ALL ABOUT TRAVEL

If you’ve had any friends who have studied abroad in Europe for a semester, you know one of the biggest parts of their experience was probably traveling to a new country every weekend. Coming to Copenhagen, I knew I wanted to take advantage of living in Europe and be able to explore countries I had only ever dreamed of going to.

My travel experience this semester has been a bit different than that of a “typical” student. Because I am not a US citizen, I had to get a tourist visa to travel to Ireland and Northern Ireland for my core course study tour.

This meant that once I arrived in Copenhagen I was immediately thrown into filling out paperwork, going to embassies and handing over my passport for weeks at a time. I started my semester knowing I wouldn’t be able to travel outside of the country until my study tour.

While at times it sucked to know my friends were going on extravagant weekend trips around the continent, I’m grateful I had the first couple months of my semester abroad to get settled in and explore Copenhagen.

I absolutely recommend and encourage every study abroad student to take advantage of this semester to travel. Traveling has been one of the best parts of my semester abroad. So far, I’ve gotten to explore Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Spain, Italy and Paris.

With these trips under my belt, here are some of my tips for traveling while abroad:

1. Make a list of places you want to see rather than booking trips

Instead of booking all your trips before you study abroad, make a list of countries and cities you’ve always wanted to see. This will help you plan trips without tying you down before you’ve even left. While you’re abroad you’re going to meet new friends you’re bound to want to travel with. Wait until the semester has started to book all your flights.

This past week I traveled to Paris with one of my friends from home and her friends from her residential community. I absolutely loved this trip. Getting to know new people was amazing and refreshing, this is why I highly recommend traveling with the people you meet at DIS and not just those you know from home.

2. Walk, walk, walk

Something I’ve learned after traveling to so many European cities is that the best way to explore is by just walking. I’ve racked up thousands of steps every time I travel somewhere new. I love walking around whether I’m on my way to see a famous building, monument or museum, or I’m just aimlessly wandering the streets.

3. Have a plan

Once you decide where you’re off to next and buy your plane tickets, make sure to research the best things to do. There’s no need to have a second by second schedule, but make sure to have a list of what you want to do and see in the city so you don’t leave wishing you had been somewhere or seen something.

4. Plan spontaneous trips

One night my flat mates from my RC and I decided we wanted to go somewhere together. We picked a weekend and started searching for cheap flights (I highly recommend looking at Kiwi, Skyscanner and Student Universe for deals). We decided to travel to Oslo, a city I had never though I would see. The weekend was so much fun, and getting to spend time with my friends while exploring a new city was amazing.

5. Remember abroad isn't all about traveling

I am so incredibly grateful to have the ability to see new places and experience different countries. But that doesn’t mean traveling should be the only thing you focus on while abroad. The truth is, traveling is exhausting and it’s so important to take weekends off to rest and recharge.

Also, make sure you’re actually spending time getting to see Copenhagen, there is a reason you chose it as the location to study abroad in. You don’t want to leave the semester regretting not having spent enough time exploring your home.