Less than a week ago, someone had the brilliant idea: let's go to Amsterdam! 1 turned into 5 who turned into 9 who turned into 12 and eventually, with no further planning than booking tickets and a couple rooms in a hostel/hotel, 13 DIS students and one St. Andrew's girl were headed to take on the streets of Amsterdam. In true Skindergade fashion, our hotel turned out to be in a prime location: 2 blocks from the infamous Red Light District, 2 blocks from the best shopping street, 15 minutes from the Central Station, and in the dead center of Amsterdam's gay district. Also in true Skindergade fashion, we said "bring it on Amsterdam!" and hit the streets as soon as we settled into our simple but sufficient accommodations...finding our way awkwardly through the maze of "coffee shops" and gay bars. Not used to such a strange and wild city after our meek and mild Copenhagen, we found ourselves arguing about the names of Dutch bars on street corners: "Arc bar?" "Arkvard?" "Ardvark!" ...etc.

Saturday morning, already dazed from our adventures in Amsterdam, we decided to be cultured and found our way around Amsterdam by taking a canal tour; stopping at the I AMsterdam sign, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Diamond Museum, and Anne Frank Huis. Despite our status as "student travelers" (which would usually indicate a tight budget), we treated ourselves to a 3 hour, 3 course meal in a castle from the 1400s...not very friendly to our wallets, but so worth it. Post-dinner, we strolled through (well, more like skirted) the red light district...but at our first sighting of flesh and lingerie, we sought haven in the gay bars from the night before. (Amsterdam clearly shifted the boundaries of our comfort zones.) Even for Amsterdam, we managed to make a scene...seeing as Rob and Owen went bedecked in Eurotrash gear: glasses, chest hair, and striped shirts included.

14 people is too much to handle; therefore, Sunday we split up to see Amsterdam on our own agendas. I went with the girls, choosing shopping and wandering over museums and sex shows. However, when we found that the Amsterdam shopping scene was below par, we found ourselves meandering deep into the Red Light District...an experience which words cannot describe. Every door and window offered menus for every type of sexual appetite; doorways poured marijuana smoke into tight alleys; and storefronts offered every type of x-rated or illegal item that would never make it past customs. To say the least, we were all feeling a mixture of repulsion, awkwardness, and amazement at the fact that a place like that actually exists. Surprisingly, despite the dozens of naked girls (both real and photographic) lining the streets, the 5 of us girls received our fair share of cat calls. And, despite the rainbow flags and signs for gay cinemas, the Red Light District offered much less of a selection for homosexuals than the area surrounding our hotel.

Despite being uncomfortable and cold (it was about 10 degrees and windy) we managed to laugh a lot, buy some heartshaped sunglasses, and eat "traditional" waffles and french fries. After eating Wok to Walk - amazing take out Chinese food which we frequented throughout the weekend - for dinner, we caught a taxi then a train then a plane then another train and arrived back in Copenhagen; which, after traveling to the other side and back, has become (for all of us) home sweet home. The general consensus? Amsterdam: great for a weekend, Copenhagen: great for a semester.

written by  shelfields on February 2, 2009 from Amsterdam, Netherlands
from the travel blog: European Semester Abroad
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Commuting is an integral part of life in Denmark where gas and car prices are outrageous due to high taxes, parking spaces are few and far between, and an environmentally friendly conscious leaves little tolerance for wasting natural resources. Along with a traditional public transportation system, a network of bike paths parallels every main road in the city. For Copenhageners, bikes are the new cars, and in many regards, they act as if is no difference between driving a car to work and riding a bike. Instead of tennis shoes and iPods, bikers are equipped with high heels and cell phones. Traffic rules apply. Bike models range from something like a one person coup to a family sedan, complete with an attached buggy for bringing the kids home from school. Bikers are no pedestrians here, and just as you would never step in the line of an oncoming vehicle, Copenhagen gives you a heightened awareness of biking traffic. Stepping out into a street unawares of an oncoming biker will, at the least, entice a great storm of bell-dinging and Danish cursing; and, more than once, I have heard the stories of Americans who, slow on the uptake, have been in pedestrian-bicycle collisions.

written by  shelfields on February 10, 2009 from Copenhagen, Denmark
from the travel blog: European Semester Abroad
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A year's worth of adventures have happened in the past week, and there's no way that I can get it all down here, but I'll do my best. I guess the best thing to do would be to backtrack and do a continuation of my time in Kiev.

During the last 3 days in Kiev, I had eaten pure lard, had full fledged body language conversations, butchered both Russian and Ukrainian, and destroyed my feet dancing until 6am in 4 inch heels.

If the first half of my time in Kiev was all about the history, then the second half was fully dedicated to experiencing Kiev's social scene...and by that, I mean the nightlife. Thursday night, Ira took me out to her favorite club, Patipa, for its weekly R&B/Hip Hop night, where I was introduced to the European way of going out, which doesn't conclude until around 5:00 or 6:00am (very unlike Minnesota where everything is closed by 2:00). Not only did we meet up with some of Ira's old friends from school, but we managed to befriend an entire group of Nigerian rappers who wanted to make us mixed tapes the next day.

But, instead of taking them up on their offer, Ira and I spent Friday night hanging out at one of her friends' apartments, which was probably my favorite night in Kiev. There, I was the only American and without any Russian skills, had to make due with gestures and random Russian words I learned over the week to communicate with the ones who didn't speak English. Either way, everyone got a kick out of initiating me into Ukrainian culture and trying to teach me random Russian phrases, so nevertheless, it was a night full of lots of laughing.

The last day in started not at a church or a club, but at a shooting range. Where Ira showed me up by making about 95% of her shots, while I got laughed at by the Ukrainian instructor in Russian because I only made about 50%. Never having shot a gun before, I spent the whole time terrified that I would miss something between the instruction and Ira's translation and wind up shooting a person rather than a target...I left the shooting range shaking...

Again, the night was full of dancing. But this time, it began at the ballet, where we saw the one act ballets of Carmen and Sheherezade. Not only was the dancing incredible, but the venue, the Kiev opera house, was breathtaking. Of course, we ended the night dancing at a 3 storied club called Arena with all of Ira's friends. It was a perfect ending to an incredible trip.

The buildings, the fashion, the night life, the language (every sign posed an alphabetic puzzle)…what’s not to love? I was asked many times "why are you here? Why would you come to Kiev?"...but despite the skepticism behind these questions, I loved every moment and will be returning again. (Plus, I made a promise to Ira's mom that I would come back after taking some Russian...and I don't want to break that promise.)

written by  shelfields on February 24, 2009 from Copenhagen, Denmark
from the travel blog: European Semester Abroad
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