GO DEUTSCHLAND!

The European Football Championships are going on right now for the month of June here in Europe. And when I say football, I mean what we call soccer in the US. Germany beat Poland the other night in the first round and will play Croatia on Thursday. It's a really big deal here all over Europe and when I asked my mom if she had heard Germany won, she told me no. I guess there's a lack in the broadcast of european sports on American news stations. But it's really cool because everywhere you go the German flag is being flown! And everyone can tell you at least a thing or two about the games, even if they don't like football. And since we don't have a tv in my apartment, we can watch the games on big screens set up all over campus and the city. And I hear Germany is going to do pretty well in the tournament...YAY!

Last week I was in Denmark visiting Linda's hometown of Odense and then we drove with our friend Björn to Copenhagen and spent 2 days sightseeing there. It was really cool though because it felt like my freshman year when we first met the Brits who were studying at U of I for a semester. We took them to our homes and showed them all around Chicago and they met our friends and family, and that's how this was. We stayed at Linda's apartment, went to her parents house and even though her parents don't speak English, it worked out well with Linda translating between us. Her hometown is the 3rd largest city in Denmark but it's very small with a population of about 150,000. But I had a blast seeing the Danish culture, people, and sights. Denmark is VERY expensive, but the trip was very worth it!

These pictures are in Odense, it's the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and that's me with a statue of him.

Also in Odesne, at an old village that was from the 1800's with Linda's 2 best friends.

On the streets of Odense:

Linda & her brother:


Me in Copenhagen with the Little Mermaid Statue:


In the harbor of Nyhavn (pronounced New-hown) in Copenhagen:

On a boat tour we took of the harbor in Copenhagen:

Linda & Björn in Tivoli, an amusement park we went to in Copenhagen:


Gretchen, even though it doesn't look like I study much here, I assure you I do :-) HAHA I take tests, go to classes, and do assignments. In my free time, I enjoy traveling and seeing new things. This semester has been unreal and I'm doing so much. But I don't know when I'll be back so I need to make the most of my time here and enjoy it! :-)

Liebe Grüße von Kiel,
Love Greetings from Kiel

GO DEUTSCHLAND!!!!!!!