It's a Danish Christmas

While traveling to Denmark is nothing new for me, it has been my first time spending Christmas with Anders and his family.
Christmas
I arrived December 20th, so right before Christmas which, like in Poland, is celebrated on Christmas Eve. I think I can officially count the festivities as starting the day before for Jule Frokost, Christmas lunch. Anders' aunt and her husband arrived for a lunch, though it lasted pretty much all day. We had many delicious things, my favorite at the moment being sild med karry salat (herring with curry salad). Now this one surprised me, my parents make herring in a classical Polish method every Christmas, soaking in oil, vinegar and onion and while I've grown accustomed to appreciate it, I wasn't the biggest fan until this year. I wish I remembered all the delicious meals but I believe the images disolved with every plate of food I took.
Christmas, the next day was filled with meat, the main course being duck with sweet potatoes (not the orange ones but they were covered with sugar), brown sauce and a cranberry (?) I believe marmalade to enhance the meat. It was so appetizing. Though very different to what I am used to, (Polish Christmas Eve contains no meat but rather a lot of sauerkraut, cabbage, fish, vegetables and pierogies) I very much enjoyed this new experience. After dinner we had dessert, which was risalamande, rice with almonds and the trick was to find the full almond and then keep a secret. This meant that people would eat as much as possible. I actually ended up finding the almond, in the very beginning  so I hid it until the very end. With this 'achievement' I won some Belgian chocolates (courtesy of Laura who is living in Brussels). We then participated in the Danish tradition of dancing around the Christmas tree, we sung about 7 songs, with every verse we had to turn the other way. This ended up taking, I'd say about 20-30 minutes. The last one, was the classic Nu er det jul igen and with every verse you must dance faster until you break the circle. Finally, we got to open our presents and needless to say, I'd like to assume everyone was satisfied. 

New Years Eve

Most people think of this day as glamorous as it gets, going to a club or party with dozens of people around, way too much booze. The other opinion is that people hate New Years because of the mindset that comes as mentioned above. I have tried to find the find the happy medium and for the second year in a row had a 'private party'. Last year I just had my best friend and boyfriend over while my parents were away in Boston. This year, I had my boyfriend, his sister and his best friend over. We had dinner with his parents, celebrated with the confetti bombs, watched the Queen deliver her speech and then we were left alone. Of course we had a few drinks, waited until midnight, celebrated and went to bed at around 5. And that was definitely fantastic. Pictures accompanied. 

Just because Anders' face makes me laugh

On Monday, it's back to Leipzig, and I'm excited despite the stressful time period I'm facing. Exams and research essays, I believe I'll be in my natural habitat in the next few weeks: the library. And I'm gonna face this challenge. 

2.5 months later...

I admit it, I can be a terrible blogger. I find that I get too caught up with too many things at one time and  lose track of too many things. New Years is coming up and yes, it will be one of many resolutions for 2013. 

So where have I been in the absence of 74 days? What have I been doing? 

Let me mention some names: Berlin, Meißen, London, Wrocław and now I'm back in Fredericia/Herslev/Kolding (Denmark). These are the places I have visited since October 15, 2012. 76 days ago. I know I have still got about 7 months left in Europe (though approximately 3-4 weeks I'll be in hiatus in the US) but I feel already so blessed to have seen so many different and interesting areas. 

I suppose it only makes sense to describe my trip chronologically then.

Berlin 

November 2012

"The greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine."

(David Bowie, on 1970s Berlin)

I only spent two days in Berlin, and most of the time I felt lost. In comparison to Leipzig, it's much bigger, with many more people. The city is very spread out and very often seems like a hodgepodge of culture, art, fashion and well, history as well. I suppose that this is it's appeal, and I very much enjoyed the eccentricity  though I am looking forward to going back again when it's warmer (it was much to grey during the first week of November). Also, kneipes (pub-like areas) are experienced better in the sun and warmth. 

I travelled with a group of 13 Erasmus friends, who are from all over Europe. We are all studying at University of Leipzig and so often travel together. As it was my first time in Berlin, I wanted to see the most important sights and figured I would come back to visit the museums, galleries and other cultural institutions.

Checkpoint Charlie

Unter den Linden is a boulevard filled with numerous historic buildings which of course we took the time to see. Brandenburger Tor along with Alexanderplatz was another area obvious to visit. You can see other things worthy of seeing here. I'll most likely be reusing this later. Throughout the day, we walked around all of Berlin, the premise being to go to the Jewish museum, which was only supposed to be a informational point. After some miscommunication a group of 7 of us ended up across the city at the National Jewish Museum which, though not inteded was still an interesting sight.  On Saturday night we went out to a club which was in an abandoned church (I believe) and even though it was a week after Halloween, Berlin was still celebrating. It was great fun, consisted of three or four different rooms with different types of music. No wonder so many clubs are open until late morning. On Sunday morning a good friend of mine Camilla took us to the weekly weekend outdoor flea market which was huge and filled many goodies. And without a doubt, we saw the wall! 

Brandenburger Tor!

Oh Berlin, we'll be back!

Meißen

November 2012

Known for it's porcelain, I travelled to this small destination on a day trip with the student group WILMA and with another friend of mine.  We were there for a few hours, did a quick stadtrundgang (city tour), went to the museum, had some coffee and went around the castle. After that, it was getting a bit chilly so after a walk we got some mulled wine :) 

"Der dumme Junge von Meißen" (The dumb youth from  Meißen)

Goethe lived here...for a night

 London and Cambridge (!)

November 2012

London: 

London called and I flew over from Leipzig. A friend of mine invited me to come with her as she wanted to visit her sister who lives outside of London. We went for three days, one afternoon was spent in Bedford, Sunday in London, Monday in Cambridge and on Tuesday morning we were on our way back 'home'. 

Westminster Abbey

As I originally come from New York City, it was wonderful to go back to the quick-paced, robustness of a major metropolitan area. Though I really enjoy living in a smaller city like Leipzig, there is something exceptional about the rush I encounter or encountered in London. I really loved how spread out it was and how separated certain parts of the city were. Joanna and I walked all days and still only saw the most important things. Again, like in Berlin, we weren't able to go to any museums or galleries because we only had a few hours just to explore. But we did it anyway and felt like I had really seen so much. We were extremely lucky with the weather Sunday morning, blue skies and only some wind until noon. The rain didn't come down until about 7 in the evening which seems like a success to me, considering what I was imagining. My impressions of London? I loved it. It's a huge city but it's much cleaner than NYC. I wasn't too fond of the prices (so I suppose it was good we were only there for a day) and there were tons of foreigners. I giggled a bit at the English accent though secretly envying it. I loved all the little shops I kept finding when we got out of the center and yes, I hate the tube. Perhaps it's my claustrophobia but it was incredibly crowded, insanely small and just too round for my taste. But on the other hand, it was very easy to go around and super quick. And it's always better to look at the positives.  

The London Eye 

Of course

Big Ben

And we had to go to Notting Hill

Across from Buckingham Palace

Cambridge:  

On Monday we headed out to Cambridge, an hour away from Bedford. Though before we did, Joanna and I made a quick pit stop at Primark, a smaller version of Forever 21. The weather was grey and somewhat rainy. Our trip over to Cambridge took a bit longer than expected. Many of the little rivers in small towns had flooded, blocking roads which meant that it took longer for cars to get through traffic. When we arrived in Cambridge, we walked over to the main campus of the university and then proceeded to get lunch. After recharging with a cappuccino, we set out for the city centre. As we had no city map with us we relied on street signs and directions, which made adventuring much more spontaneous. We saw all the colleges of the university and walked down all the little alleys on the way. Joanna and I also did some more shopping and I acquired a beautiful Cambridge satchel.

King's College

 Wrocław

December 2012

 Wrocław, my most spontaneous trip thus far. I decided to go the day before, once someone had dropped out. It was also just for a weekend and for 40 Euros, including train fare and hostel, I couldn't pass it up. Another reason was that I had actually never been to Wrocław and it would be really nice to be in a country where I am fluent in the language. 

Like with every trip, there was lots of walking and exploring of the city. Of course it had to be on a weekend where it was approximately -5 degrees Celsius during the day. As the city was a former part of Germany, traditions like the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas markets) still remain, and so we explored them as well. Our of 19 students, there were 4 of us that were native Polish speakers and we wanted to have people learn about Polish culture, food and traditions. We first took them to a Pierogarnia which is a restaurant that primarily serves pierogies, Polish-style dumplings. I of course got my favorite, potato, cheese and onion. They weren't as great as my grandmothers but it was definitely delicious. After that there was more walking around the city centre and basking in the lights.  

Rynek!

View from the University tower 

Friends! 

One of 212 dwarves around the city!

Fredericia/Herslev/Kolding (Denmark)

December 2012 - January 2013

I am currently back in Denmark, visiting my boyfriend and his family. They live in Herslev but we are often alternating between Fredericia and Kolding. On details about my stay and experiencing my first Danish Christmas, see my next post :) 

First days: sitting, woes and thrills

I suppose my title describes my travels from the US to Denmark and then Germany rather perfectly and really, the only way I know how to. As mentioned in my earlier post, I flew to Denmark to drive down to Germany with my boyfriend, and gather all my things that I had left behind (because I'm studying/staying in Germany for 10 months I need all four seasons' worth of clothing). I only stayed in Denmark for 2 days which Anders and I spent together running errands, napping and re-watching episodes of one of our favorite shows: Parks and Recreation. On Saturday, September 15, we left our house at 4:30 am and started our drive to Leipzig, Germany.

The drive itself wasn't terrible, no traffic, only got lost twice (though we figured out the right way pretty quickly) and spent the ride talking, snacking and me reading "Freakonomics" to Anders (I had purchased this book at the airport on my way to Denmark and had finished it by the time I arrived). We took minimal stops and our total time spent in the car including breaks was 7.5 hours. This is incredibly close for us, considering we normally have to take 13+ trips to see each other. Regardless...

When we arrived in Leipzig, we went into my new flat to meet my flatmate. After quickly rehydrating, the three of us took the trip to Ikea. My room was already furnished so I didn't have to worry about making any purchases that were too big. Simply had to buy all the things required for a bed and minimal decorations (I mostly bought candles) and a plant. Anders took a nap on one of the couches and funnily enough, someone put a note on him which translated into "Don't feed" which we all had a good laugh about. After this, my flatmate treated us to a late lunch/early dinner at what I learned to be a popular student cafe "Spizze" with an awesome climate. My flatmate ordered drinks for me to give me a "taste of Leipzig" and I must say, it was delicious :) We witnessed a zombie walk taking place (I of course didn't have my camera with me) and then made our trip to Kaufland so I could have minimal groceries for the first few days while I'm settling in. Once we got back, we all hung out a little bit longer but soon Anders and I went to bed as we were, simply put, beat.

On Sunday, Anders left early in the morning after breakfast as he had to return the car by dinner time and had some purchases to make. I fell into a rage of cleaning, I unpacked all of my clothes, organized my room, vacuum and made sure everything was in order. By 11, everything was cleared out and I could calm down a bit. My flatmate Patrick and I set out to "Zentrum" meaning the city where I purchased a sim card (turns out it was a very old one that wouldn't fit into my Iphone but luckily Patrick has taken care of that problem), he showed me the main University building and we went across the "Fußgangerzone"(it is a path with cobblestones mostly compromised of shops and cafes). This time I treated Patrick to some lunch and we had bagels, coffee and frozen yoghurt.  I purchased my transportation ticket for the week, got some produce and we returned home. My evening was mostly spent watching re-runs of How I met your mother with German dubs, skyping with my parents, reading and taking care of some other random things. For a late dinner, we went to get an infamous "Döner" which I really enjoyed. After watching some more TV I decided to go to sleep as I knew I would have a lot to take care of on Monday.

Such noms

The final roundup before...

...I go back to Europe.
48 hours from now, I'll be on a plane to Amsterdam --> Billund, Denmark where I'll stay with Anders for 2 days and then we'll take a road trip to Leipzig, Germany. Leipzig is the city I'll be studying in during my year abroad and I couldn't be more exciting. Leipzig is located in East Germany, which is important for my further research plans, more about that at some other point.
But before I leave, I suppose it's only right to look back at the two and a half weeks spent at home.
For the most part, it was about taking the time to do...nothing. After working most of the summer I had to spend a few ays lounging around endlessly.
I was also lucky enough to spend hours unpacking things from college that I had left stacked around in my parents' office room. This resulted in me doing a general 'spring cleaning' in my room, really quite the feat. Just today did I really finish. I'm saddened that I won't be able to enjoy the cleanliness of my own room as I will be leaving it so soon.
The most memorable weekend at home this time was our spontaneous family trip to Washington D.C/Virginia. We drove down on Labor Day weekend spending Saturday in DC/Arlington National Cemetery/Alexandria, Virginia and Sunday at Luray Caverns, Virginia. Despite the hot, humid, muggy weather (didn't miss this climate at all) and my blistered feet, it was wonderful to find spend some time in the capital as an adult and actually see things that I know I'll remember 5 years from now (my first trip to DC was when I was 4 years old). My family and I definitely had a wonderful opportunity to spend time together. If you're friends with me on facebook, feel free to take a look at the pictures I've posted :)
Here's just a few:

As the last full day in the US until perhaps March (?, my plans are in no way settled yet) approaches, I have a few errands to run but at least my mom has cooked some awesome things to help. 

365 Day Project: Day 197

July 15, 2012