The beginning of the most amazing 18 days of my life

So it begins. I have put this off for about a week now as I have been in fear of having to write about my amazing, unbelievable and unforgettable 18 days touring Europe with 50 other cool as exchange students. Where do I even start? Let's start from the very beginning, a very good place to start :)

So on May 20th the sun rose and the time had finally come for Eurotour, 8 countries in 18 days on a bus. We were all so excited but it all seemed so surreal until I was crossing the first of what would be many borders into Germany. It's funny as one of the most commonly questions asked was, "what country are we in now?" only because we crossed so many borders in such a short space of time it was difficult to know sometimes . . something you would never experience in New Zealand which I love. Only in Europe (well not really but you get it!).

Berlin was the first stop and so after about 7 hours on a bus, we arrived in the overwhelmingly green German capital. We were staying just outside the city in what looked like an orphanage but what we were told was a youth hostel, it was ok although the bathrooms a little feral. The first night we took the good old Berlin metro to the city and soaked up our new surroundings by walking the streets. It is an interesting city with a great mix of old and new, something for everyone to enjoy.

Our hostel

A group of my cool as exchange friends getting the metro.

Milly and I in the city.

In Berlin I saw this! Wooo All Blacks!

My girlies being awesome.

The next day which was our only full day in Berlin we had a short bus tour in the morning and 'got our bearings' as my mother would say. We saw sections of the Berlin wall, the Jewish Memorial, the famous TV tower, the Berlin Cathedral, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate just to name a few. After the bus tour we were released into Berlin Zentrum so naturally we went and ate, the local cuisine of course. After a hearty lunch of bretzel and currywurst we walked around to see the sights Berlin had to offer.

Me and the Brandenburg Gate

Berlin Cathedral

Us having our German feast

Best cookie cutter ever.

Jewish Memorial, such a special and peaceful place in the heart of chaos.

After a lovely day and a half in Berlin, it was time to press onto the Czech Republic! A country shrouded in mystery (for me at least) and the country with one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Prague. It was a long drive through Germany, mostly spent in a half awake half asleep state by most. But as we crossed the border we immediately noticed how different it was, even the colour of the sky and trees. We visited Theresienstadt which is a concentration camp not far from Prague. it was an old fortress which was reused during WW2 by the Gestapo to hold political prisoners. Although it wasn't used as a death camp, many were shot there and died of the awful living conditions. It was a moving experience to say the least. It was so cold although it was around 30deg and quiet. You couldn't help but think what those walls had seen. It was a place I had always wanted to visit so it was special to be there. The stark and quiet atmosphere was somewhat ruined by our lovely guides hilarious accent. You see, even when someone is speaking about the most horrific of things, it is very hard to keep a straight face when the guide has the most hilarious accent I have every heard in my life. It was so hard not to burst out laughing but out of self control and respect, I held it in and laughed SO much inside my head!

Czech countryside.

Entry to Concentration Camp.

An eerie similarity to Auschwitz, 'work makes you free'.

After what was a somewhat emotional visit to Terezin, we continued to our destination of Prague. As we hit the outskirts of the city, I spotted a beacon of light SLASH it was a sign for IKEA! By this point my foreign IKEA count was up to 2, it was added to along the rest of Eurotour too, so exciting :).

We got to our hotel (yes how upper class of us!) and settled into our amazingly luxurious rooms. That night we wanted to make the most of our short stay in Prague so a group of us took the bus and metro to the city, it was a bit of a challenge as none of us spoke Czech and no one in Prague spoke English so we had to be super skilled exchange students with maps in hand. We had a nice stroll around the city and had some amazing cake and scrambled to get home before our 1am curfew.

The next day all 55 of us took the metro into the beautiful city of Prague and walked up to the area where the palace and cathedral are. Breathtakingly beautiful is all I can say. Everyone says that but it is so true. I have fallen for another city.

Not just the city was beautiful . .

Laura and I with the Cathedral

Pretty huh?

We had free time that afternoon and just roamed the charming streets and looked high and low to eat only authentic Czech food. It was so much fun, I really am so lucky not just to have toured Europe but to be with such amazing people. I believe in the family of the exchange student and totally love them all!

My friend Michy and I with an awesome car.

Haha just curious!

Laura, Michy and I. Love you guys so much.

Me with the amazing view.

That night as we made our way back to the hotel, we had the funniest experience on the metro! So we just innocently hopped onto the train and then scores of crazy screaming people came into the station and into the train and started cheering for the Czech Republic. They had flags, scarves and face paint it was insanity. We later found out that the Czech Republic had just won in ice hockey to Russia for the first time in 20 years or so so town was going off! They were chanting and rocking the carriages it was so fun. We tried to join in which half worked but we had a blast even if we didn't know what the chant was on about!

The next morning we woke up nice and early as usual and piled back on the bus and headed for the hills in Austria. I was hoping they would be alive with the sound of music . . but I'll fill you in on the next 3 stops in my next blog. So stay tuned kids!

Jeg savner I men jeg har det sjovt

x

Europe Awaits

Just a quick note to say I am off on my Rotary Eurtour in less than 2 hours so I will write an epci blog after that! 18 days, 8 countries, experience of a lifetime.

Vi ses snart

x

Childhood comes to life.

We all did it. Spent hours and hours building the best, most amazing lego and duplo houses. Well I was one of those overly keen kids who lived for Duplo and Lego so when I heard that my family were taking me to Legoland, I was reverted to my childhood mannerisms and went crazy. I was so excited, I had to keep reminding myself I was 17 and not 5.

So Legoland is in Billund which is about an hours drive north of Fredericia, it's also where I landed in Denmark (seems like years ago!). So Gitte, Laerke, Nanna and I piled into the car and headed north. Being me, I had a little sleep on the drive up but awoke suddenly when we arrived and the huge LEGOLAND sign came into view.

Entrance

We began our 'adventure' with walking through all of the amazing lego-made cities and famous sights such as Nyhavn Canal, Amalienborg Palace, Hollywood and many more. They were so much bigger than I expected and the detail was amazing. Whoever made them had some mad skills!

I even got to meet H.C. Andersen!

That castle in Germany that starts with N (?)

Amalienborg

Nyhavn Canal

Then it was time for the EXTREME CRAZY OVER THE TOP WILD RIDES . . made for 5 year olds. However I still found all of them very fun, there were a few rides where I actually sensed a hint of being afraid . . such as the power builder I think it is called. A robotic arm which throws you every which way, I was honestly nearly sick! Here are some pics from the rest of the day.

Laerke and Nanna on an 'extreme' safari ride

!

Haha I love this nearly nude lego man!

Even the rubbish bins are cool

For my Dad . . It was also Ferrari Day at Legoland

So tall . .

Me, Nanna, Laerke and Gitte on a scary log ride!

Nanna with the creepy lion

Nice killer bunny we came across as we left

Icon of Denmark.

I had such an amazing day so tusind tak familie! I just felt like a big child and my memories of me building lego and duplo houses came rushing back.

I bought a few gifts as you cannot go to Legoland and not buy any lego (should be a crime if you don't!) and I bought THE most amazing lunch box known to man. Plus it has Lucy engraved on it - perfect.

Look how cool it is!!!

This past week I have been free from school as they have had this dreadful assignment which lasts the entire week so I had a nice wee holiday. I still found myself being very busy (typical huh?) as I went shopping in Fredericia and Herning with some exchange friends and then have been going to the gym to prevent obesity coming on. Whilst I was shopping with catherine in Fredericia, we got some free Danish flags as a new supermarket opened (flags are at every event possible I tell you!). So we took our flags and took some pics in Fred's main and most picturesque square.

Epic fail when I tried to jump . .

I even found a travel book on NZ!

Just settling down for a nice weekend. Seeing 'Dear John' with my school friends and then preparing a typical New Zealand meal for my family on Sunday! Any suggestions??

Eurotour - 6 days.

Lucy x

The Blinding Green

Oh why hello again. I am sitting at home now after having had the best pancakes ever for dinner, yes dinner, and thought that I thought I updated my blog so here we go.

It is early May and Denmark still cannot decide whether it wants to be summer or winter so we are all stuck in a somewhat confusing 'in between' of seasons where it snows, rains and is sunny all in one day. So the Danish idea of 'there is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing' is actually quite true.

So the other day my friend Catherine and I had planned to go to the gym but then when the time came to go we just couldn't muster up the strength to go so we thought we would do something different for once. Rollerblading. Yes, many hilarious and cringe worthy moments spring too mind when I think of this cruel and humiliating activity but it was actually so much fun! We came home to mine in Skaerbaek where there are a few hills that we could at least try and conquer. We rollerbladed around the car-park of the energy company near my house called Dong (yes I snigger every time I hear it too). Here are some pics:

Me beginning . . scared to move.

Me and Catherine having a blast trying not to fall

Wooo!

Then Catherine and I tired of going on the concrete so we decided to go onto the grass as we thought it would be fun to mix things up a little.

Grass and rollerblades don't mix too well

The leaves were fun though

After such a tiring 'workout' we needed a rest so we lay on the grass and just took in our surroundings. It was so green, it was so shocking to be honest as everything has been a muted tone of brown for a month or so. It reminded me of the luscious green of New Zealand, I miss that.

It felt like Spring

We even found some daisies!

So green.

Then it was time to return home, down the hill.

It was lots of fun and another way we can have some exercise while enjoying the warmer weather. Definitely we will do this another time.

Apart from school I haven't been up to much. I have done about 3 presentations on NZ in the last few days so now I can rattle out a 30 minute long speech on it on demand. Any takers? I did my Rotary presentation on Tuesday night which went well as the power point actually worked this time unlike the last unfortunate time where it decided not to work. I went to a confirmation last weekend with my third host family which was a cultural experience let's just say. In Denmark it is the norm to be confirmed at the age of 14 or so. There is a church service then a huge party after with endless food, money and presents. It was a confirmation of a family friend and all of his family came for the weekend from Scotland and Norway so it was a very eventful day what with the Scotts in their kilts and the whiskey being drunk as water. It was a good experience as it is very much part of growing up here so it was interesting for me to see. It was nice to meet my family too. I have 2 host brothers there so that will be a change from having a crazy sister such as mine, Maddie! They seem so nice so I look forward to the end of the year.

I have a very exciting weekend ahead of me. On Saturday I am biking to Middelfart (still laughing) with my sister Nanna and Mum Gitte to have lunch with my counsellor Gunhild as there is a marathon there that day so all will be buzzing. I am sure my choice to bike will be regretted when the time comes to bike the 17 or so km home! Then on Sunday LEGOLAND! For those who know me well, I have been a huge fan of Duplo for many years so Legoland is my dream. I will be sure to take lots of pics to post later. Be jealous :)

Hope all in NZ is good, I still feel like Denmark is more exciting - sorry!

Eurotour - 8 countries, 18 days - starts in 2 weeks!

Farvel

Lucy x

Time Flies

Indeed it does, I have now been in Denmark for over 3 months. I still feel like it was literally yesterday when I was sitting at school thinking "What colour pen should I use to write my Economics notes?". Well now there are a few more things to think about for example, how on earth do I learn Danish when I can't even pronounce the alphabet, how do I not spend all my money when I go to Copenhagen and how do I change the Danish baking measurements to those which are New Zealand recipe friendly? It has really been such a big change, the biggest I will probably ever experience but life's too short to think "what if?". So i will continue to fill you in on what I have been doing all whilst I sit in Danish class at school, you can probably understand why I am not participating.

I feel like quite the social butterfly with something on every weekend and weekdays just flying by. People say the life of an exchange student is easy as we are not given schoolwork (for obvious reasons!) but I still find myself busier than most people and constantly tired which many cannot get their head around. It is one of those many things that only past and present exchange students identify with. Tiredness and chaos aside, I am still having an amazing time and look forward to the coming weeks.

Over the last few weeks have been a blur of friends, travel and school. I am sure i have mentioned my school before but I will do it again for those who may have forgotten (including me). First of all Fredericia Gymnasium resembles a modern art gallery with an extensive and somewhat impressive art collection , even to the untrained eye. The staircase almost melts from the second to first floors, a design lovers dream. The other day I actually plucked up the courage to take some photos inside school as I am in fear of being labelled as the crazy exchange student who acts like an asian tourist taking unnecessary photos of things that are 'normal' and 'no bi deal'. So here they are:

Library/computer area

Staircase . .

Library

Cantine with each classes table

Not too shabby?

The other weekend my family and I went on a road trip to central Jutland, about an hours north of Fredericia (dubbed my myself and Catherine). The plan was to have lunch with some family friends and then go and see what Denmark had to offer in the way of mountains or at least hills. On our approach to what translates as 'Sky Mountain' (quite ironic when it stands at only 170masl), it reminded me of a tamer version of Wellington, it was windy, cold and hilly. But as we all walked to the 'peak', I thought to myself 'Well, where is the rest of it?". It was quite possibly a lower altitude than where my house is in Wellington, charming. There was even a tower which to me felt like it was trying ti be impressive and making the hill that much bigger. It was bitterly cold on the exposed mountain face so we clambered down the steep scree slopes with our ice picks and crampons and found a sheltered area where we could enjoy our picnic of coffee and cake.

On the walk up to Himmelbjerget

Nanna and I in the marriage tree garden

Me with the steep cliffs behind :)

It was so cold, we all had blankets on.

The top of Himmelbjerget

Oh and the other day Denmark decided to return to winter and snow in the middle of April. It was more like slush actually so going home was a really nice (and dry) experience.

As you can see, I was not dressed for it!

Snow with the train station behind.

This past weekend I have also been very busy as it was my gym party (school party) or as they call it, 'Sermo'. I went to a girl's house in my class beforehand and we had a really good dinner before we left for school. It was so much fun to dress up and see my class out of the school environment as sometimes it's hard to get to know my class when all we do is sit in a lecture type class for hours on end. So as we got to school and I was astounded. Everyone was obviously slightly intoxicated which was so strange as you would NEVER see that in NZ (as it would be illegal!). It was such a great night though, I was so tired the next morning as I had arrived home at 3am . . time flies when you're having fun.

At Ida's house. So much fun!

Catherine and I

Again . .

I finished the busy weekend off with more social events as some Aussie (sadly no other NZers!) came to Fredericia to commemorate ANZAC Day which was so nice. It was even warm and sunny enough to have a BBQ, it was like it was summer (I know hard to believe it was snowing a week or so ago!). Today I gave a presentation to my class about New Zealand which I think they liked as I made them afghans . . I was going to make a pavlova but it was almost a certainty that I would ruin it somehow!

Signing off for now as I am in much need of some relaxation.

Hej hej :)