Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. -Mark Twain
The strange and interesting traditions we come across while living and traveling abroad
One of the biggest draws of Germany in the wintertime are the different Christmas markets that spring up in almost every town, and Hamburg is no exception. Germany’s second-largest city has dozens of different Christmas markets, all with unique themes and styles, and there is scarcely time to see them all in the six weeks leading up to Christmas.
Continue reading “Exploring Hamburg’s various Christmas markets”
One of the most memorable university orientation events was the Stadtrallye. It turns out “rally” has a completely different meaning in German than in English, and rather than a pep assembly or political demonstration, this was more of a scavenger hunt/team challenge.
Continue reading “Stadtrallye – a different kind of new-student orientation”
On the other side of the globe, while my friends from uni were preparing for their undergrad graduation ceremony, I was taking part in a European “tradition” that up until that week I’d never heard of: Eurovision.
Eurovision Song Contest is a euro-centric singing competition in which each participating country sends their best contender(s) to perform a piece of pop music for a huge international audience. It’s a bit like the Olympics, except instead of totally ripped athletes you have an assortment of sexy pop stars, performers in crazy costumes, and even a drag queen, and instead of competing in intense sporting events to win gold medals, they sing a song of their choice, from the serious to the silly, the completely bizarre to the downright tacky, for the honor of having their country host the competition next year. And instead of a panel of judges deciding who’s the best, the audience gets to vote, American Idol-style. The catch? You’re not allowed to vote for your own country.
Continue reading “Eurovision 2015: Some more weird European culture”
Move over, Friday bars and freshman initiation rituals. You can have your Christmas dinners (julefrokost) and licorice-flavored ice cream. Without a doubt, the most insane Danish tradition I’ve come across yet is Kapsejlads, the annual Aarhus university boat race at the university park.
In its most basic definition, Kapsejlads is a regatta, a boat race in which the different academic faculties compete against each other. In reality, it’s an excuse to drink. All. Day. Long.
Continue reading “Kapsejlads: The craziest Danish tradition I’ve seen yet”
It burns like cheap vodka, is sweet like rum, and strong like moonshine. On two separate recent occasions I’ve been introduced to the alcoholic beverage rakia.
Continue reading “Rakia: the best and worst thing to come from the Balkans”
Following the Wanderlust 