and going to Madrid, I had some free time to myself in Copenhagen and took full advantage of it. I went to the Art Museum, The National Museum of Denmark, and a Holocaust Memorial Museum in Copenhagen. They were all pretty amazing, especially the Holocaust Museum. It was quite a treat to just have a few days to relax and take in this beautiful city. I promised myself that studying abroad in Copenhagen meant more than just going to class and going out. That said, aside from visiting sites, I did all of the Copenhagen-y things I could such as walking around the canal, eating a pastry, sitting and people watching with a cup of coffee, and going out for drinks with a Danish friend. Being here has made me realize how incredible it is to be comfortable with being on my own. I sometimes used to dread the thought of having a job after college in a new city knowing absolutely no one. However, after living in Europe for three months and realizing how great it is to be independent and comfortable with just walking around alone, I'm pretty happy with the possibility of living in a new city.

It has always been one of my dreams to go to Spain. I'm not sure why Spain is THE country but after having visited so many countries in Europe, I always wanted to experience Spain. I let myself have one big trip this semester where I could spend a good amount of time in a new city and spend money on food, drinks, nightlife, and other things to take in the culture. Of course, since my best friend lives in Madrid, I thought, "Well, now's my chance" and wow, am I glad I went. I arrived around six on Tuesday and was all giddy when I saw Shelby, both because it was great to see such a good friend and because it shocked me once again that we were just hanging out in Europe together. We went to her adorable apartment to meet her Senora and get her things and then headed over to the hostel. The people there were really friendly and there were so many DIS students staying there and partying in Madrid in general. I ran into someone I knew or had a class with every day I was there. That night we had a late dinner and glass of wine at an amazing restaurant and then went to a bar to meet Shelby's friends from her program where I had my first glass of sangria. It was delicious. Shelby's friends are all so nice and easy-going and what a plus that they go to Syracuse University!

The next day we slept in and I had my first bite of chocolate churros (yum) and a calamari sandwich for lunch. The food in Madrid was so amazing. I couldn't get over it. Wednesday was mostly devoted to shopping and we met Elena, Shelby's good friend from home, to walk around and take in the incredible stores around the city. We did such a crazy amount of walking the whole time I was there and I loved it. After saying good-bye to Elena, we headed back to our hostel to get ready for dinner and Shelby brought me to an incredible tapas restaurant. I have to share that I wanted to knock four foods/drinks off my list in Spain: churros, sangria, a mojito, and tapas. I was unaware of the fact that tapas is a concept and not an actual food. After much confusion at dinner from Shelby telling me that we were having tapas, I finally understood it all. Aside from that embarassment, however, dinner was once again beyond delicious. Afterwards we met more of Shelby's friends at a bar and headed over to a club. Despite the fact that the club was empty at first, we ended up dancing our hearts out and having a great time.

We woke up on the early side Thursday to visit the Shelby's school, have lunch, and visit the Reina Sophia, a modern art museum in Madrid. Some of the art was pretty incredible and interesting. Afterwards we walked around and got some snacks. Shelby and I were pretty tired and needed a little rest time before going out so we watched a movie in the hostel. We then met her friends at a tapas bar called El Tigre, which is a place I wanted to visit since I saw so many pictures of it from Shelby's experience abroad. At the bar you get a huge plate of tapas and an even huger drink for just six euros. Let me remind everyone that although Copenhagen is an amazing city, it is certainly not cheap so being in Spain for five days and not having to pay 14 dollars for a drink was great. After El Tigre we went to a club called Joy and danced the night away. Once again, I bumped into more DIS students. DIS really took over Madrid!

I'd have to say my last day in Madrid was my favorite based on everything Shelby and I got to do. We ate lunch at this amazing restaurant where you paid 12.50 euro to get a drink, appetizer, meal, and dessert. It was so delicious and pleasant to have a nice meal and just sit and talk. Afterwards we visited the Prado, which is a beautiful art museum in Madrid. I was astonished by all of the art work. Not only was it beautiful but it had so much religious history behind it. After the museum we went to Retiro park, where I was reminded of how beautiful fall truly is. We sat and had a cup of coffee and walked around before heading over to the cathedral near Sol. It was honestly one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen. It was so detailed with gorgeous colors and I loved every minute I got to spend in it. We headed back to the hostel for a little while before getting pizza for dinner and spent the night going to different bars with Shelby's friends. I finally got to have a mojito and it was delicious (I wonder how many times I've used that word so far). After a few hours of sleep, I left the next morning and had to try hard not to cry on the metro after saying good-bye to Shelby. It was hard knowing I won't see her for so long but I'm beyond thankful I got to have such an amazing time with her in Europe once again. I was so grateful to spend time with her and have her show me around her city.

Being able to visit Madrid opened my eyes again to how many extraordinary cultures and people there are in the world. Spain has such a vibrant and colorful culture and lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed having a delicious late lunch, walking around, shopping, relaxing, and then having dinner at 10 at night. The people there are gorgeous and so full of life. All of the buildings are gorgeous and detailed and I found myself always looking left, right, up and down to take in the structures and city as a whole. More importantly, experiencing it with someone I'm really close to made the trip that much more special and memorable. I was talking to one of Shelby's friends on my last night in Madrid and caught myself saying, "I'm excited to go home tomorrow." It's so funny to me that I consider Copenhagen to really be my home now. Every time I travel to a different place, I always look forward to coming back to the city and my apartment. I have five weeks left in this marvelous country. While it's sad since five is a small number, I know that it will motivate me to appreciate and love the time that I spend here.

Next on the agenda is Dan's visit in ten days. It honestly feels like yesterday that I was saying good-bye to him at the airport and now I get to see him so soon and it's little crazy in my mind. We don't really have a set agenda as to what we want to do since we're both content with walking around the city and going places as we walk. However, our plan is to go to the Carlsburg Brewery and the Christmas Market at Tivoli, which I've heard is incredible this time of the year. I'm so thankful he's coming to visit and don't know how I'm going to be when I see him at the airport (probably still in disbelief).

I'm excited to get back to class tomorrow and hear about everyone else's adventures! Syd and I already made plans to have our Kulor Tuesday this week and I'm so excited to see her and hear about everything she did in the past two weeks. I hope everyone is continuing to have an amazing time abroad! These past three months have made me appreciate things so much more and have opened my perspective so much. While I know leaving will be difficult, I can't wait to go back to the States and Tufts with a whole new outlook.