Fall Break: Copenhagen & London!

So, I'm sure you are all wondering about my exciting fall break trip around northern Europe!  It was truly an incredible experience!  I woke up at 4am so I could catch my bus and all my train connections to get to the airport for my flight to Copenhagen - mostly all of which were late!!  Once I landed in Copenhagen, I decided to exchange some money (they don't use the Euro there) and get some food.  I immediately felt out of place.  I really took for granted being in Germany and being able to understand a good portion of signs and announcements.  In Denmark, I was experiencing some culture shock with the language barrier!  I was also SHOCKED at how expensive everything is in Denmark!  Just as an example, the Burger King meal I purchased at the airport cost close to $11!  After a stressful morning of traveling, that did not make me any happier!  Alone and cheated by the Danish Burger King, I made my way out to the city of Copenhagen, which made the earlier mishaps all worth it.  The city is sprawled out over small islands, which creates beautiful boat-filled canals.  It was truly charming.  I toured the city on my own and found my way to my friend Jessica's school.  Once she got out of class, we walked around some more - even climbed up the spire of a church to see some great 360 views of the city - and then took the train to her host mom's house in the Danish countryside.  Her host mom made us a delicious meal for dinner and afterwards, I was so exhausted that we stayed in for the night.  The following day, we explored the entire city!  We spent the morning in the Kastellet Island - which was a former military base and is a now a park!  We then saw the changing of the royal guard at Amalienborg - the royal palace - and got some lunch and delicious hot cocoa at a trendy cafe!  We then walked around Tivoli - an amusement park/garden - and climbed trees in the royal gardens and explore a really sketchy, creepy park.  Afterwards we went to the Little Mermaid statue, which is actually currently in China for the 2010 World Expo - so that was a let down.  After having dinner, we sat on the canal at Nyhavn and enjoyed Copenhagen by night!  It was a really awesome day!

The following day, Jessica's host mom drove us to the airport.  I really am grateful for her host mom for letting me stay with her!  It definitely saved me a lot of money in a very expensive country!  Then Jess headed to her plane for Milano and I headed on mine for London!  I arrived in London and even though there was no language barrier, I still felt rather clueless.  I never realized just how massive and overwhelming London really is!  Luckily, I got on the tube from Heathrow to King's Cross Station, but then had to wait over 4 hours there for my friend heather to meet me!  In this time, I noticed the most peculiar things about London.  A:  They do not have garbage cans!  I walked around the ENTIRE train station looking for a place to throw out my trash and there was not a single place.  I was left with no choice but to litter!  B:  There are no "Exit" signs; instead, signs say "Way out".  I found this rather funny.  It's as if Londoners are trapped everywhere and need to find the way out rather than just exit.  Anyhow, my first day in London was rather hectic since I arrived at the start of a tube strike.  All tube lines were closed for the day and the only way around town was by red double-decker buses!  This was a nightmare since London traffic is terrible on a good day!  Despite that, Heather and I enjoyed a great walk through Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square and spent some time at the National Portrait Gallery - my favorite museum in all of London!  The next day, I visited the British Museum while Heather was in class.  It was cool to see so much world history in one location!  Then I got some fish and chips and ate in a cool square before meeting up with Heather to head to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for a performance of Henry IV!  It was an incredibly good and funny performance and an incredible experience!!!!  On my third day in London, I met Heather at the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) for a quick tour with her history class and then we explored on our own.  After lunch on the Thames, we visited Westminster Abbey.  This was a truly incredible structure!  It contains the tombs of countless kings, queens, and famous Brits and it was very cool to see the final resting place of so many people!  It is also just an incredibly beautiful church full of so much history.  I was, however, surprised at just how many tombs were actually there.  It felt like every free space was filled with a plaque or shrine or tomb and as a whole it was almost too much to sink in!  Afterwards, we walked around the Parliament building and crossed the Westminster Bridge for great views of central London before walking through St. James' Park to Buckingham Palace!  The parks in London are really beautiful!  It's a total escape from the chaos and grime of the city!  On my fourth day in London, I went on my own tour through the city.  I visited Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall - the street containing all governmental buildings - and once again the National Portrait Gallery!  It was awesome to see so many famous sites and the weather was unusually sunny!  Heather and I met up after her class and took the train to Greenwich to visit the Royal Naval Academy and Royal Observatory.  when we got there, the Academy was blocked with fences and blue screens and filled with people in 18th century attire and we were a bit disappointed and confused, however we soon learned that they were filming Pirates of the Caribbean 4!  So that was really cool to stumble upon!  We toured the Queen's House there and then trekked up the hill to the Observatory where I stood at the Prime Meridian!  Pretty cool!  And the view of London from up there was really beautiful - lush green woods on one side of the river and the skyscrapers on the other!  That night, I went and explore London on my own at night, which was really cool.  I feel like the city felt very different at night - perhaps more laid back and romantic than the usual chaos.  On my final day, we visited the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and the London Eye!  That was a really cool way to see the city before I left!  And the weather cooperated so I had great views in all directions!  I'm glad I was there for 5 days because I was constantly busy!  I would not have seen so much cool stuff otherwise!  After another stressful trip back, I made it to my room late at night, thankful to be back!  At that point, I was ready to be "home" in Heidelberg!  I really missed the slow-paced, simple lifestyle I lead here and I really missed speaking German!  It's such a fun language and I was in definite withdrawal. Being away from Germany made me realize how much I love it here!  As thankful as I am to be back, I am also incredibly thankful for the great break I had and all the people who made it possible!  I learned so much about other cultures, histories, and even about myself!

Frederikskanal

Copenhagen from above!

Park in Kastellet

Kastellet

Me at Amalienborg

Changing of the guard

Nyhavn!

The Royal Gardens

The Little Mermaid...in China!

Nyhavn by night!

Hyde Park in London!

Me and a lion at Trafalgar Square!

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at the National Portrait Gallery

Rosetta Stone at the British Musem

Henry IV cast at the Globe Theatre

St. Paul's Cathedral

Westminster Abbey

Parliament

Me in a classic London scene!

Buckingham Palace

Parliament from across the Thames

London Eye

Filming of Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in Greenwich

Big Ben by night!

Double-decker bus!

Tower of London

Me at Tower Bridge