This past week Kirby and I had our first out of Czech Republic adventure. We left for Malmo, Sweden early Wednesday morning and returned this past Sunday after a great weekend in Copenhagen, Denmark. The story goes a little like this:
We needed to catch the night bus from I.P. Pavlova at 4:04 am, so Kirby burst into the room at 2:30 am to wake my sleeping self. After this trip, I fully understand why God insists that we rest...going on two hours of sleep is just miserable! I ran down the stairs to the street as Kirby finished up inside and as I stepped out to the street, I watched our tram to I.P. Pavlova pull up to the stop...I ran as fast as my half-asleep legs would carry me, until I watched the tram drive away. We had approximately 8 minutes to make our way to I.P. so that we would make our plane...otherwise...well, there was no otherwise. We needed to get there. Kirby caught up and we ran through the dark streets with the crazy, drunk guys and night owl youngsters stared at us. The bus stop was hidden along a side street, so we followed the two men with suitcases, hoping they knew where to go. We made the bus and the plane-thank you Lord!
Sunrises from airplanes are possibly one of my favorite sights to see. There is something about watching the colors fade into the blanket of clouds that is just breathtaking.
Malmo was splendid! We walked all over the city until we were frozen to the bone-seriously I don't think I have ever been that cold. During our adventure, we found a castle, a church, a lighthouse, Denmark, a swan, and so much more. At the shore, we sat on the rocks and simply stared into the icy blue water. It was so peaceful-until I was attacked by a dog...ok, it was friendly and simply curious, but a bit startling.
When we finished exploring Malmo, we hopped on a train to cross the Oresund Bridge into Copenhagen. First the train was delayed, then it was cancelled, then we got on another train and finally made it. Woody, Kirby's friend from school, met us at the station and took us to his dorm. Oh Valby...so many memories. It was late, so we hung out with the other international students and went to sleep around 10. He shares a room with a very comical German, so there were four of us crammed into the tiny dorm. Kirby had the couch the first night and I was on the hardwood floor-honestly I was so exhausted I would have slept standing up if I had to. We slept for about 12 hours and since the weather was nasty we went to a couple museums and tried not to walk outside too much. Thursday night most of the kids went out to a club, but I was tired and wanted to sleep, so I stayed and enjoyed a nice quiet evening :)
Friday we left the dorm early afternoon with a couple of guys from Mexico City who wanted to join us for some sightseeing. We had a blast and they knew the area better than we did, which was a huge blessing! Friday night we watched a movie and hung out with a bunch of the guys. Being with international students is so much fun! The language barrier is hilarious and boys in generally always bring a laugh. We met people from Italy, Germany, Mexico, France, and Canada-it was a blast! After the movie we played "Never have I ever" and shocked everyone with our Christian morals-also very funny to explain with a language barrier.
Most of the people slept in until at least noon, so I had the mornings to myself. It was so nice to sit in the kitchen and journal over toast and then talk to whoever came to the kitchen first-I had a great conversation with the French guy one morning and then one with one of the guys from Mexico another day.
On Saturday, we didn't leave until almost 3 to go out exploring. We walked a lot and just took in the city. Copenhagen is gorgeous! There are castles speckled around the city and all sorts of museums and statues to see. We went to a party/club thing Saturday night at another dorm which was decent...it was fun, but I was really tired and wanted to catch a couple hours of sleep before we left for our journey back to the airport, so I decided to leave. It was about 12:45 am when I left the party and I didn't make it back to the dorm until approximately 2am. I made it all the way to the train station by myself and then hopped on a train...then I realized that it dumped me off 2 stations too early and that the next train wasn't supposed to come for another hour. By the time I walked outside to see if I could get on a night bus, perused the schedule screens, and then finally asked a man on duty, he said I had 3 minutes to get on a train. I rushed down the escalator and asked another man on duty if he was correct, because the board was blank...oh yes, that train just left....WHAT?!! So I sat on a bench outside waiting for the train for 40 minutes. At first I wanted to cry-I was so tired and just wanted to be back in the dorm, but then I remembered that God provides. I sat on that bench and finally had time to pray for a long period of time. It was so refreshing. I love traveling alone, because I am forced to converse with God (and every time I am so rewarded). I made it back and hopped in bed until Kirby woke me up to leave for the airport. We made the train and ended up having to take a taxi to the airport because the airport bus only ran every four hours....
Overall, it was a great trip! So many funny memories. Here are just a few that I didn't mention above:
-we listened to Riverside at least 3 times everyday
-We had a dance party in the kitchen after the movie with a bunch of the guys...they're very funny to watch
-language barrier (I already said this one, but it was just so funny)
No comments:
Post a Comment