Grad trip.

Over the last six weeks, I’ve been travelling in northern Europe on a graduation trip; first with my friend Katie, who was my roommate in Australia, and then with my younger sister Louise and my mom. I don’t like to post or update a lot when I’m away, but since I’m back now I thought it would be good to record and share some of my experiences! This post will include some impressions, photos, reflections, and book reviews, and I’ve divided the sections by country.

(1) Norway : Ingrid + Katie

Our first stop on our trip was Oslo, Norway! Our friend Ingrid met us in the city, and we had two full days together before we all flew out again. Oslo was different from anything we had seen before, which made it a cool first stop. Mentally converting Norwegian krone to Canadian dollars was a little tricky ($1 is about 6.6 krone, which isn’t really an intuitive conversion), it was difficult to deduce what Norwegian signs and menus meant, the city was extremely clean and quiet, and most people were nice but not friendly. Luckily, since Ingrid was with us, she could explain some of the cultural differences and translate information into English. In fact, one of the best parts of Norway was just hearing her perspective on her own country and its history, politics, and culture.

Photo captions: (1) Katie, Ingrid, and I at the Viking Ship Museum; (2) Somewhere within the Akershus Fortress grounds; (3) Katie and I at Vigeland Park (a sculpture park); (4) the only two postcards I sent – I gave up on that idea pretty quickly!

I think my favourite part about Oslo was its museums – we went to the Norway Resistance Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, and the Polar Exploration Museum. All three of these focused on topics unique to Norway and taught me different things about the country’s heritage, which I really enjoyed. The Resistance Museum in particular focused on Norwegian resistance during World War II and was a sobering reminder of the costs of doing the right thing. I liked the city, but if I was to revisit Norway I would be keen to go out into the more natural landscapes in the country. We didn’t get the chance to see them this time around, but I’ve heard that they’re very beautiful and I think that two days in Oslo was sufficient to see the most interesting things.

My Norway Novel: Prior to arriving in Oslo, I researched Norwegian authors and decided to read “Naive. Super” by Erlend Loe, which is the story of a young man who becomes disillusioned with life and drops out of university. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was the perfect style for me as it was very contemplative with minimal plot. It didn’t focus a lot on Norway, but it was written in a refreshing style and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

(2) Germany : Kim, Julia, + Katie

Our next two stops were Berlin and Cologne, both in Germany. Katie and I had two friends in Berlin, Kim and Julia, who we stayed with for three nights each; in Cologne we were on our own for just under a week. Germany definitely resembled North America more than Norway, and especially in Berlin it was easy to communicate in English which made the travelling a little more straightforward. Berlin was the stop I was looking forward to the most and it definitely did not disappoint – we found a wide variety of things to do and see. It also worked out well that by the time we arrived in Cologne on our own, we had some familiarity with German, the train system, and using Euros, so we were a bit less helpless than we might have been otherwise!

For me, reconnecting with Kim, with whom I had taken computer science courses at USyd, was especially fun. It was amazing to pick our friendship right back up when we saw each other again – plus, Katie met her for the first time and the two of them got on like a house on fire! During the second half of our time in Berlin we spent some time with Julia, who had lived in the same residence with us in Sydney but we actually hadn’t hung out with a lot, so it was really nice to see her and hear about what she was up to.

Photo captions: (1) Kim, me, and Katie at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; (2) Some street art on our way back from the markets; (3) Super candid photo of Katie and I trying German beer; (4) Julia and Katie on Museum Island; (5) A beautiful courtyard in Cologne; (6) “Alpha Ro” (x) by Morris Louis at Museum Ludwig; (7) Katie and I outside Cologne Cathedral

In general, Berlin seemed like a vibrant and happening city, and I think it would be an amazing place to live. The most distinctive thing about visiting Berlin was learning more about the history of the city and country from the German perspective itself. Over the course of our time in the city, we saw the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Topography of Terror exhibit, the East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The World War II history in particular was difficult to confront, but it felt necessary while we were there to remember and reflect on it.

Cologne was definitely smaller and more subdued, but still worth the visit. My favourite parts of Cologne were definitely the architecture and art. We visited two churches in the city, Cologne Cathedral and the Great St. Martin Church, which were very different but both beautiful. We also went to the sculpture park and to Museum Ludwig, which had some amazing modern art. They had an exhibition featuring Fiona Tan’s work and I was particularly struck by Vox Populi London (x) which was a huge collection of photographs from the personal lives of Londoners. There’s a certain feeling of intimacy that comes with seeing the family photos of strangers, and seeing so many similarities between the inner lives of people who don’t know each other just reminded me of the simplicity of life, the core values that so many of us share, and the joy of simply being with people that you love.

My German Novel: “Every Man Dies Alone” by Hans Fallada is a 500+ page novel set in Berlin that follows multiple inhabitants of the same apartment building throughout the war, whose storylines are all intertwined in some way. The central story is that of a couple, Otto and Anna Quangel, who lose their son and subsequently drop illegal postcards critiquing the Nazi regime in abandoned stairwells in the city (which is based on true events). I really enjoyed this book, and I think it truly captures the suspicion and surveillance within Germany at the time – I didn’t realize how long it was when I started it, but it was still worth the read!

(3) Netherlands : Thom, Thomas, + Katie

We took a quick train from Cologne to Amsterdam and then we were in the Netherlands! Instead of staying in the main city for the duration of the trip, as we had done for the last three stops, our week in the country was comprised of two days in Amsterdam; another two on a trip to one of the northern islands, Vlieland; a day in Groningen, where Thom attends university; a day spent exploring Giethoorn and Utrecht; and then two half-days of travel. This ended up working out really well, because we had the opportunity to see a lot of different places in the country. I was impressed by the beauty and variety in the Netherlands, and of all the places I went on my trip I think it’s the one I’m most likely to revisit. Of course, it was even more fun because we were with either Thom or Thomas for the entire trip, and they were knowledgeable about the region and experts at finding the best food to eat! Spending time with them was a huge highlight of the trip, and Katie and I both felt so fortunate that their schedules allowed for time off to explore and hang out with us.

Photo captions: (1) a sunny day in Amsterdam; (2) Katie, Thom, me, and Thomas exploring the city; (3) Thom waiting as we shopped for souvenirs in Volendam; (4) Thom and Katie testing out the water at Vlieland; (5) enjoying our boat rental in Giethoorn; (6) doing a half hour tour of Utrecht with Thomas

Honestly, the food and drinks in the Netherlands were a big highlight for me! There were quite a few foods that I had never eaten before that I tried, like stroopwafels and bitterballen, and we found some great restaurants as well. Thom knows a lot about beer so we also tried some of the best summery drinks from the Netherlands and Belgium, which were perfect for enjoying on the warm afternoons. Other than that, I think my favourite part of the country was being on or in the water – we did a canal cruise in Amsterdam, went swimming in the North Sea on our island trip, and rented a little boat to explore Giethoorn, all of which I loved. We also took trains essentially everywhere, which I loved because trains are the perfect place to read, listen to music, or think about life; plus, the scenery in the Netherlands is really pretty, so staring out of the window was relaxing.

My Dutch Novel: Harry Mulisch is a famous Dutch author, so I read “The Assault” for some exposure to his work. The novel follows the story of Anton, whose house is burned down and family killed by Germans when he is only twelve years old. It didn’t feel like most other war novels I’ve read, which I liked, and there were a few passages that really struck me. The plot was not very engaging, but I cared about Anton enough to want to read until the end.

(4) Belgium : Just Me

At the end of our Netherlands leg, Katie flew back to the States and I took the train from Schiphol Airport to Brussels for nearly a week on my own in the city. I was a bit on edge during my stay in Belgium because I was a little worried about theft and I don’t really speak French or Dutch, but it was nice to have some time by myself and make decisions independently about what I wanted to do.

Photo captions: (1) stained glass windows at the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral; (2) the Place Royale Bruxelles in early evening; (3) a room in one of the city’s fine arts museums; (4) a windmill on the outskirts of Bruges

There was more to do around Brussels than I initially thought – I spent two days doing day trips to Ypres and Bruges, but the other four were spent exploring in the city. One of my favourite days was my day trip to Ypres, because I had lots of time to read on the train and I enjoyed visiting the “In Flanders Fields” museum to learn about World War I. My other favourite day was the day I spent at the fine arts museums in Brussels (it had an impressive range of artwork) and then watching a Danish movie called “Queen of Hearts” with Dutch and French subtitles at a theatre in the city. I was happy that my time learning French had yielded some obvious progress, since I could follow nearly all of the dialogue in the film by reading the French! Brussels felt like the most European of all the cities I visited on my trip, probably due to the architectural style, diversity of people and foods, and mix of languages spoken.

A Confession: I didn’t do my due diligence and find a novel set in Belgium to read… However, I did read “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller in Brussels Park, and it was excellent – it’s essentially a retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of Achilles’ best friend Patroclus and is written in a beautiful style.

(5) United Kingdom : Louise + Mom

After Belgium, I flew to Manchester and then took a train to meet up with my younger sister Louise and my mom in the Lakes District in northwest England. We spent a couple days there and then embarked on a mini road trip through some small towns in England and Wales – Chester, Caernarfon, and Oxford. Being back with my family was great, especially since I hadn’t seen Louise since Christmas. After mostly staying in big cities and travelling by transit, it was also good to shift the tone of the trip a bit and see more rural areas.

Photo captions: (1) Sheep and grass in northern England; (2) Louise and Mom in Chester; (3) Our hike in Snowdonia National Park; (4) the hall in Christ Church college in Oxford; (5) a sculpture in the garden of Chester Cathedral

In Wales, I really loved the short hike we took through Snowdonia National Park – it was a little rainy, but the walk was simple and the views were beautiful. At that point in the trip I had mostly been in cities, so I enjoyed being in the outdoors without anyone else around! In England, the highlight was definitely visiting the Oxford University Press bookshop. We almost walked past it but doubled back to take a look, which I’m really happy we did. It was way more academic than your average bookstore so it was neat to just explore what they had there – I tried reading an essay meant to disprove Gödel’s second incompleteness theorem, but it lost me pretty quickly! Oxford is also where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien both taught and where their society, the Inklings, met, so that made our day trip there even more exciting for me.

My UK Novel: I spent most of my time in the UK rereading the most famous Harry Potter fanfiction ever written, “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality“, which is roughly the equivalent length to 3 HP novels and explores an alternate universe where Harry grows up with a professor for an uncle and takes the wizarding world by storm with the scientific method and an eye for rationality. It was a fun, easy reread for me, and it’s technically set in the UK, so I’ve decided it counts 🙂

(6) Ireland : Louise + Mom

My last stop before heading home was to Ireland – we flew to Dublin and then made our way to Galway on the west coast, stopping in smaller towns, before driving back to fly out of Dublin again. Ireland was a fun stop because of the distinctive landscapes, beautiful coastal towns, unique music, and hearty Irish food!

Photo captions: (1) Me at the Cliffs of Moher; (2) Louise on the west coast of Ireland; (3) Our hike in Wicklow Mountains National Park; (4) Mom, Louise, and I at Trinity College; (5) Colourful buildings by the Chester Beatty museum in Dublin

By the time I reached Ireland, I had lost a lot of steam and was definitely winding down on my trip. Luckily, it was a relaxed leg, so it suited the energy I was prepared to exert – read: not much 😛 One of the unique things about the country was the music, and thankfully there were a few opportunities to enjoy it. On our first day in the country we went to see a service in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as we had a friend in the choir, and it was pretty special to hear fifty voices echoing through the huge church. In Galway, we also went to see a concert with traditional Irish music and dancing, which was so impressive and entertaining! There were two or three instruments they used that I had never heard before, like uilleann pipes (which are played with the elbow), and the music seemed to alternate between relentlessly upbeat and hauntingly sad. Those concerts, plus the two absolutely gorgeous hikes that we did, were my favourite parts of visiting Ireland.

My Irish Novel: “Normal People” by Sally Rooney is (kind of) a love story between two Irish teenagers that begins in high school and follows them through their time at Trinity College in Dublin. I read it for the first time when I was in Berlin but reread it in Ireland because I liked it so much. The characters are well developed and it does a great job of exploring the concept of relational dynamics, which I really enjoyed; I don’t think the style is for everyone, but it was one of my favourites so far this year for sure.

And that was the end of the trip! This has been my longest blog post in a while, but I wanted to do my trip justice and record what I experienced and enjoyed during my time away from Canada. Overall, I think that Katie and I made a good decision to visit our friends from exchange while we both had the chance and our friends were also available to meet up with us. With each friend it was amazing just how quickly we went from ‘catching up’ mode to being normal and relaxed together, and I think that’s partially because meeting on exchange meant that we were already used to travelling and exploring new places together. We reminisced about Australia together, but we also spent time making new memories and chatting about all kinds of things, so it didn’t feel like we were relying on our shared exchange experience to carry the friendships along.

Reflecting on my trip has also shown me just how different each country I visited was and illuminated the unique things about each spot that I liked, so I’m happy that I decided to write it all here. I learned a lot on my trip and cherished the time I had with my friends and family, and now I’m happy to be back in Canada! I hope that you’ve found something interesting as well, and if you’re curious about any of the places I visited I would be happy to share more of what I did with you! Now that I’m back with access to my laptop, I will be writing again soon – more contemplation to come, I promise 🙂 Til then!