I woke up at about 12:45pm after a long night writing a paper. Leah and I aren’t meticulous planners, we are spontaneous and carefree, so we glanced at the train schedule online and realized that the only train that wouldn’t push us to our limits would be departing in 45 minutes. I hadn’t packed, so I grabbed a few things in haste, hoping I’d be able to throw together a few fashionable outfits. Fifteen minutes later we were hauling our baggage to the train station. To Leah’s misfortune, she didn’t have a carry-on bag and had to settle for a very small backpack. She may be the most low maintenance person I have ever met in my life. It’s slightly refreshing.

We got to the train station on time and our journey started. Unbeknownst to us, we chose to sit in the “silent” car of the train and were admonished for conversing with one another. That put a mild damper on the excitement, but it came back soon enough at the airport. We met up with Krista, Beth, and Rishma and boarded the plane. Leah and I had strategically selected the emergency exit aisle seats (lots of legroom) and picked non-adjacent seats hoping that no one would sit between us. It worked and we had the whole aisle to ourselves! It was a nice perk.

We got to London just as the sun was going down and took the train into the city. We first laid eyes on KFC and never have I been so relieved to see fast food. We indulged, but not much since it was so much cheaper than food in Denmark, and then parted ways with the others to take the subway to our hostel. I fell in love with the city in an instant. The beautiful architecture, rich history, double-decker buses, casual dress, and the English language. It was like having a small piece of home.

Our hostel was in much better condition than I had expected. It was right across from St. Paul’s Cathedral and had a rich, cozy feeling with chandeliers and clean amenities. The desk clerk, Alice, was incredibly friendly. Though we shared a room with 8 other people and it was very noisy at times, the bed was comfortable and clean and the showers were the best I’ve had in over a month.

We decided to go out and see some sites to kill some time. We took a few cliché pictures in the British telephone booths and then moved onto the Millennium Bridge. Some of you will probably recognize the Millennium Bridge as the one that the dementors destroyed in the latest Harry Potter film. It provided a fantastic view of the city at night and we happened across some Ohioans and Pennsylvanians in the middle. Small world, indeed.

After crossing the bridge, we came across Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I would have liked to have seen a performance, but time and money did not permit, so I was content to have some pictures. After all, the original Globe theatre burnt to the ground long ago. Then we walked along the river Thames and made our way back to the hostel.

The next morning, we woke up early (not necessarily by choice, but because of roommates) and headed out. We went inside St. Paul’s Cathedral and looked around a bit. St. Paul’s was built in the seventeenth century and is famous as the spot where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. We then moved onto McDonald’s. Normally we would not limit ourselves to American fast food restaurants, but McDonald’s offers free internet access, a luxury we did not have in the hostel. We tried to download a map of London onto my iPhone, but to no avail, so we walked down Fleet Street (think Sweeney Todd) in search of some indication of where we were.

Eventually, we arrived at Trafalgar Square, where Leah’s first instinct was to climb on the backs of gigantic lion statues. After much maneuvering, laughter, and strain, both of us were able to successfully climb up the lion’s haunches and have our picture taken. The lady who took our picture dropped my camera onto the hard concrete and put a small scratch on the side. Needless to say, I was not so happy, but I guess that’s what happens when you entrust valuables to strangers.

We meandered on over to the National Gallery, which was free. We saw some of the great classics, like Monet’s water lilies and Van Gogh’s sunflowers. I felt awed and blessed at the same time. It’s an indescribable feeling to be within inches of something so recognizable and invaluable. For some reason, midway through the museum, I acquired a stomachache, so we went out to get some fresh air and headed toward Big Ben.

We saw the great clocktower and the House of Parliament, snapped a few pictures, and then crossed the street to make our way to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in Westminster, so Google that. I marveled at what humans have accomplished. Maybe that’s corny, but standing under ornate gothic arches and such intricate ceiling design makes all of my life achievements thus far seem so insignificant. It’s hard to deny the existence of a God in the presence of such magnificent beauty. We saw the High Altar, where coronations and funerals, such as Princess Diana’s have taken place. We also saw the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I, the great patron of the arts, along with the tombs of many other royals, poets, and dignitaries, including Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, and Geoffrey Chaucer. At some point during each hour, the Abbey asks all guests to recognize a few moments of prayer. I can proudly say that I have prayed in Westminster Abbey.

Afterward, our legs were getting the best of us, so we walked home along the river to plan our next move and catch some rest. After a fabulous nap, we decided to do the London Eye, the observation wheel of Lon

The four of us went to the Harry Potter shop across the way and probably embarrassed ourselves, but I justified this to myself by thinking that I would never see these people again. We then walked a good bit to dinner and ended up at The Centre Page. If there ever was a quaint pub in London, this was it. It was a great relief to finally have American-sized portions of food at reasonable prices. I had a delicious rump pot pie in ale gravy. After we ate our dinner downstairs, we went upstairs to pay our tab. However, a strange man approached us and begin to talk to us, criticizing us for not being much “fun.” He volunteered to pay our dinner tab if we would do a shot with the bar crew, for which he was also going to pay for. Well, we certainly didn’t turn this down, it was almost a $70 bill. We all took some shots of Gold Schlagger and made our way home. There was a lot more to do tomorrow.

The first thing we all did the next day was meet up at King’s Cross Station. We had a near-scare when we couldn’t find Platform 9 ¾, but luckily a station worker knew exactly what we were looking for and pointed us in the right direction. A few corny pictures later, we were on way to Buckingham Palace. The palace is very similar to

the exterior of the White House, but more grey. We saw the guardsmen approach on horseback, and I saw one of the classic guards from afar. I couldn’t find one close enough to tickle, unfortunately.

I knew from some prior research that the Palace was open for exploration, but only for a few more days. I wanted to take advantage of it, so eventually we found the ticket office and bought some tickets to see the nineteen State rooms of the Palace. Again, no photography permitted. It was immaculate, to say the very least, but Leah perfectly described it as “gaudy.” Everything was excessive, exquisite, and gold. We were able to walk up the grand staircase, visit the throne room, music room, dining room, bal

lroom, drawing rooms, and the gardens. Afterward, we made our way over to the gift shop and spent a good deal of time and money purchasing some souvenirs. You could furnish a household with the goods they had there, so it was hard to choose. I decided upon a gold-rimmed shotglass to commemorate my twenty-first birth day.

Since the legendary Hyde Park was so close, we decided to hop on over and hunt down the infamous Peter Pan statue designed by JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. The walk there took us through rose gardens, lakeshore, and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk. When we arrived at the statue, we took a quick rest and some more corny, touristy pictures, then headed off to our next destination, the Tower of London, which happens to be on the opposite side of London. Nothing much more to say about the Tower of London and the London Bridge, we took some pics outside of them, but our wallets and legs would not permit any further exploration. So, we had a nap time.

After nap time, it was time for the birthday festivities to begin. We dressed up in our finest black dresses and took the Tube over to Piccadilly Circus, London’s very own Times Square. The hustle and bustle was slightly overwhelming at first, but there was a huge sigh of relief when we spotted a T.G.I.Friday’s on the corner. A great American restaurant for a great American birthday. We ordered some drinks at the bar, and not the small kind. Usually, I’m pretty frugal, but I went all out and got a wonderful steak with peppercorn sauce. Somehow the girls managed to notify the server that it was my birthday and of course, they did the whole schpeel with me standing in the middle of the room and the embarrassing singing. But that’s quite alright because I got to make a wish on the birthday candle. Though, honestly, I couldn’t really wish for anything more than what I already have.

We meandered around until we found the club that had our reservations, Tiger Tiger. It was very posh and they even had security wanding people down and looking through purses. It turns out that cover charge was close to $17, even if we were on the guest list. I wasn’t about to drop that kind of cash, so we decided to look elsewhere. But, it turns out that $17 entry fee is pretty standard in London. We soon ran out of viable options and decided to just head back to the hostel, since we had a plane to catch early the next morning.

We accidentally bought a first-class ticket on the train to the airport and took full advantage of the empty cabin and spacious seating, though you’d think they’d at least serve a drink to make the difference in class a little more distinguished. Then we waited in line with hundreds of other people at the EasyJet check-in counter. We finally arrived in Copenhagen, found some lockers to stuff our luggage in, and headed out to explore the city.

Truthfully, I found Copenhagen to be very dreary, desolate, and slightly dingy. The architecture seems comparable to that found in Russian cities. Tivoli, the premiere amusement park, just happened to be closed until their Halloween festivities in a few weeks. So, we walked around for an hour or so and then anxiously went home to Odense. There was a toga party calling our name and friends we desperately wanted to see. Actually, Leah and I dressed up in togas and went downstairs to the bar. After peaking our heads in to discover that no one else had dressed up in togas, we ran upstairs to change into something sexier, laughing uncontrollably at ourselves. The rest of the night followed in much the same way.