København: A Retrospective Two Years In The Making

Revisiting this blog today as I plan for a new adventure into Canada and Alaska, it pained me to be reminded that I never shared my thoughts, feelings, and new worldviews that came from my time abroad. Please do not read the following unless you go into it knowing that it will not carry the same tone as the rest of this blog. It is the fragile thoughts of a more experienced individual who feels the need to reflect.

Two years ago to the minute I would have been waking up for a long morning of class, Sustainability in Europe with Kasper, Danish Language and Culture with Nina, Renewable Energy Systems with Carlos. Following class I would have walked down Støget, purchased some China Box, a pølsen, or a wienerbrød, and then done some reading for Danish Politics near the fountain at Gammeltorv. I remember every last detail of my average day. I fell in love. With a place. With someone incredibly special. With an idea. With adventure. It was the first time I ever felt on my own, yet I was surrounded with people that I'll never forget. These were the best days of my life. I do not mean to be sappy. I do not mean to say there aren't better days ahead. But there is a reason I will talk your ear off about my time abroad at any chance I get: It can never be recreated. And as much as this notion pained me for the last year, it now is a source of empowerment.

It is why I yearn to travel. It is the fertilization of an undying wanderlust. I don't aim to recreate; I can't see myself ever returning to Copenhagen with expectations of a similar experience. Nothing would come of that but (hopefully) a positive reflection.

Traveling, to me, is for new creation. Memories to pile on to the old, though at the same time the old don't get buried. Did I apologize for sappiness already?

I figure I have already lived over 25% of my life, and it was largely devoid of experiences outside of Ohio for its first 20 years. Is my need to go new places a reaction to this? Absolutely. In a way, I am thankful for this lack of adventure in my early days, because it let traveling be something new at a time where I could fully appreciate it, opposed to when I was more numb in my adolescence.

So I go onward. Thank you for reading; it truly means the world.

I traveled.

I'm so over this blog. I would make this post even shorter than the last, but it turns out two weeks of traveling Europe actually provides one with stuff to talk about. Nevertheless, I aim to make this mostly pictures so as to not needing to use my words.

Okay let me think. I just need some time. How do I convey my life and times to you, dear reader, in a concise manner? Okay, okay, I've got this. I'll place a condensed version of this blog with 14 words in bold and underlined (for 14 days of total travel) per location. I'll type the rest of it out for you elitist literary types:

I left Copenhagen by train at 7am on March 31st with only my person and a large green backpack.

My person and a large green backpack.

 BERLIN, GERMANY

I arrived in Berlin where I couchsurfed for two (2) nights with a Canadian bio-med student who was spending two (2) years in Germany's capital city. If you don't know, couchsurfing.com is a site that shows you strangers in locations all over (with probably-trustworthy references) that have an open couches that you can stay on for free. He had a good knowledge of the area and spoke some German which helped. We went out for currywurst, a Berlin classic, and also falafel, a pretty-much-every-big-city-on-Earth classic. On my second day with him, we went to an outdoor market and I aided him in purchasing a bike.

He's not the mildly-frightening German man on the right.

He wasn't feeling great later, but let me use said bike to go explore. I crossed the bridge separating East and West Berlin and then went to some parks. Of note was Treptower Park, which was home to the Soviet World War II memorial. Here is a picture of a giant statue of a Russian holding a small child, a sword, and standing on a crumbling swastika:

I'm not sure what else was expected.

I left Berlin behind on April 2nd, excited to be going to a new place that I'd never been to before.

 DRESDEN, GERMANY

I'll admit, my motives for traveling here focused largely around scoping out some slaughterhouses, specifically the fifth one, of Vonnegut fame (which I found after a painstaking search). But let me tell you, the "old city", or at least the part not destroyed by the WWII allied firebombings, was majestic, stately, and other words one can find in a thesaurus under "big". I again was couchsurfing, this time with three (3) flatmates. They made me tasty food and let me play guitar for them. On the second night we had a falafel (I'm telling you) fest down on the River Elbe, over looking the night skyline.

The "old city". Ignore the tourists who got in my shot. Pretty much just look at the buildings.

I left Dresden on the 4th and headed further south.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

I was in Prague for two days and it rained the whole time. I did get to watch the Indians' home opener though, so that was a bonus. It was the longest opening day game in MLB history, and they lost. I'm over it.

Prague is probably really pretty, but I was drenched so I kinda didn't care. Of cultural note, much of the infrastructure appeared to be about a decade behind anywhere else I'd been in Europe, probably due to them being part of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War and, well, the things that comes with having to switch entire economic systems. I went to the Communist Museum, which was old, biased, and I felt like if I touched anything there I'd contract the flu, or at least get something sticky on my hands as if a three year old had touched everything immediately after eating a lollipop, except this child was clenching the sucker itself with its bare hands.

Me, pointing at Prague Castle, in the rain.

It's a river.

 NUREMBERG, GERMANY

I know what you're thinking. I clearly said I was going to Munich, and the header here says Nuremberg. You caught me. Tickets were super expensive to Munich, so it was a no go. But Nuremberg, I would say, is the most underrated place I've been. This blog's getting long, so just look at this photo on the right and we'll move onto the next place:



 VENICE, ITALY

Possibly the prettiest place I've ever been to. Venice has no cars, only boats. They run through the many canals of the city, and this makes for a twisting maze of narrow walkways with quaint shops and many bridges. I'm getting lazy. This is all you get to know about my favorite place in Southern Europe.

The food here was great. I had two (2) pizzas in a two (2) day period. Also, pasta.

The streets of Venice.

FLORENCE, ITALY

I ate one (1) pizza in one (1) day here. Also, pasta. I stayed with my Miami roommate, Colin. He was very hospitable. It rained the whole time. All my stuff got soaked. I don't want to talk about any of it. Here was the best part of Florence:

Colin is my bro.

PARIS, FRANCE

Remember that time I told you Venice was my favorite place? I lied. It was Paris. The food, mostly bread, was amazing. Also, having studied the language in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, as well as my last three (3) semesters at Miami University, I felt pretty cool being able to order stuff in restaurants and make fun of the locals using it. I'M SICK OF WRITING, HERE IS THE EIFFEL TOWER:

I told you, the Eiffel Tower.

I returned to Copenhagen after spending all day on a train on Saturday the 14th. So concluded my travel break. I hope this writing effectively helped you live it vicariously through me, thus saving you hundreds of dollars and many hours of planning. Congratulations on your travels through Europe. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I.

I'm Traveling.

Midterms are over and my two-week travel break is now here. Like you care.

Anyways, I'm taking a train in a giant loop around the central Europes and you won't hear from me on here for approximately 18 days, so savor these words. Read them slowly. Possibly over and over. Possibly over and over. Possibly over and over.

Here's my plan, conveniently laid out for you in the form of a picture, no further reading required. It's still an option as I'm also posting an itinerary after the break, but reading is soo passé, n'est‐ce pas?  I might as well stop typing this mid-sentence because honestly who is still rea

I'm going here.

3/31: 
Depart Copenhagen
Arrive in Berlin

4/1: 
Berlin and surrounding regions

4/2:
Depart Berlin
Arrive in Dresden

4/3: 
Dresden and surrounding regions

4/4:
Depart Dresden
Arrive in Prague

4/5: 
Prague

4/6:
Depart Prague
Arrive in Munich

4/7: 
Munich

4/8:
Depart Munich
Arrive in Venice

4/9: 
Venice

4/10:
Depart Venice
Arrive in Florence

4/11:
Florence

-Night train to Paris-

4/12: 
Paris

4/13: 
Paris

4/14:
Depart Paris
Arrive in Copenhagen







That's all I've got for you, sorry if you were expec