And After Much Ado...It's Spring!

I admit, there has been some silence from my corner of this blog; however, I will attribute it to my travels rather than a sad lack of motivation and dedication to the blogosphere.
Over the long study tour, first we went to Tallinn, Estonia.

The Swedish flag in the background is the Embassy. I was, indeed, in Estonia.

 There was a medieval old town that has been there since the times of the Vikings. There was also the world's best hot chocolate, which I was originally skeptical of, as I have had some good cocoa in my time. However, after drinking at Josephine's, I was a believer. They steamed milk and poured it over a block of chocolate. I am also a convert to the chocolate-chili pairing, as a result of a delicious truffle I had there.

And the ambiance left nothing to be desired.

After Estionia, we took a cruise boat to Helsinki, Finland. It was equally cold there.

While in Tallinn, the old city was separated by a wall from the new city, in Helsinki old architectural styles were side-by-side the new. There were also electric street cars criss-crossing the city.

The pastries in Helsinki were unlike anything I had every had before, so of course I ate them for lunch nearly every day. This one is a bread-like sweet roll with a sort of ricotta cheesy center, topped with blueberries.
Over a long weekend, I skipped class  a few days and went to London and Edinburgh.
London was warm, large, and multi-cultural, all characteristics which Denmark lacks.

The London Eye, Big Ben, and Parliament by night

Edinburgh was unlike anything I had experienced before. It had the medieval characteristics of Tallinn, but none of the Soviet influence, there was a castle, and it was built in the valley and hills of the remainder of an old volcano. 

The view from Calton Hill: Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh

Both London and Edinburgh felt foreign, yet the people there spoke English, which was a strange feeling. 

The best evening in Edinburgh involved going to two different pubs and experiencing two different sorts of "traditional" music and having an (Irish) beer. Also not disappointing were the many old bookstores with shelves from floor to ceiling and books spilling out from every possible nook.

The past two and a half weeks I spent on spring break gallivanting around Europe. 

First stop: Rome

View from the top of the Spanish Steps

Highlights include: gelato nearly every night, old things around every corner, roof-top gardens. While I was not blessed by the pope, I had the good fortune to fill my water bottle at the Vatican, and hydrated myself with holy water.

There was also some really good food.

 

Next stop: Florence

While this is not Florence itself, my favorite part of the city was actually the view from the beautiful Tuscan countryside. During this part of the trip, we saw the important artistic works (David, Venus, you name it) but also spent quality time in parks enjoying the scenery.

One very important night involved walking around from pastry shop to pastry shop and trying Florence sweets, all of which were more citrusy and almondy than anything else. One even involved rice on the inside, which was an adventure.

Last stop: Paris

Similar to Florence, Paris involved many cultural activities and parks. 

Examples include Versailles

Giverney (Monet's house and gardens)

 

Less park-like, but equally important, was the consumption of a nutella crepe on the bank of the Siene. 

 And of course, back in Denmark the weather is warming up and it's finals time. Perhaps the worst combination I can think of. At least I have the pastries!