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On my first visit to Denmark, I fell in love with the country and the city of Copenhagen. Contrary to my guidebook, you could see elephants and experience ice hockey in the dead of summer.

The Hanson Brothers

Upon arriving in Copenhagen, I was burned out from backpacking and looking forward to a good nap. I was traveling with three other Americans and we became distressed as each subsequent hostel told us all beds were sold. After asking around [okay, we were in a bar], we were given a lift by a local to a “hotel” guaranteed to have space.

I could only sigh as we pulled up to the ice rink for the local professional team. Since we were “high and dry“, we entered and booked our beds. Left face off dot. Yes, our beds were arranged around the left face off dot. To make a little extra money during the summer, the rink melted the ice and set up beds everywhere. The scene can best be described as a giant collection of cubicles in an office with beds instead of desks. It was cheap, dry and had a communal feel since you could hear everything. If you’ve seen the movie “Slap Shot“, it was like living with a few hundred Hanson Brothers.

Danish Elephants

Okay, there was one Danish elephant. Okay, it was made out of wood. And poured beer. From its trunk. Ah, let me start at the beginning.

Having been befriended by some local Danes, we were asked in hushed tones if we would like to see real Danish elephants. Yes, we’d be able to touch them. No, they weren’t dangerous. We could even ride them? Wow, this was going to be a great entry in my Nomad travel journal.

We were picked up at the ice rink that evening and taken to the center of town. We stopped in front of what looked like all the world to be a small tavern. This is where they keep the elephants? We walked into a small tavern witha life-sized, wood elephant.

As it turned out, the elephant was the world’s biggest and best beer dispensing unit. Put you glass under the trunk and pull down on a tusk to dispense your beverage of choice. Each tusk provided a different beer, but I investigated the mechanism far to often that evening and don’t recall the brands. Unfortunately, there didn’t appear to be an aspirin elephant anywhere to be seen the next morning.

If you’re going to be visiting Copenhagen and don’t give a hoot about privacy, the ice rink hotel can’t be beat for price and a communal spirit. Well, maybe by the Danish elephants, but don’t tell anyone I told you.

Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of travel journals. Visit NomadJournalTrips.com to read more articles about Denmark Travel and Adventure Travel.

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Loch Ness is arguably Scotland’s most famous tourist attraction. Every year, people from around the world visit this 24-mile stretch of water for its breathtaking beauty, and of course to revel in the legend of the fabled Loch Ness Monster. Loch Ness is just one of many lochs (or lakes) hidden amongst the awe-inspiring Scottish countryside, and is also one of the most rewarding. There is so much to discover along its picturesque shoreline and in the surrounding countryside, providing families and the young at heart with fun, excitement and adventure.

The North Shore

Inverness is the essential starting point for a tour around the Loch. Capital of the Highland Region in Scotland, Inverness is situated at a strategic point where the waters of Loch Ness flow out into the Moray Firth. Views along the wide river are very impressive, Inverness Castle sat high up on the river bank being the photographer’s favorite.

Loch Ness is some 15kms south-west of Inverness. Visitors should take the A82 road towards Drumnadrochit on the north side of the lake. Stunning views of the loch can be enjoyed between the trees all the way along the hilly shore road. Roughly a third of the way along the north shore the dramatic ruins of Urquhart Castle come into view.

Urquhart Castle dates back to the 13th century. As far as romantic ruins go, this castle has it all. It is perched up above the trees on a rocky outcrop, which plunges steeply down into the loch. The waters of the loch quickly reach a depth of 600ft and it is said that sometimes strange ripples can be seen on the water in the shadow of the castle - signs that the Loch Ness Monster is stirring!

Onwards along the north shore the road takes you through the 17th century hamlet of Invermoriston before reaching Fort Augustus at the southwestern tip of the loch. At Fort Augustus the staircase lock system on the Caledonian Canal can be seen. The Canal was begun in 1803 by the great industrial architect, Thomas Telford. If you want to tour the loch by boat, Fort Augustus is the best place to do it from.

The South Shore

On the south side of Loch Ness the scenery becomes wild. Single track roads hug the undulating shoreline. The south side is often more tranquil, while the 100-foot falls at Foyer are an amazing sight! At Dores towards the north-east end of the lake a small road switchbacks up into the hills to the south. Here you will find a series of smaller lochs nestled at altitude between the steep-sloped mountains - perfect if you’re looking for the ultimate in beautiful Scottish scenery.

Getting to Loch Ness

Inverness airport is the closest airport to Loch Ness. It receives in regional flights from the UK’s main international airports including Glasgow, Birmingham, Heathrow and Gatwick. Car Hire can be booked in advance to pick up from Inverness. Visit http://www.your-carhire.com for a quote.

Seb Jay is a professional copywriter specializing in the creation of original web content for http://www.your-carhire.com

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You probably know by now that one of my personal passions is languages. I truly love the mental challenge of learning foreign languages and I think even a tiny amount of local language knowledge makes a stay in a foreign country so much more pleasant. It allows us to communicate with the locals in their language, and even if we don’t speak their language well, as long as we make an effort, they really appreciate it.

My favourite language of all is Spanish, so I am planning to go on a language study trip myself. As it looks right now I will be spending the first 2 weeks of April at the University of Havana, studying Spanish and immersing myself in the local culture.

I did a fair bit of research before deciding on this particular language study program. I located quite a few websites out there for individual language schools, and in addition to that, there are language course-booking websites, many of which allow you to search by language and/or country. The most popular languages offered by these booking websites include English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, but Chinese, Greek, Polish, Russian and Turkish and others more are also available.

There are a few basic things to keep in mind when booking a language study trip:

Duration:
How long do you want to stay? One week, one month, a year or anything in between?

Format:

Most language schools offer a standard program, which usually consists of 3 or 4 hours of instruction in the morning where the student has the afternoon off. Intensive programs are also offered where 1 to 3 additional lectures are added on in the afternoon. Examination preparation courses as well as one-on-one courses round out the course program and sometimes schools offer special purpose language courses, e.g. business language etc.

Class size:

The smaller the better. Obviously you will get a better learning experience and more attention from the teacher with less people. A lot of schools offer a standard class size of 8 to 12 students.

Accommodation:

A popular type of accommodation for language study programs abroad is staying with a host family, often referred to as “homestay”. Language students stay in a private room in the home of a local family and often participate in family activities, dinners and excursions. This approach offers the advantage of full immersion in the culture, from a linguistic and social point of view. Other accommodation options include shared student apartments or hotels.

Excursions and social events:

Schools generally offer excursions and social events to the foreign language students, some of which may be included in the package prices, others may cost extra. This is a chance to go beyond language learning and to get to know the local culture.

Included services:

When looking at prices, be careful to compare apples to apples. Some programs have inscription fees over and above tuition fees. Check whether airport transfers, meals or study materials are included in the package.

Here are some links to a number of the language class booking sites so you can do your research:

www.123teachme.com
www.abroadlanguages.com
www.abuks.com
www.cactuslanguage.com
www.firststepworld.com
www.language-schools-directory.com
www.languagecourse.net
www.languageschoolsguide.com
www.mylanguageexchange.com
www.orbislingua.com
www.spanishabroad.com
www.transitionsabroad.com

Have fun booking your next language study trip!

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey

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