So another week has been and gone.... and like always, it was a fantastic one, especially because it was WINTER VACATION! (listen to this Danish goodness) http://www.youtube.com/watchv=G125LwdIxuA&playnext=1&list=PL0E5D415F0D37D446&feature=results_video
Anyway, now that I have set the scene with that catchy song (which I'm sure will be stuck in your heads for a number of days) I shall begin.
In the seven days that have passed, I suppose that you could say I am now a regular in Copenhagen. The first two days of winter vacation, I toured the city with one of my fellow exchange friends from Western Australia. She stayed with my host parents for two nights and that was heaps fun. We saw most of Copenhagen, and endured what the Danes would deem horrible weather conditions (that being snow and rain) The rain was bearable until the end of the day when we were trying to find our way back to the train station using a map... that ripped in half right when we needed it most because it was so soaked from the rain. But this adventure was fun. Strategically walking into warm shops trying to piece together the map wasn't all that bad and we got to see A LOT of Copenhagen. We were both so exhausted at one point that we crashed on the couches in a cafe. Warm beverages (or a smoothie in my case) were comforting and we attempted to figure out how far we had to walk....
Well, turns out the train station was like 300 metres away. But anyway i need to go back to the beginning of our day!
Okay so we got up nice and early, keen to see the sights of Copenhagen. Our day was jam packed with sights and we planned to see them all- no matter what the weather decided to do.
So wearing every possible layer we owned and our best waterproof shoes, we caught the train into Denmark's beautiful capital city.
We hoped off at Central Station and were right in the midst of things
Our eyes popped as we gazed out onto the Tivoli roller coasters, we gasped as we took in the beautiful buildings andddddd of course we stopped for some coffee. A cafeen recharge never goes astray!
So after feeling a little more engergised we ventured off!
Our first stop of the day was the outside of museums that were closed on mondays (of course) but we admired the buildings (especially because they looked so so soooo beautiful in the snow)
From there we walked through a really magnificent old castle with a beautiful old garden. We tried to figure out what the building was.... There were camera men outside and a lot of people standing in suits looking important. We later found out that the castle is actually the parliment building so who knows- we could have seen some really important Danish politicians and not known it!
Along the shopping street, we found this random tower that had a sign showing prices. Not knowing what it was, we decided to investigate- and thank goodness our curiosity got the better of us! It turned out to be an old astronomy tower with a beautiful view out over Copenhagen. It was amazing, and so so breath taking. It was in that moment that I realised where I was..... this was not a dream- it was actually happening.
We stopped for a little bit of shopping a long the shopping strip (this was a relief for our frozen bodies) and we were eventually on our way to Newhound... this took quite some time and we got slightly lost as it seemed that every street had houses that looked like those in google. We eventually found our way, and sat down in a cute little restraunt and had some much needed energy food. With our stomachs full, we took the cliche tourist pictures with the houses, and ventured to see Princess Mary. Once again, she knew that Aussie's were coming as she was home! Darcie and I then ventured off to the Little Mermaide and again took some more touristy pictures.. then by 4 30 decided it was time to catch a train home (insert lost story here)
We were exhausted when we got home and crashed into bed quite early. We mapped out a schedule of what we were going to do the next day and got a good nights sleep in preperation.
We again woke up the next morning bright eyed and ready for a day of culture and more adventures. Both feeling more confident about navigating out way around the city, we once again stopped at Central station and visited the museums that we had sadly missed due to their closure. The sun decided to come out today which was super nice.
Our first cultural stop was the parliment building. This was AMAZING and it should be too considering it is where the Queen hosts some of her most important guests and gives her new years address. It also holds the balcony where crowds gather to see the new king and queen (i imagined myself being there when its mary's turn) and has the most beautifully furnished rooms. I was amazed!!! Part of the castle also burnt down hundreds of years ago, and today you can go under and see the remains. This was SUPER COOL! And i felt like an archaeologist on a dig. It was a perfect start to the day.
From there Darcie and I ventured to the marble museum. Not really knowing what to expect, we walked in expecting to be 2 hours max. Well neither of us could believe how big the place was! There were sooo many rooms, soooo many marble statues and even some french paintings in there as well. It was unbelievable! I had to be a little excited as I saw the actual busts of the Julio Claudian emperors!!!! (for those of you who don't know, ancient history was my favourite hsc subject). We spent quite a while in there, roaming through various civilisations and seeing all of their artefacts. It was the biggest musem that i have ever been to. I will defiantley be going back there throughout the year!
After two museums, we were sooo hungry so we found some fast food to satisfy our needs. I love it how anywhere in the world- there will always be a strip of McDonalds and KFC. Darcie and I though ditched these usual options and went for our first ever meal at Burger King. It tasted so good... and we had been walking so much so we could treat ourselves to this
Recharged, we ventured off into the shopping street of Copenhagen once again to navigate our way back to Mary's palace. We roamed through the museum there and then headed to the Marble church. This church was unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. I actually can not find words to describe it. The inside was amazing- so peaceful, old, well preserved.... just incredible. My pictures didn't really do the amazingness justice... I will be going back there to do a tour in the summer!
So after seeing the cultural sites for the day, Darcie and I headed home, (this time knowing our way to the station) and crashed with some danish candy in front of Harry Potter. We watched it with Danish subtiltes and even attempted to watch it with the danish voice overs... but it just wasn't the same. We went to bed exhausted but so happy with what we had achieved in two days!
So Darcie left on Wednesday :( and from then on my vacation was pretty average. Borrowed some books from the library, did my physics homework (yes i did just say physics) and chilled, caught up on some sleep and watched a few movies. It was really good!
On Friday though, I visited an archaeologists site in my town. One of my host famalies friends is an archaeologist (HOW COOL) so he took us on a tour. The site is connected to the cathedril in my town. It dates back to like 1614 and was amazingggggggg. All of the artefacts were so cool, and being underground was something that i will always remember. i loved seeing it! it was an experiance thats for sure :) On Saturday, I went shopping with my host family at an outlet in Copenhagen. Bought a trench coat (i feel so european) and then went to my host dads sisters house to help her move apartments. Then today, I spent the last day of vacation sleeping in!!!! (6 30am wakeups for school are something that i am not quite used to:/) and then ventured off to the local pool to do some laps. It felt strange going swimming when it was snowing outside but it felt so good to be back in a pool again!!! Worked off some of the danish bread which was a bonus and looked into the gyms that i can join whilst im here.
Overall i had a super vacation!
This week its back to school :) and on friday im heading to the border of Denmark (really close to Germany) for a Rotary get together with all the exchange students. Im really looking forward to it :)
Hope you are staying out of the rain Australia!
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