Two weeks after my long study tour I had 9 days off to travel anywhere I wanted. I started off my free travel week by reuniting with my best friends in Paris and it was nothing short of magical! If you've been following along since the start of this blog you know that I visited Paris back in 2016 when I was studying abroad in London (click here for a little #tbt action). I loved my trip to Paris the first time around so I was super excited to go back to the city and see and do some things I hadn't done the first time around.
Maddie and I arrived in the city on Friday afternoon and headed straight to our rental apartment to meet our best friend from home, Jess, her friend from school Ashlee, and friend from her study abroad program Bobbi. We hadn't seen Jess since we all left home back in August so it was a happy reunion (and a few tears may or may not have been shed). After getting freshened up we headed straight to the Eiffel Tower! Bobbi and I had both been to Paris before but none of the other girls had, so seeing their reaction to such an iconic monument was so sweet. We took some photos in front of the tower before gathering some picnic supplies and eating dinner on the lawn in front of the tower. We stuck around to see the light show twice and even witnessed a couple get engaged!! I honestly don't think watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night could ever get old. After packing up our picnic, we finished the night with some crepes before heading back to the apartment.
the view from our apartment - so Parisian
it doesn't get better than this!!
the weekend crew
dinner of champions
my ideal picnic location
my mom said this belongs in the shanny alumni magazine ;)
We started out the next morning with croissants and a visit to the Arc de Triomphe. I had seen this monument the first time around but this time we actually climbed to the top! This actually ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip - the view was absolutely beautiful and we got up before it got too crowded. The arch is situated in the center of a traffic circle where there's basically no rules, there's no lines in the pavement and everyone just gives each other room to merge in. It was crazy to see the cars and tour buses and even a few brave bikers zipping around without incident. After coming back down, we headed to the Ladurée on Champs-Élysées for macarons. To continue on our French food tour, we followed up dessert with croque-monsieurs for lunch.
the best part about Paris is seeing the Eiffel Tower in the skyline almost everywhere you go
pretty sure they made this traffic median for the perfect photo op...
shoutout to Jess for playing photographer all weekend!!
we may or may not have eaten all of our macarons before the day was over
After lunch, Jess, Ashlee, and Maddie headed to the Louvre (spoiler alert: they thought the Mona Lisa was a let down) and Bobbi and I made our way over to the Musee L'Orangerie. This museum houses Monet's famous water lily paintings. These paintings span across two huge rooms and were so stunning to see in person. They way the museum is set up makes it feel like you're immersed in the paintings. I'm so glad we got to see it! We all met up at the D'Orsay afterwards to see Degas' ballerina paintings and Van Gogh's self portrait along with the iconic D'Orsay clock. The best part about all of this is that we got into the museums for free using our residence cards, since EU citizens under 26 get free admission (#studyabroadperks). After the museums, we walked along the love lock bridge, which had been moved to a new location since the last time I'd been there.
I couldn't get over the sheer size of these paintings
the detail was incredible
one of my favorite museums in Paris!
Next stop was up to Montmartre, a huge hill and the location of Sacré-Cœur, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. To get up to the top of the hill we had to climb so many steps (we ended up walking over 23,000 steps that day). We brought another picnic dinner and watched the sun set over the city. Everything was glowing pink and orange and it was so so beautiful. Coming back down the mountain was certainly easier than coming up!
sunset over Paris
The next day, we grabbed breakfast at a cute cafe (croissants, of course) before heading to Angelina for their world famous hot chocolate. We had 'second breakfast' in the Tuileries Garden before heading to do some shopping at Galeries Lafayette. This huge department store was already all decorated for Christmas!! There was a huge Christmas tree set up in the middle of the store which seemed a little pre-mature but we were all super excited to see it. After a little retail therapy which I surprisingly did not purchase anything at :) we went to Palais Royal. This palace houses an outdoor art installation of black and white striped pillars. There were some daredevils attempting some interesting stunts on the taller pillars but we stuck to the ones closer to the ground for a few pictures.
'tis (almost) the season
loved this shot!
We ended the weekend with baguette sandwiches before all parting ways back to our respective host countries (except I headed back to Maastricht with Jess and Bobbi). It was a weekend jam-packed with good food, lots of walking, and too many "I can't believe we're here together" best friend moments. Cheers to a wonderful weekend in the city of love with my loves!
P.S. You can check out the video I made of our trip here:
Hello everyone!! I think it's about time I update you on what I've been doing for the past month or so :) I've had a couple of blog posts written up from my October travels and I'm just now getting around to editing and posting them so bear with me as I bombard you with my abroad adventures.
Last month my core course spent a week in Germany and the Czech Republic on what DIS calls our Long Study Tour. This week was jam packed with academic site visits, sightseeing, food, and culture and it was definitely a highlight of my semester so far. Click here to czech (hehe) out the video I put together of my trip and keep on reading if you want to learn more about what I did!
Day 1: The trip began with an early morning flight out of Copenhagen to Berlin. The plane we took to Germany was a propeller plane and probably the smallest plane I've ever been on. There was room for two seats on each side and not much else! After arriving in Berlin, we quickly dropped off out luggage at the hostel and went straight to the parliament building for lunch. In order to get in we had to show our passports and be checked off of a list at security - it felt very posh and official. We took a huge glass elevator all the way to the top floor and ate at the restaurant they have there. The weather was perfect and we had an unreal view of the whole city.
After a delicious but slightly weird lunch of pork and caper meatballs (??) we headed to Fat Tire Bike Tours for a biking tour of the city. This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip - we saw all of the major sites in the city (the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the TV tower, the Bebelplatz, Brandenburg Gate, holocaust memorial, and many many more) and our tour guide told us so many interesting stories about the different historical landmarks. For some reason I was absolutely blown away by how much history the city has - much more than I ever have in any other city. I guess it's one thing to learn about WWII in school but when you're actually standing where Hitler gave his speeches or where the Nazis burned thousands of books it's kind of surreal. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was when we went to the spot of Hitler's bunker, where he waited out the end of the war and ultimately killed himself. Today it's literally a parking lot with no indication that anything happened there because the Germans didn't want to attract any sort of 'memorials' to the Nazis.
We ended the bike tour at the main church in the city center. It just so happened that we were in Berlin during their Festival of Lights so there was a super cool music and light show being projected onto the building. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel to check into our rooms and went out for burritos for dinner (if there's one thing Copenhagen is lacking it's Mexican food!!).
the parliament building where we ate lunch
check point charlie - the final crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War
the book burning memorial at the Bebelplatz - these empty underground bookshelves have space for around 20,000 books, as a reminder of the 20,000 books that went up in flames here
the holocaust memorial - the artist has never told anyone what it exactly means but it is a bunch of massive brick pillars that descend into the ground
one of the last standing sections of the Berlin Wall
the Brandenburg Gate - where Ronald Reagan famously said, "Tear down this wall!"
the Berlin Cathedral - the largest church in the city
Day 2: On Monday, the class was split into small groups for independent company visits. My group visited the Aspen Institute. This international think tank recruits intellectuals across many fields to give talks and influence global policy on a variety of issues. It was super interesting to learn more about how the organization operates and remains non-partisan despite government funding.
Afterwards, my group headed over to the East Side Gallery, a stretch of the Berlin Wall that has been converted into an art exhibit. Hundreds of artists took sections of the wall and painted it with all kinds of imagery - from bright and abstract flowers to controversial political cartoons, to dark images of the wall's original purpose. We spent a good hour and a half looking at each installation (and taking a few hundred photos of course). Here are a few of my favorite shots:
Then we headed in pursuit of kurrywurst for lunch. This classic German dish is comprised of sausages smothered in curry tomato sauce. My verdict? Solid 6.5/10. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city before going to our next company visit, Deutsche Bahn. This is the company that provides almost all of the trains and railways in Europe and we learned how they approach business strategy and regulation in the EU. The session was on the top floor of the building and we again got an amazing view of Berlin. Following the visit, we had a group dinner where we were served what my professor referred to as the typical Oktoberfest meal. It was quite possibly the largest pork leg I have ever consumed in my life.
kind of hard to tell but this thing was literally huge
Our post dinner group activity was a field trip to a wine bar where you pay 2 euros for a glass and can have as much wine as you want for the entire time you're there. It was all self service and they would switch out different types of wine as the night went on. At the end of the night you paid what you felt they had earned! I thought it was a super interesting concept and super fun way to bond with my class and professors.
Day 3: Tuesday began with a visit to the Story of Berlin Museum. It's exactly what it sounds like - a museum that details the history of the city from its origins to post WWII. Not my favorite activity of the trip but we did get a private tour of the bunker located under the museum. It was built in the 1960s and could house over 3,000 people in the case of a nuclear bombing. I couldn't even imagine staying down there for more than a hour. The 'beds' were stacked three high, there were only a few bathrooms, very little air flow, and the only access to the outside world was via a single telephone. Thankfully the shelter never had to be used and today part of it serves as a parking garage.
At lunch we were served another classic Eastern European dish: goulash! This definitely ranked higher on my list than the kurrywurst. Afterwards we went to another company visit, this time with the German Car Association. We learned about the singer market for cars in the EU (all cars produced and sold in the EU have to pass strict standards on emissions and safety), alternative fuel cars, and 'Dieselgate' (VW's emissions scandal). After the presentation a few of the girls in my class decided to go to the top of the TV tower. This tower is the second tallest structure in the EU, but it's going to regain its status as tallest post Brexit, when the Shard is no longer in the EU. The tower was built in the 60s and definitely gives retro but modern vibes. It kind of reminded me of something that would be in Tommorowland in Disney World. We got to the top after dark and got to see the whole city sparkling with lights.
the TV Tower with projections from the Festival of Lights
Day 4: On Wednesday we hopped on a train to Prague! The ride (or at least the parts I was awake for) was beautiful - we passed through so many cute towns in the German countryside. Upon arrival, we checked into a beautiful 4-star hotel (shoutout to DIS) and immediately left for a walking tour of the city. Again, this was a great way to get oriented with the new city. Highlights included the Prague castle, Charles Bridge, and the Old Town Square. As we ended the tour and got some time on our own before dinner, I spotted a guy in the square who was wearing a Villanova Engineering sweatshirt. Turns out he was there with another Villanova student on Fall Break. Small world! Dinner was goulash soup and regular goulash as the main course! I think it's safe to say that we were pretty goulash-ed out by the end of the week :) That night I got to meet up with my friend Maggie, who is studying abroad in Prague for the semester, and four of my sorority sisters who were also visiting the city for their fall break!
outside the Prague Castle
inside the castle
tons of beautiful stained glass!
beautiful view from a lookout over the city
walking around the old town
Day 5: The next day we headed a little bit outside the city to visit the car company Skoda. They produce all of their cars at the massive plant they have in the Czech Republic because it's so cheap there. We got to go inside the plant and see the cars being assembled which was super cool! We also toured the museum on-site which showcases Skoda cars from throughout the years. After lunch, we had the whole rest of the day to ourselves so my friends and I did some exploring in the city. We got trdelníks, a typical Czech dessert that's basically a donut cone with chocolate spread on the inside and filled with vanilla soft serve ice cream. So. Good.
definitely a highlight of the week
We also checked out the John Lennon wall, a wall filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles' songs. That evening we walked around the city a little more and ended up at a rooftop bar where we watched the sunset. Prague is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to - I swear if you google 'photos of Europe' pictures of the quintessentially European streets found in Prague would show up. That night I met up with my friends from Villanova for dinner. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them and hear about their study abroad experience (two of them are studying in London this semester) and get the update on campus life from the two that are at nova this semester.
second famous wall of the week!
we saw this street from the lookout on the first day and knew we had to find it somehow!
the castle at sunset
view from the rooftop
Day 6: On the final day of the study tour, we had a company visit with Skanska, the fifth largest construction and development company in the world. Instead of going to their office, we had the information session at their culinary school! After the session was over we took a cooking class with a Czech chef. We made a delicious Hungarian dish of chicken with paprika sauce served with rice. My class was split into groups of three and we all competed to see who could make their sauce taste the best. The chef chose my group's dish as the winner and said it tasted exactly how his grandma used to make it! For dessert we made an apple tart with vanilla cream sauce. It was a delicious and super fun way to end the trip - out of all the planned activities I definitely think it was my favorite. Afterwards we headed to the airport and made our way home to Copenhagen.
the final product of our cooking adventure
The long study tour week was absolutely exhausting but so incredibly fun! I had such a great time exploring two new cities and making memories with my class. One of the reasons I chose to study with DIS was because of their planned travel included in our curriculum and I can 100% say that this study tour exceeded my expectations.
I have officially arrived in Copenhagen to begin my fall semester with DIS! These past few days have been a whirlwind of travel, unpacking, orientations, meeting up with friends new and old, and lots and lots of walking. As the sun sets on my fourth day in Denmark I thought I would share some photos of my new home for the next four months and what I've learned so far!
On my first day here, I arrived to my flat in Frederiksberg, which I share with eight other DIS students (5 girls and 2 boys). I got unpacked and my SRA (kind of like an RA) took everyone to the grocery store down the street to pick up some essentials. Afterwards, we ordered pizza, hung out in our living room, and got to know each other a little bit. Later that evening I met up with some friends from Villanova and we explored the downtown area where we will be taking classes.
On Sunday, a few of my flatmates and I walked around our neighborhood and went to the local pharmacy to pick up some more items for our apartment. Then, we completed a scavenger hunt that led us around the city completing tasks like riding the bus and learning some basic Danish words and phrases. That evening, our SRA took us out to dinner with the other students he is in charge of for the semester (our 'sister' apartment). He brought us to a place called Absalon, which is an old church that has been converted into a community center. It has a very unique set up - there's no menu, everything is cooked from scratch and served family style, and everyone is seated at long tables with other random people. That night they were serving homemade bread, roast chicken, a tomato salad, and potatoes. It was so good. After dinner there is always some sort of activity (yoga, bingo, live music, etc.) and on Sunday it was a jazz band. I thought this was such a cool concept and I'm definitely going to bring my friends back there during the semester. The best part? Dinner is only 50 dkk per person (about $8) which is very affordable and rare for Copenhagen.
On Monday morning, we had the DIS Opening Ceremony at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. There were performances from Danish opera singers and the program director spoke about what to expect during our time in Copenhagen. That afternoon I picked up my textbooks and headed back to my flat for lunch. A few of my flatmates and I took a walk to a park in our neighborhood. It is apparently one of the largest and most beautiful parks in the city and it did not disappoint! There were lots of trails, a fountain, a palace, and a zoo! We barely got to explore the whole thing so we are planning to go back again soon.
The park reminded me a little bit of Longwood Gardens
The park entrance - the buildings in our neighborhood are so beautiful!
Later that afternoon, our SRA took us on a walking tour of the city center, where he showed us the best shopping, bakeries, restaurants, and study spots near the DIS campus buildings. It was a great way to learn more about the area and help us get our bearings. European baked goods are my weakness so I made note of a few places I need to visit soon. All of the streets and storefronts here are so quintessentially European and some are very reminiscent of Paris - I love it!
My ideal front door
Cobblestone and colorful houses are found on every little side street
One of the main shopping squares in the city center
After our tour we got sandwiches and had a housing meeting with our sister apartment. That night, I met up with some friends at Paper Island, a food market alongside the harbor. The market is made up of lots of different food stalls and there were so many delicious options! There is currently an art installation by Yoko Ono called the Wish Tree Garden on display outside the market. According to its website,
"On a slip of paper, a so-called ‘wish tag’, anyone can write a wish which is afterwards hung from the branches of the trees. All the wishes are regularly collected and sent to Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower on the island of Viðey in Kollafjörður Bay, Iceland...The wishes are buried around the Peace Tower along with the millions of other wishes that have been collected since 1996 from other places in the world."
Yoko Ono's display at Paper Island
This morning, our flat had a DIScover Copenhagen Tour, where we went around to different spots in the city where DIS representatives gave us history about important locations and attractions. Each walking tour leaves me feeling like I am slowly but surely learning my way around this place. My favorite place was the Black Diamond, a library on the waterfront. They have lots of great study and work spaces as well as rotating exhibitions on display. I'm sure I will be spending time there later on in the semester. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Maddie and we went to Nyhavn, the place most people probably think of when they think of Copenhagen. It's a picturesque stretch of harbor lined with colorful row houses and beautiful sailboats. We of course had to snap some photos and try out the trampolines built into the sidewalk nearby!
I was so happy to finally find these trampolines after hunting for them all week!
A classic Cope photo ft. BSHS alums :)
Tomorrow I have academic orientation and classes start on Thursday! I'm super excited for all of my classes this semester and I can't wait to explore the city even more in the coming months. In closing, here are the top 5 things I've learned about Copenhagen so far:
They have peanut butter here! It's not Jif, but its actually not too bad.
Pretty much all Danes use bikes as their main mode of transportation, bikers even get the right of way over pedestrians.
You can never know what to expect with the weather here - once second its pouring rain and the next second its sunny blue skies.
There were several fires in the city in the 17th and 18th century so most buildings in Copenhagen aren't actually that old!
Danes love to badmouth the Swedish - I'm not quite sure why yet so updates to come on this.
If you want to get my blog updates directly to your inbox, be sure to submit your email address in the 'Follow the Adventure' box on the right-hand side of this page to subscribe. Farvel (bye) for now!
