Home Sweet Home

I have now been home for over a month! It's crazy to look back and see all of the things that I have done and to know that it is over...for now anyways. I have caught the travel bug so I do intend on doing some more travelling, but I don't know when I will ever get an opportunity like that again - I will soon be graduating and will inherit a bit of debt and a lot of responsibility along with it.I've enjoyed being home though. I had a great flight on August 6 and was met at the Toronto airport by my parents, a bouquet, and giant bear hugs. We went to Kaitlynn and Aaron's place in London for dinner and then I got home around 23.00. I had been in transit since 9am in Denmark, so it had been over 24 hours since I had slept, and since I didn't sleep much in Russia either, and I was experiencing a 7 hour time difference it took me a few days to adjust to Canadian time again.
I spent my first few days at home being pampered by my mom. However, after adjusting to the time change and resting, I didn't sit still and spend too much time at home. I've spent a few nights in London unpacking, cleaning the house, and seeing friends. I went to Muskoka for the long weekend to visit with more friends there. I've gone to Michigan for several weekends to see reunite with even more friends. And finally my mom and I went to Rochester to visit her family out there. I've been pretty busy since my return and so it took me a while to fully adjust that I'm back. In fact I don't know if I have fully accepted this fact; I'm always busy and doing something so in a way it still feels like I'm in Denmark! I think that once school starts (in 4 days) I think that it will hit me like a cream pie in the face.

Kaitlynn's welcome back dinner - she's such a good cook believe it or not!

First Sunday after church with the girls, Edgar, Mike, and AaronTrisha, Jen, and Karyn came over and we tie-dyed!

At Mike's cottage in Muskoka...this was before the boat almost sank!

Россия

"Russia"

I left Claudia and Istanbul to fly to Krasnodar - the city where Daria lives. We traveled through Italy together back in February and March and had gotten along really well so I was glad to be finishing my European tour with her.

We spent our first day touring Krasnodar and then in the afternoon we met with her two friends Julia and Kasusha and the four of us were driven by Daria's father's personal driver three hours to the beach. We stayed in a big and beautiful beach house there and spent our days wake boarding and water skiing. It was incredibly difficult especially because no one working there could speak English. We also swam with dolphins which was incredible; they are so soft, rubbery, and friendly; it is like they have a permanent smile on their faces.

We flew to St. Petersburg and were met by Vitaly, a Russian Ukranian man who was Daria's father's friend. He was so kind, took us to our hotel, and showed us around. Throughout our time in St. Petersburg, he and his son took us to all of the different sites, and had us over for dinner. We also had a personal guided tour of Pushkin and Peterhof were I experienced gorgeous palaces decorated in Russian baroque style.

We took the nicest night train to Moscow! I felt like a millionaire; there were two beds, water, candies, slippers, and tooth paste and a tooth brush. It was really incredible but we were so tired that we slept the whole time and didn't get to fully enjoy the lavish train ride.

Daria left me in Moscow to go to Mongolia so I met up with Anastasia (another friend from exchange). I stayed with her in her cozy apartment; there was me, Anastasia, her sister, and their friend all in a one room apartment. It was a lot of fun but very hot! Especially since it was the hottest summer Moscow has seen in over 100 years. Being outside one day in the Moscow smog felt like being one week in Roskilde Festival - very dirty! But grime and smog aside Moscow really was a beautiful city and was able to see so much there.

Travels through Turkey

Claudia and I took the ferry from Rodos Greece to Marmaris Turkey where I paid the hefty 45 euro visa fee to enter Turkey. I don't know why but Canadians must pay 45 euros while every other country pays only 15 euros, or maybe 20 maximum! But I managed to get in and was met by Orhan and his mother Ceyda. This was my first time couchsurfing with a family and I was wondering if it would be any different or strange staying with a mom. It was absolutely perfect - I felt like Ceyda adopted Claudia and I as her daughters and although she couldn't speak any English she was incredibly hospitable. At this point in time in my trip I was starting to get a little bit sick - it was just a cough, but she treated me with care only a mother could give! She ensured that I took cough syrup and vix vapour rub twice a day.

Ceyda's mother, Claudia, Orhan, me, and Ceyda enjoying a HUGE dinner

MaNga is a Turkish group who won the second place position in Eurovision this year, which although as a Canadian that means nothing to me, Eurovision is very popular in Europe. It is like Canadian (or American) Idol except the European countries compete against each other and they are unable to vote for their own country. Orhan happened to have three free maNga tickets and so he took Claudia and I to see them. Afterwards he and his friends showed us Bar Street - a street that never sleeps! It had dozens of clubs all blaring different songs and the street was full of (mainly British) tourists.

After Marmaris we caught a bus to Fethiye where we were met by Hasret - our next host. She lives with her parents and little sister. Her sister had a friend visiting and Hasret's aunt and cousin were also visiting so it was a very full house. Claudia and I slept on the balcony (by choice); Hasret had given us her room but it was just too hot to sleep inside.

We went on a one day boat tour that left from Ölüdeniz; it took us to Butterfly Valley, but unfortunately it was not butterfly season. It was still a beautiful place though with a nice waterfall. We had five stops on our boat tour; one of them was at Cold Water Cove which is rightly named for the freezing cold water.
After Fethiye we went to Olympos which is known for treehouses, the beach, and Roman ruins. It was off in the middle of no where; we took a bus which dropped us off at a small station. There we waited for another bus to take us 30 minutes to Olympos. It was very peaceful and beautiful there with so much history.
Cappadocia was next on our list and after a 10 hour bus we arrived. We stayed in Göreme and hiked through several of the valleys and natural rock formations. We also went on a hot air balloon tour at 6am in the morning. It was a once in a life-time site. There were dozens of hot air balloons littering the sky. It was beautiful amidst the fairy chimneys and valleys and the first light of sun.

Our own Turkish family to wave us off when we left Göreme

After three days of hiking around the valleys we took the night bus to Istanbul. Our host Kaan met us at the bus station. Unfortunately Claudia had eaten some bad lamb or something in Göreme so she wasn't feeling too well. I spent the day by myself in Istanbul exploring the city. I saw the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. For my last few days in Turkey I walked around the city, went on a boat tour down the Bosphorus with Kaan, and went over to the Asian side of Istanbul.

My big fat Greek adventure

On July 7 Claudia and I set out from the Copenhagen airport for good (I will be returning but just for one day and I am not actually allowed to leave the airport due to visa issues). Everything went smoothly with the flight and at 1.30 we arrived in Rodos Greece.

We had pre-decided to spend the night there, however we hadn't thought that the airport would be so small! There was only a few benches around the baggage pick-up area so we picked the most secluded ones and settled in for the night. At 6am we were awakened by airport staff who said "Excuse me, it's not allowed" and then walked away. We took our time getting ready and then went into the city where we met Petra - my friend's friend who works as a tour guide for Slovanian tourists in Rodos. She took us to our hotel and then showed us the old city.

Greece was beautiful; I saw one of the most magnificent sunsets by some Roman ruins. I also went swimming in the refreshing, clear salt water beaches. I had never gone on a 'beach holiday' before and therefore I didn't really understand the appeal of one. Now that I have swam in the clear water and tasted the salt I have fallen in love with oceans; the only thing that would have made this trip more complete would have been snorkeling or scuba diving, or both! I'm saving that for my return trip.

One day Claudia and I rented a scooter and I drove it 50km across the island to the white town of Lindos. We then rode a donkey to the top of the mountain in Lindos and had a wonderful view over the whole city and ocean.

We went to Simi for two days - another island in the Dodecanese. It was the most beautiful place I have seen; colourful houses lined the shoreline.

One night we went to a Greek dinner. A Greek man, his American wife, and their two children put on this dinner every week and perform traditional Greek dances and get the audience involved as well. There was bbq'd octopus and traditional Greek dancing complete with smashing of plates and yelling "Opa!" just like in the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Last day in Copenhagen

So today is my last day in Copenhagen. It feels weird to be leaving the place where my life has been since January. I packed everything into two suitcases and one backpack. At 13.30 my Danish family came and picked up my suitcases and they will drop it off to me at the airport in a month. Afterwards I went into the city and cancelled my CPR number and got things sorted out at the bank so that I can leave Copenhagen with no problem.

Yesterday I had a bbq at my place with my room mates and some friends. Today I have already said goodbye to two of my room mates.

The whole time that I was packing I was so sad. I have taken down all of the decorations from my walls and now they are the same white that they were when I arrived.

I really love Copenhagen. I had a great past few months staying here and I am going to miss the friends that I have made and everything about the city. I want to come back and visit, but it will not be the same as it is now.

In a few hours I will leave Copenhagen and go to Greece, Turkey, and finally Russia, so I will try to update you guys as much as I can! I'm not too sure how internet access will be yet!

Roskilde - the Danish Woodstock

In the little city of Roskilde, every year they host a giant music festival with artists such as U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Coldplay. This year's the big names were Prince, Muse, Jack Johnson, Gorillaz, and Prodigy. There was also a ton of smaller Scandinavian artists, some African, and bands from all around the world.

My favourite performer of the festival - Jack Johnson

The tickets are about 250euros, but luckily I was able to volunteer and get in for free. I was a "pansamler" or "refund collector" meaning that I had to walk around and pick up cans and cups in order to get refunds which go to DanAid. They donate the money to eradicating poverty in Africa; it is a very broad mandate! My first shift was June 26 from 17.00-1.00; the music didn't start until July 1! I wasn't expecting there to be too much to do since Roskilde didn't actually open until 18.00 on June 26, but people had pushed the gate at 14.00 and the place was already full of people and cans.

This year 71,000 people camped out at Roskilde and 4,000 bought one-day tickets. It was a great time and unlike anything I had ever seen! In Copenhagen, there were thousands of people with camping backpacks, tents, and baby carriages full of beer, sleeping bags, and pavillions. All of Denmark slows down during Roskilde as most of the people are here. This year the attendants were 85% Danish and 15% internationals.

The 'clean and silent' area of the Festival

It was well organized; almost every band started on time. And everyone follows the rules of having the tents within the designated areas. It was like a little city with shops, grocery stores, and restaurants. Certain tents have been around for so long that they become popular among the attendants and they host parties and music before the actual concerts start.

People basically camp here from June 27 to July 4 (when the music ends) or July 5 and then they leave. And people leave almost everything behind; pavillions, tents, sleeping bags, clothing! I left right after Prince on July 4 so I missed the after ritual of burning tents. Even leaving directly after Prince I was still caught in a mad rush to return to Copenhagen; I got to the train station at 1.15 and missed two trains because they were all full of festival guests. Finally at 3 there was a train with enough room for my friend and myself and I managed to get home where I promptly showered off all of the dirt that had been collecting on me for the past several days.

Luckily we had the toilets and handwashing station right outside of our camp - Camp Balkan

My dirty feet and ripped jeans on July 3

Amsterdam - the second Copenhagen

After Morocco I went to Amsterdam for three days. It was such a relief to go there because even though I had never been before it felt almost just like Copenhagen! The city was full of canals, tall, narrow buildings, and bicycles were everywhere! I even met several Danes there. My second night in the hostel I woke up in a room with five tall, blonde boys. They started talking and I knew that they were Danish; even though Danish is a strange language it is still nice to hear, especially after being away from it for three weeks.

I went to Amsterdam to meet a friend from the Netherlands who had been on an exchange in Canada last semester. It was fun to meet up with her again since it was December since we had last seen each other. I was her English Conversation Leader in Canada so it was fun to meet with her not in a class setting.

Me and two girls who I met in Amsterdam in a giant clog

Amsterdam is an expensive city, especially after coming from Spain and Morocco. It got me prepared to go back to Copenhagen, which is more expensive than Amsterdam. Most museums cost around 8 to 14 euros. By this time in my trip I was just about done with museums so while some of my new friends went to museums for the day, I wandered the streets and found a free local art exhibition which I enjoyed a lot more.

Holland played Japan in the World Cup while I was in Amsterdam. It was great to see the streets filled with footballs and orange balloons, and everyone was wearing orange. I went to a pub to watch the match, which Holland ended up winning. It was perfect timing to be there to experience the celebration of the win! I am really glad that I am in Europe during the World Cup! In Canada we don't really pay too much attention to it because we never make it to the World Cup, but everywhere in Europe it is on the tvs and people are talking about it. Even in Morocco, it was on every tv.

The Dutch celebrating their victory

I Amsterdam