Norway

What can I say about Norway?! It was the country that I was looking forward to the most on my Scandinavian tour, so I spent the most time there, 5th-10th June. If you ever get the chance to go to Norway, do it. Don't think twice about it, just go. Let me tell you, it does not disapoint. I would have loved to explore this beautiful country more thouroughly, but alas time was against me. So I only spent time in Oslo, Bergen and the surrounding areas. Here's my thoughts.

First impressions:
Nature is everywhere. Having been living in the dead flat country of NL, it was so amazing to see all the mountains and valleys. I took the train for 7 hours between Oslo and Bergen and it was spectacular! Each corner that the train rounded gave a stunning view of mountains, trees, water and valley. In the higher sections of this trip there was also snow! I tried reading and watching tv on this trip, but my eyes keep gravitating to the window and the view. Needless to say, I didn't get much of either done.

The capital- Oslo:
A couple of days in Oslo at a youth hostel gave me a chance to relex a little without have to chat to a host, as I was still feeling a bit sick from the cold that I had before I left on my travels. I feel a bit guilty about staying indoors rather than sight-seeing, but I was able to see the main sights on the day that I left. Although I felt like it was a very industrial city, the harbour was spectacular. Driving into Oslo on the bus we also had a great view of the islands and inlets. On the 7th there was a regatta in the harbour, which made for some pretty views. 

Out west- Bergen:
The second biggest city in Noway is situated on the west coast and deep in fjord country. I took the train across the mountains, which had stunning views at every turn! The city of Bergen itself is very hilly with cute little houses and stone streets everywhere. It's also surrounded by the mountains, which makes for a great backdrop. While I was there I went on a train/bus/boat tour to and on two of the fjords. I could share so many photos with you (I took about 250), but here's just a few.

 

 

 

Alena's 1st Birthday

Coming back to Aust has its pros and cons, and this is most definately a pro. Since I was back in Aust before my only niece's 1st birthday, I was able to join in the celebrations in person. We had loosely planned some kind of Skpye during the party, but I wouldn't have been able to be there in person. Since all my plans were thrown out the window, I was able to fly to Canberra for the weekend for the festivities and some much needed family time. In attendence was my parents, two brothers and their wives, myself, and some friends and relatives of my sister-in-law. 

Having not seen Alena in 8 months (except on Skype) it was so great to have a cuddle and to see how much she's grown. She's such a lovely little girl who is so smart! I loved playing with her and all her toys, watching her open her birthday presents and just spending time with her. Hopefully I'll be able to see her a bit more now that I'm in the same country!!

Here's some pics of the weekend for your enjoyment (some are blurry as it's hard to get a good shot of a wriggling kid!)

 

 

Am I dreaming?

I feel like I'm living in a dream. This may be because it's 1am, or it could be my jet-lagged/sleep deprived brain. Or it could be the fact that I just can't believe I'm back in Australia for good. Have I really just finished living in the Netherlands for 11 months? It feels like I'm just getting ready to go and live there. My time in the Netherlands feels like it went very quickly and that I really wasn't there for that long. Has it really been so long since I've seen Adelaide and all the lovely people here? It feels like I saw them all last week, yet I still miss them terribly.

As I start settling back into Australian life, I can't help but think that I'm only here for a short time. I feel like I'm on holiday and will soon be heading back 'home' to the Netherlands. I guess that I felt more at home and settled in NL than I thought I did. I just can't help thinking that I'll wake up in my little loft bed in my Dutch appartment and get ready to catch the tram to, well anywhere. I keep thinking that I'll be hearing Dutch all around me and that I need to be prepared for whatever the weather will throw at me. At least that last bit's a little true still. Seeing as it's winter (my third in a row!) in Australia, I do have to be ready for cold, wind, rain and even sun. But that's beside the point. I will have to adjust to my 'old home' being my 'new home' and it's a little strange at the moment. Well what can I say, I've only been back in the country for a day!

As I set up my room at my parent's house, I have to start looking to the future and stop dwelling too much on the past. I've had my year in the Netherlands and now I'm back in Australia and I need to start living my life here. I'm so glad for the opportunity that I had to spend that year in NL and I can't believe it actually happened! Yet again I went after what I wanted to do with my life and made it happen (of course with God's help!). Now I wonder what God has in store for my future!!

The best laid plans

Here I sit, on my last night in NL, with bags packed and garbage bags of things to give away. I'm hoping that all of the things I want to take back don't add up to me being over my airline's allowed limit of 20kg checked and 7kg hand luggage. It really hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving the Netherlands for good tomorrow, and there's a couple of reasons for that.

Firstly, my plans have chanced drastically and suddenly. I was due to stay in NL until the 4th of September, but with the discovery of my Poppa's cancer and his current hospitalisation, I've decided to go back to Australia now. I changed my flights on Monday, so I've only had the past 4 days to pack up my life here and attempt to say goodbye to as many people as possible. This means that instead of having another two months, I had a week. That's a big change and hard to get used to.

Secondly, it usually takes a while to get used to leaving a place that's been your home for the past year. I can't imagine not being here and walking the streets of Den Haag and visiting the beach at Scheveningen. I can't imagine not living in my appartment with Mara and hearing Dutch all around me. It's surreal that on the weekend I'll be back in Australia!

So as I sit here thinking, I'm both happy and sad that I'm leaving. I'm sad that it has to be under the circumstance of my Poppa having cancer and having the possibility that I won't see him again before he dies. I'm sad that I've had to cancel travels and time with friends. I'm sad that I can't say a proper goodbye to so many people. I'm sad that I'm heading into another winter. I'm happy that I'll be seeing my parents in a few days. I'm happy that I can be starting a new stage in my life. I'm happy that I get to catch up with dear friends again.

So basically I'm a mixed up person at the moment and I think I will be for a while as I try to process all that's happening and as I try to settle back down in Australia. I'll let you know how things go.

Denmark

From the 3rd-5th June I was travelling in Denmark. This was the first stop on my Scandinavian tour. To be fair, I was only in Copenhagen, but I thought that I would share some of my impressions and experiences whilst I was there.

First impressions

Flying into Copenhagen I was struck by how flat it is. I know that this shouldn't be new for me as I live in NL, but I did notice. I was also stuck by the amount of bikes that were around. I knew from some Danish friends, that people often rode bikes in Copenhagen, but I wasn't prepared for just that many. Also I noticed that they seemed to ride quite fast, but that could just be me.

Time with my host

For my two nights in Copenhagen I was able to stay with a local Danish girl, Grethe. She met me at the airport with a sign, which was the first time I think I've been met with a sign that had my name on it! It was actually very handy as we hadn't met before, and neither of us had even seen a photo! It was great spending time with Grethe and getting to know her. She was so laid back and it was good to have some company. We had breakfasts (when she didn't go to the office early) and dinners together and it was so relaxing. We even cooked a Danish summer meal together with frikadeller and a dessert called koldskål, literally translated as 'cold bowl', which is a buttermilk soup that you eat with biscuits. Grethe even changed the recipes a little in order to make everything lactose free!!

The beautiful city of Copenhagen 

I only had one full day in Copenhagen, but I used it as much as I could. I started off with a 3 hr 'free' walking tour around the city. These tours are fantastic (at least the two I've been on) and usually very informative. The tour guide, Igor, knew his stuff and made the tour interactive and interesting. After the tour you would think I would be all walked out, but there was still more that I wanted to see, so I went for my own walking tour to see the extra things that I wanted to see. Here are some of the photos I took on my wanderings around Copenhagen (rove over picture for explanation). Enjoy!

Time is ticking...

So I've (re)booked my flights back to Australia and in exactly 2 months I fly off into the unknown. Well it's not exactly entirely unknown since I'm heading back to Adelaide, a place that I know and love. It's got me thinking though and I'm not really sure what I'm thinking. My thoughts are bittersweet. I've made the Netherlands my home for the past year and in that time I've made friends, fallen in love with a city and lived. I've had experiences, conversations, laughter, tears, and a whole life that doesn't include Adelaide and all that my life there held. I'm thankful for my time here and I'm really sad to be leaving.

On top of this, I've changed. I've started thinking about what life will be like back in Adelaide, and I've got to the stage where it's sinking in that it will be different. I will have been away for a year, and in that time me, and other people, will have changed. Things that were the norm when I left won't necessarily be the norm any more. I've got a picture in my head of what Adelaide is like and it's a year old. People have moved on, I've moved on. How do I fit back into that? Last time I went back to Australia from living in the Netherlands it was not back into the 'old' life I had, but onto another change and another city. This time I'll be heading right back to where I was and trying to fit my new self into that world. Can I do this?

Another question I've been thinking of is whether I should even try to fit myself back into that life. Things will be different, so should I be trying to live as if they weren't? I don't mean that I won't spend time with my friends, do the things that I love doing and become a totally different person, but maybe I should be looking at this as a new adventure, the next stage in my life, the next change. So what if it's in an 'old' place, it's a place that I love and who says I can't make a new life in an old place?

Danish frikadeller vs Norwegian 'meat cakes' vs Swedish meatballs

I've just got back from travelling in Denmark, Norway and Sweden and I thought that I would start telling you about my adventures by addressing this VERY important question- which is more tasty? The Danish frikadeller? The Norwegian 'meat cake'? or the Swedish meatball? Having tried all three in the last 10 days, I feel very qualified to try and answer this question.

The Danish frikadeller

This is a flatter 'meatball' which was handmade by my lovely Danish host and was made of beef. It was served with potato salad, tomato and cucumber. It was the perfect light summer meal for a warm sunny day in Copenhagen.

The Norwegian meat cake (kjøttkaker)

These beef meat cakes were served with potatoes, carrots, mashed peas, lingonberry jam and gravy! I think these were homemade, but were bought in a pub in Bergen. This was a very heavy meal, especially for lunch, but the gravy was spectacular. The company of my Norwegian host was also delightful.

The Swedish Meatball (köttbullar)

The Swedish meatball is probably the most famous (thanks IKEA) of the three types of meatballs. These were pork, I think, and were served on a bed of pureed potato and a heavenly creamy sauce. There was also lingonberry sauce and some garnish of cucumber. These meatballs were light and the potato was amazing. They were again homemade, but bought in a cafe in Stockholm.

The verdict:

After sampling these three different meals, I have come to a conclusion about which is the best. Before I give you my answer though, I must say that the scientist in me is a bit annoyed. Due to the fact that I only tried one sampling of each from only the one restaurant, it's not exactly scientific. Also it's only based on my opinion and what I find tasty. So disclaimers over, although I found them all enjoyable, my favourite was....the Swedish meatball!! They were just so light and tasty, as was the potato and the creamy sauce. Delicious!