So I realize that it's been over a month since I got back from Denmark (36 days, to be exact), but I never wrote a wrap up post about my trip. I'll admit that after I got home, I kind of forgot... whoops, sorry! I don't even know if anyone will read this anymore, but I figured that I should do one last post anyway, at least for my own sake.
I had a lot of fun during my last week with my family and Amy. I got to show them around Copenhagen and be a tour guide, and we went on a canal tour (finally!) among other things. Joel got to go to a famous jazz club and see Jimmy Heath, who apparently is famous (although I had never heard of him before). We also went to Kronborg Castle, which was nice to see with flowers blooming (I had been there in January). My host family cooked an amazing Danish meal for everyone one night, and it was cool (and also bizarre) for my host family and real family to meet!
After 3 days in Copenhagen, we rented a car and then drove along the bottom of Sweden (and visited a recreation of a viking village along the way) until we reached Ystad, where we took a ferry to Bornholm. Bornholm is an island that belongs to Denmark, so it was nice to see Danish again after being confused by Swedish for half a day. Bornholm has lots of cute little towns along the water, and we rented a cottage for the next 4 nights in Gudhjem. So picturesque!
We went hiking in the center of the island, explored a lot of the coastal towns, and saw these really old round churches that they believe were built by the Knights Templar a really long time ago. So fascinating! It was really nice because it felt like a real summer vacation and it was very relaxing. For the final day, we took the ferry back to Sweden and explored the countryside a bit--we saw the Swedish version of Stonehenge and then stayed at a bed and breakfast in the farmland. It was seriously the most adorable place ever! Before I knew it, it was time to drive back to the Copenhagen airport to fly back to Newark (I had a slightly earlier flight than the rest of my family because it was booked separately). It was very bittersweet driving through the city one last time and getting on that plane!
It was nice to come home and see friends and family, and I didn't even miss Copenhagen for the first few weeks--it had felt like the right time to come home. But now that it's been a little longer, I do have days where I really miss Europe. I miss the great public transportation, the practicality of the Danish, and being able to just wander through medieval-aged streets whenever I want to. I still have the urge to say Danish phrases all the time. When I visited Manhattan a few weeks ago, my automatic urge was to say "undskyld" whenever I bumped into someone and I had to actually think about it to stop myself. I still say "tak" a lot, actually. It's so much easier than saying "thank you"!
What did I learn during these 4 months? Besides learning a lot of European history, I also learned patience on a whole new level. After so much travel and waiting, I've found that I'm just a lot more patient with people and situations. I learned a lot of independence, and I don't get stressed out about traveling by myself anymore. I can handle things on my own just fine! I also learned that the world is a lot smaller than we realize, and the fairytale-esque ideal of other places, especially in Europe, has disappeared for me. They're just different places, with different languages and older buildings. That doesn't mean I don't want to travel anymore--no, it just makes me want to travel more! I want to see even more places in the world, because I know that not only will I learn more about other cultures and traditions, but I'll also learn more about myself when I'm put in new situations. I wouldn't trade the opportunity to go to Denmark for the world, and I'm so grateful that I was able to spend a whole semester there. I'm determined to go back some day (although probably not to live there--too expensive!), and I hope to never stop traveling and learning new things.
Vi ses!
