Denmark - by guest blogger Stefanie

My boyfriend Joachim and I took a trip to Denmark.  This is something I never expected to happen considering my parents are not typically relaxed about trips with boyfriends or girlfriends.  However, a few months ago Joachim and I had the idea to go and visit his family in Denmark.  I started saving my money and strategically planned how to ask my parents in October and I was lucky enough for my parents to say yes to this amazing opportunity.  Joe and I spent 3 days in Copenhagen and 3 days in Aarhus, two different cities in Denmark where his grandparents live.  Heres a little overview of what we got to experience.

Copenhagen is a fantastic city – cold but fantastic.  We arrived in Copenhagen late Thursday night so Friday was our first official day.  We started off our day with the Blue Planet, which is Copenhagen’s aquarium.  I was so excited, but it did not live up to expectations.  Having been to the huge Georgia aquarium this small one didn’t exactly compare.  Even Joe was disappointed.  We spent about an hour and a half there and decided it was time to explore the city.  We started with an American meal at TGI Fridays just for fun and walked around the city.  It was incredible and we can’t wait to come back.  We got back to the house and is Grandfather or FarFar as he calls him told us we were going to his uncle and aunt's house for dinner.   Slightly intimidating considering he had cousins around our age that I would have to meet but it turned out to be a real fun time.  His cousins had an American exchange student living with them who also spoke very little Danish and it completely widened my comfort zone along with his super nice family. 

Saturday we were a little lazy and didn’t get out of the house until about 11 and we really ended up regretting that due to the lack of time.*  As soon as we got to the city we hopped on the canal ride around Copenhagen.  We sat outside in the back of the boat to get the best view and that was horrendously cold.  On the boat ride was saw beautiful buildings and the highlight of it was seeing the little mermaid (tiny in person).  

The Little Mermaid

After the canal ride we ran to get lunch and get out of the cold.  Our next stop was Christiana, possibly the most bizarre place I have ever seen.  Christiana is right in the middle of Copenhagen but they do not pay taxes and are considered to not be part of the EU or Denmark.  It is an occupied territory of basically drug dealers.  Thousands of tourists visit every day and when walking through it you walk down a street of pushers or weed sellers with masks on behind these big mesh covered stands.  All around is people smoking and not a police man in sight.  It is considered to sell drugs here but according to Joe’s grandfather they can catch the sellers but not the suppliers so Christiana continues to thrive.  Joachim and I both agreed that was not a place we would want to be in at night.  It was astounding. 

After that we hurried back to city center and quickly got directions to Ameilianborg Palace where the Danish royal family lives (the oldest royal family).  Following us getting on the wrong bus and ending up back where we started we realized we could walk to the Palace.  We couldn’t go in due to getting there too late but we were able to see the guards.  We had a few very funny experiences with a very relaxed guard who seemed to be on his first day of the job.  We messed around for a bit taking funny photos and wanted to go get a tea.  At this time it was about 5:30 and all shops and cafés had closed.  We decided to look up an English movie and went to see Deadpool in a huge Danish cinema.  Amazing cinema with chairs that leaned back and had heating.  After this we headed home after a full day.

Sunday was our last full day in Copenhagen and Valentine's Day. We had learned our lesson Saturday and got out of the house around 9:30.  We headed to Carlsberg brewery the Danish beer and had a lot of fun.  We saw the world's biggest bottle collection and there was a competition going on.  It was an app and whoever brewed the best beer won a huge beer.  Naturally Joe and I spent about 20 minutes focusing really hard on beating each other and I won the giant beer.  We explored the brewery and went to collect our prize which was actually a pretty good beer.  

After this it was back to Copenhagen’s center for a little bit of shopping.  Joe got a couple of pants and then we realized there was one more thing we wanted to do.  We rushed over to the Expirimentarium which is very similar to the Ithaca Science Center I grew up around.  Our dinner reservation was at 7 but we wanted more time to play so we changed that to 8:30 and enjoyed running around the Expirimentarium.  We then ran home changed and went to a fantastic dinner at Fuego an Argentinian restaurant.  It was a great night but we hadn’t gotten home until about 12 and did not thoroughly pack.  We were leaving at 9 the next morning to hop on a long distance train to Aarhus and were not so great at packing rushed…

We got on the metro on our way to Copenhagens main station and Joe was looking for where he kept the booking reference for our tickets.  He had them on his laptop which he had forgotten at his Grandparents… Next his phone died and we were incredibly stressed thinking we had no tickets.  Luckily we made our train just in time and were able to find the tickets.  It was not the most relaxed morning.  However the 3 hour train ride to Aarhus was beautiful, we went over the water several times and enjoyed it.  His other grandfather (Bedste Far) picked us up from the airport and took us to his beautiful home right on the water where he and Joe's Grandmother (Bedste Mor) had made us a huge lunch of delicious fried fish and other food.  We then ran to the beach and went to Joe’s summerhouse and just looked around.  That night Joe’s aunt, her husband and their three children were coming over for dinner.  Their kids names were Laura, Caroline and Magnus and they were amazing, adorable kids.  Laura and Caroline spoke a little bit of English and Magnus not so much however we had so much fun.  It is safe to say that I am favored over Joe and I spent the afternoon playing with them and laughing after Joe would translate their funny comments. 

The next morning Bedste Far and Bedste Mor took us to Aarhus old town which is basically a recreated very old town and had a recreated 70’s town.  Joe's aunt and uncle, Camilla and Christian met us there with their kids and we had so much fun walking around the town with them and going on a horse ride.  My highlight of the day was the kids whispering to Joe making sure I was not a socialist making sure they could still love me.  After the old town we went with Camilla, Christian and the kids for a bit of shopping.  I found beautiful hand made ornaments for my mom and Camilla was so sweet treating me to a few.  Joe and I went to another floor with the kids and he took Magnus and I took Caroline and Laura and we picked out clothes for them.  It was so much fun feeling like I had little sisters to shop for in Copenhagen and made me miss Rach a lot.  We then headed home to pack, learning our lesson about last minute packing.  That night more family came over, Joe's Uncle Jasper his wife Maria and their two sweet girls Alberte and Victoria.  The rest of the little cousins came over and we had a great last dinner as the whole family.  It was sad when the cousins left and we had to say goodbye.  Caroline ended up crying and they made me a little video to remember them. 

Wednesday morning it was time to head back to Copenhagen and spend a little more time with FarFar and FarMor and pick up all the things we had forgotten.  We had tea with them and a delicious pastries desert FarMor had made.  We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and looking at old photo books.  Around 5 it was time to head back to the train and go to the airport.  Joachim and I were both very sad after spending an amazing trip together.  Every thing went smoothly at the airport and soon we were on our way home. 

I would like to thank Joachim’s amazing family for being so kind to us and to his incredible Grandparents for everything they did for us and letting us stay there.  It was a trip of a lifetime.

*Mom's note - I will use this every time when we are traveling and I want our day to start early!

Paris - by guest blogger Rachel

Ready to start our day at the Louvre

Day 1 – Arriving and l’Orangerie

We started by getting up around 6 to catch our flight. We had bagels at the airport for breakfast, and once we arrived in Paris, we were driven to the hotel. Since it was still only midday, we decided to go to a journal shop my aunt recommended and get some lunch. I got a journal and colored pencils, we took the metro to Angelina’s, and then we ate at a restaurant nearby. (Angelina’s had a long line) We then walked to the l’Orangerie and saw the enormous Monet paintings, which were gorgeous. We decided not to stay there too long, because the Monet works were the reason we came and we were hoping to visit the Catacombs. Unfortunately when we got there the line was longer than the amount of time left to enter. Afterwards we asked the hotel to recommend a place nearby for dinner, and we ended up with a restaurant basically across the street. I had stew and rice which was amazing and the perfect thing to warm me up after being out all day in the rain.

Day 2 - A day in the Louvre

            We had breakfast in our room so that we could get an early start on the day. Since we were staying right across from the Louvre, we left around 8:45, and were one of the first 50 people in. My mom and I split up and went to different sections, with a plan to meet at 11 at the Angelina’s café. Since we were so early, for the first 10 minutes when we split up, I would be the only one in a room, which really made it a lot more interesting than trying to get around people. After we met for hot chocolate and little desserts, we again split up and met again around 3 at the cafeteria to have a late lunch. After our sandwiches we split again and I walked around a bit more to the more famous exhibits like the Mona Lisa. We met at the exit around 5. After resting for a bit at the hotel, we walked over to a nearby restaurant for a great Valentine's Day dinner.

* Mom's note - Rachel had requested a day at the Louvre to explore and take in the art at her own pace - that's why we walked around separately. We both took photos and she also drew pictures and then compared notes each time we met.

Breakfast in our room

Angelina's hot chocolate

Mona Lisa - Mom was in the room when it was empty and got a front row view

The end of a full day at the Louvre

Day 3 – Le Musée Pompidou and Shopping

            Today we had breakfast down in the breakfast room and left a bit late. We walked down to the Musée Pompidou and rode the escalator up to the top and saw one of the exhibits, which was mostly expressionism. We were lucky to come on a day with nice weather since the view was gorgeous. My mom and I split up again, but we didn't need a place to meet because the exhibit wasn't huge. Then we walked down to a shopping square and had a huge lunch. We also went in a couple stores and bought a few of things, like a fun skin care kit, before returning to the hotel. We ended up just snacking on small cookies since we weren’t hungry for a real dinner.

Teaching Mom how to take panoramic photos

Probably why we weren't hungry for dinner...

Day 4 – Catacombs, Seine Tour and Musée d’Orsay

            Today was our last day, so we had breakfast delivered to our room again and then took the metro to the catacombs. We had to wait around 2 hours but it was well worth it, because all the bones were just amazing. After about 20 minutes though we both were a bit overwhelmed and ready to leave.

When we got back to our hotel area, we had some lunch and went on Seine River Cruise.  It was really nice to be able to see the Eiffel tower on the tour, since we didn’t get a chance to go to it this trip.

Since we still had time, we walked down to the Musée d’Orsay just to have some ice cream at the café and walk through some of the exhibits. The museum itself was magnificent to go through, it's an old train station, and they made sure to keep that structure intact. We mostly just went to see the watercolor lilies and stayed in the Impressionist exhibit.

Afterwards we just walked back to the hotel, admiring the street artists along the way and were driven to the airport, where we got express manicures and macaroons to take home.

Yearling Winter Weekend

Dominic & Valerie

Dominic and his fellow second year cadets (yearlings or "yuks") celebrated Yearling Winter Weekend this past weekend. He and his lovely date Valerie seemed to have a wonderful weekend! We also liked seeing him with his two best friends, they started out together plebe year and have built a great friendship.

Jonathon, Dominic & Michael

An Artsy Girls Weekend in Venice

The girls and I headed to Venice this weekend for visit my sister. Part of her artist residency includes a solo show and we didn't want to miss it.

Since it is winter time we took the train, I didn't want to chance having to drive in serious snow in the mountains like our last visit. Taking the train is generally pretty relaxing and easy, making it a nice way to travel.

Once in Venice we took a vaporetto to our hotel by the Accademia Bridge and then found Mel's school and show. My Maps app couldn't quite get us to Scuola Internazionale di Grafica but after asking in a bar and a wine shop we found it! Mel's show was absolutely incredible and we were excited to see where she would be working for six weeks. 

Mel then took us to Bentigodi Osteria for dinner. The students at the school eat here often and we could see why.  The food was delicious, the restaurant sweet and they had live music. Perfect! I think this qualifies as one of those just-get-lost-and-find-where-the-locals-eat kind of places

Mel and I started the next day with  a walk through Venice while the girls slept. While the weather wasn't beautiful, Venice offers so much visually it really doesn't matter. 

Rachel & Stefanie

Once we got the girls moving we went to paint our own masks. This was tons of fun.  We each chose our own unique mask. While Stefanie and I are definitely more simple artists we were all super pleased with our results!

My mask and Mel's

Finished!

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and eating on the island of Murano, we love browsing all the different glass shops and seeing what treasures we can find. Once back in Venice we did what everyone should do on a girls weekend, we shopped for purses, shoes and makeup. Sephora hasn't made it's way to Germany so the girls were THRILLED to spend some time there! And then of course a yummy and delicious dinner!

Our last morning in Venice came all too soon. Mel and I met for a walk again and while waiting I saw a different sort of "rowing" excercise, two guys  working out using a gondola. When in Venice...

Mel and I walked through St Mark's Square catching views of lots of Carnivale costumed people getting ready for the Flight of the Angel in St Mark's Square. 

We toured the Basilica of Good Health with the girls, another beautiful church. It houses the Black Madonna but she is kept locked away most of the time so we didn't get to see her. Then it was time for pizza lunch, farewells and for us to catch our train. On our way to the train we had one more little treat, an encounter with Charlie Chaplain, he was cute! 

Stefanie, Charlie & Rachel

 Another quick visit to Venice but so fun to spend it with Auntie Meli!

Stefanie, Meli, Rachel & Missy

Auntie Meli Part I

Mel & MIssy at Neuschwansteian

Auntie Meli finally visited us in Germany! Many people predicted she would be the first and most often visitor; but as sometimes happens, life got in the way. BUT, she did get here. She was on her way to an artist residency in Venice and was able to schedule visits before and after her residency - lucky for us!

Steve, Mel, Rachel, AJ & Stefanie (Dominic was already back at school)

Her first day here we headed to Andechs, because we love to take our visitors here. It is truly Steve's favorite place! The church is beautiful, the food is good, the bier is great and the atmosphere is perfectly authentic!

Missy & Mel

The next day we spent touring around Munich and at the Jean Paul Gaultier show. What a fabulous show for me, Mel, Stefanie and Rachel to go to together. His clothing designs are just so stunning and fabulous. The show was absolutely incredible. Plus there was a Madonna room...

Meli in Germany

We spent Mel's last day visiting Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. They truly are stunning castles to visit and we had the best guide I've ever had in Hohenschwangau. And since I believe this was my sixth time touring the castles you know I have some experience!

Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein

Lunch!

View from a window in Hohenschwangau

Although it was cold we had a great day exploring the castle grounds and castles.

Auntie Meli has arrived!

Woohoooo! Auntie Meli is here! We are psyched to have her visit for three days before she starts her artist residency in Venice! You can follow what she is up to here: Mel's Blog.