Howdy?everyone!
It has been such an adventure in Copenhagen this past month! Meeting so many different people from all over the world, going on weekend trips around Europe, everything about this study abroad experience has been extraordinary! First of all i would like to make everyone aware that i picked Copenhagen for no particular reason. I wanted to study abroad, yes, but i did not know where and honestly i just thought going to a cool climate during the summer sounded nice! (Texas is so hot). But this town/city has become one of my favorite cities in the world!
The first thing you need to know about Copenhagen is the look both ways before you cross the street, but don’t look so much for cars, it’s the bikes that will run you over. Copenhagen is the number 2 city in the WORLD for biking. The bike lane looks like a sidewalk and has a little lip that separates it from the main road. The next most popular mode of transportation is the metro that runs through the heart of the city all the way to the airport. Its fast, efficient, and for the most part, gets you where you need to go.
The first couple days in Copenhagen i went into the city center to check out the local shops and scenery. Its absolutely beautiful down there, with buildings no taller than about 5-6 stories and cobblestone almost everywhere you walk.After the first two relaxing days it was time to start class. The professors that teach the courses here are from all of the world, one of my professors is from Oregon, while the other is from Australia. They both have very different methods of teaching which i think is great for learning. I want to give a bit of advice to anyone coming here to study abroad. When you go to class, i know you will have international student friends you have made prior to class (or maybe not) but i would suggest you sit next to a Dane and become friends with them. During class is about the only time you will have to meet one and its good to know about the culture of which you live.
The picture above is the mid summers eve festival in Denmark. In Sweden its like a second Christmas, but it’s not as big in Denmark. But we still got to see a fake witch burn!
After the first week in Copenhagen i went on a trip to Malm?, Sweden. It was great to already see a new culture, but we went on a Sunday and most everything was closed (In Europe, most shops close or close very early on Sunday). But we still did a few things around town!
We had the fortunate opportunity of being here while the world cup was going on so a couple days a week a few of us would go down the public viewing they had here in Copenhagen and get in on some of the action!
After the second week of class, 3 other friends (who i all met here) decided to fly to Bornholm, Denmark for the weekend. Bornholm is an Island owned by Denmark that is right below Sweden. We all thought it would be fun to rent bikes and bike around the island. 120km we did, in 3 days. It was a lot of biking and very exhausting, but i believe it was worth it for some of the views and sites we got to see! Here’s a couple pictures from Bornholm!
The beach we are standing on is the best beach in Denmark, the sand is perfectly white and squeaks when you walk on it because it is so smooth.
The was by far the most exciting thing we did in Bornholm. A zip line in the lake below!
And back to Copenhagen! There are many different pizza places around Copenhagen and many different ice cream places, some making there own waffle cones right in front?of you!
The 4th weekend i went to London with the same group of guys, but i won’t get into details but i will share?this picture!
You might here stories of Danes being shy and reserved, but in my experience, they are very friendly and love to help/talk to you! I would encourage anyone who wants to study abroad to come here to Copenhagen, its a beautiful city and has a lively nightlife!
Thanks for taking the time to read this and i’ll be posting again in a couple weeks and I will have some pictures of Norway!