Over her spring break, our college friend Maddie visited us, and we traveled to Rome. We had so much fun! The trip was the perfect mix of history, relaxing, shopping, etc. It was crazy to see all the historical landmarks that we grew up seeing in textbooks and movies (especially Mary Kate and Ashely’s “WhenContinue reading “Rome, Italy”
Author Archives: joelle
Stave Churches
The Christianization of Scandinavia took place between the 8th and 12th centuries. Norwegians had a distinct style of religious architecture known as the Stave Church. They were called Stave Churches because of their corner-posts, called staves, and their framework of timber with planks on sills, called stave walls. There were once 1,300 stave churches inContinue reading “Stave Churches”
Bergen, Norway
The last leg of our trip was spending a few days in Bergen, Norway. Despite being the second largest city in Norway, Bergen really does have small town charm with its houses in the hillside and small cobblestone streets. Bergen used to be Europe’s largest wooden city, but the many fires over the years ledContinue reading “Bergen, Norway”
Flåmsbana (The Flåm Railway)
From Oslo we headed off on our railway tour, which was definitely a highlight of our trip. On the train, we saw charming villages, snowy mountains, and vast valleys. In the city of Myrdal, we hoped on the famous Flåm Railway – which is one of the world’s steepest and most beautiful railway lines. HereContinue reading “Flåmsbana (The Flåm Railway)”
Oslo, Norway
After Helsinki, we arrived in Oslo, Norway and spent a few days there. This included a walking tour (like always), many delicious meals (Oslo Street Food Market, Café Cathedral, Girotondo Pizza, Taverna’n), and 10,000+ steps every day. After spending time in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, I see how similar and homogenous Scandinavia is, largelyContinue reading “Oslo, Norway”
Sauna
Like I mentioned, there are saunas everywhere in Finland and they’re an important and popular part of daily culture. There are saunas in: In public saunas swimsuits are mandated, but in most saunas everyone is nude. We also learned about a Finnish wedding tradition where future brides, grooms, and both sets of parents sauna togetherContinue reading “Sauna”
Helsinki, Finland
We had a wonderful two days in Helsinki, Finland! We started off with dinner at Passio, which had a surprise menu concept that was so much fun. The following day, we went on a walking tour where we learned all about Finland and Finnish culture. In general, we were so impressed with their quality ofContinue reading “Helsinki, Finland”
Family Heritage Trip
After my mom wrapped up her month-long artist residency in Finland, we decided to make a trip out of it. I met her and my aunt Sandy, in Helsinki, Finland before we traveled around Norway via their scenic railway. My mom and aunt really wanted to take this trip, as their maternal grandparents (my greatContinue reading “Family Heritage Trip”
Ghent
Brev had a day off last week, so we were able to visit Ghent! We had a great time walking around and sightseeing. Ghent is a charming university city with lots of canals and things to see, like The Castle of the Counts (a medieval castle built by the Count Philip of Alsacein in 1180)Continue reading “Ghent”
Amsterdam Recs
Some of my best friends from home visited us at the end of January. We had the most wonderful time exploring Brussels and Leuven, Belgium and Amsterdam, Netherlands. My friends had never been to Europe before, and I think Amsterdam was a perfect city for us to visit because it’s super walkable and easy toContinue reading “Amsterdam Recs”
The Jo Show 