blustery bornholm

I've neglected to talk about my Bornholm bike trip! I 've been so busy with classes as of late, but I had just finished my final thirty minutes ago. 

So! Bornholm. 

Googled Bornholm. Got the band.

This was a trip offered by DIS (the program I am with) and we took an overnight ferry to reach this tiny island. Funny enough, it's on the other side of Sweden, but it's still considered part of Denmark. 

As soon as I stepped off the boat at 5am, bleary eyed and feeling a little crumpled up, it was like I had stepped  into one of those calendars they sell at the mall with beautiful pictures of far-away places that you just assumed were photoshopped. 

People. Screw Narnia. It's the real deal. 

Indeed. Those are Terracotta rooftops. 

And this is what we did the entire two days we were there:

like a boss (and yes, I took this picture while biking >:o)

Here I met some of the best temp. roommates ever. Sara, Danielle, and Sonya. 

We went to a museum in Bornholm which hosted a lot of Danish artists. The whole building was also so artistic, built to maximize light with glass and whiteness (very Danish). There was even a little little stream that ran through the entire museum to lead the people around.

Sonya and Sara also taught me how to Marco the shizniz out of everything on my canon. Score. 

disturbing :o( 

After our excessive biking and museum trip, our bums were feeling quite sore, so we decided sit them down at a praised local restaurant that had Bornholm's well-known dish: pickled herring. 


Here is the wiki definition:
Pickled herring, also known as bismarck herring, is a delicacy in Europe, and has become a part of Baltic, Nordic, Dutch, German (Bismarckhering), Polish, Eastern Slavic and Jewish cuisine. Most cured herring uses a two-step curing process. Initially, herring is cured with salt to extract water. The second stage involves removing the salt and adding flavorings, typically a vinegar, salt, sugar solution to which ingredients like peppercorn, bay leaves and raw onions are added. In recent years other flavors have also been added, due to foreign influences. However, the tradition is strong in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, The Netherlands, Iceland and Germany. Onion, sherry, mustard and dill are some of the traditional flavourings.


I didn't read it because it might ruin it for me, but it is DELICIOUS. 
But to find this restaurant called Sommer was a bit of a problem. 

We biked.... and biked... and biked some more.

 But we didn't give up! And we found it in Allinge, a northern town on the island. And Sommer was there, tucked away near the port area. And this is what I had:

yep, macro-ed that

 After finally feeling full and happy, it was time to grab our bikes and pedal our 18 miles back. 

stopped to take some picture. That's me :o) 

And we enjoyed the sunset near the hostel

Our butts were feeling quite painful the next day, so we decided to stick around the town near the hostel and check out local things. We found an interesting shops ranging from eco-clothes, hydrangea flavored caramel, and "sexy hats". 

The name of these hats are lost on me. 

As a side note: in foreign places you tend to find thing you would have never imagined to be a flavor. Here in Denmark there seems to be a strange fascination with the flavors of hydrangea and the combo of pear and banana. Not that I'm complaining, it's delicious. :o) 

We got hungry again and went to THE BEST BRUNCH IN MY LIFE. It had authentic danish food. And it was all. so. delicious. 

Had to throw some American food in the mix

And sadly, as quickly as I had come, weary and disheveled, we had left. 


Thus: Beloved Bornholm  


I'm seriously debating whether to give my parents a summer home here so I can just make an excuse to visit them. 
(Mom, Dad, if your reading this. Don't take it too seriously. Last time I checked, humanities studies is the leading cause of unemployment.)

Tonight I'll be leaving to Munich to meet up with Steff Forbes! So excited, since I haven't seen that girl in a year or so since she left us Americans to study abroad in Germany. 

And Saturday I will be taking a day trip to Vienna, Austria to go see an grand 150 year celebration exhibit of Gustav Klimt's work. My favorite artist. 

I will probably have a nervous breakdown and burst into tears at the front gates of the museum and be assisted out. 

Love - C