Stepping into the magic #1: Wizarding World of Harry Potter

It was 2010 and the summer lay before me. My parents had planned a marvelous holiday; taking me and my siblings to Florida for two weeks of pure Disney magic, exploring and dazing in the sun. I would celebrate my 18th birthday while there and I imagined spending my birthday wearing mouse-ears and eating caramelized popcorn. 

But then news reached Denmark that a Harry Potter section would be opening at Universal Orlando. That Hogwarts would actually be built, wands made and butterbeer served. That the books that I loved so much would come to life. The opening date fit perfectly with my family's travel plans, and it seemed like it was meant to be. I would be spending my 18th birthday in the wizarding world, drinking butterbeer and waving wands. And I couldn't imagine anything better.

Back then, Diagon Alley wasn't built. Interactive wands didn't exist. And because I visited only a month after Hogsmeade opened in the middle of high season, the crowds were ... everywhere. No one had foreseen the success, and I had no idea what to expect. This was, after all, before Instagram.

The entire day at the park went by in a blur. I still remember looking up at the Hogwarts castle, not quite believing my own eyes. The book came to life right in front of me and for a moment even the artificial layer of snow in the middle of summer seemed real. I bought a chocolate frog and a unicorn plush; a pygmy puff and some Bertie Bott's, and I felt like I could have spent an eternity just looking at the odd items and carefully arranged store windows.

Now, I of course dream of going back. Of experiencing Diagon Alley and doing proper wand tricks. I dream of stepping into Gringotts, tasting hot butterbeer; I dream of riding the Hogwarts Express, buying a robe in Madame Malkin's and staying for the light show at the end of the day. Everything has gotten so much bigger since my visit to the wizarding world; but the magic of my 18th birthday still remains. I was so incredibly happy. That day I stepped into the magic of my favourite books.

(Please bear with the pictures. They were taken in 2010 with shaking hands and a rather old camera. But that's perhaps part of the charm.)