Category: 3-Minute Travel Guides

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – MATT PETERSON

Posted on by jkim592@illinois.edu
MEET MATT.
Matt studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Spring semester of 2017.
IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: Do not forget to pack an umbrella. Getting stuck without one of those is just about the worst start to a day.
ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: You can leave some clothes at home. Over packing clothes can be a huge burden for little reason. Doing laundry slightly more often is really not that bad.
WHERE TO LIVE: I stayed in an apartment with 3 other students studying abroad from other parts of the world. It was a fantastic experience to get to know other students abroad but nothing can beat staying with a family if you are trying to immerse yourself in the culture.
BEST PLACES TO EAT: Best places to eat in Denmark are all the small bakeries littering every corner, but they are all delicious somehow.
FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY:  Favorite cultural activity is going for a lovely stroll around the Nordhavnen area. The boats and colorful buildings are perfect for a sunset as well.
BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: The best personal hideout area is Christiana. Everyone there is just looking to chill out.
FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: My favorite place to study was the library at DTU. There are always people working there.
MUST-TRY LOCAL DISH: A must-try local dish would be Smørrebrød. It is basically just an open-face sandwich, but they come in a wide variety of flavors.
BEST PHOTO OP: Best photo location is either Møns Klint (a lovely white cliff) or the harbor of Nordhavnen.
BIGGEST FAIL: Biggest fail was forgetting to ask for my credit card back from a taxi driver after a night of drinking, and had to cancel the card the next day.
BEST PURCHASE: Best purchase is definitely a nice rain jacket. Luckily I already had one, but in Denmark, it is an essential.
MOST INTERESTING CLASS: My most interesting class was the Eco-Marathon project-based class I took. I was the only non-Danish student and we got to build an entire Eco-Car and then race it in a competition in London.
BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: The best part of the program would be the environment. DTU grouped all the abroad students into “buddy groups” on day one, and I spent nearly every day with someone from mine.
MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: The most memorable trip was the one I took to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day. Never before have I seen so many happy and helpful people.
BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: The best local event would have to be the first day of spring when the weather is nice. It is not technically a holiday but everyone just hangs outside without coats on and many catch colds from getting too excited and staying out too long.
FAVORITE LOCAL WORD/SLANG: Favorite slang word is “hygge,” which is kind of a life-style more than a word. It can be used to describe anything that gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, and encapsulates the joyful Danish way of life in my opinion.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – ERIC ETZWILER

Posted on by jkim592@illinois.edu

MEET ERIC.

Eric studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Spring of 2017.
IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: Your phone and credit card! Everything else can be bought again if necessary.
ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: Shampoo and other toiletries as they are easily bought at the local stores.
WHERE TO LIVE: Definitely the on campus housing called “Campus Village”. You live with all international students inside of renovated shipping containers!
BEST PLACES TO EAT: On the opposite side of the train tracks in town is a restaurant called Gordion. It’s very good in the local town.
FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY: Attending the local soccer matches. Cheap and a great experience.
BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: Not much of a personal hideout per se, but the s-huset (student house) has pool tables, ping pong, and a bar to hang out at!
FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: Any building on campus or in the main library. Easily accessible with tables and space.
MUST-TRY LOCAL DISH: Frikadeller or smørrebrød – essentially meatballs and open+faced sandwiches.
BEST PHOTO OP: Nyhvan in downtown – the colorful houses on the famous canal.
BIGGEST FAIL: Planning trips before I even got there. You meet plenty of new friends and should definitely go on trips with them, planning only needs to be like a week or two before a trip realistically.
BEST PURCHASE: A light jacket, it never gets too cold but stays chilly outside for a while.
MOST INTERESTING CLASS: GIS, Geographical Information Systems, or really just stuff like Google Maps. Was easy, interesting, and fulfilled science credit.
BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: The introduction week is a great experience. You meet many of your friends and visit the city for the first time together.
MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: Renting cars is not expensive and is a great way to see multiple cities on the same trip. I went to Belgium and Netherlands with a car and had the time of my life.
BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: Christmas season is nice as well as beach season 🙂
FAVORITE LOCAL WORD/SLANG: “Hygge” and all other Danish words. Learn to say them correctly and you will be the envy of your friends 😛
 
IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN… Again, stating that I regret planning trips before I got to campus, because I missed out on a trip to Iceland with my friends.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – MATHEW JACOB

Posted on by jkim592@illinois.edu

MEET MATHEW.

Mathew studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain during the Spring of 2017.

IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: A debit card or credit card that you can use internationally. Withdrawing money can be a hassle and the best way to get money is often through a credit card that doesn’t charge conversion fees or through an ATM for a (usually) 3% fee.


ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: American clothing/apparel. Once you leave the country, no one really cares where you’re from as much as you do. You’ll enjoy the experience a lot more if you try to integrate yourself rather than being uppity about where you’re from.
WHERE TO LIVE: Barri Gòtic is a beautiful area close to a lot of clubs, touristy things and the beach. If you want a quieter place to live, I lived up in Gràcia, which is a beautiful, quieter area farther “pujant” (toward the mountains).

BEST PLACES TO EAT: My favorite restaurant in Barcelona is La Pubilla in Gràcia. They have really high quality, but reasonably priced Catalan food. Bar Gato Negro is a great local bar up in Gràcia for tapas, sandwiches and cheap “jarras” (pints). El Glop is a more traditional Catalan restaurant in Gràcia as well. Down by the sea Bo de B has pretty amazing sandwiches and Gocce di Latte has really good gelato as well.
FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY: There’s events called correfocs where they have little kids run around dressed up as devils spraying people with roman candles. There’s also the “castellers”, which are where Catalans form human towers in the middle of massive crowds. It’s really a sight to see. Both of these events and a lot of other cultural events as well are in Plaça Sant Jaume.

BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: Montjuic is a more peaceful area in the city with great views since its on a mountain and on the end of the city. There’s also a cool traffic tunnel up there that was converted into a rock climbing area which you should totally check out.
FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: The library at the Universitat de Barcelona is beautiful and a great place to study. Cafes and public libraries around Barcelona are also pretty safe bets in general.

MUST-TRY LOCAL DISH: If you come in the Spring, you should try to go to a calçotada, which is where Catalans eat barbecued Catalan green onions along with romesco sauce and drink wine from a porrón. If you’re not quite as lucky, you should try patatas bravas, morcilla de burgos, mató con miel,  and crema catalana which are more common around.

BEST PHOTO OP: Literally the entire city of Barcelona is a photo op. The most popular areas for photos are Gaudí’s buildings like Park Güell, La Sagrada Familia as well as La Platja de la Barceloneta (the beach).

BIGGEST FAIL: A lot of students in our program lost their phones, wallets, keys, etc. to pick pockets. Keep your wallet in your front pocket and stay aware of your belongings, especially in touristy areas/events.
BEST PURCHASE: My best purchase in Barcelona was probably a wine key. Bottles of wine are only 1 euro in Barcelona, so a corkscrew of some sort is indispensable.

MOST INTERESTING CLASS: Contemporary Spanish Art was my favorite class because we got to learn a lot about the city of about the city of Barcelona and about how Spain, and Catalonia specifically, influenced art around the world. Artists like Picasso, Dalí and Joan Miró are from Catalonia and inspired international movements in art.

BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: Our program organized a lot of trips around Barcelona and Catalonia. My favorite of these was the trip to the Dalí Museum in Figueres. I was never a huge fan of museums but Dalí designed this museum himself so the entire museum is incredible.

MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: Probably when I went to Mallorca and tried out “deep water soloing” which is rock climbing over water without ropes. I went with a friend of mine who was studying abroad in a different country, and it was terrifying, but also one of the most rewarding parts of my trip.
BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: Probably the Festes de Santa Eulalia where teams compete in forming human towers (castelleres).

FAVORITE LOCAL WORD/SLANG: Vale. It means okay, got it, cool, etc. I use it a lot now even when I’m not speaking to Spaniards.

IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN… There’s a super long list of things to do in Barcelona. If I could do it all again, I’d probably not waste as much time laying around and explore the city more.

DUBLIN, IRELAND – MADISON WILSON

Posted on by jkim592@illinois.edu

MEET MADISON.

She studied abroad during the Spring semester of 2017 in Dublin, Ireland.

IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: Pictures from home to decorate your dorm or apartment room with!

ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: Tons of extra clothes.  When you travel, a pair of tennis shoes, a few pairs of pants, and shirts will keep you covered and make the travel lighter.

 

WHERE TO LIVE: The dorms were amazing, because I got to meet people from all over the world.  The university organized for international and national students to live together, and it was a great way to meet travel buddies.

BEST PLACES TO EAT: I enjoyed the hearty pub food and asking locals where their favorite restaurants were.  Make sure to try restaurant specialties!  The Hairy Lemon in City Centre Dublin was my favorite dinner place.

FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY: I really enjoyed going to sporting events that we don’t have at home like Rugby.  It was a great way to experience the culture and also a lot of fun!

BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: The gym was really nice and new. It was a great de-stressor from classes.

FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: I like to study in my room. So that’s where I’d get most of my work done, so that I could concentrate then meet up with friends later.

MUST-TRY LOCAL DISH: Beef and Guinness Stew.

BEST PHOTO OP: Cliffs of Moher near Galway!  If you luck out and go on a day that’s not rainy or cloudy, it is gorgeous yet terrifying to stand on the edge.

BIGGEST FAIL: Not following Google Maps on one of our trips and trying to find a shortcut. Then, walking an extra hour because of it.

BEST PURCHASE: I enjoyed buying clothes wherever I went because they were a useful souvenir, and now whenever I wear them, it reminds me of my travels.

MOST INTERESTING CLASS: People, Places, and Regions.  I got an excellent overview of social, geographic, and economic trends, and it was interesting to hear about the U.S. from an Irish perspective.

BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: Meeting people from Ireland and other countries like New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and France.

MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: I loved traveling to Paris, because I went by myself and enjoyed the freedom of being on my own schedule and meeting daytime travel buddies through tours and the hostel.

BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: Make sure to celebrate Pancake Day by making the traditional Irish pancakes (which are thinner than American pancakes, basically crepes) with lemon juice and sugar.

FAVORITE LOCAL WORD/SLANG: Craic, pronounced “crack.”  I still don’t understand all the subtleties of it but it roughly translates to fun.  Like when someone says “it was good craic” that means it was a fun time.

IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN… I would try to plan a trip to Morocco.  I hadn’t even considered going to Africa until I heard about a lot of people traveling there during the semester.  It’s an easy flight from Europe, and it would have been interesting to experience African culture during my trip.

DUBLIN, IRELAND – JODI JENSEN

Posted on by jkim592@illinois.edu

MEET JODI.

Jodi studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland during Spring semester of 2017.

IF NOTHING ELSE, DON’T FORGET TO PACK: Medicine to last the entire trip – Its hard to find specific medicine in a different country. If you get medicine sent to you it can be held up in customs and take a long time to arrive. Good walking shoes (preferably waterproof) – It rains a lot in Dublin and you will walk most places, so comfortable shoes that won’t get soaking wet are key!

ON SECOND THOUGHT, YOU CAN LEAVE AT HOME: Soap, shampoo, etc. – Unless you have a specific brand you have to use just purchase it when you’re there! They take up a lot of weight in the suitcase and Dublin has a lot of brands that we have like Dove, Herbal Essences, etc. If you’re staying off campus in an apartment don’t pack bedding!  There is a store called “Penny’s” that sells home good for extremely cheap. That is where I purchased all of my bedding and pillows.
WHERE TO LIVE: I recommend living in an apartment close to the city center.  The dorms on campus can be small and it’s best to be in the city commuting to school than on campus commuting to the city.  You will take advantage of all of the fun things the city has to offer if you’re in walking distance.
BEST PLACES TO EAT: San Lorenzos (amazing Saturday/Sunday brunch). Sophies (Rooftop restaurant with great food and view of the city). Chopped (Salad for when you’re on the go). O’Shea’s Hotel (A good variety of food including typical Irish dishes). The Brazen Head (Oldest pub in Dublin).
FAVORITE CULTURAL ACTIVITY: Live pub music. You can find live music at most pubs on the weekend and in the Temple Bar area during the week!
BEST PERSONAL HIDEOUT: St. Stephens Green.  Its the best place to wander around on a nice day and enjoy some greenery in a city.
FAVORITE PLACE TO STUDY: A small cafe on Dawson St.  Close to shopping when you need a study break!
MUST TRY LOCAL DISH: Steak and Guiness Pie.
BEST PHOTO OP: Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland
BIGGEST FAIL: This was a mistake my friends made.  To save money they booked an early flight and decided to sleep in the airport before traveling to their next location. In the end they were so tired when they arrived they had to take a nap and didn’t enjoy that day.  Studying abroad is an opportunity that only comes once so budget early on so you know what trips you can afford to enjoy!
BEST PURCHASE: Getting a post card in every city I visited, it is a cheap and fun way to remember your trips.
MOST INTERESTING CLASS: Ireland Uncovered.  Provided the history of Ireland and was able to learn about the country while I was living in it.
BEST PART OF THE PROGRAM: Spending 4 months traveling Europe and living in a new place!
MOST MEMORABLE TRIP: Trip to the Almafi Coast of Italy over Easter weekend.
BEST LOCAL EVENT/HOLIDAY: St. Patricks day, obviously!
FAVORITE LOCAL WORD: “Cheers” it’s a very versatile word there used instead of thank you, you’re welcome, etc.
IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN… I wouldn’t change a thing!  Every day was a new experience and I enjoyed being able to learn what things to do differently as the weeks progressed.