Tak Mor og Far

 Tak Mor og Far. Merci Maman et Papa. Gracias Mama y Papa. Obrigado Mãe e Pai. Danke Mama und Papa. Grazie Mamma e Papà. Спасибо маме и папе. Tack mamma och pappa. ขอบคุณแม่และพ่อ. 

Thank you Mom & Dad for absolutely everything, including this life-changing year. It has been the best & most influential year of my life.

My gratitude is ineffable. 

Brussels, Belgium

Lyon, France

Berlin, Germany

Geneva, Switzerland

Vienna, Austria

Prague, Czech Republic

Stockholm, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

Venice, Italy

Paris, France

See you in a month.

xoxoxo,

Cathryn

Bonjour from Paris

Just checking in from France's gorgeous capital. Right now I'm on an 18-day trip around most of central Europe, organized by Rotary. So far we've visited Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Lido di Jesolo, Venice, San Remo, la Cote-d'Azure, Avignon & Paris. I haven't really had much time to blog, but our bus counsellors have been documenting our trip. Here's a link to the blog they are keeping: Euro Tour Blog

Please excuse my lengthy hiatus, but I haven't been "home" much during the month of May. I'll make sure to give a more detailed updated once I arrive back in Denmark.

Au revoir!

Cathryn

Tillykke med Fødselsdagen Dronning Margrethe!

It was an early start Tuesday morning. Myself and a whole flock of other exchange students had planned to spend the day in Copenhagen to celebrate the Queen's birthday, which meant a three hour train ride departing the local station at 7:30am. Ok, maybe not so terribly early, but I was still a bit sleepy on the trip over.

Three hours of doziness later, we arrived at Copenhagen's central station and proceeded to head directly to Amalienborg Slot, the Queen's residence. Once there, we scouted out a perfect vantage point, that would allow us to snap the optimum picture of the Queen and her distinguished wave. We were lucky enough to secure the ideal spot - we weren't at the front, but we had an unobstructed view of her balcony. I say "we were lucky", as the castle's courtyard was jam-packed with a couple thousands of Danes and foreigners alike. After a festive and jovial performance from the royal marching band and as the clock of Marmorkirke struck twelve, the Queen herself, accompanied by her entire family, emerged from one of the castle's four balconies--the crowd erupted with applause & began to wave their Danish flags spiritedly.

Now for some pictures.

The castle's courtyard beginning to fill up with spectators, with Marmorkirke in the background.

Part of the royal family out on the balcony.

The Queen with her husband and two sons. 

I spent the rest of the day with my friend, Mady, enjoying the wonderful city of Copenhagen in the beautiful sunny weather.

Our first stop after Amalienborg was for lunch. We decided to sit on the banks of the harbour to eat our picnic lunches and soak up the sun. It's worth noting that it was only about 15 degrees and we were sweating. That's what a prolonged Scandinavian winter will do to you. 

Iconic Nyhavn in the sun.

Mady and I decided to take a boat/canal tour. It turned out to be a great and "hyggeligt" way to discover of Copenhagen. It lasted for an hour and was well worth the 75kr tour cost. 

Walking up the "Round Tower". Apparently the sole purpose of its construction was so the Princess could ride up and down the tower in her carriage for entertainment. 

Nowadays the top of the tower offers spectacular views of the city.

Mady & I were almost the only people up there, so we could just be our normal selves ;-)

Looking up the Round Tower from the street. 

Our last stop of the day was at the Royal Gardens - a super place to relax under the sun. 

It was a super day and a fantastic cultural experience. The sunny, "warm" weather gave me a whole new outlook on Copenhagen, in comparison to my last trip there in November. Copenhagen is simply an outstanding city and well worth the visit. 

Thorleifs volapyk historie - Thorleif's Nonsensical Story

This afternoon my host siblings and I decided to create a story/film using and highlighting some of the most outlandish sounding Danish words we could think of. Prepare yourselves for a torrential bombardment of Æ, Ø & Å.

 Behold our brainchild! 

PS There are eventually English subtitles--wait for it. 

The Great Scandinavian Dilemma

Who gets the last kartoffel?

March Synopsis

It was an icy March here in Denmark; I don't think I've ever experienced temperatures as low as -20 so late in the year, or seen as much as a foot of snow fall well after the first day of spring. March was also an altogether wonted month; it consisted of school, friends and family.

One out of the ordinary event that took place was moving to my final host family. It's unbelievable to think that this is my "last stop" before heading home. Once more I am munchkin sized, which is an odd sensation. I look tiny standing next to both my host parents and host brothers. I guess it will prepare me to come home to my "little" sister.

Now for some arbitrary, as well as relevant pictures of March.

Ribe, Denmark.

Ribe, Denmark. Don't let the blue skies deceive you, it was still freezing!

March 20 something in Denmark. Looks more like Christmas. 

Until next time. Vi ses! 

Reunion Lyonnais

There's nothing better than seeing your family again after two years apart. Less than a week after my return from a fantastic trip to Sweden, I hopped on another plane to my second home in France. It was a long day of traveling, but the felicity of reuniting with my French family was completely worth the nine-hour layover in Frankfurt.

For those of you who don't know, two years ago I participated on a three month reciprocal exchange to Lyon, France. I had a French girl named Laura come and live with me for three months in Canada and then I went and stayed with her and her family for three months. Laura became one of my best friends and needless to say her family truly became my family.

It was a busy, but great week, with trips to Lyon, a medieval castle, Geneva and also reconnecting with old friends from school.

Naturally we spent quite a bit of our time in Lyon. It's fifteen minutes away and full of things to do and places to see. Visiting a city I'd come to know quite well for a second time was also an interesting experience.

Laura and I in a traboule.

Vieux Lyon with the Salesses. 

Up on the ferris wheel in Place Bellecour, with a great view of the city. 

The next part of my trip was spent exploring some of the surrounding areas. We decided to visit a medieval castle, but not before eating a flavourful lunch of frogs legs... ribbit! 

Frogs legs. You must be patient and industrious to eat this delectable French specialty. 

Laura showing us the castle from afar. 

Laura and I in the courtyard of one of France's many castles. 

My week long French vacation was not solely in France. Linda (host mom), Laura and I took an overnight trip to the Geneva to visit Elsa (another host sister) who's living and working there. I had previously been to Geneva, but only for a fifteen minute pit stop, so I wast excited for the chance to really get to see this beautiful city nestled on the edge of "Lac Léman".


Our first day in Geneva started off with a tour of the UN headquarters. For me this was the highlight of my entire trip. Upon clearing security and entering the building, you can immediately sense the international atmosphere-all of the employees at the front desk spoke multiple languages. Furthermore on the guided tour--which we took in French, our tour guide's fourth language-- you get to see a handful of diplomats from all over the world just doing their jobs. It was an engrossing hour to say the least.

Laura & I infront of the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Oh Canada...

The UN Headquarters in Geneva. 

The rest of the day was spent walking around Geneva in the beautiful sunny weather.

You know you're in Switzerland when...

Linda showing us the route.

Geneva. 

Laura & Linda in Geneva.

Kind of hard to tell where  I am, isn't it?

The view from Elsa's apartment. 

The following day we walked around the neighbourhood of Carouge and made a pit stop in Yvoire, France for some lunch, before heading back to Lyon.

Carouge.

Yvoire.

It was an absolutely fantastic trip. I had a ball! The only downside was that it was over all too quickly.

A Swedish Odyssey

Imagine a land with three foot snow banks lining the roads, a population with startlingly blond hair and a language spoken in a singsong accent--you'll be imagining Sweden.

During my February vacation I had the chance to visit this nordic country. My trip included visits to the towns of Uppsala, Stockholm and Söderhamn. It was a journey full of meatballs, snow and cosy coffee (in my case, hot chocolate) drinking, or as the Swedes call it, "fika"!

The main part of my stay was spent in Uppsala, a medium sized university town, located about 70km outside of Stockholm. I was hosted by a family friend, Alice, who is currently studying there. We stayed in her small student dormitory, needless to say there wasn't a lot of room. I prefer to think of it as cozy. Looking back on my trip, Uppsala was the ideal home base. Not only was it only a forty minute train ride away from outrageously pricey Stockholm, but it also let me discover Swedish student life. Not to mention Uppsala is the ecclesiastical capital of Sweden and rich with history.

My first couple day was spent touring Uppsala with Alice. We stopped in at one of the university's cafe/library/event centres where I was first introduced to Swedish fika. Fika is of course a Swedish word that means a cozy coffee break in company of friends. Actually, it's considered to be the most important Swedish word. This experience was made even more Swedish, because we enjoyed a slice of  smörgåstårta, Swedish sandwich cake, with our warm drinks.

Downtown Uppsala. 

 Alice with her coffee and smörgåstårta

 The next couple of days I spent in the magnificent Swedish capital of Stockholm. It's a gorgeous city, even in the dismal winter weather. I spent my time touring the City Hall, Gamla Stan, the Parliament, the Royal Palace and various other neighbourhoods. The plan for my last day in Stockholm was to visit the renowned museums, but it just so happens that the sun decided to shine, making a second trip to charming Gamla Stan and a walk along the waterfront irresistible. If your planning a trip to Northern Europe I would highly recommend a trip to Stockholm, you won't regret it.

Stockholm Central Station. 

Gamla Stan.

Gamla Stan.

                                        

Stockholm, still beautiful in the bitter winter weather. 

The Swedish Parliament at sunset. 

Downtown Stockholm.

Before heading up to Söderhamn, I spent one last day in Uppsala with Alice. We went to IKEA! I believed it was a genuine Swedish experience I didn't want to miss out on. 

For my final two days I headed up to Söderhamn to visit Alice's family. Söderhamn isn't even Northern Sweden, but it's approximately on the same latitude as Yellow Knife, NWT. It was my first truly northern experience. 

We had a beach day, Swedish style. You're looking at the ocean.

Walking on water.

We also went sledding down a dangerously steep sled hill. 

There weren't many who survived the trip down. 

After a week of Swedish adventures it was time to head home. It was an awesome vacation and I'm sure I'll be making a return trip sometime in the future. But as a true Dane would always say, it was so nice to come back to Denmark, the best Scandinavian country ;-)