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Published: February 23rd 2006
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Valentines Day Party
Me, Lauren and Fiona with our party food ready to go Hello everyone,
Sorry that it has been such a long time since the last update but up until last weekend I hadnt been doing anything worthy of adding a blog for. On Valentines day my flat mates and I threw an ANTI- valentines day bash becuase it seemed to be an appropriate theme for everyone! We made tons of food and not enough vodka but it was still a good night for everyone.
Now for the exciting part... I went to Sweden this past weekend with 11 other exchange students (mostly Canadians!). On early Friday morning we left for Prestick airport (which is in the middle of no where, but cheap to fly into) and arrived in Gothenburg around lunch time. We landed literally in the middle of a farmers field and were all surpised to see that the "airport" was simply a large warehouse with a passport both and security area set up in it. This was the first time I had travelled to somewhere where all the signage was not in English- making the challenge of finding our hostel that much harder. Luckily everyone there speaks fluent english and we were able to catch the right tram and
The Girls at Central Station in Glasgow
With our Backpacks full and ready to go! make out way to the SLOTTSSKOGENS youth hostel. Seeing snow and feeling the cold wind again initially made me think of Calgary-and I soon realized that I could definitly move somewhere hot and just visit places with snow.
After the long day of travelling we decided to head to the grocery store and get some supplies to make ourselves dinner. Becuase the Dollar = 7 Kroners all the prices seemed to be outrageous, for example a loaf of bread would be about 10 Kroners!! It took us all a while to get used to converting all the prices back to a Canadian dollar. When we had all settled into our 4 person rooms some of us took advantage of the Sauna that the hostel had. It was a great way for us to warm up from the cold weather and shed a few pounds at the same time!!
On Saturday we decided to split up into 2 groups and each explore the city in our own way. My group decided to walk around Gothemburg and explore the sites this way. We came across an old war building and got to see a beautiful view of the snowy city
Our plane
I was a little worried about getting on this after only paying $50.00 round trip??? from there as well. We then walked down a cute little street of shops and eventually made it to the city center. I have NEVER seen so many 7-11's, Mcdonalds and H &M's in my life- i thought that the number of Starbucks we have is bad, but its nothing compared to these places!!
After another long day of walking we headed back to the Sauna and made ourselves some more pasta (the cheapest thing we could find!). Another couple from Glasgow was staying in our hostel so they took a few of us out to some pubs that night for a beer and pear cider- a new drink for me. The TV at the hostel had the olympics playing all day so we all took advantage of that seeing as the TV's in residence DO NOT offer us that channel 😞
Thinking that we had seem most of that city in one day we all decided to take a 3 hour bus ride to Oslo, Norway the next morning, and it was well worth it. The drive out there was so beautiful- there were snow covered trees everywhere and beautiful little homes nestled away in the forest.
My first view of Sweden... lol
WOW- their advertisements sure have a high shock value! Just incase you cant read it it says "We Love Boobs" Crossing the border involed a really cute drug dog coming onto the bus and sniffing everyones stuff - but luckily we all made it through alright. Becuase we only had about 7 hours there we had to quickly head to the tourist info and see what was worth seeing. We walked down the main street and stopped at a Burger King ( i know that it wasnt the most authentic food we could have had but NOTHING is open on Sundays in Europe) then walked up to the Royal Palace to take a look. It was a beautiful place complete with cool looking gaurds. We then took the long walk to a famous park (that I dont know the name of yet....). It was full of statues of people in every position you could think of- from babies piled onto each other to couples snuggling together. We stopped in a local fruit market to pick up some fresh raspberries on the way- yummy! In the last few hours we took a tram to the top of the mountain and saw the most beautiful view I have seen since coming here. This mountain is full of people sledding sliding down the
Finally in the hostel :)
Kate getting the bunk set up after a long day of travelling- it was a really nice place paths- it looked like SOO much fun but we didnt have enough time to rent out the sleds- that means I will have to go back again 😊 It was a busy area for the locals and tourists alike- after a few snowball fights and falls in the snow we had to find our way back to the bussstasjon (bus station).
After the 3 hours ride home we took one last Sauna (i think I'm addicted) and could all finally feel out feet again. We then had a few drinks and headed to bed so we could be up early again for the flight home. Catching the tram in time was a bit of a challenge and we ended up literally running to the bus, it made me feel like I was on The Amazing Race though!
The flight home with RyanAir turned out to be great- despite the many horror stories i have heard about that Airline. We arrived in Glasgow around midday on Monday and all went home after the long train ride from the airport. Along the way I got a nice view of the Scottish seaside and a few golf courses that I want
On the walking tour
Leah posing for a picture before the hike up the hill you can see behind her. to try and visit before I leave!
The next day I had a presentation for my International Marketing class so I had a group meeting that night 9, and needless to say I was not fully coherent for that one! But thats all over and done with now so its time to plan the next adventure. This weekend I may attempt to try out skiing in Scotland and the next weekend I am heading to Carbisdale Castle which is in Northern Scotland- its a castle turned into hostel- so it will be cool to be able to say that I have lived in a castle for a weekend- now I am really a princess! And in April I am heading to Rome with my family- so the next month or so will be packed with fun times!
Best Wishes to everyone at home and keep checking back for more updates!
Andrea 😊
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AMANDA
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HOLA to the SCOTTISHLADY
Hey looks like your having a wicked time---not going to sweden and norway instead of doing your group project--you rock!! Looks like your pretty busy, keep on travelling and posting blogs! ciao luv ya miss ya tons Amanda