Goodbye again...

Well I'm off again, this time for a week to Copenhagen, London, and Paris. Be prepared for a bank update once I return... this trip promises to be pricey.

Highlights of this EuroTrip

Copenhagen: The Little Mermaid, Nationalmuseet, Nyhaven Waterway, Radhuspladsen (city hall), Royal Palace, Statens Museet du Kuns, Christiana, and Tivoli.
London: Buckingham Palace, London Eye, London Bridge, Piccadillys Circus, Tower of London (AKA Big Ben), Westminster Abbey, Wimbledon.
Paris: I have no idea yet, leave me alone so I can finish planning... I leave in a few hours!

Denmark vs. Wisconsin

	Denmark	Wisconsin
Climate	Temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers	Continental; cold, windy winters, humid mild summers
High Elevation	567 feet	1,951 feet
Low Elevation	22 feet	581 feet
Economy	Agriculture: Dairy, Cattle, Hogs Industry: machinery, food processing, paper products	Agriculture: Dairy, Cattle, Fish Industry: food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, electronics
Population	5.4 million	5.5 million
Date of Statehood	1849	1848
GDP (USD)	$256 billion	$300 billion

I'm Learnding

Nothing much to report here, as I have reported back to the school world. Back on the MU front, I have received notice of what credits I will get from being here: MANA181, ECON156, ENTP151, FINA181, BULA127. This leaves me with 24 credits left to take once/if I return to Marquette, which means I should be able to coast my way into the real world. I have really begun to value my American education, because the schooling is not nearly as grueling and rewarding in Denmark. It is painful to realize how much we really cover back home compared to the depth here. I can see why there are so many international students in the US, as the education received there really is better ($24,000 vs. free better... that is debatable). You do get what you pay for. That being said, one would be stupid not to take advantage of going abroad for a semester to learn about themselves and the rest of the world.

Si Si!

Madrid was beautiful. The key word there is "was," because I have returned home to rain and cold again in Denmark. The sun shone in our 17th century church turned hostel every morning, and brought with it the spirit of Madrid. The list of places I planned to go to was met with great success, along with a few other exciting things. The three museums in Madrid did not disappoint: El Prado, Rena Sophia, Thyssen. I would have to say I enjoyed El Prado the most, because it included an entire floor of Goya, my favorite artist (thanks to Mr. J for exposing us to art in AP Euro History). It was very easy to get around the city in the metro, with trains running from each station every three minutes. Each afternoon we took a siesta in El Retiro, the most famous park in Madrid, to "tomar sol" (take sun). On Sunday morning, we went to El Rastro, which is the HUGE market that stretches on for miles in the streets. The shopper that I am, I bought absolutely nothing, but it was amazing to browse around and watch as thousands of thousands (no exaggeration) people filled the streets. I was pleasantly surprised how much Spanish I remembered, and I was able to keep up with the fast speaking locals when they spoke. Whenever I said something however, it took a while to conjugate the verbs and all the other dreaded high school memories of taking Spanish. It was sad when I returned to Denmark and was no longer able to understand anything being said around me. I also made my way to Bernabeu, the most famous football stadium in the world. Whilst I wasn't present during a match, I could feel the presence of 80,000 fans screaming their traditional chant for Real Madrid. Molly and Mal were great hosts during my stay, in spite of their suffering from the Spanish flu. I was greeted with great fanfare to find a huge sign hung at the reception desk of my hostel welcoming me. It was great to see some Americans, not to mention great friends! Check out all of the pics here.