On exchange in Bozeman, Montana

My life in Bozeman makes up a great duality of studying and late nights at the library on the weekdays followed by exploring and going to the mountains on the weekends. 

Running out of sidewalk is not uncommon in the land of cars

Monday through Friday, I rarely leave campus as it functions like its own little city with dorms, dining halls, medical services, and a bowling alley.

Honoring our European traditions with beers in the grass despite local drinking laws

The American college system upholds a great workload during the semester and weekly assignments (us exchange students joke about burnout as we stay up past quiet hours in our dorm to do homework) which keeps me pretty busy during the week.

One alternative to go camping on the weekends is attending frat parties

When the weekend comes around, campus gets deserted as students go to the mountains. During my first week, I (somewhat) jokingly said a goal of mine was to go hiking every weekend during my stay. Now, that has pretty much come true.

Backpacking at Lake Plateau, Beartooth Mountains

Montana is the third least populated state after Alaska and Wyoming, and the open space and isolation is both freeing and claustrophobic at the same time.

Nicknamed Big Sky Country, it is known for its wildness and beauty. I already got to see a little piece of this 3.5 years ago on a road trip. 

If we hadn't stopped for coffee in Bozeman back then, I probably would have skipped over Montana State University on the list of places to go on exchange. 

Hiking in Hyalite in the Gallatin range

Bozeman is situated in a flat bowl surrounded by mountains. Northeast, we have the Bridgers, then the Gallatins down south, and finally the Tobacco Roots out west. 

Hitchhiking in Hyalite

To explore these areas, you have to get creative when you don't have a car. Hitchhiking turned out to be extremely easy when you want to go to the mountains on a sunny Saturday morning.

By the Madison river

It was also a great way to meet locals and make friends. Still, it is pretty nice to know someone with a car.

Especially when that car is a truck. Riding in the back of one of those American monsters was a fun thing to cross off the to-do list. 

Waking up slowly at Wade Lake

Closer  to home, we have Peet's Hill. A 20 minute walk from campus, it offers a pretty spectacular view of Bozeman and the surrounding mountains. 

Summer on Peet's Hill

Apart from giving a much-needed break from studying on a busy Wednesday, it's also a great place to have a picnic and watch the sunset. 

Hiking in the Bridgers

Still, we do find ways to ejoy life at lower altitudes (you just don't tend to take as many pictures of that as when you're on top of a mountain).  

Blowing away on Sacagawea Peak

Though a small town, Bozeman offers a lively bar and coffee scene. 

We also indulge in local culture by going to church events, country dances, and the rodeo, and even though we like to joke about the dining halls, they're still a highlight of the day. 

The Rendevous Dining Pavilion has to be one of the places in which I've laughed the most, and I think all of us exchange students agree that those shared meals are going to be some of the moments we'll  remember best when all of this is over. 

(Though having a beer on top of a mountain is also quite the memorable moment).

I'm starting to have trouble figuring out what to say. 

Post-hike swim in Fairy Lake

A thousand things have happened but also nothing happens at all. This is just everyday life now (for a few more weeks at least). 

Fall on Peet's Hill

Watching the seasons change on Peet's Hill, we've become spoiled by the beauty that surrounds us though we still squal every time we see a new mountain. 

The sunset from Jackson Pass

It's hard to miss Copenhagen when road trips have become a weekend staple, when taking literature and creative writing classes is more interesting than my actual major, and when dining hall food is more advanced and nuanced than what I'm used to making myself as a lazy student. 

Delta Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Then again, I do (somehow) miss doing my own dishes. 

Looking over Sacagawea Peak from Pomp Peak in the Bridgers

Though dorm life can feel limiting at times, the American sense of adventure is liberating. Emma (another Danish exchange student and probably the most prominent person in my photos) and I have agreed to try and bring this back to Denmark with us. 

On top of Storm Castle in the Gallatins

Despite the hustle culture, people still find time to nurish their passions, chase experiences and memories on the weekends and share them with others. 

Campus sunset

Settling into American culture has been a fun and gratifying treat. 

Hiking down from Beehive Lake

We like to give the US a hard time in Europe.

Having some fun at Spanish Lakes

The US wasn't the most popular place among some of my family and friends. A few said they wouldn't want to go there due to the political climate and recent turmoil. 

Luckily, one still did. Showing Bozeman to a friend from Denmark made me appreciate it that much more.

Technically fall but really summer on Peet's Hill (Thursday)

In spite of its flaws (don't we all have them?), my unintentional love for the US remains intact and I stand by the statement that Americans are some of the most friendly, helpful, and kind people I've ever met. 

Winter on Peet's Hill (Monday). Mathilde got to experience three seasons during her week-long visit

As snow and winter cover Bozeman, the hiking and backpacking season is comming to an end, and so is my semester abroad. 

Hiking (at Beehive Basin) in the snow is still possible

I'm excited to go back to my life in Copenhagen but I also don't want to leave. Oh the sweet sting of creating home in multiple places. 

I guess we were bound to experience a flat tire eventually with all this driving

Montana, you have a little piece of my heart (and a small part of my skin). 

Norris Hot Springs (that is frost in our hair)

Adventures in southeastern Europe and the northwestern US

This summer, I teamed up with my eternal travel companion Danni once again. With a shared passion for jagged mountains and cheap accommodation, we set out to visit new and old landscapes around the Balkans for two weeks followed by a week across the Atlantic in the upper left corner of the US. 

We started out in Slovenia where we swam in blue lakes beneath green mountains. Our tent got hit by a thunderstorm the first night. The flashes could have induced a seizure. Being used to minimal necessities, we sat on a dry spot below a pine tree in the morning enjoying a cup of instant coffee surrounded by families with endless camping chairs, canopies, and fairylights. One such family took pity on us and invited us over for cappuccinos fresh from the espresso machine in their campervan. I don't know what warmed us more: The coffee or the kindness.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Trangia pasta is a gourmet meal

Lake Bohinj, Slovenia

Navigating the rolling farmland of southern Slovenia, we crossed a lonely border into Croatia and made it to Camp Vivi on the edge of Plitvice National Park. It is illegal to build anything new in this protected area which includes pitching up tents. However, the most charming, elderly woman (who, we found out, was not named Vivi) has opened up her backyard for weary campers as long as you set up camp after the sun has set over the horizon and pack up again before the morning gets too old. 

Dinner in the making at Camp Vivi

Plitvice National Park

A road somewhere in Croatia 

By the sea in somewhere near Dubrovnik, Croatia 

After the dry, sun-bathed Croatian coastline, we left the EU and crossed the border into mountainous Montenegro. We spent some lazy hours in turist-infected Kotor though we understand why. The historic town center is a match for any European city and the bay is a unique and sweet treat for the eye. 

Walking around Kotor, Montenegro 

Going for a swim in Kotor Bay

We did come to Montenegro for the mountains and we were not dissapointed. I'm usually quick to draw comparions (a horrible habit) but the mountains of Montenegro are something else. Danni and I agree that the hike we did to Prutaš peak in Durmitor National Park is one of our all-time favorites. 

Hiking in Durmitor National Park, Montenegro 

Always fun to do a bit of scrambling 

On top of Prutaš peak

My happy place 

Tara Canyon, Montenegro

Our next and southernmost stop was Albania and the valley of Theth National Park is one of the most beautiful places I've ever slept. We pitched up our tent surrounded by a tapestry of greens and grays.

Camping in Theth National Park, Albania

Our backyard for a couple of days

We hiked up the eastern side of the valley and hidden between the jagged peaks, we found a flat, green plateau where a family of five establishes a small settlement each summer with cows and horses grazing around their hut. From this humble shelter, they brought us cheese, bread, hot coffee and cold cola. 

Theth Valley, Albania

Denelle Plateau

Mountian lunch

Looking into Theth Valley

Heading back towards Scandinavia, we decided to cut through Serbia riding rocked hills in the south and cruising on brand new highway in the north. In between, we spent one night on the edge of Belgrade. The most memorable moment from our Serbian adventure is probably (and most unfortunately) getting food poisoning. No fault of Serbian cuisine, this was entirely self-inflicted from eating canned beans that had probably been half-cooked multiple times lying in a car for a week in the European summer heat. 

Fortunately, our symptoms were substantially lessened when we reached Slovakia later in the day. More jagged mountains, another wonderful campsite, and probably the cheapest pint of beer I've ever gotten: 9 DKK or 1.2 USD/EUR.

Camping in the Slovakian countryside

In the High Tatras, Slovakia

Lake Nižné Temnosmrečinské, Slovakia

A few days later after some farewells in Denmark, we caught a flight to the Western boundary of the US and drove off in a (way too expensive) rental car. We raced towards our first stop out of three: Glacier National Park in Montana. 

Many Glacier, Glacier National Park, Montana

Iceberg Lake, Glacier National Park 

A dream of Danni's finally came true when we saw not one but three bears in our week in the States. The first sighting was definitely the most dramatic. We were walking down a narrow trail enclosed by thick shrubbery when I look up and see a black bear 15 meters in front of me (50 feet) coming straight towards us. Backing up slowly, we started clapping and shouting when it was out of eyesight, and that was enough to spook it so we could make it down safe. 

Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park

The Highline Trail, Glacier National Park

Overlooking Grinnell Glacier

Our second stop in the US was a familiar landscape: Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. One of my favorite places in the world, the Tetons look exactly how a kid would draw a mountain range. I can't think of anything else to say and honestly, I don't think I need to.

Garnet Canyon, Grand Teton National Park 

Amphitheater Lake

Keeping up with tradition at Jackson Lake 

Cascade Canyon

Our third and final stop was Bozeman, Montana where Danni dropped me off at college. Surrounded by mountains, I also have to spend some time in classrooms and dining halls this fall semester at Montana State University. However, it is be hard to concentrate when you see those rugged, inviting ridges on your way to class. 

The Bridger Range north of Bozeman