Scandinavia

The last trip I took on study abroad was to Uppsala, Sweden. I went to visit a friend from grade school who had been studying in Uppsala for the year. Getting there was nervewracking to begin with because I had never traveled alone before, so naturally this had to be the one trip where crazy scary things happened. Like the train blowing up. No, I'm not joking. (Okay, it was just a part of the engine, but still.) I'm not telling the whole story right now because it's enough material to turn into a Septuplet story or some such thing. For now, though, you can read a little more about the craziness of my trip through Germany, Denmark, and on to Sweden below.

Hamburg Hbf

This is the station in Hamburg, Germany, where I switched trains for the third time that day. All that trainhopping drove home that I was totally alone and far from anyone I knew. For that reason, finding dinner seemed like quite an accomplishment. I have never been so happy to see Pizza Hut in my life. (Its sign said "The American Way of Pizza." Heh.)

On the Ferry to Denmark

The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen went on a boat! Wow! The only thing is that no one told me the train was going on a boat. When it pulled into a dark garage and shut off and everyone got up and left, I started to panic. Fortunately, I found someone who spoke English who told me that we were on a ferry and that we could get out and walk around up on deck. Listening to Enya's "Orinoco Flow" (Sail Away) added to the surreality.

Swedish Flag

This is in front of the Uppsala Cathedral, which is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia. I really liked how this picture turned out, with the flag unfurling at just the right time. I saw a church concert here with my friend, along with the church treasury.

Stockholm

Here I am in Stockholm, which must be the cleanest place on the planet. I cut my trip short because of the train explosion so I didn't get to spend much time here—I wanted to get back to Strasbourg with a day to spare before my flight home in case I had another travel disaster. But I'm glad I got to see at least a little bit of the city. It feels really different from the other big European cities I saw (Paris, Rome, Vienna). I can't really explain why, though. It's some subtle cultural thing, I think.