Adventures in Oslo, Norway

Friday afternoon at 3pm, Kelsie, Jennifer, Andy and I set out to board Ms. Crown of Scandinavia and cruise to Oslo, Norway for the weekend. After walking for quite some time and getting a little turned around, we finally made it onto the boat and the adventures began!

Our room was actually minuscule. When we first walked in, we thought they didn't provide any bedding or towels and we freaked out...then we folded down the bunk beds and voila - it was all tucked neatly onto the bed. After putting all the bunks down there was barely enough time for the small end table in the picture to stay there since there was so little walking room. Needless to say we didn't spend much time in our cabin over the weekend. 

Friday afternoon was gorgeous in Copenhagen. This is the view of the harbor from the top deck of the boat. It was really windy and as soon as the ship started moving, the outside decks cleared off because it got too cold to stay out. 

Another view as we started cruising. So pretty!

We got to see the sunset from the top of the ship (note the lack of people). 

This was at the Opera House in Oslo as we were walking up. The building was spectacular - you could walk up and all around it and they were having a small show for kids in one area. From the top you could see the whole city with the mountains in the background. 

The four of us at the top of the Opera House (from left to right: Jennifer, me, Kelsie, Andy). The DFDS boat in the background was ours. 

There was a book festival going on! No one else really appreciated it - I wanted to look (only problem was that all the books were in Norwegian...oops). We got into the city pretty early, but by afternoon the main walking street was packed with people. 

Hard Rock Cafe in Oslo (they're legitimately everywhere)!

Oslo Domkirke (or Oslo Cathedral). We only got a glimpse inside because there was a concert going on, but it looked amazing. 

Outside the cathedral, there were flowers and flags and pictures of all the people who were killed in the Norway attacks. This was one of the larger memorials. 

We saw the changing of the guards at the Royal Palace at 1:30pm (after taking a nap on the lawn of the Royal Palace because we were so tired). Unfortunately, it was not nearly as excited as we had anticipated and we ended up leaving before it was over to go get lunch. 

Before we got back on the boat we went to sit on a nearby pier. It was getting a little colder outside, but this picture is a great glimpse into what the rest of the skyline looked like in Oslo when you were looking at the ocean. I think Norway is the most beautiful place I've been yet and after seeing this, I think exploring the islands and checking out areas farther north would be really fun. 

All in all a GREAT weekend. The cruise was a great experience and the all-you-can-eat-buffet we invested in was also a great decision. I'm not going anywhere this coming weekend (as of right now), but I'm sure we'll do something exciting! 

Tales of a Weekend Vagabond

Things have been quite busy around here! Last Thursday we left for our Short Study Tours with our core class (mine is Public Health in Northern Europe) and we got back Saturday night. My group traveled to a few places in Western Denmark - it was part academic, part cultural. Anyway, here's a few pictures to document my travel adventures...

Rockclimbing on the Swedish coast - it took us about 2 hrs to get to Kullen, Sweden. It was a perfect day - definitely one of the warmest since I've been here. (Also I have a whole series of these pictures...let me just say that 99% of the shots are less than attractive.)

The Swedish coast! We saw some kayakers who ended up docking right by where we were climbing to stop and have lunch. I secretly wanted to steal one of the kayaks so I could paddle out and see the bridge  from Denmark to Sweden. Didn't happen though. 

This was the first academic stop on our study tour. Sex & Sundhed means Sex & Health. It's somewhat like Planned Parenthood in America, but they sell condoms instead of giving them out for free and they are very involved in school sexual education, HIV counseling, and alcohol awareness. 

Denmark's version of sexual education. I was so tempted to buy that "Make love - not babies" postcard...

Wall of condoms! Every size, shape, color and flavor you could imagine. Two favorite condom names: Peasant King XL and Euroglider. HAHA.

Altar in the church where Hans Christian Andersen was confirmed. So beautiful! The organ in the back was absolutely amazing. 

This is one of the most famous Hans Christian Andersen statues in Odense that we saw on a walking tour of the town. When we first got to Odense it was a very dreary, cloudy day, but as you can see here it was beautiful in the afternoon. Bipolar weather strikes again. 

Pretty rainbow! This is the view from the top of one of the two mounds at the Jelling Stones. The Jelling Stones are considered the birthstones of Denmark. 

This was the cemetery at the Jelling Stones. It was absolutely amazing - each gravestone had it's own little garden area (unlike in America where they are legitimately one on top of another). 

For the second night of our study tour we stayed at a folk high school - 

Yet another rainbow. This is the treat for all the rain Denmark gets.

This is the Round Tower - the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. It was built by Christian IV and when you walk to the top there are amazing views of the entire city.

View from the top! I think the clouds are my favorite part of this picture. (I swear the clouds move l0 times as fast here). 

Trinity Church -- connected to the Round Tower. Even though it's beautiful in this picture, it started to rain approximately 2 minutes after we walked down. 

That's all for now. My cruise to Oslo, Norway this weekend should yield many pictures so be prepared! 

Tivoli, Tequila, and Tourists

Here are some new pics from the past few days...so many fun adventures!

 Tivoli

The entrance at night. We went mid-afternoon so we could see it during the daytime and with all the lights - the best of both worlds! Tivoli is the world's 2nd oldest amusement park, the most visited theme park in Scandinavia, and the third most visited in Europe. 

So pretty (Mom why don't our gardens look like this?)

Beautiful!

Slot machines in Tivoli. Note: you have to be 18 years old to gamble AND you're not allowed to take pictures inside (a woman was very displeased when my flash went off). 

Does anyone remember the "It's A Small World" ride at Disney? This was the equivalent devoted to fairytale's by Hans Christian Andersen. 

I feel like this should be on a Dove chocolate wrapper. Wish they had those here...

I was a little too excited when I saw this. Unfortunately they didn't have Oatmeal Cookie Chunk or Fossil Fuel. They do however have Nordic Water Dance (for $12 at 7/11 I might add..so ridiculous!).

View of the main church square from inside Tivoli. 

Me, Jennifer and Kelsie :)

Candy from a nommin candy shop right outside where we ate dinner in Tivoli. For you Mommy.

Himmelskibet = The Star Flyer = the tallest carousel in the world. It's like the swings at Funtown on some major steroids. 

We went on it! During the day (the line was too long at night) - you could see for miles and miles. I would've taken pictures but we weren't allowed to take cameras on the ride. 

Just a quick picture of the pond as we were leaving.

Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate wasabi sauce that the 3 of us split. The sauce was actually really good. 

When we finally pushed our way out of Tivoli (there was a live concert we didn't want to stay for, but the crowds were insane) we walked onto the street to find a HUGE group of rollerbladers passing by. What a green city. USA get on that. 

Tequila

Only 15DKK ($3)! Needless to say we were pumped. 

Thank god for Billy Booze (Denmark's Bargain Bar). 

Good, clean, legal fun. 

Tourist Time!

The Black Diamond (the Royal Danish Library). It's the largest library in the Nordic countries. The inside is so modern...I will definitely be spending a lot of time there come midterms (it's only a 15 min walk from the DIS classrooms). 

Closer view of the flag with the name of the library in Danish.

Return to Nyhavn for the classic picture. Couldn't resist. 

The Little Mermaid...hilariously small. Quite underwhelming. But a site we had to see!

Carlsberg was celebrating their 200th anniversary. The brewery is in Valby, so we made a stop on the way home. We didn't go inside the museum or get a tour, but it was fun to see the area and I'm sure we'll go back at some point. 

Somersby! Best hard cider ever. I wish we could take it back to the states with us and have an endless supply. So yummy.

And some random ones... 

Sunset from the bridge we take to get home to our kollegium from the train station. 

For you Dad! I think of you every time I pass this (which is every day since it's right outside Central Station). We were warned not to go as it would be extremely expensive, but I think we'll cave by December when we're craving some classic American food. 

Jennifer and Kelsie before we went on our Thursday afternoon run. Our roommate Rie told us that the last girl living with them in the kollegium from DIS gained 12 pounds over the semester. Now we're all doing Couch-to-5k. Take that all you nommin pastries (and Nutella). 

View from the walking paths behind our kollegium - reminds me of movies I've seen based in Scotland. 

Goats! 

That's all for now ladies and gentlemen but I'm rock climbing in Kullen, Sweden along the coast tomorrow (it's supposed to be 75º!) so I'm sure I'll have many more to share from that.