Since I posted my last fuji film update last Friday, my little polaroid and I have been to another country (see previous post for more info) and all over Copenhagen! October is usually a packed month for traveling among DIS students, so my roommate and I have made a conscious decision to try and pack as much exploring into the weekdays in Copenhagen. So far we’ve found a delicious ramen place, used the new metro line, and…. Stayed in. Its expensive to explore, but we’re trying to make it work! Anywho, take a look below for my time in Norway (I could hardly a-fjord the trip, but it was so worth it! Haha!):
Literally four hours after our plane landed at 2 in the morning, Alex, Isabelle, and I were at the bus station in Bergen, Norway, preparing for our 12 hour fjord tour. Yes, you read that correctly! We spent 12 whole hours exploring Hardanger fjord (including a few hours on the bus) and Vøringsfossen waterfall. Pictured above is Alex and Isabelle on our fjord cruise when the wind started to pick up. The temperature wasn’t too bad (maybe around 55 degrees), but the wind was brutal! Even so, we stuck out it out for these views:
This fjord tour was especially magical because of our timing. Most companies stop offering fjord tours in October because the weather is so nasty, and because this was the last weekend in September, we were one of only a few people on the boat. The wind was painful, but the isolated quietness of the area was amplified by our vacant tour boat.
Later that night I wrote in my journal, and underneath the picture (above) I wrote “words simply cannot do this scene justice. The contrast! The drama! The character! Hardangerfjord, you’ve outdone yourself!” Maybe the dramatic character in this case is me, but it still shows how awe-struck I felt after standing in front of this landscape. Looking up at the cliffs with the deep blues and rich greens was truly profound.
See the smudges on the left of this polaroid? Thats how you know it is authentic. I loved going on this tour because it gave me a chance to reconnect with my camera in a way that I haven’t in a long time (I took over 1,000 photographs!). Walking against the wind on the deck of the boat, camera pressed against my forehead, I knew I had entered the creative zone. My camera was but an extension of myself, and all I knew was the world through my viewfinder.
Midway through our tour we took an excursion to Vøringsfossen waterfall. Again, I felt like I could feel the earths forces moving in front of me. After we departed the waterfall the rest of the day was a blur— Alex, Isabelle, and I were running on less than three hours of sleep, and as the weather turned sour we retired to the seating area of the boat and took a nap. We finally made it back to Bergen around 8, and explored the city before heading back to our air bnb for some much needed sleep.
On Sunday, our first and final day in Bergen, we walked through the city’s winding street. We agreed that the steep hills and quirky vibe felt like San Francisco (er.. I’ve actually never been there, maybe what I mean is “a quirky vibe that I think would exist in San Francisco). I love this tree, it looks like someone gave it a bad haircut on the bottom half and tried to dress it up with colorful flags.
Of course we couldn’t leave Bergen without getting a picture of the classic triangle-shop-house-things. We walked around the area after we took photos, but everything was pretty expensive (fortunately the pastries were within our budget!).
Okay, so I know what you must be thinking: really? McDonalds? You went all the way to Denmark only to go all the way to Norway only to get McDonalds!?
Trust me, I’m the last person you would find at a McDonalds in America, but Alex and Isabelle convinced me to try the ~Norwegian~ McDonalds because “they have veggie burgers! And veggie nuggets! It is the only place that they offer it and we have to try it!”
So right before we had to leave for our flight we walked into the classiest McDonalds I have ever seen and ordered a McVeg, Veggie nuggets, and sweet potato fries. What a decadent fast-food meal! I’m only half kidding. We ate the feast on the metro to the airport and decided that the veggie burger was a solid 8/10; it had just the right amount of crispy with surprisingly fresh toppings. The veggie nuggets were a 7/10 (mostly because they just couldn’t compare to the veggie burger). Eating the nuggets we were shocked— we could actually see vegetables in the nuggets (in other words, these nuggets weren’t just made of any old veggie mush, these were real vegetables!). Obviously the sweet potato fries were a big crowd pleaser. Overall, the experience was better than I could have ever expected. If you ever find yourself in Norway, be sure to check it out!
On Wednesday I walked around the park outside of the Botanical gardens (about a ten minute walk from DIS). Nature is trying to hold on to the last days of sunshine before fall moves in, and even while I was taking this picture there were raindrops falling from the sky. I feel so much pressure to take in the city while I can; every time I tour the city I am shocked by how beautiful it is and how much there is still to explore.
My wonderful roommate Cynthia met me at a packed ramen restaurant around the meatpacking district in Vesterbro on Thursday night. Somehow we were able to find a seat, but not before ordering from this bizarre menu! First we decided what we wanted, then we pushed the button with the image of it on the machine, then it spit out a ticket that we took to the counter and paid. How fun! The machine kept lighting up in a bunch of different colors and the ramen itself was unreal.
Obviously I am not sticking to my one-polaroid-a-day goal, but I’m cool with it. How can I possibly hold back when there is so much to capture everyday!? Thank you for following along, see you next Friday! Spoiler alert: two more countries are on the horizon.
240 Days in Denmark 