Gothenburg, Sweden (September 27-30, 2006)

My next stop in Sweden was a little further up the western coast in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden's second-largest city, where my friend Sandra lives. The weather has been somewhat dreary with autumn weather truly beginning to set in, but Sandra and I have still enjoyed wandering around the city together and spending time catching up after having not seen each other since college.

Sandra didn't have to work on Wednesday, so we took a boat tour into the harbor, walked around the central part of the city, and stopped numerous times to have a coffee and just chat. The past two days have followed a similar routine while Sandra has been at work; I've taken off exploring the city and spent plenty of time relaxing. Tomorrow Sandra and I are going to Liseberg, Scandinavia's largest amusement park, before I get on a night train to head back down into Germany.






For the complete photo journal for Gothenburg, visit http://www.AndreasOdyssey.shutterfly.com.

Taking Time for Yourself

I am hanging out in Gothenburg, Sweden, visiting my friend Sandra from college - finally beginning to feel, one month into my "hiatus" and a little over a week into my trip, that I can relax more fully. Sandra and I watched the Swedish airing of Jay Leno the other night with Justin Timberlake as a guest. Justin and Jay talked about Justin's decision to take a 2-year sabbatical from work. Many wondered what was wrong or why he would do such a thing at the prime of his life and in the midst of a successful career. He simply explained that his grandfather had told him he should enjoy life while he was still young and able to do so. So he spent two years playing golf and learning how to enjoy life.

While I am not proposing that I am anything like Justin Timberlake nor that he should be some sort of role model, I believe there is much to be learned from what he did. We (Americans especially) often are so focused in doing what we think we should be doing that we forget to enjoy ourselves along the way. I know I have operated under that mentality for too long. It is almost impossible to "enjoy the journey" when you feel you are in a constant state of trying to be everything to everyone. We are taught that power and money and status are what will bring us contentment and happiness, yet we never reach fulfillment because those things probably take away from it more than lend to it. Is it any wonder that some of the wealthiest countries and people are also the most discontent? The truth is we need to learn to embrace the present, to relax and to enjoy what happens along the way to wherever we are heading.

That is exactly one of my goals of this odyssey: to learn to relax and enjoy life. Of course, not working for four months in itself should go far in teaching me how to relax, but I believe being in Europe also fulfills a vital piece of the prescription. Ever since my first trip to Europe, I have been in awe of Europeans' ability to take it easy and embrace life in the moment. Granted, they have the same stresses as anyone else, but they seem to place more importance on taking a break from work to sit at a street cafe and sip a coffee or closing their shops to take a nap or spend time with family and friends. These, my friends, are the things worth living for... not owning the latest model of cell phone or being the best at everything. Since I seem to forever live in a state of stress - trying to do and be too much - I know this trip will be a healthy reminder for me of what is truly important.

So, for any of you who were concerned about my seemingly rash decision to take a sabbatical in the midst of some of my most promising working years, I assure you that this is the healthiest thing I could be doing with my time. While I am young and able, I am enjoying life to the fullest, and I hope I can encourage others to learn to do the same!

Copenhagen, Denmark (September 25, 2006)

Since my friend Anders had to work on Monday, I decided to take a day trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, which is about an hour by train from Lund. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has about 1.5 million inhabitants, but the inner part of the city still feels rather quaint and only took a few hours to walk. As you can see from the pictures, it is filled with gorgeous architecture, lively squares, and a colorful harbor area (Nyhavn). The Nyhavn, Strobel, and Kongens Nytorv areas bustled with shopping, cafes, and street musicians even mid-day. Even in my hurry to see the city, I had to stop to enjoy the excitment of these crowded open areas! I would have loved to have sat at a street cafe all afternoon, just watching the activity, but I didn't have any Danish krona (money). Instead I settled for an afternoon rest in the Kongens Have (King's Gardens) near the beautiful Rosenborg Slot castle, where locals come to picnic or relax on the lush green grass.

With this little adventure, I successfully survived my first day of hanging out in a city by myself! I consider it a test of strength to not know a city, not speak the language, not have any money in the correct currency, not have anyone to rely on or share it with, and still have a good time! Even being a fairly independent person, who does not mind being alone, I did feel at times that I would have liked to have had someone to enjoy it with. But there are a lot more days like that to come, so this is the perfect time embrace being alone in a strange place and meeting new people!

For the complete photo journal of Copenhagen, visit http://www.AndreasOdyssey.shutterfly.com.

Lund, Sweden (September 22-24, 2006)

Friday was spent traveling from Göttingen to Sweden through northern Germany and Denmark. Having traveled quite extensively through Europe, my journey was relatively uneventful and unexciting. One point of interest was the ferry ride across the Baltic Sea from Puttgarten, Germany, and Rodbyhavn, Denmark. Our train actually drove up onto the ferry, we were able to walk freely around the ferry for 45 minutes, and then the train continued on the normal tracks on the other side!

Lund, Sweden, a university town of 100,000, is Sweden’s second oldest city. Like Goettingen, it is filled with students, so it has a fun, eclectic atmosphere. My friend Anders and I have spent most of the weekend walking around the town, which is small and quaint and filled with medieval architecture The weather has been gorgeous and unusually warm for this time of year (in the 70s). On Saturday morning, we visited an open-air flea market and today we strolled through the botanical garden. Throughout the course of the weekend, we have met a lot of Anders’ friends; they have been amazingly friendly and, fortunately, happy to speak English with me. Tomorrow, while Anders is at work, I will make a daytrip to Copenhagen, Denmark, which is about an hour by train from Lund.

For the complete photo journal for Lund, visit http://www.AndreasOdyssey.shutterfly.com.

Göttingen, Germany (September 19-22, 2006)

Getting Internet access has been somewhat harder than I expected, so I was not able to write much earlier. Here's a little more about Göttingen and some pictures.

As I mentioned earlier, I spent my junior year of college in Göttingen, Germany, as an exchange student at the Georg-August Universität Göttingen. Göttingen is a nice college town of approximately 130,000 people. The university, which boasts around 24,000 students, has buildings throughout town as well as a main campus area. Many famous Germans, including 40 Nobel prize winners, have studied or taught in Göttingen. In fact, the famous mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss and a scene of the Göttingen old town were featured on the 10 Mark bill (of course, now the currency is the Euro). Here is a link to the city's website (in English) if you want to learn more about the city or see pictures: http://www.goettingen-tourismus.de/index.php?menuid=2&topmenu=2&keepmenu=inactive.

My exchange year in Göttingen was quite a life-changing experience for me. I had loved Europe since my first visit in high school and had long entertained thoughts of studying or moving abroad. I came to Göttingen without knowing a single person and barely speaking the language. My first few months were truly a "culture shock" in the starkest meaning of the phrase, but I quickly got accustomed to the culture, began picking up more of the language, and met lots of great people. I spent two semesters studying a variety of subjects at the university (mainly, German and economics) and helping my exchange director (an English professor) teach English classes. During our 2 month vacation between semesters, I backpacked around Europe with friends.

I see my year in Germany coming at a very formative time for me. It changed me a lot as a person and had a huge hand in molding me into the person I am today. Not only did being on my own in a foreign land force me to grow up and become more independent, living abroad also introduced me to other approaches to life and ways of doing things. I am happy to say that even with globalization, Europe is still very different from the United States. I loved Germany dearly, and I have to admit, by the end of my exchange year, I was not thrilled about going back to the U.S.

Being back in Göttingen, roaming the streets I had once walked so many times and recalling fond memories from my exchange year was somewhat therapeutic. My friend Angela was working during the day, so I had unlimited time to relax and enjoy (those who know me know that is not easily done!). I had no agenda for things I needed to do or wanted to see, so I spent most of my time "winding down" from the stress that has run my life for too long. In the evenings, Angela and I spent hours sitting at street cafes or pubs, "catching up" and reliving memories my year in Göttingen and the next year, when she was an exchange student to my school in Oklahoma. It was indeed the perfect beginning to my European vacation!

For the complete photo journal for Göttingen, visit http://www.AndreasOdyssey.shutterfly.com.

First Stop: Göttingen

After almost 24 hours of travel, I arrived yesterday evening at my first stop: Göttingen, Germany. I spent my junior year of college in Göttingen as an exchange student, so I know the city well and still have a friend in town. It only seemed appropriate to begin my journey in the city I consider my "German home."

I haven´t done anything terribly exciting just yet. I slept in today and have spent the afternoon walking around town, recalling memories of my exchange year and reacclimating myself to Europe. It is nice to be back!

First Days of Freedom

My apologies for already falling behind on my promise to update this blog regularly! My only excuse (and a valid one, I believe) is that my parents' house, where I am residing, does not have internet at the moment (yes, there are places in the U.S. without it!). But rest assured, I am going shopping for laptops and international wireless cards this afternoon. My hope is to have a laptop and internet access while I am traveling, but that will depend on a number of things not excluding cost, wireless capabilities in Europe, etc.

My First Days of Freedom
After a slight delay due to tropical storm Ernesto, I arrived in Oklahoma on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend with my parents, my sister Katie and her fiance Justin. We spent most of the weekend doing wedding preparation for their June 2007 wedding - we met with the caterer, florist, photographer, cake decorator (my favorite!), and spent 7 hours wedding dress shopping. It was pure joy to spend the weekend with my family, and seeing my baby sister in a wedding gown was unforgettable! We also had time to visit with extended family, including seeing my cousin's 3-month old baby girl. It was quite a busy weekend!

Now, I am just running errands to prepare for my trip and trying to relax a little (one thing I am not good at!). It is great to be at home and just "be" with my family. So far I am really enjoying my first days of freedom!