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Published: December 6th 2006
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A week ago, I went on an excursion with 10 others from my building and friends of ours. The group drove in two cars (European cars of course, so quite a cramped ride for 10...). Hamburg was the first stop, but I didn't leave with the group on Saturday because I was going to another Awakenings on Saturday night in Amsterdam. So the rest of the group went to Hamburg and I went to the show. I'm glad I got to fly to meet up with them, I saw pictures of the car ride, and it looked cozy to say the least...
On Saturday night, the concert was good. It wasn’t as amazing as the last time (Dad was right, it can never be as good as the first...), but I still had a great time. Again, mesmerized by the lasers and dancing my butt off.
On Sunday morning we left when the concert was over at 7:15am. I went to the Amsterdam Central station and took a train to Schiphol Airport. I waited there until my flight at 3:30pm, sleeping in the airport as much as I could... I got to Copenhagen around 8pm and went straight to
Awakenings!
More Awakenings photos at the bottom... bed, I was exhausted! I didn't get to sleep much en route because I had to keep moving around, and especially because I thought I couldn't check in for my flight before 1:30. On Monday we woke up and wandered around Copenhagen, which was funny because my Swedish friend Robert was our tourguide and had no idea where to go. We saw some neat stuff, though I didn't always know what we were looking at... We went to the oldest military barracks in Europe still in use, which is on a really cool harbor. There were a bunch of new windmills (for electricity)! Its odd because the wind all across Denmark blows towards the sea, so the turbines are pointing inland, when most other places I've ever been (US East and West coasts) the wind comes in from the sea.
We also went to the seat of government (I think?), and saw the changing of the guard. The boys went over to take a picture with one who was not involved in the changing but was standing guard by a door. They are more relaxed than the British soldiers because he was looking at us with his eyes (when
the Brits just stare straight ahead), and when the boys asked if they could make a photo the guard quietly said "You must stand 1.5 meters away from me." After the photo they thanked him and he said "You're welcome." After more wandering, we had lunch in the biggest department store I've ever been in; 5 floors plus a grocery store in the lower level. You can even get on the subway from the lower level! We spent some more time in the shopping district (strictly looking, because everything is really expensive!). Although, I did buy a great hat with earflaps! (It was quite chilly.) Around 5pm, We went to
Tivoli, which is a small amusement park in the center of town. It was really cool! There were rollercoasters and a little Christmas shopping village, and there were Christmas lights everywhere! We went on two rides, one was a swings ride, that goes sooo high above the city. It was kinda scary, but really cold! We also rode on a hanging-style, upside-down coaster. My friend Marta came, and it was her first coaster ever! She even rode in the front with us!! She got spooked right before we moved, but
The Same Palace(?) in Copenhagen
Apparently I'm not too good at holding a camera straight before 10am... then she stopped screaming after a few seconds, I think she liked it! I'm now in the process of convincing everyone to come visit me and come to Cedar Point ;-)... There was a Build-A-Bear Workshop at Tivoli, too, and it was a big hit among the international students I was traveling with (again, just for lookin at, not for buyin). That night we went home and just chilled in the hostel rooms and went to bed.
Tuesday morning, I walked to the train station when the others left in the cars, and we met up in Malmo, Sweden. The bridge between Copenhagen and Malmö was really cool, you couldn't see anything but water for so long! In Malmö, first we went to the village where Robert's parents live. It was so cute, and his parents were awesome. Then we went back to the city and Rob gave us a quasi-tour. We walked all day through the shopping districts and the old part of town. At night we went to the Hilton where Rob works, and he got keys to take the glass elevator up to the top, the 20th floor. It was foggy, but when it is clear,
you can see all the way to Denmark!
After the Hilton, we walked back to the athletic facility for the disabled that Rob’s dad runs. His mom cooked dinner for us (delicious!) and we played wheelchair basketball for probably two hours, it was incredibly fun! It was so funny, because we were so terrible! And the next morning, I thought my arms were going to fall off… I’ve got a number of bruises on my shins from crashing into others and the walls, too… But so worth it! Finally, we sang karaoke, and, of course, were total rockstars. We slept in sleeping bags on the gym floor, which was more fun than one might think… The next morning, the others drove home while Rob’s brother took me to the train station and later in the afternoon I caught my flight home. At one point, in the airport and all by myself, I started laughing out loud because I had a picture in my head of our attempt at a wheelchair race: three laps around a circle of cones, the girls first, then the boys. Everyone else in the center, cheering and commentating, shouting about our respective countries like it
was the Olympics: "Oh! And America has taken the lead, with Germans in 2nd and 3rd!" After the first lap, everyone was wheeling all over the place, cutting through the center, cones stuck in their wheels, crashing into everyone. It was marvelous!
The trip was incredible! All in all, I'm soooo glad I went. It is a trip I will never forget!
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