Early morning today! Got up at 5am for my flight, ugh. On the bright side, could have been worse had I slept back in Stockholm lol - 10min transfer and I was at the airport, good to go! I wish I were flying out of Stockholm instead of Oslo on my way back haha - their duty free had every imaginable flavour of Absolut Vodka… and of course, it being from Sweden was quite cheap. Bah. They also had a neat little package of “Swedish spirits” - a bunch of those small taster bottles - but I didn’t want to carry those around for another 2 weeks. I’m sure I’ll still find something that floats my boat in Oslo though ;) Also, I need to learn the Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian words for sparkling/fizzy water as ... read more

I had a lazy, but busy day today! Def took advantage of the noon check-out and got some good sleep compared to on the bus =) I started my day back at the Royal Palace - very beautiful. I super hate when you pay to see something, and you’re not allowed to take photos though… bah. Normally I have my blackberry to get around that (… shhh haha), but it wouldn’t have helped here either because you’re not allowed cell phones either. Tsk. Anyway, I walked through the Royal Apartments - the guest apartments for visiting Heads of State, the Bernadotte rooms (presentations and formal stuff), the banquet hall, ball room (most recently used at the princess’ wedding! ohhhh haha) and other rooms used for various state functions. I also went through another wing that would ... read more

Well, last night was a flashback to last year’s Euro Adventure haha - sleepin’ on the bus. Although, I have to admit Swebus has three HUGE plusses on Eurolines: Internet. Sorry, *FREE* internet. Fast too. We arrived 3min. later than scheduled - and why is this a plus? We were supposed to arrive at 6am, giving me 7 hours of potential sleep time. I wanted those 7 hours… far too often last year the trip would be scheduled to last 6-7 hours and would only take 4-5 because there was no traffic. Yeah, arriving in London at 4am? Not cool. Toilets that actually have working lights… I will never forget that 19 hour bus ride to Berlin last year where there was no goddamn light on the bus. Anywho, on with my day! I lazed around ... read more

Yesterday’s bus ride, although unplanned haha, was quite lovely to Goteborg =) First thing I noticed as we drove in to the city was the giant mall, Nordstan - omg, it is huge. I definitely made a note to myself that I was coming back there haha. I have to say once again how much I love that dogs are everywhere - there seems to be two breeds of preference here: Chihuahua and Staffordshire/Pitbull Terriers. It’s odd haha, but still cute. I miss my pets =( I found my hostel without much trouble - I’m staying about 15min from the core, and it’s on 3 tram lines… absolutely perfect! I got a 72-hour tram pass - I’m good to go. I FINALLY found a hostel with a working dryer, so I got laundry my done and ... read more

Perfect weather today =) I got up early and dropped my bag off at the train station so I could spend the morning lazing around at the beach. I was not disappointed in that choice. The beach itself (sand-wise) is nothing to write home about, but the water was fantastic - nice and cool, and clear. It felt nice to walk around in it, about knee-deep. The breeze from the water was perfect too, mixed with the hot sun which was starting to get a little hazy. To make things even more fun, there are tons of dogs at the beach frolicking in the water =D I had fun playing (ie. lots of splashing) with a couple Springer Spaniels, a dog that looked JUST like Anouk (aw, I miss her..) and a German Shepherd. LOVE. I ... read more

I can’t believe I’m already at the half way point of my trip. I think it also feels weird because I’ve essentially only been in one country for all this time. The time sure has flown by though. As I write this, I’m being serenaded by drunk Swedish girls, singing and dancing on the roof of the building next to our hostel - which coincidently ends up being right outside my window. Me and the other girls in the dorm are enjoying(?) the free show… they’re certainly amusing at least. So, in retrospect having a 22-hr train ride from Abisko to Malmo… not the best of ideas haha. Especially when you’re stuck in one seat and can’t lie down. I slept most of the way from Stockholm to Malmo though, I was at the point I ... read more

Short one today. Check-out is quite intensive here… they give you a list of thins you have to do in your room before you leave (cleaning-wise) otherwise you risk a $40 fine. Lovely. I headed down towards the lake today - that was lovely. There’s a huge delta which is a bird sanctuary, so it’s off limits, but it was nice to look down into it. I found another reading perch near the river and spent a good hour up there. I then headed further up the mountain into the bush… yeah, not as much of a fan. I don’t like the sounds of rustling in the bushes - they have lynx, bears and wolverines out here haha. Skills. I know they don’t come near people, but still, slightly paranoid haha. Thankfully, the largest wild animal ... read more

While I’ve been in Abisko, the internet crashed… but when I checked-out this morning they had a sign saying it’s working again - timing is everything! Haha. I’ll post the past two days together. June 30 - Goodbye Norway, hello Sweden! Narvik, Norway to Abisko, Sweden I finally stay at a hostel where the check-out is at noon… and my dorm-mate not only leaves at 8am, but in the process opens the curtains (kfine, I can deal with light), and then proceeds to BLOW DRY HER HAIR about 5 feet away from my bunk. Lovely. Needless to say, I got up shortly after she left. I bummed around the hostel this morning and met quite the character while down in the kitchen/lounge area! He walked in with a bunch of groceries and two huge boxes (which ... read more