So it has been a REALLY long time since my last post. After thinking of a pliable excuse as to why I haven't blogged I think its probably because of two reasons. The first is that everything here which once seemed new has become fairly normal which is both good and bad. The second reason is that I have been really busy. In the last month I have been to Iceland, London, Ålesund and we went to the cabin for easter so time has flown. But, that also means I no longer have the accuse of saying that I don't know what to write about. Not so much on Norway this time but brace yourself, I feel this is going to be long.
1. Ålesund
About a month ago now I went to Ålesund to visit some family friends Åke and Kristin which dad met through rowing when he traveled around Norway. Ålesund was a really interesting town. Its perched on the edge of a steep fjord made up of islands which are joined by tunnels. In 1904 the whole wooden town was burnt to the ground after a fire started by an unknown cause swept across the town with the prevailing wind. Rebuilding started immediately after with builders arriving from all over Europe. One of the most interesting things today in Ålesund is that all the buildings are in incredible art deco style. I was particularly impressed by this considering the urgency needed for rebuilding would of likely resulted in ugly temporary buildings but instead beautifully designed with art deco detail (you might want to search the buildings in google images). Most buildings downtown today are from around 1905 - 1908 and are made of plaster unlike most of the other buildings throughout Norway.
I was lucky enough to be shown around Ålesund by Åke and we went to several museums including one which was mostly about the fire. We also took a trip to Stranda where we visited Kristin's family's cabin. It was very nice and the countryside was very different to here in Trondheim, more like that of the Queenstown area. It snowed while we were there too which was fun and I tried snowboarding (dad has since uninvited me to ever come home again).
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| Ålesund |
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| Cabin in Stranda |
It was 7 hours on the bus both ways which was not fun. I did have a bit of a kiwi problem too. I was on the bus and I could see the road just stopped up ahead and it looked as if people just drove into the fjord. Feeling rather panicked I asked the lady next to me what was happening and she told me that is where the ferry parks then the cars drive up onto the ferry. Of course.
2. Iceland
A week and a bit after Ålesund I went to Iceland on a school trip with my geography class. It was super fun. We went to the blue lagoon, geysers and saw heaps of waterfalls. We learnt lots about how Iceland is a geographical hotspot and blah blah. Another cool thing that happened in Iceland is that I meet up with Beth, who is also from the AFS Otago chapter but on an exchange in Iceland. It was wonderful to see another kiwi again! Also in Iceland I bought an Icelandic sweater which has taken over from my norsewear which I miss terribly... We ate lots of lamb in Iceland which made up for the lack of vegetables!
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| Gulfoss in Iceland |
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| Geysers in Iceland |
3. London
Five days after I got back from Iceland it was time for London! This time we were off on a touristy family holiday and another exchange student, Karin from Japan came with us too. We stayed in the Brick Lane area which is the historical hub of Pakistani and indian immigrants. Every night when we got back to the apartment the area smelled of curry and there we saris hung out drying, it was a very homely feeling.
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| Street in Oxford |
On one of the days we went to Harry Potter Land which was defiantly a highlight. We got to look around the sets that were used in the film but I also feel slightly cheated that everything was just a set or just made with a green screen. I don't think I'll be able to watch the films in the same way ever again!
On another day we went to Oxford. That was really really pretty. We went around lots of the old collages and even went down to the rowing club to have a look! But one of the best bits of Oxford was eating a pie for lunch, not quite the same as jimmy's but it helped my craving.
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| Outside Twinings tea shop |
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| Harry Potter Land |
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| Hogwarts.... Not so big after all |
After being in Norway so long and learning so much about culture it was slightly soul destructing to find out so many things which I had always thought were from New Zealand were actually from England. Things like baked beans, fish and chips, meat pies are not really ours... But it was also nice to see them again.
4. Påske (easter)
Easter in Norway is very yellow. I had never associated easter with a certain colour before now. Easter here is at a logical time of year, spring. Not autumn like in NZ. For easter we went to the cabin. There was not very much snow but there was enough to go for a few nice ski trips in the sun. At the moment we have light from 5am - 9pm which is perfect skiing weather! We also had a easter egg hunt but in Norway kids only get one easter egg which is decorated cardboard, filled with lollies and chocolate. We had to follow clues around the cabin to find the easter eggs.
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| Skiing at Easter |
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| My easter egg from AFS |
That is enough excitement for now! I think my life is back to normal again but I am still using a lot of time figuring out what I'm going to do when I go home which can be a bit stressful at times. Now I have written my blog I can go out for a long run along the fjord :)
