I AM CANADIAN

**** DISCLAIMER****

I’m not saying that Canada is perfect, far from it. Just like any other country, we have issues to work on like having better healthcare, employment and education. This post exists merely to illustrate my gratefulness to being born in Canada, and by no means is intended to degrade any other country.

After reading about shootings, attacks, and wars all over the place, there is no question that the world we live in at the moment is in great turmoil. May you be a developing country or leading the world economy, there is no escaping the atrocities that lurk the corners of the Earth.

I’ve always been told to never take for granted, to be so lucky to be born in Canada, especially in this era. I knew my parents fled their home country during a war that divided their nation- Vietnam. They left everything they knew behind: their riches, their family, everything. Slowly, they saw the government take possession of everything they owned. They were stripped of everything but their dignity and their pride. They have witnessed first-hand the filthiest sides of human nature.

Then, fast-forward a few years and a miracle was born: me. Little Dalena was always constantly reminded of the vast opportunities that awaited her, purely by being born in one of the safest countries in the world- especially when she behaved terribly. She always more or less knew her luck, but mainly from hearing her parents’ stories from the past. Like any child, she found things unfair: why did she have to perpetually listen to these depressing stories? Surely, her classmates had it good. They probably didn’t have to be reminded of their luck.

But now, after all the recent events as well as gaining insight from people around me, news, and videos, I have understood my incredible fortune. It hit me like a truck, like a punch in the face. It was as if I just woke up from a long, everlasting slumber. I have just realized how incredibly blessed I am and am just so grateful about it.

I am grateful that I was born in a family and a nation where education was the priority. I am able to seek the education that I want and therefore able to not only have the opportunity to choose a profession, but also realize my potential.

I am grateful to live in a society where laws ensure my well-being and are abided by. I feel perfectly comfortable walking down the streets alone, with my headphones on, even at night. I don’t have to constantly watch my back and be suspicious of everyone around me. I can actually assume- for the most part anyway- that people around me have good intentions.

I am grateful that Canada is a peaceful country. Hearing the number of casualties from attacks/shootings/bombings are not part of my morning routine. I don’t have to pray, every single day, for my family and friends. It’s a given that they are not in danger and will live to see another day.

Finally, I am grateful for my health. I live in a place where the air does not hinder my body. I come from a place where I can seek medical advice and be treated.  I live in a place where the food quality is regulated and take for granted that I am not ingesting pure garbage.

One of my high school teachers once said: “No one attacks Canada not because we’re likable, but because we’re harmless”. It was a joke, of course. But in times like these, I wouldn’t mind hearing a joke about our English accents nor how ridiculously polite we are. I’d rather be a harmless laughing stock than witness the daily horror in war-torn countries.

On that note, travel safely.

Santé, Cheers

PS: Ironically, I really like Jim Jefferies’ latest standup-Freedumb. Widely inappropriate, but somewhat relevant to this post. Check it out peeps.

PPS: This is a rather dark and very personal post… I’ll try to go easy on this type in the future and keep it light. Also, do you like this kind of stuff? Comments, suggestions and any type of feedback are welcome!

PPPS: I really want to end on a positive note, so here's a classic Canadian ad.

Finding your Passion

You must be thinking: “Oh great, another unoriginal, inspiring post for teachers. We get it, you mold minds, change kids and work super hard. We know.”

But hear me out. I know I sometimes get annoyed with those kinds of post but I swear, this one is different! I’ll cut through the oh so inspiring clichés and really talk about the passion, what it really feels like to make a living out of something you’re so passionate about that you can’t think of anything else.

I chose to teach because I really don’t see myself doing anything else. I’ve had a number of bad experiences, a few good ones... and then I had a perfect dream. That perfect dream where the other teachers valued English just as much as mathematics or French, where my CT sat back and really let me shine, where I had my own classroom so I didn’t have to constantly run around the whole school, where the students valued learning and were acting as a whole team, not rejecting anyone... a dream where everything just went so well that I started getting paranoid (because I had the absolute worst experience prior). In such an environment, it’s just so easy.

So how do you know you’ve found your passion? Well let me tell you: it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s a feeling that you never thought existed until you’ve actually lived it.

It’s when you constantly have a smile on your face, when you just rethink about the funny moments during the day and laugh about them all by yourself. Sure, there may be a few bad moments, but those are outweighed by all the good ones, the victories-may they be big or small.

It’s when your heart is filled up with so much joy you think it’s gonna explode. It’s when you think about all the little people you see/meet and wonder, just a bit, if they feel the same way about you. But it doesn’t matter, really, because you care for them no matter what. Sure, they might have messed up a bit today, disrupted a bit, but at the end of the day, you love them anyways.

It’s when you continuously want to improve on what you do. Yes, you’ve mastered a few aspects in the field, but you’re a lot more interested in constructive criticism, because that will help you become the best _______ you can be. You don’t mind spending hours and hours on different projects related to your work -and being happy about it- and are always interested in the latest discoveries (bogus or not) related to your field.

It's when you don’t even realize that you’ve been living through/breathing in your work all day long. Everything you see, hear, touch and feel just make your mind explode with ideas and theories.

And that, my dear friends, is how you know you've found your calling. I just happen to be really lucky to have everything fall into place as I went along. Wouldn't the world be a better place where the ultimate goal was driven by happiness and passion instead of greed and power?

... That would be a whole other post though (perhaps for my hippie side).

Till then, keep searching for that flame.

Kippis

I dream of Suomi

So it’s been over a year since my last post. A lot of things have happened and I gained yet again more perspective on life. I’ve lived another year.

The exchange that I’ve lived the previous year only seems like a distant memory, an unreal dream for now, intangible. The only ways I know I’ve lived such an experience are through pictures, souvenirs I collected along the way, and the occasional skype sessions with close friends. I lost touch with a few people, said a few superficial “Hey, how are you doing? What are you up to?”’ on Facebook and keep meaning to send postcards.... but I never do.

I’ve lived another year and I no longer compare daily, mundane things to what seem to be extravagant adventures from my exchange- mainly due to people getting annoyed whenever I started my sentence with: When I was in Finland.... People have moved on: they have returned to their own homes, their families, their  lives. Life goes on, things are the way they are.I’ve gone back to university, taken more  courses, met some new people and regained my responsibilities.

I used to think: when I visit Europe, I’ll have so many people to visit, so many couches I can sleep on! It’ll be so great.

But now...

Now I wonder if such a project would still be possible. Will I ever be able to travel so freely? And when I do... will I still be friends with these people? Should I visit them? Will they remember me...? So many questions linger in my head.

It feels as though the exchange never happened, that it hadn’t had an impact on me at all. Do I feel nostalgic? Sometimes. It’s easily part of the best times I’ve ever had in my life. Would I do it again? Sure. Do I feel sad that it ended? I guess, but I’m glad it ended. Such lifestyle had to end eventually. Besides, it would get kinda boring after a while, wouldn’t it? Partying all the time and half-assing the classes... I’m all for seeking out different experiences and challenging oneself in order to grow as an individual. After a while, I think it would get easy and I would get bored. But I’m happy it happened and wouldn’t change anything.

I think part of the reason why I had such a positive experience was because I was so grateful for the opportunity. I was grateful that the government offered me such a generous grant to help pay for my expenses, I was grateful that it was so easy for me to just leave (no kids, mortgages or rent to worry about), I was grateful that I was healthy and able to fly across the sea on my own, I was grateful that I had just so much support- may it be from friends, family or even the staff. Everything just went incredibly well (or almost, but I’ll try not to spoil the feels).

In all, Finland remains a distant dream, but it’s time to wake up and move on to the next chapter, the next adventure. Who knows what will happen next. Another trip? A job offer overseas? Who knows? But for now, let’s focus on today and let it lead where it may lead.

Till then,

Kippis

PS: Yeah, this post is a mess. My writing has gotten rusty after a while.I just had so many thoughts, so many ideas that I just had to get across! Hope it wasn’t too hard reading through this sloppiness.

Also, hurray for the cheesy/corny ending!

Coming back "home"

Coming back to your home after living 6 months abroad is... well, weird. Although it doesn’t seem like that long, a lot has happened within that time: I’ve changed. It’s an odd feeling: you’re still the same person your parents and your friends back home knew before you left... but there’s a part of you that just completely transformed.You learn so many things about life and yourself, so many things has happened to you... There’s a part of you that will never remain the same.

Think about it. You fly overseas for the very first time, to a continent you’ve only heard about, you move out of your parents’ home for the first time, you go to a completely foreign country whose culture is pretty much unknown AND you don’t speak either official languages. You’re alone in an environment completely different from anything you’ve ever known. That being said, you’d have to be as resourceful as you can, think fast on your feet, and get over that awkward feeling of asking for help. Finland has their own system for a lot of things so I had to learn pretty quickly. When I stopped by London on my way back, I just had the most odd feeling ever. I just felt that everything was so... easy. You wanted to ask for directions? Just ask anybody: EVERYONE speaks English. You can read signs and figure your way out no problem. This isn’t the case for, Finland. Although Turku is a university town, not everyone there speaks English, and pretty much everything is in Finnish. If you’re lucky some of it might be in Swedish and so you can more or less guess what they say. I’ve had to figure out what some signs mean, how to buy the vegetables in the grocery store, which street is where, etc. I’ve had to make educated guesses, fully develop my knowledge in semiotics as well as non-verbal communication. It can be quite exhausting, but once you’ve done it everyday for 6 months, you don’t notice it anymore, it just becomes automatic... So on my way back, both in London and Montreal, it was a weird feeling for me to be able to understand everything. So weird that it was hard for me not to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations because I understood everything.

Once I came back to Montreal, I guess I had a bit of a shock. After tasting 6 months of complete freedom, it was difficult for me to come back to my parents’ house and abide by their rules. It was difficult for me to know that I can’t be downtown in the middle of the night as often because Montreal’s commuting system kinda sucks. It was difficult for me to get back to a workaholic society who always seems pressed for time... Still, it was nice to come back to a city booming with arts and culture- surely, you must have heard about AT LEAST one of our festivals; and being somewhat of a foodie, I enjoyed getting variety on my palate once again, tasting authentic cuisines that were both local (i.e. poutines) and exotic (Korean).

Look at that miracle: I had a mango bingsu (left) and green tea bingsu (right). It's a Korean dessert. I think it's called "Shaved ice" in English.

Eurotrip #1

I went on a small eurotrip-10 days- in the end of May. I went to Gdansk, Bergen,Oslo- though very briefly- and Munich. Each city has its perks, like always, but there were some that I liked a lot more than others. I’ll give you guys some tricks I picked up in this trip at the end of this post.

Gdansk (Poland)

Located in the northern part of Poland, this tiny town was pretty but it didn’t do that much for me. Probably because I arrived during off-season and I wasn’t that into it to begin with. To be honest, I went there mainly because everyone did- so peer pressure- and because it was just so cheap.

So what did I do?

I mainly wandered around the tiny city for the first day and ate in restaurants with a friend. We came back to the hostel pretty early because there wasn't that much to do, probably because we were really off-season. On the second day, we went to Westerplatte, a memorial site for WWII, which was really interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone coming to Gdansk, you need to take the tram to get there, but it’s worth it. Afterwards, we went to a museum and had a really nice tour guide, so nice that she even offered to give us a ride back to the city center and recommended us to some restaurants. After supper, we just shared some drinks with some friends at a pub 2 steps away from our hostel. It was nice to have drinks that didn’t make your wallet bleed.

Personally, I didn't really care much for Gdansk, and given the atmosphere, the weather and other circumstances, I unfortunately didn't enjoy it as much as I did the other destinations. Maybe once I develop further interest for Poland, I would go back for a day or two and appreciate it more, during the high season maybe? For now, I’m more into Germanic and Nordic/Scandinavian countries.

View on top of the Westerplatte

Westerplatte

Bergen (Norway)

First thing I saw when I arrived in Bergen

I basically had to wake up at 3-4 AM in order to catch my flight to Bergen at 7AM. (It was amazing that the flight cost me less than 25 euros.) The connection to the city center was really good; I stopped right in front of the fish market at around a little before 9 AM.

Neighbourhood I was living in

I was supposed to meet up with a friend 10 hours later, so I pretty much had all day to wander around Bergen. What I didn’t know when I booked the tickets was that I arrived on a national holiday, so most of the stores and supermarkets were closed. So the city was pretty dead except for the tourist attractions. Also, all the hostels downtown were booked and I wasn’t able to find anyone to host my friend and I for couchsurfing. Actually we did find one, but that person lived at least an hour away from the city and we figured it was just too complicated. So, what we did was rent an apartment about 15 minutes away from the city center by lightrail/bybanen. It’s amazingly efficient, comfortable, smooth, modern and every commuter’s dream. Of course, we had to pay around 31 NOK everytime, but it was worth it. I think it’s really nice to get away from the downtown area once in a while. Like that, you get to see other parts of the city and have a better feel of how to be a local.

View from my balcony

Every commuter's dream: bybanen

 


Bergen is absolutely beautiful and I really liked it. I was also extremely lucky since I came in the perfect timing: I came in the middle of two festivals- The Bergen International Festival and the Jazz Festival-; and with fantastic weather: I was 4-5 days in Bergen and it was 15-20 degrees with blue skies the whole time, something extremely rare considering it rains at least 200 days a year. Talk about insane luck.

So what can you do once you’re in Bergen?

1.       Go up Mount Floyen (I would recommend walking all the way to the top intead of taking the funicular, especially if the weather is beautiful).

2.       Visit the Fish Market

3.       Wander around the city center, see if there are any festivals or activities happening.

4.       Go shopping (if you’re loaded)

5.       Visit some interactive museums

These are all pictures taken of Bergen on top of Mount Floyen:

Before flying to Munich, I opted for a train ride from Bergen to Oslo. Yes it lasts nearly 7 hours, but it was worth it. I got the idea from reading stuff to do in Norway and everyone seemed to love it. It was supposed to be one of the most beautiful railways in Europe. AND IT IS! The first and last hours are okay, but it’s really nice in between. You see the landscape change before your eyes: beautiful lakes to summer mountains, to winter ones, back to lakes and waterfalls and farmlands. It’s really something, especially around Voss. I upgraded a bit from the normal wagon to one that had bigger windows and more leg room (not like I needed it but it was still nice). It was maybe 10 euros extra? But totally worth it. I highly recommend everyone to do it if they get a chance.

Look at that reflection in the water...

A Farmland

Somewhere in Oslo

I arrived to Oslo a bit later than I thought so I had less time to discover the city. I had maybe 2 hours to walk as much as possible around the city? I managed to see some of it and, of course, the sun was still shining. Flowers were blooming everywhere and everything looked beautiful. It was also nice to have some sort of crowd, some urban life to a city.

And then I fled to Munich

Munich (Germany)

The flight to Germany was smooth. It was once I got there that and had to find my host’s apartment that things got a bit tricky. I took close to 3 hours from the airport to the apartment because I was so confused as to how the transportation worked. Luckily I was a
ble to ask around every step of the way, both in English and German, so I was able to get there safely. I was mainly going back and forth in the S-Bahn because it didn’t stop at some stations at night. I didn’t know that so I went too far and back… ouf.

To be honest, I was pretty nervous about this. It was my first time really travelling alone and surfing at a stranger’s apartment. Add that to the fact that I’m a female alone at night, things can get a bit scary. Still, I managed to shut my fear out brave my way through there.

Munich comes to a very close second after Copenhagen in being my favourite city. Not only is it beautiful, it’s also just so rich in history- with the dark Nazi past and all. The Nazis knew that Munich would be destroyed in the Second World War, so they drew as many sketches as the could in order to rebuild it as it was before once it was destroyed. What I also like about the city is that, unlike Berlin where there is just this huge memorial for the Jews in WWII, there are subtle reminders here and there all around the city. For instance, there is a plaque right in front of a store commemorating a Jewish family during the holocaust.

And this is part of the path Nazi victims took in order to avoid the Nazi monument that was round the corner, where they had to do the Nazi salute:

So yeah, the city decided this would be more effective and educational since it actually takes effort to think about it and figure it out. People have to research about- like I just did to write this blog- to know what it means. Since it’s all around the city, it’s harder to forget and disrespect rather than if it were really ostentatious at one place. You can’t just forget about it and go about your day.

On the second day, I decided to go visit the first Nazi-German concentration camp: Dachau. It was very heavy and emotional, but I really believe that it’s something everyone should see. You learn about so many atrocities, the history, the humiliation. What we read in history books were nothing but Disney versions of that era, so many things were left out. I walked in the barracks, the cells, and even the gas chambers. Just being there made me so uncomfortable and claustrophobic. But I don’t regret going there at all. I can’t imagine living in such conditions for years. I felt like shit within 2 minutes, imagine years. In other words, Dachau is a very dark but necessary must-see in Munich.

English Garden

So, what I did in Munich?

1.       Free walking tour!!!

2.       Visit English Gardens

3.       Caught a glimpse of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universitet (it was my 3^rd choice for exchange!)

4.       Wander around Hofbrauhaus

5.       Went up the old St-Peter’s to see the view from up top ( I must warn you, it’s one heck of a climb… it’s the equivalent of climbing up 14 flights of stairs)

6.       Visit the market place

Pimpin' around in BMW World

7.       Visit Dachau concentration camp

8.       BMW Welt (I’m not a car person at all but I must admit it was pretty impressive and fun)

9.       Olympic Stadium and Park

10.   Drink delicious heavenly Bavarian beer

What I will be doing next time I’m in Munich

1.       Go on the Third Reich Tour

2.       BMW museum

3.       Deutches Museum

4.       Get a massive beer at the Hofbrauhaus

5.       Neuschwanstein Schloss (Castle)

6.       Try some Weiss and BratWurst

7.       Try on some Bavarian costumes and take a picture with a man wearing Lederhosen
 

I only spent 2 full days there and it was unfortunate that many things closed so early. I will definitely go back there once I get the chance.

I'll leave you with a vid of hot Bavarian men surfing in the English Gardens.

Some tips when you’re traveling for 10 days straight on a tight budget (that's just how I would work. It's up to you to take my tips or not, everyone has different tastes and travels differently so don't just take my word for it):

1.       Check for free walking tours.

These tours are just so amazing and are based on tips. So, obviously, the tour guide is generally outstanding. The tour itself lasts about 3 hours but it gives a great overview of the city. Learn about history, good places to eat that don’t bleed out your wallet and such.

2.       Get a map.

Unless you’re in London where the map costs about 6 CAD (what a freakin ripoff), airports offer great city maps. I like maps because I don’t have google maps on my phone and I’m just that old school. Some places offer amazing ones (Copenhagen for example) with landmarks and good places to eat. They are really useful if you want to make the best out of your trip without getting lost.

3.       Don’t be afraid to ask for directions.

Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with that. You can be smart, suck up your pride and be somewhere in 5 minutes instead of wandering around like an idiot for 30. Also ask some info desk guy (either at the airport or the tourist info) about how to get to a destination and have them point it on a map. It’ll just make your life easier.

4.       Learn the language (or try).

Not everyone speaks English. I went to Munich, a pretty big city and even within downtown, I had to speak some German to order food and ask for directions. It’s not a must, but it’s just easier.

5.       Do your research and plan your stay.

Don’t plan every single minute of the day and be super rigid- plans change all the time. But do some research to avoid wasting time. Wandering around aimlessly is nice, but when you’re crunching for time, you need a plan. Though worst comes to worst,  go visit the tourist information center. These places offer great maps and give you really good suggestions for what to do in the city if you run out of ideas. Unless you already have everything planned out, you should go there.

6.       Get a phone/device that lets you have access to wifi.

 I was planning my stay in Munich while I was in Gdansk, looking at websites like tripadvisor. Or sometimes you need to check something like your mail, check in online for your next flight, etc.

7.       Eat well and buy food in supermarkets.

Buying food in supermarkets helps you save money and gives you more choices in foods, giving you more opportunities in eating well/healthy. Your body needs fruits and vitamins. You can eat cheap food from 7/11 for so long before your body feels like shit. When you feel like shit, you feel lazy and won’t enjoy the awesome city you’re in.

8.       Don’t be afraid, challenge yourself. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This may sound kinda stupid but it’s true. When I get nervous, I tend to overthink everything: what happens if I get lost? Will I get to my destination safely? Will I get raped? What do I do if something happens to me? Etc. The best thing to do is to just shut those voices in your head. You gotta force yourself to or else you become paranoid. Once you manage through this, you’ll be so proud of yourself you have no idea.

9.       Be smart.

Seriously, just use your brain. If you don’t feel (reasonably) safe doing something or going somewhere, just don’t go. There are other things to do/see. There’s always something or other ways. Challenge yourself, but do remember to use your common sense.

10.   Be frugal, but don’t be a hobo.

Save up where you can to go do some activities. Sure, there’s always some free stuff to do like wander the streets and visit the local markets or even check out some museums. But some things are really worth doing if you spend a little extra money here and there. For instance, the Dachau tour cost me 17 euros, but it was totally worth it because it’s not something you can see anywhere else. Basically, save your money, but try to spend a little for yourself too.


So until you decide to move your ass to Europe, I say:

Okrzyki, Skål and Prost.

I left my heart in Copenhagen

I planned going to Copenhagen in mid-May for about 4 days, it was just enough. There is so much to do and see in this city, it's crazy. I love this city so much that it became my favourite place. EVAR.

Here's why.

3. The different neighbourhoods.

Yes, Copenhagen is relatively big, but everything is pretty walkable: all you need is a good pair of shoes a small day pack and you're set. Even if I was staying downtown, I was still able to roam around the city and have a better feel of it. I went to Norrebro, northern part of the city which mainly consists of shish taouk, kebab and shawarma restaurants; students; and bike shops. I kinda like it since it's pretty artsy in its own way. I also went to Westerbro, the red light district, which isn't really that dangerous or filthy. It also consisted of many Asian restaurants, namely Thai. Frederiksberg, which, I have to admit, is pretty far from the city- but still walkable. It took me about an hour to get to the King's Gardens, which is insanely picturesque.It's a calm, peaceful upscale neighbourhood filled with pretty well-off families.
And, finally, I when to Christianshavn, also home of Christania. There's a nice harbour and Christania is basically a place where weed trafficking and other things happen. The food's not bad though. It's not dangerous or anything, as one might suspect. Definitely worth visiting despite it all.

2. There is so much to do in the city
Seriously, I've wandered around the city for almost 4 days and it was JUST ENOUGH to see/do everything that was worthwhile. You can:
Have fun in Tivoli. It's the second oldest amusement park in the world. I only spent an hour there but it was pretty awesome. I highly suggest doing it in the night tie as everything lights up and it's pretty damn magical.

More of a shopping type? Go to the Stroget pedestrian street. It's actually pretty cool. Not only are there tons of shops, but there's also some performers and nice landmarks along the way. And there's a huge Lego shop, another reason to go there.

1.The people themselves
The city was amazing but what really blew my mind was the people. They seriously got it all: super friendly, athletic, good looking, stylish, happiness... Seriously. It felt kinda good for once that the people were extroverted- as opposed to Finland- and willing to joke around, smile, and help you just because. Was it because they just hosted the Eurovision this year? I don't know. You really have to come to Denmark and see how the people are. I've never seen anything like it, it's amazing.

Side story:
There was this outside concert happening- the promotion for the Wonderfestiwall- on my last night in Copenhagen, also happened to be right next to my hostel. I was wandering around the city with a girl I just met on that day. We heard music and gravitated there. I guess we were a bit awkward but wanted to have fun. A group a Danes just decided to include us into their group and offered us beer and chips, asked where we were from and etc. How awesome is that?



A few things I noticed:
They have a thing for mermaids. (The Little Mermaid is just OK. Go see it if you have time, but if you're crunching for time, just skip to other things. Copenhagen is FILLED with cool stuff)
Carlsberg is Danish.
And so is Hans Christian Andersen
Danish bikers are pretty damn aggressive. As my tour guide said, they're the most chilled out, relax ad nicest people you'll ever meet. But once they go on their bikes, something just snaps. They're so aggressive even drivers are afraid of them. Is it because they're competing against the Netherlands to become the #1 biking city in the world? I'm just speculating. Read more about their bike culture here.
Yes, Copenhagen is expensive, but there's always a certain quality involved. For instance, in restaurants, yes the meals can be expensive-unless you're eating shawarma-, but it tastes so good and the portions are super generous. You get your bang for the buck. (Maybe I've been living in Finland for too long and haven't been exposed to real food for so long. That might be why everything tasted so heavenly.)
Did I mention the Danes were attractive?
Everyone speaks English. Perfectly.
Denmark is super flat, so if you're looking for hills and mountains to hike, this certainly ain't the place.
They're the happiest country in the world-if I'm mistaken, they're still pretty up there- and it shows. I can't imagine an angry Dane off their bike.

Anyways, I'm for sure gonna come back. I just watched the Lego Movie and I have to go to Legoland. Once I'm done with reliving my childhood in Bilund, I'll be running back there.
Till then, I absolutely encourage everyone to go there (yeah, I know I made everyone save their money to go to Norway in my previous post, but Denmark is slightly cheaper. You can go there while you save up your cash for the richest country in the world).

Skål

PS: Vikings used to drink from their enemies' skull, hence "skål". Cool isn't it?

Traveling to Medieval Europe

So, Tallinn.

To be honest, I've never really thought about going there until a friend of mine asked me to join them. They needed a 4th person to share a cabin on the ferry (though it turned out we didn't really get one, but wtv). And then I thought: Meh, why not? A cheap trip to Estonia wouldn't hurt.

I didn't really expect that much, especially from a country that I barely heard of, one that I only associate with alcohol at a bargain price and pretty coloured houses.

What really charmed me over was the medieval feel of the city. Tallinn still has parts of it fortress still up and a part of it is a museum, Kiek in de kök. I'm not much of a museum person, in fact I kinda find them boring, but this one was pretty cool. I had a tour guide, which really helped. It wasn't your typical "encased in glass artifact with a ridiculously long description that make you want to kill yourself out of boredom" sort of museum, it was pretty interactive. We had some pretty interesting videos and walked in the tunnels dating back from the 16th century (I think) and learned about the different uses it had during different periods. In other words, although I was skeptical at first, I kinda enjoyed it.

The medieval atmosphere is not only found in the architecture, but with the people themselves. You would find a girl (complete in medieval attire) selling roasted nuts on handcarts. Almost all of the restaurants had a medieval theme as well, with the waiting staff dressed in costumes from head to toe, with the cutlery and menus and everything. Basically, Estonians took their main tourist attraction extremely seriously, and it paid off.

I mainly visited the old part of Tallinn, not so much the more urban, modern part except for parks and gardens. So I can't say that much about the city as a whole. Still, I had a pretty good time.

If ever you guys want to have trip to the Baltics, head to Tallinn and you'll be charmed.

Until next time,

Terviseks