Walking the Path of a Life Lived Abroad

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Copenhagen14 Comments

When you Step Away From a Life You Had Planned

There is a path that you are supposed to follow. For a well-led life. A path that takes you from the boisterous enthusiasm of your sometimes pimply faced youth through high school and on. To the expectation and rah-rah of those determined and dedicated university years. A path that is supposed to launch you into the world, on newly emergent adult type wings still wet and unfurling, fluttering and trying to fly. On your own.

The path may take you through first jobs and first apartments and first loves and second loves and third dates and devastating breakups and then when the time is right, the path proposes marriage. Then maybe a first home. A small white saltbox outside Cincinnati, Ohio. You didn’t know when you started on this path where the house might be, but you knew there would be a house. Or two. Or more. In another place.

This same path potentially brings a dog. Then a family. The 2.5 kids. The path is stable and secure and laid out for you. For the most part. If you walk it. If you want it. Follow the path. Work hard, raise your kids, buy a house, save for retirement, send them to college and launch them on their own paths. Work some more. Retire. Happy. Fulfilled. Knowing you followed the path. It is what you were supposed to do. It’s what you are supposed to do. Continue reading “Walking the Path of a Life Lived Abroad” →

Where to Find the Best Views of Copenhagen

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Copenhagen33 Comments

12 Places to See the Danish Capital From Above 

Climb one of Copenhagen’s Iconic Towers for Panoramic Vistas OF THE CITY

Stroll the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen’s old city and you will very soon see several of the historic spires and towers that dominate the Danish skyline. Come to Copenhagen she said. And see it from above. This compact and colorful city is walkable, or better yet – bikeable. Partly because it is so flat, flat, flat, flat. Great for getting around, but not as beneficial for finding breathtaking vistas where you can survey the city as a whole.

To get a bird’s eye view from above – you have to go up. Into one of those iconic towers. In the historic center of the city, building restrictions limit new construction heights, keeping the tallest structures you’ll see the same as they were centuries ago. Lucky for you, a wonderfully charming vista of old-school architecture comingles perfectly with modern Danish design. And it’s all there for you to see. Climb up one of these towers. Step above the streets. Here are the twelve best places to catch the city views from above.

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Do a Road Trip to the Dead Sea When in Israel

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Israel, Middle East37 Comments

Sink to New Lows While You Float on the World’s Saltiest Sea

DRIVE THROUGH THE NEGEV DESERT TO EIN BOKEK, ISRAEL

The absolute highlight of our recent family trip to Israel has to be the surreal feeling of floating atop the Dead Sea. Slippery, sort of slimy, slightly oily and extremely salty – getting in the water here is an amazing experience. You should definitely put it on your wandering wish list. Beautiful pale green water gently laps against yellow-orange beaches crusted with crystallized white salt formations. You have to see it to believe it. Take a road trip through the beautiful Negev Desert to get there.

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Step Inside the Cisterns | An Under Ground Art Space in Copenhagen

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Copenhagen33 Comments
Experience Art in the Old Water Reservoir Under Frederiksberg
Go See Artist Jeppe Hein Exhibition at Cisternerne

I truly don’t know why it has taken me so long to step inside Copenhagen’s surreal underground art space known as the Cisterns. Or Cisternerne in Danish. Once a water storage facility for the city, the Cisterns could hold nearly 16 million liters of water. That’s over 4 million gallons. Thirsty yet? But you can’t wet your whistle down here anymore, the Cisterns haven’t held water since the early 80’s. And when the water had to go-go, the reservoir was transformed into a place for art, starting in 1996. It is now one of the coolest art spaces I have ever experienced. Dark. Slightly dank. Definitely damp. All sorts of atmospheric. And the perfect space for Danish artist Jeppe Hein‘s new exhibition, “In is the Only Way Out,” on now through November 2018.

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