A Day of Sightseeing

Warning: Lots of pics in this post!

Wow, what a crazy couple of days it has been! Tuesday night I had plans with a few friends to go to the Ice Bar, and one girl ended up bringing a bunch of people. It was really fun to meet so many new people and do something special like that! We had a lot of trouble finding the Ice Bar, but once we got there it was totally worth the $30 entrance fee, 30 minute walk, and possible frost bite in my toes. All of the walls, chairs, cups, booths, bar, and seats are made only of ice! We got a free drink and it was delicious.  After leaving because we were too cold, we found a really fun night club that was raging for a Tuesday night. Overall, this was one of the most exciting and unique nights so far.

 Ice Cups - "SKOL"

Since I don't have class on Wednesday, I had plans with two boys, Wes and Mark, to go to Christiania. Christiania is considered the "Hippie Town" of Copenhagen. We rode our bikes all the way there and it was about a 25 minute bike ride. It was so nice and so it was a really good ride! The citizens of Christiania consider themselves a different country from Denmark, and when you enter Christiania, it is legal to buy, sell and smoke weed anywhere. They also have really cool jewelry and clothing made by the people who live there. You aren't allowed to take pictures in Christiania!! I ate the best meal of my life there, an incredible chicken shawarma, and we sat by the river for a few hours.  We then spontaneously climbed up a church tower that has hundreds of steps and looks like the highest point in Copenhagen (not sure though!). It was one of those things that tourists should do so I am glad we actually did it on a whim! Copenhagen is so beautiful. We could see Sweden from the top (which was slightly terrifying because the steps were smaller than my feet).

 Really cool art outside Christiania

 "You are now entering the EU" at the exit

Me, Wes and Mark at the top of the Church

Beautiful Copenhagen!

We hung out a little more in Christiania and then went to a Canal tour with a bunch of other people on our program. It was really beautiful and cool to see the Canal, but we couldn't really hear the guide so I am not totally sure what I saw... haha! oops.

On the Canal Tour (Me, Wes and Jenny)

The famous Copenhagen Opera House

After the Canal tour, a couple of the people we were with wanted to see Christiania so we went back since we were so close. I had the shawarma for dinner AGAIN because it was so amazing. Everyone else who came totally agreed, best meal so far!!!

Back in Christiania (James, Wes, Jenny)

When I came back, I had a text from Anna saying to come to her room now because we are going out. I figured, why not... so I got dressed really quick and we went to a bar called "LA Bar."  Guess what? There were a million Americans, and a lot of them from California. We did meet a bunch of foreigners too, though, and we had a really good time. I love going out every night, it's so much fun.

A fun night out :) (Anna +I )

That's all for now, tonight should prove to be a really good night as well. Oslo tomorrow!!

xo,
JOJ

Sunny & Hot Copenhagen?!

Yesterday was gorgeous outside! So much for CPH (the cool abbrev for Copenhagen that I just learned...) being cold! I went to an orientation, met a couple people on the way and then got my bike and rode it for a little to get used to it. Then I went grocery shopping with a girl Taryn from Brandeis and we found this big mall thats directly next to the main building on campus, it's so convenient and good stores are there (they are obsessed with h&m here there were 2 in the same mall). After that, I met up with the girl I met at orientation Sarah and we went bike riding. Right before we went she ran into 2 guys from her dorm (One from Germany and one from Holland, cool) and we all went together. It was so funny because they rode on the same bike (not with two seats, one of them just sat on the edge of the bike). We were laughing and saying they were on a date and they didn't understand why because apparently thats sooo normal in Europe, when I took a picture they said it was like taking a picture of someone getting on a bus. 

 This is a gorgeous picture from Nyhavn the night before

 

The European boys as one prepared to run, jump, and land on the back of the other's bike

 Elephants in the park! And our new bikes

After successfully finding my way home without them (they live in a different dorm called Valby) I went to Mona's room to make a gourmet meal (specifically, grilled cheese and toast). My first experience at the grocery store earlier that day proved to be slightly confusing.  Taryn and I had spent at least 5 minutes investigating buttery-like substances to figure out which word meant butter.  It turned out to be garlic butter, so I had some garlic grilled cheese and garlic toast - not so bad! I also got cookies that I thought were crackers, so I had a snack of cheese and cookies. Could be worse! After dinner I went to Valby to hang out with the kids I had met that day. It's a small dorm so everyone hangs out all the time and I really enjoyed it. 

 Something I love about Denmark - In the middle of a modern, beautiful park, there is an old historical building.  Also the castle from the other day is in this park!

Another gorgeous day, today was my first day of classes! I have Internet Marketing from 11:40-2:15 and Economics and Current Policy Issues from 2:25-5.  It's a LOT of class for one day, but at least I have 5/7 days off during the week! Internet Marketing looks like it will be as interesting as a 2.5 hour class can be, but the teacher has a really thick accent so it was a little difficult to understand. Econ was bad, the teacher is monotone and super quiet, and it seems like a decent amount of work (n). Bummer. At least we got out really early on the first day...

Tonight I am meeting up with Sara Dobosh and her friends at the Ice Bar of Copenhagen! It should be fun, and I am excited to see her! A couple of my friends (Jenny, California, and Laura, South Carolina) are coming with me. 

Talk to you tomorrow!

xo,

Joj

The Happiest Place in the world...

Nope, it's not Disney World!

My first weekend in Copenhagen has come to an end and I have to say, it exceeded any and all expectations I had. Yesterday (Saturday), we had a big orientation with all 540 international students! We learned really funny and interesting facts about Denmark that I think I'll share with all of you. From now on, I will add interesting things that I learn about the country! Here's the start...

- Denmark is the happiest place in the world :-D

- People here generally don't have a religion
- There is no word for please
- CBS is the biggest business school in Europe with 17,000 students and currently 1800 summer students (540 international)
- Danes from 15-19 hold the European record for alcohol consumption
- Denmark was the first country to ever legalize porn (in the 60s)
- "Skol" means cheers
- "Takk" means thank you
- On graduation day, drunk high schoolers parade around in buses cheering and screaming with music blasting to celebrate. The bus stops at each person's house and they take one drink at every house. The bus holds at least 20 people... uh oh!
    - our first day was HS graduation day

After orientation there was a welcome BBQ where we ate typical American food.. oh well. Then we came back to our rooms (conveniently I am in the only dorm on campus!) and got ready for the welcome party that was at a bar on campus.  We found a place in our dorm, PH, called the "common room" and all pre-gamed there for the evening. The welcome party was really fun since everyone there was an international student at CBS for the summer. We ended up going to a couple other places and then coming back to hang out in the common room again.

 

 Above is all of the kids I have been hanging out with - from all over the world! Below is a bunch of us walking on the beautiful streets of Copenhagen

Today (Sunday) Anna, Mannat and I went to Strøget Street, which is a beautiful street with amazing shops and cute cafes! We ate a great lunch, egg and cheese on a "bagel" (except that it was really just a sandwich, not even close to a bagel), and walked around on the street. I, shockingly, got away without buying anything! It might be because the stores closed at 4...but we'll pretend otherwise. We then came back to PH and my roommate Lisa and her friend Mona (we call them Mona Lisa) were going to a park right next to our dorm. I went with them and we discovered a huge park with elephants and a castle right in the middle.  It was so beautiful! There, we looked through a guide book (or at least Lisa did, since it was in German and I don't quite know that language yet) and figured out the best way to get to all the places we want to go while we're here.

 Strøget Street

 Above is my roommate Lisa and I in front of the huge castle in the park!

At night, we went to Nyhavn, which is an area where there are a lot of pretty boats and nice restaurants. We bought some wine and beer and sat on the edge of the water. It was so beautiful and, truthfully, odd to be openly drinking in public!

Tomorrow I will pick up my bike and be a true Dane :)

xo,

JOJ

Starting out with a bang...

Hello, faithful followers! I have arrived in Copenhagen. It is my second day now, and it is already so exhilarating that it will be hard to articulate! In one day, I went from never having met someone from Germany to having a connecting room with one (a great girl named Lisa). I went from never having heard someone speak Norwegian to partying all night with a girl from Oslo (Jenny). So far, things have been moving really fast, in a GREAT way!

Anyway, let me start from the beginning. After hours in the airport waiting to get checked in and taken to my dorm, which I learned is abbreviated to PH instead of the long version: Porcelænshaven (what?!), I unpacked for hours. I think I brought enough clothing and supplies to last me a full year. Then I met some people down the hall and upstairs.  Italians live next door, Australians across the hall, and Jenny (from Oslo) and Anna (from Penn State) live down the hall. 

Here's a few pics of my room:

A big group of us went down the street and found a place to eat falafel for dinner (ironic that I just got back from Israel where all I ate was falafel...nevertheless, it was yummy). We decided it was our first night and we had to start out with a bang. The same big group of us plus a few more people went to a club that was free beer after you pay cover... perfect! It was an amazing first night, we met a lot of Danes and we were out until after 3am (oops).  So far, Copenhagen has a lot to offer and I cannot wait to experience more than just my street!

Above is my "roommate" Lisa from Germany and below is a couple of us before we went out!

I'm off to orientation with all 500 people here, thanks for stopping by!

xo,

JOJ

Preparing for take off...

Welcome to my blog! I will (try to) update as often as I can while traveling through Europe. I leave tomorrow (or I guess today) for Copenhagen, Denmark, for 6 weeks. It's time for me to say goodbye to bagels (something I am not sure I am quite ready for) and hello to a language that I don't know one word of! I will be taking two classes and hopefully will be spending the rest of the time exploring, meeting new people, and partying as often as possible. As usual, I left packing to the last minute, so we will see how that turns out when I get there! Today I signed up for a cruise to Oslo, Norway for the second weekend I am there. I hope that is only the beginning of my travels around Europe, but I am planning to PIBE (play it by ear) it.

I managed to pack for every type of weather in two suitcases, a backpack (yes, my monogrammed L.L. Bean from middle school - left my North Face in storage...) and a tote.  Hope I don't buy many souvenirs because I have NO room! 

In case you were wondering what all of that looks like...

 

I promise from now on my posts will have something interesting to say - goodbye everyone, see you on the other side!! :)

xo,

JOJ