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.
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