Weekends in May

The first weekend in May was my trip to the Danish island, Bornholm, found east of Denmark. As it turns out, this island is where my family traces their Danish roots! Thanks to my host mom (who does genealogy) I was able to visit the different towns my family is from and even visit “the family’s” round church in Nyker (Bornholm is somewhat famous for its unique round churches). The trip involved a LOT of biking around the island and exploring the different biking paths. In total my friend and I biked over 40 miles. Eek! But it wasn’t really that bad, though this part of Denmark actually has hills, which can be killers at times.

I loved being able to see where my family came from and the weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. The first day we rode all across the island starting with the cliff area and then moving on to find my family’s towns by biking through some beautiful paths in the woods. The next day we cycled less (being somewhat sore) and spent some time at a waterfall We also took the opportunity to eat at a smoke house and to enjoy the “Gudhjem special” at the ice cream place near our hostel.

After spending 2 days straight biking we had to go back to Copenhagen via an overnight ferry which involved sleeping on the floor. While not the best sleeping experience, overall I had a wonderful time and have lots of documentation about my family history.



This past weekend was also an adventure! First was Saturday’s “island trip” with my host mom and the other DIS girl living with us. She packed us some lunch and dinner and we went on a nice long drive and visited a bunch of the islands that make up Denmark. First, of course was Sjælland (the bigger island we live on and is the home of Copenhagen). We headed south until we reached a nice view of the water and had a picnic lunch in a grassy spot. Before moving onto our next island we stopped in Vordingborg to see an old tower and castle ruins and get some ice cream. The next island was the small Masnedø. After that we drove over Falster and Lolland where we turned and headed east to visit Farø and Bogø. The last island stop was Møn. Here we visited a church decorated with old chalk paintings and went to the tiny “castle” Liselund to have an earlier dinner and some tea and cake. The entire journey from start to finish took about 10 hours and involved visiting 7 different islands. Since I already had been to Fyn, Mandø, and Bornholm, my Danish island count is now up to 10! (FYI Denmark has 443 island of which 72 are inhabited)

On Sunday, a friend and I spent the day revisiting places in Copenhagen and enjoying the weather. First stop was the Botanical Garden which had tons of blooming flowers. We also checked out the greenhouse, which was sweltering but had lots of tropical plants and palm trees. We then took the metro over to Kongens Nytorv (a main square) where there was an International Market set up. We sampled some of the foods and strolled over to Nyhavn to get some more pictures of the harbor in the sunshine. Continuing on our way we went to Christianshavn with the Vor Frelsers Kirke (Our Savior’s Church) where we climbed to the top of the golden spiral. So many steps but worth the view. Next we went to Christiania, the free-town situated inside Copenhagen with a very relaxed feel. We got some falafel and wandered around the area and picking out some gifts to take home. I was pretty tired after this and needed to head home to study for the two finals I had on Monday.


But since it’s Tuesday, my finals are OVER! Which means my Junior year is officially finished!! Now I just have to pack up 9 months worth of stuff and say good by to my friends, host family, and the city that’s been my home for an entire school year….