Sitting in a small classroom in Kiel, Germany, fervently trying to focus on Frau as she rambled on about the genitive case. Die. Das. Der. Dem.
What is she even saying?
The summer heat permeated through the glass windows, thrown open in hopes of temping a non-existent breeze. The lights were turned off to encourage a dip in the temperature, but all it’s doing is encouraging my eyelids to droop, my brain to get fuzzy, and my breathing to slow.
I’m about to fall asleep.
Right before I succumb to the waves of exhaustion from a few rough days of German class and recent class trip to Berlin, an angel whispered in my ear, “let’s go to Copenhagen this weekend. We can leave after class on Thursday.” I snapped back to reality.
It was Wednesday.
Never underestimate the power of college students when embarking on an epic adventure.
I shifted into full-gear at that moment. Housing. Transportation. Quick research of Copenhagen. I was still new to the wonderful world of travel, so I decided it was time to experience AirBnB for the first time. I created a meager profile and started messaging potential hosts, knowing full-well that a 1-day notice for 4 houseguests was going to be a hard sell.
Finally, the 3rd time was indeed the charm. With our flat booked, rental car secured, bags packed, we were finally off for a weekend getaway in Copenhagen.
Is this real life?!
After walking and taking public transportation everywhere, I can’t describe the feeling of ecstasy my friends and I felt as we slid into our BMW rental for the first time. Not only did we have our own set of wheels, but it had air conditioning…something that a lot of buildings in Germany don’t have.
Call us privileged Americans if you’d like, but it definitely wasn’t something we were prepared for. Germany was also in the middle of a heat wave and with temperatures consistently in the 90s, so getting a blast of cold air in our faces was a welcome relief.
After class on Thursday, we loaded up the car and shot out of Kiel like a cannon. Windows down with Led Zeppelin and Van Halen blaring, we tore off through the beautiful Schleswig-Hostein state towards the Baltic Sea, excited to discover our ferry that would carry us across our first international border as a group.
We managed to park the car and found our way up to the dining area where the majority of the passengers had gathered. Having just eaten, we were hungry for the views instead of the food. I stared longingly out of the window towards the sunset, marveling at the fact that this was it. This was the dream: studying in a far-off land, making lasting friends that want to travel the world with me.
“It’s better to travel and get lost than never to travel at all.” I guess this became our mantra once we landed in Rødby, Denmark.
Since I was still a novice at booking AirBnB lodging, I didn’t realize until too late that I didn’t have the exact address of our accommodation, having left the University’s Wi-Fi network before I received the full confirmation email from our host.
Between the four of us, we could carry on a lively conversation in German, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, and English, but definitely NOT Danish. Not only did we struggle to understand Denmark’s signage, but we struggled to find any kind of Wi-Fi signal.
Again, silly Americans, I get it.
We didn’t plan ahead.
We didn’t take a picture of the best driving directions to get us to Copenhagen. After hours of frustratingly touring the E47 and E20 highways, we found a random signal close to a fast-food place. With the weak signal, we were able to finally obtain the correct address, directions to our flat, and message our host.
Our lovely adventure had us pulling into our “home” for the weekend at 11:30pm.
Now more than ever was a great reminder to me that “successful” travel means always being flexible!
Our weekend sojourn into Copenhagen was something out of a dream. I never knew friends like these, who actually wanted to get out and try new things, experience different cultures, and become familiar with the unknown. My last attempt to travel with friends ended up quite the opposite, with almost all ties broken between us. This new feeling was intoxicating. Invigorating. I felt a charge running through my veins, causing me to have a constant smile on my face.
The photographs I took at Tivoli Gardens and Rosenborg Castle will stir up memories forever, and I’ll never forget my first stamp in my passport. The feeling of sitting along the canals at Nyhavn, feet dangling off the side, the sounds of Dr. Zhivago and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” flowing into my soul, the smells of pickled herring and sweaty tourists creating an invisible cloud over my head.
This is what travel is all about: those spontaneous adventures with newfound friends that change our lives forever.
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