On Thursday we had our last school visit of this journey. The school was very interesting and they had many interesting philosophies for the school. This school along with many of them we saw in Denmark has immigrants. About 10% of their students are immigrants and some are learning Icelandic as their third language. One thing I found very interesting about the school is that the students remove their shoes at the door and then wear their socks through the school but the teachers all wear their shoes. We got to see many of the classrooms and there was much more home economics type classes such as foods, sewing, and wood shop. This was a very good school visit to end the trip on because it was very interesting. This afternoon we went whale watching. We got onto a boat and then went about 30 to 40
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Reykjavik, Iceland
On Thursday we had our last school visit of this journey. The school was very interesting and they had many interesting philosophies for the school. This school along with many of them we saw in Denmark has immigrants. About 10% of their students are immigrants and some are learning Icelandic as their third language. One thing I found very interesting about the school is that the students remove their shoes at the door and then wear their socks through the school but the teachers all wear their shoes. We got to see many of the classrooms and there was much more home economics type classes such as foods, sewing, and wood shop. This was a very good school visit to end the trip on because it was very interesting. This afternoon we went whale watching. We got onto a boat and then went about 30 to 40
London, England and Reykjavik, Iceland
Monday morning started with us having a school visit. All the children wore uniforms at this school and the school was more similar to the schools in the United States than the other countries we have visited. The students though only have to stay in school until the age of 16 and then they are able to go onto more schooling or join the workforce. This is changing though so that students must stay in school until they are 18. After the school visit we grabbed some lunch and then found some steps along the river to sit and relax for awhile. We did our last souvenir shopping and then packed up our bags before heading for supper. After supper we all got some ice cream and then sat in a park by some fountains and relaxed for our last evening in London before heading back to the hotel.
Tuesday was a travel day for us; we left for the airport in the morning. We spent some time in the airport before boarding our plan so we kept ourselves busy by playing some games on the computer. When we got to Reykjavik, Iceland we gathered our bags and caught the bus to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa. The picture at the right is the geothermal water at the Blue Lagoon. It was very warm and relaxing and we made face masks with the silica mud they had there. When we got to Reykjavik we checked into the hotel, grabbed some supper, and went to bed.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
London, England
On Saturday we took in many of the city sites. We started by getting onto a boat cruise which took us down the Thames River. We got off to see the Tower of London which is an old castle located right on the river. The Crown Jewels that are part of the Coronation Regalia were here on display. There were so many diamonds and gorgeous crowns. We then walked over to the Tower Bridge Exhibition which had many facts, pictures, and videos
about the building of this gorgeous brigde. It is often mistaken as the London Bridge which is actually the next bridge down the Thames River. The Tower Bridge is seen on the right. Our next stop on the day was St. Paul's Cathedral. This was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, I wish I was able to take pictures to show. Two friends from the group and I went up the 528 steps to the Golden Gallery of the tower to be 85 meters from the Cathedral Floor. We were outside and it was a bit windy so it was scary but the view over London was amazing! After we made our way back down the 528 steps we headed back to the boat to get back to where we had started. Saturday evening I went to The Lion King musical, it was absolutely amazing. The music was so much fun to hear and the actors were so good that most of their voices sounded identical to The Lion King movies.
Sunday morning we woke up early to get on a bus tour around parts of England. Our first stop on the day was Warwick Castle. This castle has been decorated to represent different times of the castle. There were also many wax statues of important people that had been in the castle. After the castle we went to Stratford upon Avon, here we got to see the house that William Shakespeare was born in. I
t was a very warm day out so after going through the house Shakespeare was born in some of us walked down and around the river area. The last stop on this tour was Oxford. Here we got to see Christ Church which is where the great hall from Harry Potter was filmed and there were also many other places around the area that were used for the movies as well. The picture on the left is the great hall used in the Harry Potter movies. We then had the couple hour bus ride back to London. This evening the weather was so nice that after supper a group of us went to Trafalgar Square. This area has a couple fountains and places to sit so we just enjoyed the evening.
Friday, May 21, 2010
London, England
On Thursday we started the day by walking around the outside of Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. We then went to watch the changing of the guards a
t Buckingham Palace and was able to see extra activities as they were practicing for the queen's birthday again. The picture on the right is part of the changing of the guards ceromony. We then went to the British National Museum which was full of many artifacts from all over the world. Later in the day we met with our group and made our way to where we were going to eat supper. On the way we visited the Clink Prison, this was very sad seeing all the torture people had went through in the prison a long time ago. We ate a group meal and then went to Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. It was a very good play and very fun to see one of Shakespeare's plays at the Globe Theatre.
Today we started
the day with a school visit. The schools here are more similar to the United States than the previous countries we have visited. The kids were fun to talk to being they could all speak English. After the school visit we stopped by Platform 9 3/4, in one of the subway stations, from the Harry Potter movies. The picture on the left is Platform 9 3/4 in the subway station. As a group we then went to The Foundling Museum which used to be an orphanage for children. After this we wandered the city some and came back for a little rest before going out for supper. We had a really good supper at an Italian restaurant before going to Wicked. The musical Wicked was very good to see and it was a lot of fun being there as a group!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Bergen, Norway and London, England
Tuesday was our last day in Norway. We started the day with a school visit. The school that we visited is a private school who sends about 30 students a year to Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. We were able to speak to some of the older students and ask them questions. One interesting thing about Norway is that they are similar to Denmark in that they have the same teacher for a few years in a row. After the school visit we were able to do a little more shopping before heading back to the hotel to pack our bags. In the evening we had our group meal and then us eight students climbed to the top of the hill. This is the same hill that we took the train to the top of before to watch the sun set. We watche
d the sun set and then walked back down.
We had to be up really early this morning to catch our flight to London! Once we got to London we made our way to the hotel. A group of us went to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, we were not able to see the changing because there were other events going on. Someone had told us that the queen's birthday is coming up so they are practicing for that. This evening a group of us went walking down by the Thames River. We took a ride on the London Eye which is a very large slow ferris wheel type ride. You ride in a capsule which moves very slowly so that it tak
es about half an hour to get all the way around. From the top you are able to see much of London. We were able to see Big Ben and the House of Lords!The image on the above is of the House of Lords and Big Ben and the image on the left is the London Eye and the Thames River.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Bergen, Norway
Today was syttende mai, which is Norway's independance day! We watched two parades this morning which were going on at the same time in opposite directions. One parade was the children from the schools
and the bugle corps and the other was bands, sports teams and other groups. The Norwegians were dressed up in their Bunads which are their traditional outfits. The parades were fun but it got a little chilly out. The picture on the right is some of the children in the parade. We went out to eat at a fun restaurant for supper and then walked around to see all the tents that were set up selling goodies. The weather was much nicer in the evening so we took advantage of that. When we arrived back at the hotel my relatives who live in Bergen were here with a Kransekake, which is a type of Norwegian cake, for our group.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Bronderslev, Denmark and Bergen, Norway
On Thursday we left Denmark for Norway! We took an overnight ferry to Bergen and arrived around 8:30 in the morning. The ferry ride seemed pretty long, we left Denmark at about 1:00 in the afternoon and the ferry was not very large for exploring so we played card games to pass the time.
When we arrived to Bergen, Norway we explored the city! It is absolutely gorgeous here with all the mountains and water. There are many fun tourist shops that we che
cked out and a fun cafe that we had some lunch at. Many of the shops were in Bryggen which is a row of old houses that lines the harbor. The picture on the right is a part of Bryggen. Most of these old buildings are also leaning. Our small group also walked through the fish market which has many fish booths and some small tents with vendors selling souvenirs. Bergen is such a beautiful city so we had fun just walking around for the day!
This morning was started with a delicious Norwegian breakfast. We went to the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art to begin the day of more touring. There were many interesting displays at this museum. After the museum we walked out to a point where we were able to sit and watch the boats come in and out of the harbor and enjoy the beautiful weather. The last two days in Norway have been the most gorgeous weather we have had the whole trip. Another museum that we toured was The Rosenkrantz Tower which is an old castle. We could hear that there were many people outside so we went to see what was happening and it was the Bugle Corps. This is a very old tradition in Bergen that is passed down from
the older men in the groups to the younger boys. They had a big parade through the town and each different group had drummers. I was able to meet up with my second cousins later in the afternoon and enjoy their company and a Norwegian meal at their house. This evening a group of us took the train up to the top of the mountain and were able to watch the sun set. From on top of the mountain you were able to see all of Bergen and much of the surrounding waters. The sun set was one of the most gorgeous I have ever seen. The picture on the left is the sun set and part of Bergen.
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