The past week...

The paskeferie break has been a very relaxing way to spend a week. I've had a week away from school, and we return on Tuesday the 25th. After the crazy Parisian trip, it has been nice to just slappe af (relax) with my host family and friends.

The day came finally when Freddie was allowed to drive his old Fiat. Due to insurance reasons, he can't use the car in the winter, or when the temperature is too low. But we had a lovely weekend, and I went travelling to one of the surrounding "mountains" (which, in Denmark, is what they call a slightly large mound).


Me, wishing I was allowed to drive in Denmark:



and a chilly wind on a spot which may be the highest point in Denmark. It seems to depend upon where you live if you think this point or another point is the highest. But there was nonetheless a lovely view:



After this relaxing start to the week, on Wednesday we went on a day trip to Germany to purchase cheap alcohol, lollies and blank cds. We went to a city called Flemsburg and it took less time to travel here than it would to travel to Sydney from Newcastle. However, my mind is beginning to think this is a long trip. Denmark is such a small country! We went first to the supermarket, and then into the city to find lunch and to have a little look around. It seemed most of the people there were Danish people doing exactly as we were.



Andreas:



Myself with some kind of strange animal:







We returned on Wednesday afternoon from Germany, and then on Thursday morning we left for Freddie's brother's sommerhus in the northwest of Jylland to stay for a night. I think if the house was placed in a small beach village on the north coast of NSW it would fit right in.



A danish breakfast:



On a visit to the West coast:



Windfarms, which are everywhere you look in Denmark. 19% of Denmark's energy is produced by wind turbines:



Freezing on a walk:



Soren and I on a jetty:



The trip was a lovely holiday, and it was great to see some more of Denmark. Freddie's brother has a wife and they have a little son who was very funny to watch. Andreas didnt come, but it was a full household for the one night. Not quite a Tynan family reunion but great fun anyway.

Today was Saturday, and I woke up to snow!

And then today was Easter, and Lasse woke up to find the Easter Bilby had come and left easter eggs all around the garden! I got up really early to hide them all in the snow.


a bilby in a cold burrow:




and the collection:



Thanks so much Nana and Papa and mum for sending over a lot of Australian chocolates. I bought a little extra danish chocolate as well and that was what I used for the hunt.

Next week I'm back to school on Tuesday. There's a rotary camp from the 11th-13th of April with all 150 exchange students in Denmark and a couple of parties coming up.

Thanks for the news Claire, nice to hear from Melbourne! And Paul, its depends how much im into the music, but generally i'll be right down the front getting as close to the musicians as possible.

Happy Easter all!
Love Daniel

Paris!

Finally, a blog update!

Well, last week I travelled with 50 other danes on a 16 hour bus trip to Paris. We left at 5pm and arrived in Paris at 9am. The bus journey was long and uncomfortable, but I managed to get some sleep on the floor of the bus amid the many excited Danish travellers. We stopped in Germany and Belgium on the way, but I can't tell you much about it as it was 3 am and very dark.

Paris was incredible. Our hotel was quite basic, but it was just walking distance to all the main Parisian sights and very close to shops and creperies.

Mette and Marie outside our hotel -


Each day, we got up at 8am to eat breakfast and head off to see the sights. Our class presented short presentations on each of the monuments of paris at each site and it was a good way to have a cheap tour guide!
In no particular order, we visited:

Den Tour d'Eiffel -



Versaille -



Versaille again, with a statue posing behind me:



Versaille hall of mirrors:



Tina med Versailles Gardens:



Den Triomfbuen med Nette, Tina og Marie:



The Lourve with Marie and I:



Sacre Cour i Montmartre med Mads, Maria, Mette og Michael:
We spent about an hour wandering around a ghetto in Paris before we found this church. We were looked at very suspiciously as affluent danish tourists and managed to get some death stares in a Muslim cafe after we said we were from Denmark, due to the Danish newspaper publications of Mohammad.



Streets of montmartre:



Daniel i der Musee D'Orsay:



Daniel with just about the best crepe i've ever eaten in my life:



Asbjern, Michael og Alexander on one of many trips through small French alleys shopping:



Marie and I on a shopping trip, me with my new hat:



An Australian eating japanese food with a Dane in France. nice!:



A pretty little cafe near Montmartre:



The Pompidou Centre with our passionate french guide:



Eating Rugbrod (danish rye bread) with my roommate, Niels:



Danes eating baguettes in Versaille:



Many of the class in the Notre Dame:



We went to a Turkish restaurant to hear turkish music, with the Danes dressed up in Berets and false french moustaches and had a great night:



Another dinner out with me, Kristine og Johanna:



Torturing Danes with Vegemite on the bus trip:



Other ways to pass time on the bus:



Basically, each morning we visited the sights of Paris with the class group, and in the afternoons, we were free at about 3pm to do as we wished. We caught the metro all over Paris to visit places we wanted to see more of and to shop and spend time together. At night, we split into small groups and found restaurants to eat at. After dinner, we would often go to French pubs and clubs to socialise with our class. I also went out with a few boys one night to find some live music, but we couldnt find the place and ended up in a Turkish restaurant where they happened to have a live Gypsy band playing and it was very very cool.

I came back yesterday morning and I feel like I know all my classmates much better. Niels, my roommate, has invited me to go to Roskilde, one of Europe's biggest rock festivals, with him and I really hope Rotary will let me go. I didnt have school today, but instead spent time with a US exchange student, Dierdre, also just back form her class trip to Austria. Tomorrow is a normal school day, but then I have a week of holidays. My family is planning to go to Germany on next Wednesday for a day trip. I still can't quite comprehend that I can catch a bus to Paris, and take a day trip to Germany, but that's Europe for you!

I'm having a brilliant time with everything here. I have bonded so much with my classmates on the "study tour" to Paris which was much more of a social trip than anything. I felt a little homesick for Denmark while in Paris which was a strange experience, but i definately feel as though i am settled in here.

I will update again soon!

Love to all, Daniel

Another week in Denmark!

Another crazy, cold, wet, windy and wonderful weekend in Denmark! School goes on as usual, and I can now understand little snippets of conversations and lessons which is pretty nice. People can ask me how goes it without too much difficulty and I can even manage short replies! I'm getting along great with everyone at school and classes aren't too bad. My society teacher gives me handouts in English that help me understand what is going on and the physics teacher likes to sometimes teach in English as he is American. English classes are excellent, as I am the sole native English speaker in the room so all pronounciation checks come straight to me. ("No, its not monoTONously, it's moNOtonously"). Though the class hardly needs help with their English, they are all very fluent in the language. My music class is very nice also. In a month or so we are performing "Space Oddity" by David Bowie at an assembly.

On the weekend, I caught the train to Arhus to meet a Brazilian exchange student and two American exchange students and we saw a couple of bands at a Student Union concert.

the cold walk there:



it was about 0 degrees, and blowing and windy so the walk there was not very nice. However, we made our own fun on the journey and had a good time. Gustavo, the Brazillian, James, the American and Hana, also American have all been in Denmark 6 months so they were telling me of the typical wisdom that is passed down from oldie to newbie. (ie. how to come home late without your host parents noticing, how to ask for money from rotary, how to avoid getting sent home etc etc).

Myself and Gu:



And some photos from the concert:





The concert hall had a cloakroom where everyone puts their big jackets that are neccessary outside. Many people there were quite drunk, and it was a great change seeing normally very shy Danish people who will look away if you walk past them in the main street suddenly turning into your best friends. "Oh, du taler Engelsk! I love speaking Engelsk!"

We got home quite late, but the next morning i got up at 8 am to go back into Arhus to meet some other exchange students. We shopped and wandered around the town and took it fairly slowly.

Enjoying a hot chocolate:



I arrived home at 7:30pm in Ry, and found that someone had stolen my bicycle! I searched thoroughly around the train station but it wasnt there at all. I rang home and they came to pick me up and we looked some more, but we couldnt find it! I went to bed dreading telling Rotary that I had lost their bicycle, but fortunatly for me my counsellor wasnt home and I didnt have to do it instantly.

On Sunday, I caught the train into Silkeborg to meet Tina and Mette-Marie, two friends from school. We went for an epic bike ride to the highest point in Denmark, Himmelbjerge, a whole 150metres up!

Mette and I eating lunch:



Tina, Mette and the view:



Tina enjoying a violet crumble that Dad sent over:



Hans Christian Andersen stone:



The bike ride:









While on this bike ride I was using Tina's brothers bike. But halfway up, i received a phone call from Freddie saying that he had found my bike! It was on the side of the road in Ry so it was very lucky! No damage at all. And no need to talk to Rotary!

The next two days, I have no school due to the class doing presentations. Tommorow i will go to Arhus with two exchange students for lunch, and then I'm not sure what I have planned for Thursday, but hopefully a sleep in!

There's now only 9 days til Paris! I can't wait! Thanks for the comments. I'm technologically incapable of replying to a comment, so I'll reply here. Paul, Introcamp was an alcohol-free event, as Rotary organised it. Fun was still had by all! Argentinian tea was quite the experience for those of us who dared it. And thanks for the news Claire, I'm jealous of the warmth! Which city will Edward be staying in in Germany? And never will Brazilians outdo Australians in having a good time. They did however beat us consistently in table soccer.

Love Daniel