Copenhagen

Halfway through the semester, we had a week off for "reading week." It's meant as a time for the students to catch up with their reading, essays, and schoolwork. Naturally, this meant time for a trip! I booked a flight to Copenhagen. My first visit to Scandinavia, it should be fun!

I stayed with a friend for 4 days, exploring the cozy and cosmopolitan city of Copenhagen, hanging out with his "kitchen-mates," and taking two day trips (to Hillerød/Helsingør and to Malmö, Sweden). It was fun, although a bit chilly. I spent the right amount of time exploring the city; I wasn't too rushed or tired from trying to cram everything into two days (as I was in Paris).

I arrived on Thursday night, having flown from London Stansted Airport to Copenhagen. The airport is nice, clean, and organized. My friend met me there, and I bought a Copenhagen Card, which is good for travel on trains, buses, and the subway throughout the city. (I also learned that you could easily wipe off the date on the card and "reset" it to the current date, so a 1-day pass can last you for much longer.)

We took an evening walk through the city center, where I saw some buildings and stores lit up, but it was difficult to figure out where we were going

My First Time in Paris

Paris, baby!

Paris is the most visited city in the world. And its proximity to me in London meant that it was easily a must-see destination. So, I set off for an extended weekend in the city of light!

Looking Forward to More Trips

My travels are about to shift into high gear. Since I've arrived in London, I've stayed in Britain. But, this weekend I'll be heading to the continent for a few days in Paris! I'm incredibly excited - I'm actually leaving tomorrow night.

And a week after that is our "reading week" which is one week without any classes, intended for students to catch up with their studies. I intend to catch up with my friend Alex in Copenhagen. Hopefully I'll be able to make a side trip to Sweden while I'm there! That will take five days, and after a day in London, I'll be off on a jaunt to Ireland for the second half of my reading week. I'll be visiting Cork (to see some EAP-mates) then headed to Dublin. It's going to be so much fun!


Life in London has been good. Last week, England was in the Rugby World Cup final. Unfortunately, they lost, but nevertheless it was fun to cram in with a few dozen other people outside a pub to catch glimpses of the final game on the TV. (There was supposed to be a big projection in Trafalgar Square, but there was no sign of that.) I found it particularly hilarious/interesting that England's team song is "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

A Day in Dover

This past Sunday I traveled to Dover, a town on the southern coast of Britain. It's the closest town in Britain to France. You may have also heard of the white cliffs of Dover. (The reason for the name "Albion.")

Dover is also known for its castle, a strategic location from Roman times all the way to World War II, when secret wartime tunnels were dug as a shelter from air raids.

Oxford

Oxford. The very name conjures up images of distinguished academics strolling through halls steeped in centuries of tradition. I always knew Oxford University as the oldest university in the world (actually, it's the oldest university in the English-speaking world), and it is the elitest of the elite, the standard to which every other university is compared. With such a prestigious and prominent reputation, and being only a short bus ride away from London, a visit to Oxford was definitely in order!

Last weekend, I traveled with two classmates to Oxford. We stayed for one night.

We left Friday morning, because none of us have class on Fridays (what a great schedule!). We took the Oxford Tube bus, which runs regularly every day between London and Oxford. We bought tickets for our bus right there, no need to order online, and we were soon on our way to Oxford.

More London to Explore

My friend Alex is visiting me; he's been here in London since late Saturday night and he's returning to Copenhagen early tomorrow morning. Since he's been here, we've done some more exploring of London.

On Sunday, we went to Abbey Road!

U.S. Geography Lesson

According to one of my flatmates, Disneyland is in Florida. She was unaware that one existed in California. Apparently, people here also think that cheerleaders walk around in cheerleading outfits all day and are blissfully unaware that George W. Bush and cowboys come from Texas. Not to mention that they think Southern California is exactly like The OC.

Granted, I know very little about the regions of the UK, but I'm working on it. I also need to work on converting my sense of humor into a sense of humour.

Laundry Day

One thing I didn't anticipate about living in London: The massive inconveniences people here put up with on a daily basis.

For one example let me retell the story of today, when I did my laundry.

Stranded in Scotland

Night 3 in Scotland: Saturday/Sunday, 21-22 September
It was the last night in Edinburgh for me and Nicole, and we had just missed our bus.

And so began a series of frustratingly unfortunate events.

Disbelief quickly turned to anxiousness, as we tried to beg the one other bus leaving for London at 22:30 to let us on. No deal--they were with a different company and just couldn't acknowledge our tickets. All the ticket stalls in the station were closed. There were no other buses leaving until the morning. But a 9-hour bus then would be tough--I had class the next day, and Nicole had to catch her plane early that next morning.

What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?! This has never happened before--being stranded in a cold foreign city with no way to get home and no place to sleep that night.

Deep Fried Haggis and a Sinking Feeling

Day 3 in Scotland: Saturday, 21 September (continued)
It was our last day in Edinburgh, so Nicole and I only rested for a short while before getting out the door. We left the hostel and wandered to the campus of the University of Edinburgh. Nicole also became really excited when she saw her favorite supermarket from Germany, Lidl. We went inside, it was all right, a very basic (and affordable) place to get groceries.

Soon afterwards, we ended up at the Royal Museum right a few minutes before it was to close. But we didn't waste our time... we quickly found Dolly the sheep (the first mammal to be cloned).

Climbing Arthur's Seat

Day 3 in Scotland: Saturday, 22 September
For once, I finally got to sleep in. But not too late, because we had to eat breakfast and check out of the hostel by 10:30. Nicole and I left our bags in their luggage room and proceeded to continue our exploration of Edinburgh. Today's goal: Climb Arthur's Seat.

Arthur's seat is an 800-foot high mountain right next to central Edinburgh with beautiful open scenery and some of the best views of Edinburgh and the nearby Firth of Forth. So we set off, walking down the Royal Mile. We passed the Scottish Parliament, with its distinctive modern architecture and sharply acute geometric angles, and Holyrood Palace.

Then we walked into Holyrood Park. There were several paths going in different directions, and Nicole asked which one led to the top, and a police officer told us to go around the long way, down a small side road which didn't even seem to go uphill. Nevertheless, we reluctantly went down that less-traveled road, and along the way we passed some meadows and ponds filled with geese. After swooping around the east side of the mountain, the road finally curved uphill, and wound its way up the mountainside. The paved road ended, and following one of several footpaths led us most of the way to the top. The final few hundred steps were over rocks and boulders, but it also became very windy! We survived, and the view was definitely worth it. You could see for miles in every direction.