My return flight left from Copenhagen, so I had to fly back from Spain to Denmark for one last night with my host family. It was a bittersweet evening of chatting and attempted packing. In the morning, we went to the bakery for, you guessed it, my last danish for breakfast.
Seeing as I was in Europe, my sister came to meet me and tour Spain when my semester ended. We did a tour of Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and a few other smaller towns along the way. The main purpose was to explore the Moorish influence on Spanish architecture, something I knew very little about before. The tile works and stucco plasterwork was incredible! I had never seen anything with quite as ornate details as the palace interiors.
Malaga:
Zahara:
Seville:
Real Alacazar, Seville:
Cordoba:
While in Cordoba, it happened to be the Fairea de Mayo, a huge celebration of Flamenco. Basically, there are rows and rows of tents, each with their own bar and music. We danced the night away and by the end, I think I almost had the hang of some Flamenco moves!
Tenting tonight- in the middle of an olive field!:
Granada:
Alhambra, Granada:
Fun fact: The Spanish word “Granada” means pomegranate. It is also the origin of the word “grenade” because a pomegranate smashed against the ground will splatter the staining seeds in every direction. According to Jewish legend, Eve was tempted to eat a pomegranate in the Garden of Eden. The city of Granada uses the symbol of the pomegranate on their street posts and other governmental hardware throughout the city.
I couldn’t get The Clash unstuck from my head the whole time:
When I realized just how quickly my time in Denmark was running out, I made a bucket list of must see touristy things that I simply had to do before I left:
1.The Spiral Tower of the Church of Our Savior: Rumor has it that the architect threw himself from the top when he realized spiral was built counterclockwise. It was intended to spiral so intruders would have to hold their swords with their left hand on their ascension giving them further disadvantage.
2.Malmรถ: It’s just a half hour train ride under the sea and over the bridge and welcome to Sweden. The city is rather small and not super touristy, but it still has a very old feel. We visited a castle turned museum. There was a special exhibit graphically depicting torture methods- curious as I am, I looked into a peephole on a door and blood started squirting out! All and all though, it was a lovely afternoon filled with gardens, gelato, and shopping.
3.Vintage shops of Copenhagen: after my last final, on my last day in Copenhagen, a friend and I set out to explore the CPH second hand scene. While they range from last season’s channel to, well, junk, trash to treasure is very a very trendy way to fill in a Danish wardrobe.
4.TIVOLI!: The famous amusement park that I passed every day in the winter, all boarded up, finally opened. Every Friday they have a concert, so I went to see the Danish queen of pop, Medina. Not necessarily my style of music, but she put on a good show. I was back a few days later to test out the rides. We went on a Tuesday so there weren’t a lot of people or long lines. This being the case, we hopped aboard one, The Dragon, without having the time to see what it does. We got all strapped in and then thought, “Wow this has a pretty secure head brace…” The ride began easy enough- gently rocking up and down as we went in a circle. However, it accelerated quickly and we realized that the little cars were on individual hinges and we ended up going upside down 11 times!
5.Christiania: The famous community of anti-establishmenters gets a bad rep for drug usage, but I found it to have a very peaceful, down to earth vibe. There is incredible street art and sculpture and a whole neighborhood of little, bohemian houses. Their only rules: Have fun, don’t run, and no pictures.
6.Bakken: Denmark’s oldest amusement park in home to the clown Pjerrot and many dancing woodland creatures. It is surrounded by a beautifully green woodland area, complete with horse drawn carriage rides. My host family met up here for a goodbye dinner during my last week. It turned out to be the opening night of some performance or show, so all the famous Danish actors, politicians, and musicians (including one we had been listening to in the car on the way there) were parading around the park.
Alas, I have yet to complete a few crucial things (canal tour anyone?). All the more reason to return!
