Madison – London – Paris

After just completing all my coursework here at DTU, it’s time to Blog!  The past two months have given little time for pause, and I have some catching up to do.

The first journey began with a quick jaunt back home to Madison for 3 days.  Silly me forgot my toothbrush, so I had to go all the way back and take care of a few matters. It was great being back in town, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending the vast majority of my time with friends and family.  It was a treat to be able to do nothing but catch up with everyone. I must say though, this made me realize that I miss Madison and everyone there.

Just kidding, that would have been crazy if I had actually done that.

Flying into London.  I had modified my original travel plans to continue on to Paris, and had worked in about 6 hours in London in the meantime.  I wandered around in my jet-lagged stupor, riding the tube and going on a walking tour.  I only had time to see a small portion of the city, and would love to go back for an actual trip sometime – Zach?

Buckingham Palace

Location of the 2012 Olympic Volleyball games

Remember Remember 

After having my fill of fish and chips, I was on my way to Kings Cross / St Pancras to catch the Eurostar under the Chunnel to Paris.  Despite my excitement to see what a tunnel looks like, my sleep deprived self napped for the entire ride, only waking up once we arrived in Gar Du Nord.

The next day I met friends from DTU at Versailles, where we wandered around the palace and gardens for most of the day.  It was very interesting to see the extremely lavish setting. It’s amazing what royals could get away with. 

Hall of Mirrors

Marie Antoinette's Bedchamber
She escaped through the secret door when the angry mob came knocking

By night, a few of us wandered up to Sacré Coeur, a church perched on an overlook of the city with a great view.  Along with all the others that had found their way there, we enjoyed a beer while sitting on the steps and taking in Paris.

The next day we wandered around more of the city, going on a walking tour and seeing the famous sights. We then visited the Notre Dame, followed by the Military Museum, the place of Napoleon’s tomb.

More museums and attractions the day after, we started with the Musée d'Orsay.  I think this is my favorite art museum that I’ve visited so far.  I can dig on some Monet and Van Gogh.  After that, Fudge and I went underground to see the Parisian Catacombs.  That place is weird.  It was a nice change from the average museum though, and I don’t think I’ll have another chance to wander around neatly stacked piles of human bones anytime soon.

Responding to the tune, we were beckoned to the Champs Elysées, and climbed up the Arc de Triomphe at its end. 

The Paris Marathon earlier that day

And saving the most notable for last, we made a trip to the Louvre.  It's absolutely overwhelming.  Somebody should tell those guys to tone it down a little.

"A bunch of tourists, looking at something"

And to my chagrin, I learned that the Eiffel tower is in Paris! I think it’s pretty interesting that the it was only supposed to be a temporary attraction for the 1889 World’s Fair, but it still stands 122 years later. They don't build them like they used to.

After this triple header, it was back to Copenhagen for 2 days before my 12 day Italy trip.  Oofda. 

Bulgaria

I’m still reeling from a weekend spent in Bulgaria with my old friend Eric.  Taking this trip on a whim after he visited Copenhagen, I was in Sofia 4 days after deciding to go, flying in last Thursday evening.  Eric met me at the airport with a sign reading “г-н Джон Ягър” (Mr Jon Jaeger), relieving me of my anxious oh-shit-I-have-no-idea-where-the-fuck-I-am-or-where-the-hell-I’m-going feeling. 

A sight for sore eyes

The view from the nicest penthouse in the country

We grabbed some good sushi nearby (of all things) and then explored a little of the cityscape at night.  After I got a little taste of the embassy scene from my dear friend, I wandered around Sofia solo seeing the sights with my eyes and camera.  The infrastructure is pretty run down in the country, and the majority of transportation is by car and taxi.  The buildings are a mix of old historical brick buildings and cold war era concrete apartments.  There are a lot of churches representing different time periods and different sects, some extremely old.  It was great to travel outside of Northern Europe, and I enjoyed seeing things that were radically different from what I’ve become accustomed to in the last few months.  Good country.

Monument to the liberation by the Russians

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Bulgarian Revolutionaries were imprisoned here in 1873

Sofia

Russian Orthodox 

Church of St. George, originally built in the 4th century

That evening we hoped on a bus to the southern city of Blagoevgrad, where Eric went to American University in Bulgaria the semester before.  I happened to arrive on the night of miss AUBG, a beauty pageant for the students there.  It was a great time meeting all of the friends of my friend.

Miss AUBG

The next day Eric, Zulfiya, Bekah and myself went for a leisurely lunch in part of the old town, and sat outside with a nice view over the city.  While digesting, we strolled though more of the old town.  We lit a candle inside the old church and admired the very old style Eastern Orthodox building.  The natives then took me around the downtown area of Blago, and into the main building for the school.  We found some views from the top floor.

View for Lunch

Navigation true to my style

This is what I look like in Bulgaria

The afternoon was spent lying on the grass in front of the dorms drinking a Tuborg and enjoying the sunny day before a night out on the town. 

Candle light gathering with local Bulgarian Rap

That evening was a blast for us high roller college students, and one that I will not soon forget.  Thanks to the AUBG locals for showing me a good time!

After saying farewell to Blago, and getting yelled at by the bus ticket lady for reasons still unbeknownst to us, we were on our way back to Sofia. Thanks to daylights saving, I only had so much time before my flight back to Copenhagen.  The bus got stuck in traffic and it was looking like I might miss my flight.  Once in a taxi in Sofia, I felt like the character in the movies shoving money through the slot in an attempt to have some control over the speed of the vehicle.  Upon a very late arrival at the airport, I was delighted to see mine was the only plane on the schedule, and the airport was empty.  I was though check-in, security, and passport control in 4 minutes.  In retrospect, there would be worse things than being stuck in Bulgaria.

What I learned: 

Cheers in Bulgarian -  “наздраве” (nazdrave!)