Holidays...

I'm leaving sunny Norway tomorrow, heading as South as it gets, travelling by Wü, train, plane, Bubu, plane and Wü again :) Gonna be in Greece first and then mostly in France with some beach-vb bonus in Germany (hopefully;). I'll be back online in September, from Romania... Enjoy the summer!!!

Manu & Basti i Norge

They came, we laughed, we joked, we ate, we slept, we hiked, we cooked, we drove, we climbed, we ate, we slept, we talked, we drank, we swam, we ate, we slept, they left... All in all, some great days with lots of fun, raindeers, pictures and natives. Hope they have a safe trip in their Scudi :) and some luck with the Norwegian weather...

Climbing animals?

A really cute squirrel joined us while climbing (was a bit more interested in the food though, as it's too much of a prof compared to us), it's amazing how many animals you find around here :) some you might have to eat though ;)

Ab in den Süden

Raus aus dem Regen,
ins Leben,
der Sonne entgegen...

That’s the feeling I had flying over the amazing snow-covered mountains one week ago, heading towards Europe’s capital of culture 2008. And the feeling was right: as soon as my plane landed on Sola (actually means sun) airport, I realised after seeing all the tanned people running around in T-shirts, shorts and Flip-flops that it was actually summer :) I had a look at a real “just like Denmark” beach (as somebody wise was saying) and enjoyed the lovely sunset and a tasty beer in the harbour area, philosophising about the Norwegian drinking habits.

Next day the fjord cat took us to the idyllic (as we decided during our Sonntagsspaziergang) Bjergøya, where we spend some very relaxing and (for me, the landkrabbe) exciting days: I learned the mysterious ways of fishing and enjoyed some of the capture, ate crabs, saw a lobster (had to let it free, it's protected), sailed (I was only responsible with the pictures) and saw dogs with a swimming vest. But most of all, enjoyed the amazing view from inside the cabin – life without walls is great :), our bike tour of the island, and my third swim in a Norwegian fjørd.

Coming back on a very early Monday morning, I found Trondheim as I had left it, with a cool salty breeze, some fresh showers and its typical 12 degrees…

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein,

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein,

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein,

Sommer, Sonne, Sonnenschein...

Noaptea de Sanziene sau Sankthansaften

Trondheim, 22.06.2008, ora 0:00...

Din pacate noaptea de sanziene/Sankthansaften (23. 06) '08 nu va arata

nici asa ,

nici asa , ,

ci asa...

Long summer days...

I loved enjoying the lazy Norwegian sun the last week, when Scandinavia finally had the best weather in all Europe. Done with my diploma (yes, I’m almost a graduate ;) ) and after spending one week in Southern surroundings, I was shocked to find a Norwegian capital in 100% summer holiday mood. The entire city was outside, on the terraces, in the parks, eating ice cream, drinking bear, grilling, sun bathing (on every single green spot), playing games, chilling, but most of all, staring at the sun (I was not the only one)…
However, the best place in town was the new Opera House, which I was very excited to see. The white marble mass coming out of the water, the different planes and lines, the squared glass and finally the wooden interior give a very spacious, harmonious and simple impression. Everything seems to be just as it is supposed to in this white dimension, where everybody feels at ease. Enjoy the pics in my Oslo album and, if your interested, read up more about the building and the architects (same ones that build the Library of Alexandria and recently won the competition for King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture) here!

17. Mai

If you accidentally come to Norway on a sunny Saturday that happens to be the 17th of May, you might get the feeling that you’ve entered Alice’s wonderland, or some other related fairy-tale country. There is nothing ordinary about this day and there is nobody acting as usual. It’s a huge birthday celebration and every single Norwegian is congratulated and congratulates from dusk till dawn (Gratulerer med dagen! :) ). The entire population is on the streets, marching, waving, smiling, admiring, photographing, but most of all “Hurra”-ing (Hipp! Hipp! - Hurrrra! … Hurra! Hurra! Hurraaaa!). Everybody is there, from kindergarten children to pupils, students, musicians, sky divers, gymnasts, dancers, soldiers, skiers, motor drivers, war veterans and even ERASMUS studentsJ, wearing their finest clothes which are most often the traditional “bunads” (to my delight). All in all, it’s a day you should definitely not miss and I’ve had my share in waving the Norwegian flag, taking pictures (check the link as usual), eating ice-cream and watching parades.

Check out wiki fore more info on the 17th of May, Norway's Constitution Day!