So it's been quite a while and quite a lot has happened, and I'm very sorry that I don't update my blog so often anymore, but it's just so hard to find that time with everything that's going on.
2 days after I got back from Mallorca, I went down to Flensburg, Germany with my orchestra, We toured around and played some concerts and rehearsed a TON, and it was just a really hyggelig week. I didn't take that many pictures, except when we took a day trip to a nearby town named Plon:
It was so, so cold, but really really beautiful. Flensburg was also pretty interesting, because it is literally right on the border to Denmark, so half the people that live there are Danish, and there are Danish churches and schools everywhere, and it's pretty confusing to tell what country you're in. Also, because things like candy and beer are soooo much cheaper in Germany than they are in Denmark, people will literally drive down to Flensburg (a 4 hour drive from where I live), go to this huge bulk foods store to fill a trailer with food and drinks, and then drive back home. We went to the bulk foods store and had a look around, and it was pretty cool! I stalked up on candy and toiletries (that are also way cheaper down there), and then cried about how everything was still way more expensive than in the US. All in all it was a fantastic week.
Also, right before going to Flensburg, I moved in with my 3rd and final host family. It's been really great, they're really nice and welcoming, and I'm really happy for them. It's so weird to think that the next time I pack up all my stuff to move I'll be going home to the US, everything is just going so fast!
Last weekend I went to Bornholm, a little Danish island out in the Baltic, with a woman from my Rotary club and her husband. It was such a fantastic opportunity and just a really hyggelig weekend. Ninette's (my Rotarian) husband comes from Bornholm, so we stayed with his family, and they were some of the nicest people I've ever met. We also drove around the island and saw everything it had to offer (to drive across the island takes 30 minutes, so it's a very very small island). Here are some pictures:
Echo Valley
Echo Valley
Bornholm is known for their round churches that were built so that they could use them as a fortress if they were attacked.
We got to go up in the church
The north is very rocky and gorgeous
Sol over Gudhjem, smoked herring with raw egg on top!
A cave that we went into
Hammershus, a fortress from the 1300's that's nearly in ruins now. It was so foggy we could barely see it :(.
The highest point on Bornholm
In the south they have beautiful beautiful beaches.
Dueodde, the most beautiful beach on Bornholm,
Rønne, the biggest city on Bornholm
It was a completely fantastic weekend, and I am so thankful that I got to visit Bornholm. It's a place I probably never would have been able to go to if I hadn't gotten the chance to go while on exchange here.
I also went into Copenhagen on Tuesday because it was the Queen's birthday! We went to the castle that she lives in and then her and then entire royal family came out on the balcony and waved at us, it was so SO cool to get to see them in real life. The Danish flag is a birthday decoration here, so everyone was waving the Danish flag and the soldiers had a marching band and it was just the cutest most hyggelig thing. I only took a video though, so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post here.
And now I'm just enjoying the last few weeks of my time here. I go home July 3rd, so everyone mark your calendars! I have my schools' Gala tomorrow, which is kinda like prom, and then I'm going to Stockholm with my Rotary club in a couple weeks, so stay posted for that!
I hope everything's going well back home,
Alicia
