Kendra in København!

My best friend from home visited Copenhagen the past few days and it was sooooooo awesome!  Here's a little recap:

Friday, October 25:

I picked Kendra up from the airport at around 9:45 pm (after her long day of traveling and layovers to get here) and we took the metro back to my house where she met some of my housemates (many were still on their travel breaks).  We went out with some friends and had a lot of fun experiencing Danish nightlife.

Saturday, October 26:

Today was a touristy day.  I showed Kendra around all the "major" sights to see in Copenhagen, including King's Garden, Nyhavn, the Opera House, the Marble Church, Amalianborg, the Little Mermaid, and Parliament.  That night we made dinner with Wallis and Patrick.

Nyhavn

Sunday, October 27:

In the morning we went to Christiania and Vor Frelser Kirke to see a great view of Copenhagen.  We also got traditional Danishes from Lagkagehuset - yum.  We did some shopping on Strøget and Købmagergade (also my first time shopping here) then went home for a late lunch.  That night we experienced Halloween in Tivoli which was so beautiful and fun.  We got hot apple cider, went on a roller coaster, and tried a "traditional Danish sandwich" that we still have no idea what was in it.  Oh well, it was good! 

Danishes in Denmark

Vor Frelser Kirke

Tivoli

Monday, October 28:

I had class for a majority of the day today, so Kendra went off to explore on her own.  In the afternoon/night, a major storm hit Copenhagen, so we had to stay inside. Cool. 

Tuesday, October 29:

It rained all morning so we just stayed inside again, but after lunch we took bikes (thanks Maggie for letting us borrow yours!) and rode about 20 minutes to the Carlsberg Brewery.  We spent all afternoon there looking around and just talking.  We had a lazy night because we had to wake up at 4am the next morning to get Kendra to the airport safe and sound.  I can't believe how fast her visit went!  Well actually I can, since everything these days just speeds on by.  

From Boston to Copenhagen... 10 years later

Transylvania Trek, Romania

This past week I spent on a DIS Adventure Trip to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania.  Let me just say this trip put all other adventure trips to shame.  Seriously though... this was the most intense, thrilling, breathtaking trek I have ever and probably will ever experience.  I was seeking a city escape, and what I got exceeded my expectations in every way. 

Saturday, October 19:

Our group consisted of 20 DIS students and 2 group leaders - a bunch of strangers that once again became really close each day.  We met at the airport at 11:30am in time for our scheduled 1:20pm (but delayed) departure to Bucharest.  Once we landed, a bus and guide picked us up for our 2 hour drive to Hotel Casa Iris in Sinaia.  We got our room assignments, were served a delicious 3 course dinner, had a group meeting to detail the next few days (since we were the first DIS group to go on this trip and had no idea what to expect), and went to bed.  I was still a little sick which lasted through the entire trip, but it wasn't too bad thankfully.  

Sunset Drive to Casa Iris

Sunday, October 20:

In the morning, we received backpacks to pack what we needed for the next 3 days of hiking because we will have to hike half way up a mountain to reach our next place of residence... yes it is that secluded which is awesome!  After breakfast, we headed to Peles Castle - the summer residence of the royal family (by the way there is no more royal family in Romania, so now it is just a museum).  I've seen a lot of castles in my life, but this was the most beautifully unique castle I've ever seen.  We got a tour of the inside (and couldn't take pictures) but I was in awe.  After the tour, we went back to the hotel for lunch and to throw our bags on the bus.  There we were told they planned a special surprise, and on the bus we found out we would be repelling down a rock wall and doing archery!  Coolest surprise ever!  We spent around 3 hours here, and this is where we met Vlad and Dragos our awesome ecoxtreme hiking guides.  We then drove about an hour to the start of our hike up to Curmatura Chalet.  However, at this point the hike was pushed back so much by the surprise that we had to hike through the forest in the pitch black.  Good thing a few people brought head lamps and there was a full moon and clear skies.  Also it was freezing!  But all of us ended up stripping off all layers and just hiking in t-shirts for 3 hours until we finally reached the Chalet at 9:30pm.  We stayed in rooms of 11 people each and were served dinner before we went to bed.  

Peles Castle

Merida takes on Romania

Repelling

Monday, October 21:

This is the day we've all been waiting for - the beginning of the Transylvania Trek.  Little did we know what was coming at us full force though.  After breakfast, we began hiking at around 10am.  The first half hour was straight uphill forest hiking, not too bad yet - just tiring.  Dragos asked us if we wanted to do an additional "optional" hike up a parallel mountain (Piatra Mica Peak) to the planned North Ridge of Piatra Craiului Mountain.  Of course we all said yes.  This is when we realized how seriously intense these hikes were going to be.  We literally were hanging on to rocks for dear life and climbing straight up rock faces with shear drops.  After this mountain was conquered in an hour and a half, we were back on track and started the trek up Piatra Craiului.  We all scrambled up rock faces and scaled the side of the mountain for 3 hours until we reached the very top.  Talk about challenging!  And never-ending... around every turn and rock, it was just more vertical rocks to haul up or shear drops to avoid falling over.  Thinking back on it, it was actually really dangerous, but SO AWESOME.  Once we trekked up to the top, we had 3 hours of hiking along the ridge with ups and downs of jagged rocks and shear drops on either side of you.  Casual.  The view was absolutely stunning since we were above the clouds.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  We finally reached the end of the ridge as the sun was setting, then had another 2-3 hour hike back down, scrambling over loose rocks on an extremely steep slope.  I'm pretty sure everyone fell at least once it was very unstable ground.  When we finally reached the forest hike down, it was almost pitch black again, so I slammed my shin into a rock.  Ouch.  By the time we reached the Chalet 10 hours later from when we started... it was such a feeling of relief and adrenaline rush at the same time.  I can't believe what we did was real life.  Amazing.  We had some hot wine, played card games, ate dinner, and got some much needed sleep.  Oh yeah, there were also no showers and only porta pottys - needless to say we were all looking (and smelling) goooooooood.

The start of Piatra Mica Peak

The top of Piatra Mica with Piatra Craiului ridge behind

Tried to capture some of the hike up Piatra Craiului

On the ridge

Half way there!

The destination peak

Above the clouds

Tuesday, October 22:

We had breakfast at the Chalet and packed our things to start our descent down the rest of the mountain in the morning.  3 hours of painful hiking through the forest later (every single muscle in my body was so sore), we reached the bus at the bottom.  The bus drove us to Brasov for lunch and a 2 hour treasure hunt around the city.  By the way, the food on this trip was overwhelming in itself.  Every meal included 3 courses, and always had cheese, white bread, soup, meat, and was usually fried.  Welcome to Romania.  The treasure hunt was really cool we got to see a lot of historical buildings - and my team rocked it!  The treasure at the end was a medal for everyone.  A 2 hour bus ride later, we got to a hotel and had dinner.  I wasn't feeling too great so I went to bed after. 

The start of our hike down

The main square of Brasov

Wednesday, October 23:

We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked up to a Citadel which was really cool to see.  We drove into Sibiu and walked around the city before lunch.  After, we drove 2 hours to Bran and just made it to Dracula's Castle in time before it closed.  There, we got the strangest tour ever.  There was a group of maybe 50 of us, all speaking different languages from Germany and Japan and I don't even know where else.  It was a mess.  But Dracula's Castle was interesting to see!  Right down the road we stayed in Hotel Transylvania Inn for the night and had a couple hours off to just relax before dinner.  

Citadel

Sibiu

Dracula's Castle

Courtyard in Dracula's Castle

Thursday, October 24:

Today consisted only of traveling home.  After breakfast and packing, we drove about 2 1/2 hours to the airport, got awesome t-shirts, said bye to our lovely guides, and our flight took off at 2:20pm.  If I had to sum up this trip in one word (which is kind of impossible) I would say EPIC.  What an experience.  I can't believe it's over already! (Although my muscles are still recovering)

BUT GUESS WHAT!!  My best friend is coming to Copenhagen TONIGHT and staying until Wednesday morning.  I'm so excited!!  We have talked about traveling together our whole lives since we are both obsessed with it.  She is studying in Morocco this semester and I'm so excited to see her and share stories of our adventures.  I haven't seen her in 5 months and it's about damn time!

 CAN'T WAIT

Half Way?

Where did the last 2 weeks go?!  It's really scary how fast time flies, but so awesome how much happens every day.  I am now past the half way mark of study abroad.  Major highlights of these past weeks include...

• A pre-Halloween party with our SRA Mikkeline
• Finally getting to Skype with Shona!
• European Sustainable Development Field Study to Merkur Bank
• Scandinavian Classical Music Field Studies to see the Copenhagen Phil and Contemporary artists at Den Grå Hal in Christiania
• A Greenhouse Trip around Copenhagen on Kulturnatten
• A visit to see our house swap family in Karlebo!  They made me a traditional Danish lunch.  It was really awesome to see them again
• My first Wednesday morning fresh-out-the-oven cinnamon roll from Saint Peder's Bakery
• Danish Movie Night in the Greenhouse 
• Renewable Energy Systems Field Study to an onshore wind farm where we got to climb a 50 meter ladder to the top

Three Blind Mice

Den Grå Hall

Cinnamon Rolls

Handy dandy anti-oil suit to climb the windmill

View of Copenhagen from the top

Next week is our second travel break.  I leave Saturday for a DIS adventure trip in Romania to hike the Transylvania Trail!  Dracula I'm coming for you...

Study Tour - TOTNES (Part 2)

Tuesday, October 1 (Afternoon):

After our 3 hour train ride from London to Totnes, we get picked up by "Bob the Bus" and a few taxis.  About half an hour later, we pull up to... I kid you not... a castle.  Our castle.  Sharpham Estate to be exact.  After exchanging many puzzled looks, I think everyone's jaw dropped once we discovered this would be our humble abode for the next few days.  This estate is within the rolling hills overlooking the Dart River.  We dropped off our things in the gorgeous rooms (I roomed with Emma) and then got a tour of the grounds in the rain.  Dinner included chilli with salad, vegetables, and bread, then for dessert we had a berry tart with clotted cream.  After dinner, Bob the Bus (driven by Hal) drove us to the town pub for a fun filled night of "Heads Up!"  Yes we were those routy Americans on the pub on a Tuesday night with the locals, but it was a lot of fun.  

Sharpham Manor

Music Room

Second flight of grand staircase

Side View of Sharpham Manor

Wednesday, October 2:

Breakfast was at 7:45, and the day's activities started at with a group activity from 8:45 - 11 to establish group culture and a common understanding of context for Transition Town Totnes.  The Transition movement began in Totnes in 2006, and this is what we came here to learn about - "a grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability."  

Manfred Max-Neef Model of Fundamental Human Needs

Activities Room

After the activities we loaded onto the buses and visited the REconomy Center before a delicious organic lunch at the Bay Horse Inn.  We had some time to walk around the cute town before meeting up again at the Market Square and splitting into two groups for the rest of the day's activities.  My group drove to Dartington first to visit a school farm, a really cool mushroom project, and a community garden initiative.  We then traveled to a woman's house to learn about her story on Totnes Streets, then went to Conkers (a sustainable show store).  We regrouped at Albert Inn, got yet another free drink (thanks DIS), and learned how Albert Inn brews their own beer.  Dinner was on our own, so a group of us went to an Indian restaurant where I got coconut lamb and vegetable fried rice.  The bus took us home at 9, then the rest of the night was very low key.  

Growing mushroom spores from used coffee grinds

Garden

Some Conker Shoes

Thursday, October 3:

Our planned activities today had to change because of the torrential downpour storm all morning and into the afternoon.  It was a little upsetting that we didn't get to hike around Dartmoor National Park (Mama Deb's favorite part of the trip). Instead, we drove to the coast in hopes we could hold a discussion there.  Unfortunately, the rain got worse and was blowing completely horizontal, so the shelter didn't work.  As environmentally minded people, the entire class decided to run outside in the rain and into the ocean.  Needless to say, we were completely drenched and the bus ride back was a little uncomfortable.  It was so worth it though.  We then drove to Riverford Organic Farm and ate at Riverford Field Kitchen, where I had the best meal of my entire study abroad experience yet.  I can't even describe it - all organic, locally grown, delicious dishes that were shared around the table.  We also had more sticky toffee pudding for dessert!  Miranda and I decided to split ours, so I also got to try a chocolate ginger cake.  While we ate lunch, the rain stopped and from then on it was just mostly cloudy - perfect timing for our next adventure (and also my favorite part of the whole trip). 

View from Riverford Field Kitchen Vineyard

So in the afternoon, we did a lot of reflection down my the Dart River at Sharpham Manor.  The instructors let us go on a 30 minute "date with nature," where we had to simply be with nature without judgement or analysis.  Just be.  I ventured up to the top of a hill with no one else around overlooking the river and rolling hills with sheep and cows.  It was such a familiar sight for me, with familiar smells and sounds.  I just sat on my rain coat and took it in.  Then I started crying.  I knew immediately that I was so emotional because it's exactly like my favorite place in the whole world - Scotland.  And I know exactly what triggered my tears - the faint sound of a single morning dove, which is the sound I would always hear in the morning at my Nana's house.  The whole scene just reminded me of the greatest days of my childhood, and the reason why I study the environment and will do anything I can to protect it so future generations can have that same feeling as I did.  I often go out in nature by myself as a way to reflect, but the whole ambiance of the countryside hit home.  Sometimes studying environmental science, renewable energy, and environmental humanities can be depressing, overwhelming, and emotionally draining, but I just think about how I grew up traveling and all the breathtaking natural sights I've seen and realize it is the single most important thing in this world to study and protect, because without it there is nothing to protect.  I could go on forever about this topic, but I'll leave it at that.  So after that time, we got back together to wrap up and celebrate the world we live in.  Dinner was served about an hour later, where we were all way too full from lunch to eat much.  The rest of the night we had on our own.

The Dart River

Friday, October 4:

Today, after breakfast and making pack lunches, we had a speaker come to the castle in the morning to talk about permaculture.  We then moved out of our beautiful residence and visited the Forest Gardening and Agroforestry Research Trust and got a tour around the forest garden.  Before I knew it, it was 1:00 and time to leave Totnes.  Our train came around 1:30, took 3 hours to get to Reading, where we switched to another hour and a half train ride toward the airport.  Our flight was supposed to leave at 8:30, but it was delayed by almost 2 hours.  That meant we got back to Copenhagen at 2 in the morning.  It was a long day of traveling, but the whole trip was a blast and everyone got so close.  It's weird that our class doesn't have any more trips, but we're already planning our next reunion (outside of class of course).  

Thanks London and Totnes!  As a hardcore Scot, I never thought I'd enjoy a trip to England as much as I did. 

Study Tour - LONDON (Part 1)

I spent this past week in England (London and Totnes) on my Long Study Tour for European Sustainable Development.  I think it's safe to say this is one of the best weeks so far on my study abroad adventure.  So much has happened that I am going to split the blog posts - one for the first few days in London, and the next post to come will explain the rest of the week in Totnes. 

Sunday, September 29:

We met at the airport at 6:30am, so I had to get the metro before 6.  We checked in and got our arrival packets, checked our bags, went through security, found a delicious morning Danish (which are actually not called Danishes in Denmark - they're actually "wienerbrød" or "Viennese bread"), and then found our gate.  Our flight landed at 9:30 England time, we got a train to our hotel Novotel in London West, dropped our bags, and had lunch on our own.  A group of us went to Nandos which is apparently a famous chicken place in the UK.  After meeting back at the hotel, we took the tube to Fat Tire Bike Tours at 1:30 for 3 hours.  The Royal London tour was awesome!  A perfect way to see London in the short amount of time we had in the city.  For dinner we went to Portobello Organic Kitchen and got DELICIOUS Shepherd's Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and wine.  Mama Deb (our name for our professor) loves wine.  Morgan and I were roommates in the gorgeous hotel, and just passed out once we got back at 10pm.  It was a long day.

Let me just say right now that every single meal on this trip was absolutely phenomenal.  I also can't believe how much food I ate this week because all of it was so good.  Mama Deb knows how to scout out the perfect restaurants. 

Kensington Palace

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Monday, September 30:

The hotel breakfast was insane.  It had everything you could ever want for breakfast in buffet form - from fruit to pastries to a traditional English breakfast.  Yum.  At 8:30, we took an hour and a half train to BedZED: Zero Energy Development.  This was really interesting to see that even in a huge city like London you can live sustainably.  They gave us tea/coffee, a little presentation and background about their neighborhood and initiatives, and a tour of the area.  At around 2pm, we went to see the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern Art Museum, then had the rest of the afternoon/evening on our own.  A group of us went to St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, and Platform 9 3/4.  For dinner, we went to a sports bar and got burgers and local beer.  At night we went to a bar in the Soho area, but it closed around midnight. 

BedZED

St. Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge

Big Ben Tower

Off to Hogwarts...

Tuesday, October 1 (Morning):

We had the morning on our own until 11:15, so after another delicious breakfast (and sneaking out pack lunches) Morgan, Michelle, and I wandered around Trafalgar Square area and down little side streets.  Many metro rides later, the group took a 3 hour train from Paddington Station across the English countryside to Totnes.  Little did we know what was coming...