Hej! Hallo! Hi!

First things first – if you’ve never been to a salsa class, go right now. Stop reading this article, put the cup of tea down, and sign up for a beginner class in your town. You will not regret it. This is what I did when my friend asked me to go salsa dancing with her host mom in the city. I haven’t taken a dance class in years, we aren’t in Spain, but why not?! The class was packed and was honestly such a fun experience. There were a bunch of local Danes there, and me and my other three girl friends had a blast learning how to salsa in such a cool environment, and on a Thursday night of all nights! This just goes to show that you can always find a fun activity to do in Copenhagen, no matter the night of the week.

A couple days after the salsa class, I took a day trip to Mons Klint with a few friends of mine. It was about 2 hours away by car, so we rented a car (the age to rent a car is as young as 16 here!), then headed out! I have not driven since I’ve been here, so it felt really nice to finally get behind the wheel again and drive through the Danish countryside listening to calming music. Mons Klint is a 6km stretch of chalk cliffs on the Baltic Sea. We hiked through the woods for a bit, then walked down a lot of stairs to get to the sand below. The views were stunning, and just what I needed for a recharge in nature. I love Copenhagen a lot, but there is no doubt I miss the Colorado mountains, forests, and 300 days of sunshine! Nonetheless, this was a fantastic alternative for a weekend spent in Copenhagen.

 This past weekend I went to Oktoberfest! I traveled to Munich, Germany, with several friends of mine on Friday, then on Saturday took a two-hour train to Stuttgart, Germany to attend Cannstatter Wasen, the festival equivalent of Oktoberfest in Munich. The train ride through the German countryside and forests was absolutely stunning, and the festival itself was a blast! I was so happy I went to the festival in Stuttgart, where it was all locals, less crowded than Munich, and all the songs were in German! I had a blast really diving into the German culture. While I couldn’t eat most of the authentic German food myself (darn dietary restrictions), everything my friends ordered was mouth-watering: pretzels the size of your head, spaetzle (mac and cheese), roast chicken, and Wurstle (sausages). Also, my friend’s two German cousins stayed with us the whole time in Stuttgart, introducing us to other local Germans, giving us tips on food to order, and overall being very helpful and kind to us!

Lastly, yesterday I completed another race! This was a 7k that I ran with my host family through Christanshavn, a part of the city right across the river from where I live. The route we took was beautiful, it was about 50 degrees F (fellow runners know this is the perfect temperature), and the sun came out when we started! This race was through my host family’s athletic club. The Danes do not have organized sports through school like we do in the US, so they all join clubs specific to their interests. The race brought together about 10 different running clubs in the greater Copenhagen area to run against each other, with participants of all ages. They have 7 runs during the summer along the same route, and then they total the times of all those 7 runs to determine the final winners. This particular race I participated in was the last run of the 7 for the season, so everyone was excited, anxious, and eager to find out the winners! My visiting host mom and sister ran the race as well, and my host dad was one of the race volunteers, so he was waiting at the finish line for us!

Until the next adventure!!