Bornholm - Day 2 and 3!

ok, continuing with Saturday morning of my trip to Bornholm!

woke up at 7, breakfast at 7:30 - they had a ridiculously yummy bread with sesame on it - it was so soft and warm! ♥

packed my lunch (they had cold cuts) and then went back to my room to wait until we had to meet

met the group at 9:15 am and then we walked to Alligne, which is about 2 km, and it was SO hot too @-@ it took us 30 min to get there and then we had to get our bikes

so all of their bikes are relatively big...and heavy (well for me it's heavy)

and so we started off on our 15 km to...some town - i actually have no idea where we were headed too

and about 1 minute into the ride Claire bumped into the wall, and i kept going figuring she would turn up later - but she didn't (i'll get on to that later)

is it utterly pathetic that 10 min into the ride on the 2nd uphill slope i was already sore? it's so hard biking uphill!
the bike doesn't really make it easier either - i hate how you have to lean forward so you're practically supporting your upper body with the handles

well i was and stayed in the back of the pack most of the time cause dude, so many people ride so close together - that, and i was tired

so i hung out with Martin, another social coordinator in the back - i felt so bad for being so slow =( well i mean i wasn't the only slow person

and so i told him i hadn't ridden a bike in like...10 years and Martin told me about the different gears on the bike and not to use the handbrakes and stuff like that

and he said if i just paid attention to how beautiful the scenery was i wouldn't think about how tired i was - yea, well that didn't help me much

and so we kept biking and biking - uphill and downhill and uphill again and downhill and through a forest on a gravel path

then we came to a really really steep slope and one guy told me to "be careful" when i got there cause there was already one accident - yea it would have helped if he told me to actually get off my bike instead of saying "be careful"

so when i turned the corner i was like oh crap

it was a super steep, windy gravel road

so i tried to get off, but i was already going too fast (and the gravel didn't help either)

and i slipped...and i fell...and my leg was bleeding

and i ended up with this - i'll try to keep it a small picture so it won't freak anyone out or something
i don't know if it looks worse in real life or better but there ya go! my souvenir from my bike trip! and i also have scratches on my thigh - and now when i walk around town i'll occasionally see people staring at my leg haha

so when we stopped at the next stopping point i cleaned it off and decided that i wouldn't go any further - Martin was already going to go back because the girl who got in the other accident sprained her wrist (yea, see mine wasn't as bad as hers) - she crashed into the fence and broke it and another girl from HK just got tired and dizzy and didn't want to continue

we were going to take a taxi, but it would take a reaalllly long time because we needed two

so we walked....and walked....and decided to continue walking back to Alligne

yea, you read right - we walked ALL the way BACK to Alligne to put up our bikes - shall i tell you how far i biked before i turned back? 9 kilometers

yup, 9 freakin kilometers (which is really not that bad considering i hadn't even biked 1 meter in the last 10 years) and we walked back with our bikes (we had to walk cause the girl who sprained her wrist couldn't bike)

so i biked almost 9 kilometers and walked 9 kilometers - but of course, we had to walk back to the hostel as well (we were going to take the bus, but we saw no buses and the schedule didn't make sense) so add on another 2-ish kilometers to that

so that adds up to about 5 miles of biking and 6 miles of walking - we started heading back around...11:30 maybe? and we ended up back at the hostel at 3 pm

but it wasn't that awful walking cause i totally prefer walking than biking - Martin said you used more energy walking than biking, and yea, that's true, but i'd rather walk 6 miles than bike it - especially with all the uphill nonsense

and there was the nice scenery =) Bornholm is very pretty and they seriously have the cutest houses in the world!




on our walk back i learned quite a few things about Denmark from Martin - like the reason why they don't work on Sundays and close so early

apparently there are really old laws that prevent people from working on Sundays and from opening stores too long because they believe that everyone should rest during the weekends, but there's a new law that will be enacted in 2012 that allows stores to be open longer and big supermarkets can open on Sundays - but Martin says he doesn't really think it'll change much

ok i have to insert a random note here - when i was talking to him, i realized that he really really looked like that kid from home alone - and then earlier today i saw his profile picture and it's that kid from home alone lol

SO when we FINALLY made it back to the hostel, i bumped into Claire who was looking for me and when i told her that i just got back, she was really surprised since we started heading back such a long time ago

so, what happened to Claire? after she bumped into the wall, the other social coordinator told her that she had better not ride the bike, she said she knew how to ride a bike but he insisted that it was better if she didn't haha

so she was lucky enough to take the bus to the town instead of bicycling and with only the cost of embarrassment cause everyone heard that some girl didn't know how to bike lol (even my roommate on the action tour heard about it)

yup, and Martin came over and teased her about it too - i think he was in a considerably better mood after having a couple beers and hanging by the pool cause he described walking 9 km with a bike in tow as a "cozy day" - not what i'd call cozy but as long as he's ok with it cause i still feel bad about being so slow haha

anyways, totally wasted my day right? i didn't even get to eat any of the food EXCEPT, my wonderful friends brought me back some of the smoked herring ♥ i was so happy - especially after a 9 km walk

and i looked at her pictures from the town and it turned out that the toffee factory was a "factory" like the ice cream "factory," where they basically just sold toffee - but they did get one piece for free haha

anyways, it's the herring that matters, and it was pretty tasty =) a really nice, strong smoky flavor

so after i ate my herring, Claire and i slept on this bouncy thing they had at the hostel (kinda like a trampoline but with moon bounce material?)

and then sat around/talked some more to wait for the bikers to get back - they were actually supposed to get back the same time i did - around 3 pm, but that didn't happen

they actually came back around 5 pm o_o it took them like 4-5 hrs to bike and walk back to the hostel - INSANE

everyone was saying how the bike trip was more dangerous than the action tour (where you go down zip-lines and repel down a cliff), which i think it actually was cause this other guy Alan (who is also the guy in my marketing group that i mentioned in my blog last Thursday) fell and scrapped his knee and elbow and he has some scratches on his body too and then Dora fell and scraped her knee

they actually fell behind and then got lost and ended up having to take a taxi back to the hostel lol - this trip was seriously ridiculous!

but onto happier things - dinner was goulash and beef this time (mashed potatoes were soooo good)


then dessert: a cake with some jam, custard, icing, and orange zest
it was really really good =)

then it was the "B" party where everyone had to dress up as something that starts with a "B" - well i didn't cause i was dead tired and so gross - i figured if anyone asked i'd be a brunette or a brown-eyed girl hahah
it was pretty though - they coordinators put flowers and candles on the tables

we just ended up sitting and talking, and i left earlier to take a shower and sat there and read my book to wait for my roommates to come back

ok and that night's sleep was totally not good either cause people next door were still talking/hanging out until like 3 am and then one of my roommates was snoring (albeit lightly) and then my other roommate (the one who's also my suitemate) talked in her sleep - my gosh can i not get some rest? i think she said something like, "does anyone else see bees here?" - maybe she was dreaming about the fortress we went to on Friday? haha

THEN Sunday!

breakfast was the same - there was still that yummy loaf of soft, warm bread with sesame on top

and i made my lunch for that day - i thought i'd make it more Danish like so i put jam with the cold cuts - it was actually pretty good!

our plans that day were a bus tour - dear god it was SO HOT on the bus

First stop: Helligdomsklipperne aka the Sanctuary Rocks aka Helligdom Cliffs

the view was super gorgeous! but it was also freakin hot

it's located behind the Bornholm Art Museum, where i cleaned off my leg the previous day and where i turned around and walked back to Alligne - it only took like 15 minutes by bus to get there and it took us like...an hour to ride our bikes there @-@

next stop: Echo Valley (cause it echoes if you shout loud enough) a lot of times people go up there in the morning to listen to music and drink coffee and stuff in the morning

Our tour guide made a lame joke:
Q: why do women dislike going to Echo Valley?
A: because they never get the last word (cause it echoes - get it?)
yea, lame right? lol

there were also...cows? there

then off to Rytterknægten - the highest point on Bornholm
we ate lunch first and then went up to the top! it had a pretty nice view - you could see nearly all of the island

then i couldn't resist eating a popsicle - it's called a pirulo!
it was really good (well i think when you're hot, pretty much anything cold tastes good) it tasted like a fruit roll-up haha

then the bus tour finally ended when we got to Rønne

we hung out in a mall above Kvickly (a grocery store) for like an hour and a half cause there was nothing to do in town - Claire and Lin slept while i read my book (even though i was tired too - but my book is way more interesting)

then we walked around town - it's a really cute town
and walked around the town square

yea, mostly just walking cause everything is closed on Sunday

and then we ended up at a cute, cozy cafe where Claire and i shared a banana split - it's interesting how their banana split is made with soft ice cream
more ice cream you say? well, there's literally an ice cream store on every street in Copenhagen and on Bornholm as well so you really can't get away from ice cream

even the buses here have pictures that have an "x" over a hot dog picture and an ice cream picture haha

so after that, we sat around for a while and walked back to the ferry port and took it back to Ystad

bye bye Rønne!
i still can't believe how ridiculously cute all the little houses/cottages are here on Bornholm - i think it'd be really awesome to own a summer house here....i don't think i could ever live here though haha

and on the ferry i just read since everyone was basically sleeping

then took the bus back to Copenhagen and went over the Øresund bridge

it was raining

but then it got clearer =)

and as if we weren't all tired enough, when we rode the S-tog to Nørreport, we saw that the metro was closed for maintenance so we had to go find the metro bus

then FINALLY back to Porcelaenshaven! took a shower, watched Spain win the world cup and then went off to sleep!

so there you go! that concludes my exhausting trip to Bornholm!

Bornholm - Day 1!

haven't been here for a while, but that's because i went to Bornholm!

soo let's start with Friday morning - woke up at 4:30 am, packed my lunch and headed to the metro and rode the s-tog to central station!

then we took the bus to the ferry port
which is apparently in Sweden cause we crossed the Øresund bridge - the ferry port is in Ystad
and then off to Rønne (biggest town on Bornholm)

and the ferry was seriously nice! i haven't seen such a nice ferry for just a 90 min ride

we went outside and as the ferry picked up speed it got windier and winder and even though it hadn't reached it's top speed yet, we were already having trouble walking back inside haha
it also has slot machines and some store on it that was kinda like a duty free shop i guess since they kept advertising the stuff on the ferry - like perfume, jewelry and stuff like that

when we arrived we went on a bus tour, which was pretty interesting - saw lots of random stuff and learned lots of random stuff about Bornholm

for example, i think the guide said there were 45 windmills on Bornholm

and it has the only stones in Denmark? i think - anyways, it's the only place with stones to use to build stuff

our first stop was...some place with a beach lol - i really don't remember the name

the sand was so pretty and white and the water was so clear!

then i ate some soft ice cream covered in cocoa powder - it was soo good =D

next, we visited the town of Svaneke where there is a glass blowing "factory" and an ice cream "factory"

i use the quotations cause they aren't the factories that we think of - more like a shop that has people glass blowing
poor dudes - it was sooo hot in that shop...and it was really hot outside too (ok, it was only in the upper 70s, but there were NO clouds)

and here's the mini ice cream shop that makes their own ice cream (aka the "factory") - i tried some blueberry and raspberry ice cream - i thought they were just ok though =\

they at least have a window where you can look into their kitchen - so i guess that's the factory part

then Claire and I went back to this other shop across from the glass blowing factory and made our own sandblasted glass cup! you buy a glass plate/cup/etc. and then you stick stickers on it in whatever design you want and then you take it to a sandblasting machine and you can sandblast it yourself

so what i ended up with is a cup with a square/geometric design
wish i had more time though - i had to stick all the stickers on in like 20-25 minutes cause we had to catch the bus - we ended up being like 5 minutes late...haha

then off to the bus which, everyone soon realized, was a baking oven since there's NO AC - so we're all sitting there sweaty and gross suffocating in that bus - and the windows don't open either
isn't that nice?

yea basically, nobody ever wanted to go back on the bus

but anyways, onwards to more interesting things i saw on the bus

this triangular structure was designed by the same dude who designed the Sydney Opera House
i forgot what it was for =| well that, and the fact that sometimes i had no idea what our tour guide was saying

next stop: a round church! don't know which one it is, but according to the tour guide, Bornholm has four of the seven round churches in Denmark

i didn't go inside since it costs money and i wanted to eat my lunch - chicken sandwich with tomatoes, veggies from my salad mix and pesto sauce - it was pretty good, i'm actually surprised at the stuff i make here with my limited amount of groceries haha
and behind the church was a souvenir shop that had a pretty gazebo

then it was off to our hostel - Feriecenter Såndkas

we had 3 hours of free time so we went to the beach!

we dipped our feet in the water (which was super cold - well to me it was super cold) and lay/slept on the rocks (yes, i put on sunscreen)
next: dinner time! it said on our schedule that we were having goulash with beef, but we ended up eating chicken with (Danish) curry

it was interesting cause it doesn't taste like the Jap/Indian curry that we're all used to
i didn't even know it was curry until one of the social coordinators, Martin (you'll hear about him later) told me that he thinks they switched the two

dessert: rhubarb (pudding?) with whipped cream! with some tea ♥i thought it was really good (please ignore the peas...i had to use the same plate haha)

and as if we weren't tired enough from waking up at 5 in the morning, we had an activity planned that night - but it turned out to be very interesting and fun =)

we visited Hammershus fortress! which is the largest fortress in northern Europe

we had a tour guide who told us many many many stories about the castle - i can't remember them all, but i'll put all the stuff i remember about it on fb
it has a gorgeous view =)

one hilarious moment was when we were outside and bees were flying all around us - everyone was like running around, ducking, and waving their arms around (imagine college dudes running around running away from bees - it was pretty hilarious - we all started laughing and our guide gave up telling us a story cause we were laughing so much hahaha)

oh yea, there's also lots of sheep there, so during this one part, our tour guide was talking and a sheep would "baaa" everyone once in a awhile haha so cute!

we stayed there for about 2 hours and saw the sun set and got back to the hostel around 10:30 pm? and i was part of the first group so the second group came back even later @-@

all my roommates were in the second group (they randomly choose your roommates - mine were Mary, Ann, and Karianne - who also happens to be my suitemate) and when they all got back, everyone immediately got ready for bed and slept

so there is the end of my first day in Bornholm - i didn't really get a good nights sleep cause it was super hot =(

but overall, a nice first day in Bornholm - the next day is definitely more disastrous =|

and i'm going to stop here and leave you hanging cause i'm tired and i need to go sleep! :P

brilliant scenery and beer

they go well together right? haha

anyways, i'm going to make this quick since i have to sleep...maybe this will just be a brief overview of my day

went to class, ate lunch, met up with Dora and Mario, went to H&M at Frederiksberg Centret

where i bought this skirt for 50 kr (by now you should know how much usd that is)

after that, went to Vor Frelsers Kirke aka Church of Our Saviour (near Christianshavn metro stop) and went up the spiral tower to see the wonderful views of Copenhagen =)

the wonderful thing about Copenhagen is how colorful the buildings are so it's always so pretty!

just one of the awesome views of Copenhagen

then we rode the S-tog to Enghave - we saw a building with Carlsberg on it...but it wasn't the museum lol
so we end up walking into that area around the building and then saw signs stating "visit Carlsberg" so we followed that and kept walking and walking and walking until FINALLY we reach the museum

nothing much to see at the museum - it was the room of many beer bottles from all over the world first, then various exhibits on the history of Carlsberg, how they make beer (which wasn't that interesting since it was just a video), barrel making, and other such stuff

oh yea but one interesting thing is that the big barrels they use(d?) needed to be maintained, so men used to climb in to clean them o_o

then after walking through the museum we got our complimentary beers - i drank mine with an empty stomach...which was not smart lol i got kinda dizzy and then turned red later =|

so instead of getting one of those flavored beers i got a sprite =( i wanted to try some but oh well

we walked to Valby since it was really close (around 15-20 min away?) and Mario cooked fried rice for us for dinner haha it was pretty good except he put the wrong kind of meet or too much pepper in it cause it was really spicy - but i've never tasted spicy fried rice before, so it was interesting lol

then hung around there for a while and went home to prepare my lunch for tomorrow (chicken sandwich w/tomatoes and lettuce and pesto) and pack and upload photos and stuff

so now, i must sleep....i only have 3 hours! ahhh leaving for my weekend trip to Bornholm at 6 am o_o

see ya sunday! cheers!

random note: Mario said that the origin of knocking glasses and saying "cheers" was to prevent poisoning, since when you knock glasses/mugs together, some of your beer sloshes into others, so you can't poison someone's beer cause you'll poison other people or yourself as well - very interesting, i didn't know that