Student Bloggers

Currently Studying At: University of Westminster, England

Homeschool: Ohio State University

So, because I have been so caught up with spewing stories about my music life (which I will still do future blogs), I have failed to mention some of the remarkable trips I have taken so far. I’ll start with the most interesting and probably the favorite I’ve taken so far, which was Denmark’s beautiful city, Copenhagen.

Before I start, you should know my good friend Holt who studies at the same university as me, is a travel aficionado. I think he was born with adventurous blood. He has skydived, scuba-dived, left the country several times, and this is also his 3rd time studying abroad. So when we were sitting at a coffee shop one day working on homework and he said, “want to come with me to Copenhagen, Denmark?”, knowing fully that he would have the travel arrangements already figured out, it was an easy yes. One thing I learned about myself since I’ve been here is although traveling is fun, planning it is a pain. I am not a fan of any planning aspects of traveling; it is not fun. I see it as endlessly searching for the cheapest plane tickets (which are always more than you hoped) and cheapest place to stay that also must be sustainable for human life. So, when Holt said he had it all figured out, I said, “sign me up” and paid him. He knows what he’s doing when it comes to traveling so I know I got a good deal.

We planned a few weeks ahead, and I did not do any research about fun things to do while in Copenhagen. I could not even point to it on a map. So, when it crept up on us, I thought, “oh yeah, Copenhagen, that’s what I had planned this weekend”. I packed that night and woke up early for our noon flight. We hopped on a train to get to the airport, and on the way, there a guy sitting near us was munching on cookies. Later he looked up at everyone and started waving the sleeve of cookies around to any strangers who wanted them. It was a nice gesture, but it was eight in the morning, and I just wanted to sleep. When we landed in Copenhagen and headed towards our destination, Holt was explaining what a hostel was to me. I had only stayed in hotels and Airbnb’s at this point, so I didn’t know what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise. It was a ‘youth’ hostel, so it was basically for young kids our age who wanted to travel cheaply and had no problem meeting other people.

When we checked in, the lobby was crowded with people our age. I soon found out the lobby was a popular club at night that young kids who were not even staying at the hostel came to. That would certainly explain the earplugs they were selling at the check-in counter. Holt and I had a bunk bed in a room full of 10 people, all females besides us. Certainly, a way of living that I had never experienced. I had lived in co-ed dorms, but never co-ed rooms. Either way, it was not a problem. Just how hostels worked. Everyone was in university, was friendly, and new to the town wanting to explore.

One thing I love about youth hostels is how easy it is to meet people. Holt and I were going out with different groups every night. You would go downstairs, lock eyes with someone across the bar, and within minutes know where they are from, why they’re in Denmark, and what their plans are for the night. We started every night in the lobby sprawling with kids, all seeking locals for any recommendations. It should also be noted that there was a popular happy hour between 8-9, which if you were lucky enough to get to the bar twice, you could get a liter of beer for 5 pounds. They know we enjoy low prices; I mean we’re living with eight other strangers in close quarters, course I can shell out 5 pounds for a liter of beer.

Once we felt like we had done enough socializing, had a decent group going, and had a few recommendations, we would head out and explore. It was a blast. We had some unforgettable nights with strangers who we may never see again, all from different countries. At one point, we spent the hours of 6 o'clock to 2 am with two German girls, a guy from Canada, and 2 guys from Lithuania. You did not question it. It was not unusual at all. To the outside eye, we probably looked like we had been friends for years, but we really just met in that night. Since we were all staying in the same place, if you saw them the next morning and next night, they hung out with you again. I met a group of people every night, always from different places, and always friendly.

I really only want to stay at hostels from now on; however, they do have their cons. For instance, to travel cheaply, you have to sacrifice a whole day of being tired and slightly miserable. It’s inevitable, but always worth it, and never as bad as you think. I mean, you are a human zombie basically the entire day, but I recommend it. So, when we had to fly out at 6:30 am on Sunday and be up by 4 am, we did have to shell out on some earplugs.

Copenhagen was a beautiful city, and I recommend it to anyone who has the chance to visit it. It is thriving with street performers, cool museums, and the iconic image of the port that is worth visiting. We took a cool boat tour and visited the Guinness World Records museum. What I saw and learned there cannot be unseen nor unlearned. It was certainly fun and worth visiting, but once you see the lady with longest fingernails ever and the man with the most tattoos & piercing, you get a little exhausted. They also added a Ripley’s Believe or Not haunted house at the end, which I’ll be honest, scared me and Holt. We jumped about 5 times. I even remember a time where Holt got scared of his own reflection, and I think we laughed for 20 minutes after that. Once we got into daylight, we both got hot chocolates and were paranoid for the next hour. Speaking of hot beverages, there is a mall in Copenhagen’s city center and at the top of the building is a coffee shop called “Organic Coffee”. Holt and I both agreed it is the best coffee we ever had. They served it with a cookie, and we went there every morning of the trip and at least 7 or 8 times total. We have yet to find a coffee shop in London.

One thing I found particularly amusing about Copenhagen was their currency. They have what is called a krone. One krone is about 0.12 USD, so you really get thrown off when you order a water bottle and they say, “okay your total is 45.3”. Then you see a diamond ring, and it’s the same amount of numbers as your phone number or social security. Either way, Copenhagen was my favorite place I’ve been to so far, and I recommend anyone to go and stay at, “Copenhagen Downtown Hostel”.

In my next blog, I hope to talk about two brief trips I took, one to Germany and one to Ireland; specifically, both countries capitals. I also hope to make another music blog soon as Max and I are still performing quite frequently, I have visited Abbey Road a few times, and I just found out I will be attending a music festival late May with my brother in Victoria Park. In the meantime, I send "All My Bloggin" to you.