Better Late Than Never

For this post, I'll be playing catch-up from the previous 2 weeks of my European adventures. So to begin, last week I started my 2nd session class called Medical Biotechnology & Drug Development (talk about a mouthful). In this class, we are learning about the different phases of the discovery and development portion of creating a clinical drug. I'm really enjoying it because it's so specific and it pertains to my future career in medicine.

On Friday the 21st, I went to the Tivoli Gardens to see 30 Seconds to Mars perform (one of my favorite bands). The weather wasn't that great throughout that afternoon, and remained the same until around 9:45pm, and the concert started at 10pm. Luckily, the rain cleared just in time for the show.
The concert was incredible, and it's so ironic that I came here to study abroad and they happened to be playing here during my trip; this made my experience so much more epic.

The next day, Red Bull was hosting a Cliff Diving competition, where competitors would jump off the top of the Opera House and free fall 27 meters before hitting the water. We sat on the side of the canal opposte of the Opera House to get a good view of the divers.

After the diving competition, I headed back to my apartment building. On the way there, I decided to walk along Stroget, which is the main pedestrian street in Copenhagen. The next thing that happens is either through luck or a major coincidence. I spot the members of 30 Seconds to Mars, the band that I had just seen the night before; my first concert to ever attend. So, of course, I got a picture taken with them.

After a small period of hysteria, I made my way back to my apartment. That evening, I had been invited to a Danish Christmas dinner with one of my friends who was staying with a host family. The whole experience of visiting a local family was definitely worth while; a huge taste of Danish tradition.

The following week, my class was going to Edinburgh, Scotland for our study tour. It was weird to say that we were going to study abroad while currently studying abroad. While in Edinburgh, we took a medical walking tour, went on a boat ride, toured a whiskey distillery, and even went on a ghost walking tour in the Blair Street vaults. Also, it was a nice change to see everything written in English. On two of the days, we visited 2 different biotech companies to learn about their impact and relevance to drug discovery and development.



As we drove from the airport into the city, we could see the Edinburgh Castle, a must-see landmark.


















During one of the evenings, we took a hike up to Arthur's seat which gives you an incredible view of Edinburgh.

We took a tour of the Glengoyne whiskey distillery, and we also got to taste their 10 year-old single malt whiskey.

Before the distillery, we took a boat ride on Loch Katrine, which was a 2 hour drive from the city center. The lake was amazing and it was completely surrounded by mountains and foothills covered in greenery.








After 5 days in Scotland, our whole class was super exhausted, and ready to return back to Copenhagen. It was nice to be back in a familiar place, even though it was technically foreign. So at that point, we hit the one-week-left mark. Its odd to say that we have been here for so long, and that everything comes to end. We all knew that we had to do as much as we could within the last week here in Denmark. So whats the first thing that comes to mind? Let's go to Sweden for a day!

This past Tuesday afternoon, a few friends and I decided to make a day trip to Helsingborg, Sweden. To get there, we took a regional train to Helsingor and then took a ferry over to Sweden (If only traveling were always that easy). Being so close, you would think that Sweden might use the same currency; but no, they use the Swedish kroner (SEK) instead of the Danish kroner (DKK).

Overall, Helsingborg looked a lot like Copenhagen. The architecture was very similar, but people weren't so dressed up all the time. Also, their was a slight difference in the language as well.


















Yesterday, it was a nice day outside, so we took advantage of it by going to climb up the Church of Our Saviour. This church is also known as the spiral church, because the steps go all the way to the top.

Well, it's July 4th, and I'm in Copenhagen. It's strange to not see everyone celebrating America's birthday with BBQ and fireworks. So in place of the usual festivities, we are going to make s'mores tonight (somehow lol).

With only 2 nights left in Copenhagen, it's beginning to sink in that I'll probably never again see the people I've met and the friends I've made. It's truly been a memorable experience, and I will deeply miss every aspect of it. But for now, it's time to enjoy my last few days abroad.