Amsterdam for the Weekend

This weekend I went to Amsterdam with a friend from class. The sole reason for purchasing my rather spontaneous ticket was so that I could see the tulip fields in bloom. "Frolic in the tulip fields in Holland" is one of the items on my very long bucket list, and I am thrilled to say I can check it off when I get home! The tulips were incredible! So much color for such a long distance. It was quite unbelievable. We went to Keukenhof, which is the world's largest flower garden. Every fall, 7 million bulbs are planted at Keukenhof! There weren't just tulips either. The garden is filled with a huge array of different colorful combinations. There were also indoor greenhouses with different themes and flower shows, which were very interesting. We spent three hours at the park and I could have stayed longer. It was absolutely beautiful!

We did other things besides the tulips while in Amsterdam, although I must say they were definitely the highlight of the trip for me. We went to the Anne Frank house, which was an extremely sad but inspiring visit. As you walked through the museum, you could read quotes from her diary printed on the walls. She was so eloquent and wise with her writing that it is hard to believe she was only 13 and 14 when she went into hiding and wrote her infamous diary. It was very interesting to watch the interviews of the different people who knew Anne, including her father, Otto Frank. Everyone said that she was such a spirited and positive young girl. Nobody knew what was really going on in her mind until her diary was published. I was amazed by how well-preserved the hiding place was. We walked through the original secret bookcase to enter and I was able to see all of Anne's pictures still plastered on her bedroom wall. It was quite the memorable experience. 

The Anne Frank House

On a lighter note, we also did some fun things while in Amsterdam. We went on a 3-hour walking tour, which was really interesting and a lot of fun. I was able to have many of my questions about marijuana and the red-light district answered. On Saturday night, we went to an outdoor little festival that was happening in honor of Queen's Day, which is a holiday to honor the royal family. The actually holiday is this Tuesday, April 30th but there was already stuff happening this weekend. The whole city was decorated for the big event as well. There was orange everywhere! Orange if the official color of the royal family because their last name is Orange-Nassau. The celebration is going to be extra big and crazy this year because their queen is passing down the thrown to her son and the Netherlands will have a king again for the first time in 123 years! The festival we went to had rides, free concerts and lots of food and beer. It was a very fun and relaxing way to spend out Saturday night. I must say, I feel like we got the best of both world's  by coming the weekend before Queen's Day. We got to see the decorations and experience some smaller celebrations, but we also avoided the 1.5 million people that will be flooding the city on Tuesday.

Queen's Day festival

The skinniest house in Amsterdam 

The canal boats all decked out for Queen's Day

Being super touristy on the "I Amsterdam" sign

More Queen's Day decorations

BT Halvmarathon

Today I ran the BT Halvmarathon (half marathon in case you really struggle with Danish) in Lyngby, which is a northern suburb of Copenhagen. I have to admit, I was very nervous this morning and definitely had my doubts about how the race would go. I only recently started running regularly again, and I did not feel all that ready for 13.1 miles. I have found it pretty difficult to find time to run with my busy schedule in Copenhagen and all of the other traveling I've been doing lately. Well, apparently I didn't need the training as much as I thought because I not only finished the half marathon without walking, I also finished in my personal best time! I didn't have a watch on and had trouble keeping track of my distance since all of the markers were in kilometers, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got a text with my official finish time-- 1:53:10! The race itself was a lot of fun! We ran in the city for the first couple miles and then out in the countryside and around a lake for the middle part. The course ended with a pretty tough trek through the woods. It was fun to have absolutely no idea what was going on. I couldn't understand the announcers, or read the signs... I wasn't even sure how far I had left to run most of the time! It all made for a truly unique memory of my study abroad experience. I was so lucky to have the best cheering squad supporting me throughout the race. Lisbeth, Jan, Jose and her boyfriend all came with. Jan and Lisbeth were so great in taking care of all the little details like picking up my race number and translating all of my e-mails regarding the race. Annie, Claire and two of my other friends from Gustavus who are visiting for a couple of days were also at the race cheering me on. They all helped make it a fantastic race!

The race was sold-out with 10,000 runners!

Sunshine & Sangria :)

I just got home yesterday from my spring break trip to Portugal! Everything was fabulous: the city, the food, the people and most of all the weather! I wish someone had filmed us when we first stepped outside of the Lisbon airport. We went absolutely crazy! Our flight was early, so we arrived at our hostel before our room was ready. We asked the man at the front desk if we could use the restroom to change into shorts and he thought we were being a little overeager because it was "only" 70 degrees. We then told him that all six of us have been studying in Copenhagen for the past 3 months and he completely understood. After changing into more appropriate attire, the first thing that we did was find and outdoor restaurant. We sat in the sun and drank sangria for hours. It was wonderful. Then, we came to our senses and realized that our poor Scandinavian skin was in dire need of sunscreen. We lathered up and spent the rest of the day touring around Alfma, which is the old town of Lisbon. 

Starting our vacation off right!

The flea market in Alfama

On Saturday night we met up with one of Claire and Annie and my good friends from Gustavus who was visiting Lisbon for the weekend. We ate dinner with her and her friends and then all went on a pub crawl that our hostel organized. It was so great to see another familiar face!

The next two days were pretty tough... We took a train to Cascais, which is the "cosmopolitan" suburb of Lisbon. It's known for it's nice shops and beautiful beaches. We lounged on the beach all day, which was fabulous but also very stupid for someone with my hair color. By then end of the day I was looking pretty rosy. At sunset on one of the evenings, we took the train to Belém to see some of the historical sights of Portugal.

The Discoveries Monument

Fishing at Sunset

Belem Tower

Jeronimos Monastery

On my fourth and final day in Portugal, we took the train to Sintra, which is where the famous Pena Castle is. The castle was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. The bright colors and creative architecture made it a truly unique structure. We spent all day walking around the castle and the luscious Queen's gardens that surround it. It was a perfect last day in Portugal.

Mumford & Sons!

Claire and I went to the Mumford & Sons concert on Monday! The night still seems like a dream. We got to the venue super early and made it to the front row! The concert was amazing! I was in complete awe from the second they started playing. Each member played several different instruments plus they all can sing beautifully. I literally started crying during my favorite song called "Below My Feet" because it was so much to take in. It was clear that they all get along really well and love what they do. It was fun for me to watch how much fun they were having on stage. I am forever grateful for Chelsea, who bought me my ticket for Christmas. It was without a doubt, the best performance I have ever seen.

P.S. The bass player, Ted, winked and blew a kiss at Claire and me before he went off stage :)

Bustin' Ice!

Chelsea, Valary, Claire and I went on a Scandinavian adventure this past weekend. First, we took a 5-hour train ride to Stockholm, Sweden and stayed there for one night and one day. Then, we embarked on an overnight cruise that took us to Helsinki, Finland. I can now officially say that I have been to all of Scandinavia!

Stockholm Highlights:

• Gamla Stan: Gamla Stan is the Old Town of Stockholm. It is filled with tiny little walking street and intricate buildings. There is a little square called Stortorget that has a row of very unique and colorful old buildings. They are sort of the icon of Stockholm and are pictured on nearly every postcard. 
• Changing of the Guards: We went to the Royal Palace to watch the changing of the guards because I had read online that it was kind of a big deal. Whatever website I was looking at did not lie; It was definitely quite the production! There was a lot of marching and then a little concert from the royal band and then a presentation of the marines. There was even a master of ceremonies to keep everything in order. The whole thing lasted around 40 minutes!
• Gustaf Adolf and 3 Crowns: Being the proud Gusties that we are, Claire, Chelsea and I went a little 3-crown crazy while in Stockholm. The 3 crowns were literally everywhere! We saw them on everything from important government buildings to baby onesies. Chelsea and I bought cheese slicers with the 3-crowns cut out. I figured it will make for some very festive wine and cheese nights at the House of Blues next year :) We took our picture on Gustaf Adolf Torg (street) and climbed his statue. I have to say, we did a good job fulfilling our Gustie duties. 
• Hills! I thought Stockholm was a beautiful city, especially because of its hills. It was a drastic change of scenery from the flat landscape in Copenhagen. I liked that you could get a good view of the city from pretty much anywhere. Down by the water there was an especially nice view. We found some random stairs that led up to a bridge where we could get an aerial view of the city, which was perfect!

Stortorget

Beautiful Stockholm

Proud Gusties in Gustav Adolf Square

Gustie Tower 

Changing of the Guards

Our main man Gustav

Helsinki Highlights:

• Cruising in the Baltic: We took a cruise ship from Stockholm to Helsinki. I was surprised how how big the ship was! Chelsea had told me we were taking a "ferry" so the image in my head was not a massive ship. Although the ship was big, our cabin was very cozy... in other words tiny, but we managed. It was beautiful sailing out of Stockholm at sunset. We passed tons of islands with little cabins--very scenic!
• Bustin' Ice: In the middle of the night our entire cabin (all 4 square feet of it) started shaking because our ship was cutting through ice. In the morning we saw Helsinki harbor filled with ice chunks, it was actually really pretty.
• Friendly People: In general, the people in Helsinki were noticeably friendlier than other places I've been, which was really nice!
• The Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Kirkko): The Rock Church is well exactly what it sounds like... a church made out of rock. It was a very interesting building. I was amazed by how warm and inviting it felt on the inside.
• Cafe Regatta: The weather took a turn for the worst in the afternoon, but we new there was a chance of snow and did all of the touristy things before it hit. We spent the rest of our time in Helsinki in a one-of-a-kind cafe by the lake. It was a cozy little cafe with quite the eclectic interior. There was everything from old skis and to an ableksiver pan hanging from the ceiling. We had cinnamon rolls and unlimited coffee that only cost 2 euros. Also, every time we brought up our mug for a refill the woman working gave us 5 cents back... we never quite figured out that system. 

Our Cruise Ship to Helsinki

Sailing Away!

Ice Ice Baby

The Rock Church 

Cafe Regatta