8/31/2006
Bergen photos
I've talked a lot about how beautiful Bergen is without posting a photo. Here are four that I took just yesterday evening walking around the city.
8/30/2006
Another Day in Bergen
I love the hotel we are staying at. All the hotels in Scandinavia has been very good - clean, spacious, and functional. A bit on the expensive side, to be sure. All the double rooms that Boyfriend and I found have been at least $80, and in Copenhagen, the room cost $100 per night. But I had expected that before I came. After all, Scandinavia is famous for its expensiveness.
What I love in particular about the hotel in Bergen, though, are two things: its location, and the fact that it has free Internet. The second reason is why I've been able to post more often in the past few days. :D The hotel, called CityBox, is a budget hotel right in the heart of the city, 3 blocks from the train station, 2 blocks from the university, with lots of cheap and cool-looking student bars, pizzerias, grocery stores, and restaurants.
Boyfriend and I spent the whole day exploring different neighborhoods in Bergen. We decided that if there's any city we have visited so far so far that we would definitely want to live in, Bergen is it. The entire city of Bergen is built on the mountain side, overlooking the ocean, islands, and fjords. As a result, there are several harbors teeming with boats, many stretches of beautiful beach-front neighborhoods, as well as gorgeous houses built on steep slopes of the mountain and streets made entirely of stairs (reminds me a bit of San Francisco).
There are also beautiful little parks nestled in the center of the city, spectacular water fountains, random statues, and the obligatory cobbled-stoned streets in the town center that every single European city is required to have, of course. In short, walking around town, every few minutes you seem to be in a completely different neighborhood. I think I would never get bored in Bergen.
Boyfriend and I have decided to stay for at least one more day in Bergen. We simply cannot leave this beautiful town behind.
What I love in particular about the hotel in Bergen, though, are two things: its location, and the fact that it has free Internet. The second reason is why I've been able to post more often in the past few days. :D The hotel, called CityBox, is a budget hotel right in the heart of the city, 3 blocks from the train station, 2 blocks from the university, with lots of cheap and cool-looking student bars, pizzerias, grocery stores, and restaurants.
Boyfriend and I spent the whole day exploring different neighborhoods in Bergen. We decided that if there's any city we have visited so far so far that we would definitely want to live in, Bergen is it. The entire city of Bergen is built on the mountain side, overlooking the ocean, islands, and fjords. As a result, there are several harbors teeming with boats, many stretches of beautiful beach-front neighborhoods, as well as gorgeous houses built on steep slopes of the mountain and streets made entirely of stairs (reminds me a bit of San Francisco).
There are also beautiful little parks nestled in the center of the city, spectacular water fountains, random statues, and the obligatory cobbled-stoned streets in the town center that every single European city is required to have, of course. In short, walking around town, every few minutes you seem to be in a completely different neighborhood. I think I would never get bored in Bergen.
Boyfriend and I have decided to stay for at least one more day in Bergen. We simply cannot leave this beautiful town behind.
8/29/2006
Norway
13 days, 3 countries later, I am writing from Bergen, Norway, a stunningly beautiful city by the Sognefjord.
Boyfriend and I took an overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, then immediately jumped on the 7 hour train ride from Oslo all the way to the western Norwegian city of Bergen.
The train ride has been called "the most beautiful train ride in the world". We were literally riding in the mountains, so high up that trees don't even grow anymore, passed by the highest train station in the world, and saw all through the way, crystalline lakes and streams tucked in between cliffs and peaks, white glistening glaciers, and miles and miles of virgin pine forest.
Bergen is a colorful little city on the western coast, with a bustling town center (with the obligatory cobble-stoned streets, of course), beautiful row of houses by the water, a busy harbor, and lots and lots of nice cafes and historical buildings.
Norway is much more rugged than the other 3 countries. So far, Copenhagen has been the most cosmopolitan of all the cities, with a ton of fantastic museums, castles, palaces, and galleries. Finland has been the most exotic, because it seems very Eastern European to me. Everyone we saw there has been very Slavic-looking. Sweden has been most... Scandinavian, or what is commonly imagined to be Scandinavian -- clean, polished, with blonde and beautiful people walking around. And now, Norway, which seems to be just pristine and unspoiled nature, and a little bit of culture carved out of the nature.
I'm really looking forward to exploring Bergen tomorrow.
Boyfriend and I took an overnight cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, then immediately jumped on the 7 hour train ride from Oslo all the way to the western Norwegian city of Bergen.
The train ride has been called "the most beautiful train ride in the world". We were literally riding in the mountains, so high up that trees don't even grow anymore, passed by the highest train station in the world, and saw all through the way, crystalline lakes and streams tucked in between cliffs and peaks, white glistening glaciers, and miles and miles of virgin pine forest.
Bergen is a colorful little city on the western coast, with a bustling town center (with the obligatory cobble-stoned streets, of course), beautiful row of houses by the water, a busy harbor, and lots and lots of nice cafes and historical buildings.
Norway is much more rugged than the other 3 countries. So far, Copenhagen has been the most cosmopolitan of all the cities, with a ton of fantastic museums, castles, palaces, and galleries. Finland has been the most exotic, because it seems very Eastern European to me. Everyone we saw there has been very Slavic-looking. Sweden has been most... Scandinavian, or what is commonly imagined to be Scandinavian -- clean, polished, with blonde and beautiful people walking around. And now, Norway, which seems to be just pristine and unspoiled nature, and a little bit of culture carved out of the nature.
I'm really looking forward to exploring Bergen tomorrow.
8/26/2006
Nostalgia for an Imaginary Fatherland
I am writing from Copenhagen, after nearly a week in Sweden and a brief day in Helsinki. Both were lovely, but I must say that so far, Copenhagen is my favorite.
It's the most diverse of all the Scandinavian cities. People are not just thin and white and blonde hair. Walking on the street, you see people of all skin colors, looking perfectly at home. The natives look much more middle European.
More like... Germans.
And Danish sounds like German. On the train from Malmo to Copenhagen, I thought I could almost understand the conductor. All around the train station, I see familiar traces of the language that I once was fluent in. And then, lying in my hotel bed, I turned on the TV and four of the stations were German. I could watch ZDF and ARD and SAT-1, all the familiar stations that helped me while away the long winter nights in Potsdam.
And that's when it hit me: I have been missing Germany. I have been away for four years. And I miss it.
Away. A funny word to use, but one that I chose instinctively. My nostalgia for Germany is not like missing a country that I have visited and liked. Strangely, it is like missing a country that I count as one of my homes. I have only visisted a dozen times, lived there for 10 months. And yet... even before I have visited the country, I have longed for it and almost loved it.
Is it because of Beethoven and Bach adn Goethe and Wittgenstein? Perhaps Germany is the closest thing I have to a spiritual homeland. I remember reading an essay once, where it said that "I have been missing Paris even before I visited." This is how I feel and have always felt about Germany. Visiting Israel was a very spiritual experience for me, but visiting Germany, for me, was even more so. I remember the first day I was off the plane - my uncle drove me from Zurich to Konstanz. And as soon as we entered the border, I remember saying to myself, thinking: I am in Germany. I really am in Germany!
And sitting here, in Copenhagen, this most German of all Scandinavian cities, I am realizing that I want to go back to Germany. I have been away for four years, and now I'm finally at its doorstep again. Many of the tourists here are German, and sitting on the bus, I hang on to their conversation hungrily, trying to remember and to understand.
All the while, I feel enveloped by nostalgia -- for that year I spent in Potsdam, but more for an imaginary land that I have always wanted to call home.
It's the most diverse of all the Scandinavian cities. People are not just thin and white and blonde hair. Walking on the street, you see people of all skin colors, looking perfectly at home. The natives look much more middle European.
More like... Germans.
And Danish sounds like German. On the train from Malmo to Copenhagen, I thought I could almost understand the conductor. All around the train station, I see familiar traces of the language that I once was fluent in. And then, lying in my hotel bed, I turned on the TV and four of the stations were German. I could watch ZDF and ARD and SAT-1, all the familiar stations that helped me while away the long winter nights in Potsdam.
And that's when it hit me: I have been missing Germany. I have been away for four years. And I miss it.
Away. A funny word to use, but one that I chose instinctively. My nostalgia for Germany is not like missing a country that I have visited and liked. Strangely, it is like missing a country that I count as one of my homes. I have only visisted a dozen times, lived there for 10 months. And yet... even before I have visited the country, I have longed for it and almost loved it.
Is it because of Beethoven and Bach adn Goethe and Wittgenstein? Perhaps Germany is the closest thing I have to a spiritual homeland. I remember reading an essay once, where it said that "I have been missing Paris even before I visited." This is how I feel and have always felt about Germany. Visiting Israel was a very spiritual experience for me, but visiting Germany, for me, was even more so. I remember the first day I was off the plane - my uncle drove me from Zurich to Konstanz. And as soon as we entered the border, I remember saying to myself, thinking: I am in Germany. I really am in Germany!
And sitting here, in Copenhagen, this most German of all Scandinavian cities, I am realizing that I want to go back to Germany. I have been away for four years, and now I'm finally at its doorstep again. Many of the tourists here are German, and sitting on the bus, I hang on to their conversation hungrily, trying to remember and to understand.
All the while, I feel enveloped by nostalgia -- for that year I spent in Potsdam, but more for an imaginary land that I have always wanted to call home.
8/21/2006
Stockholm photos
Boyfriend and I finally got our luggage today, the night before we check out of our hotel! Yay!
To celebrate, here are a bunch of photos I took over the past few days in Stockholm. Enjoy!
Old Town Gamla Stan, in the crisp early morning light.
Pretty building facade in Gamla Stan.
Pretty alley in Gamla Stan.
One of the many bridges of Stockholm. The city is build on many islands, so there is water everywhere.
Ha!
Mmmmmm... I've missed European bakeries...
Cute Swedish guard guarding the royal palace...
... And a cute tourist taking a photo of him.
Another view of the city.
By the Royal Palace.
Tourists gathering to see the changing of the guards in front of the Palace.
One of the rooms in the palace. Bleh.
Beautiful and stylish Swedish children.
The Swedes have an obsession with their royalties too! These are postcards being sold at the palace gift shop.
Central square in Gamla Stan.
Costumed tour guides in the square, posing for tourists...
...And flirting with a pretty passer-by. :)
Obessive-compulsively square trees in front of the Parliament
Girl making ice cream cones in the shop window.
Swedish glass, which is apparently a famed specialty in the region, or so claim the gift shops...
Hot air ballons rising in the dusk from the city center.
Random and picturesque square.
Folk dancers dressed in costumes in front of the Nordic Museum.
The imposing architecture of the Nordic Museum. The exhibits though were bleh.
Another view of the city, from Katrinahissen, a high point in the city.
A cruise to Helsinki sailing out to the sea. Boyfriend and I will be on one of those tomorrow.
Sunset in Stockholm.
To celebrate, here are a bunch of photos I took over the past few days in Stockholm. Enjoy!
Old Town Gamla Stan, in the crisp early morning light.
Pretty building facade in Gamla Stan.
Pretty alley in Gamla Stan.
One of the many bridges of Stockholm. The city is build on many islands, so there is water everywhere.
Ha!
Mmmmmm... I've missed European bakeries...
Cute Swedish guard guarding the royal palace...
... And a cute tourist taking a photo of him.
Another view of the city.
By the Royal Palace.
Tourists gathering to see the changing of the guards in front of the Palace.
One of the rooms in the palace. Bleh.
Beautiful and stylish Swedish children.
The Swedes have an obsession with their royalties too! These are postcards being sold at the palace gift shop.
Central square in Gamla Stan.
Costumed tour guides in the square, posing for tourists...
...And flirting with a pretty passer-by. :)
Obessive-compulsively square trees in front of the Parliament
Girl making ice cream cones in the shop window.
Swedish glass, which is apparently a famed specialty in the region, or so claim the gift shops...
Hot air ballons rising in the dusk from the city center.
Random and picturesque square.
Folk dancers dressed in costumes in front of the Nordic Museum.
The imposing architecture of the Nordic Museum. The exhibits though were bleh.
Another view of the city, from Katrinahissen, a high point in the city.
A cruise to Helsinki sailing out to the sea. Boyfriend and I will be on one of those tomorrow.
Sunset in Stockholm.
8/20/2006
Scandinavian Diaries, Day 1 - 4
Here are a summary of my four days so far in Scandinavia. Pictures hopefully soon to follow.
Day 1 (Thursday):
We get to Stockholm at 11:30 am local time. Arlanda airport is immaculately beautiful – modern, bright, airy, clean, and the exact opposite from the cramped, ugly, and creakyAmerican Airlines international terminal in JFK. After an extremely hectic time in Heathrow (thanks for nothing, f’ing terrorists!), we were very grateful to arrive at a place where everything seems orderly and under control.
Upon arrival, however, Boyfriend and I discovered with dismay that our luggages did not arrive. The British Airway agent did not seem at all surprised, and very perfunctorily took down our information and said that BA would reimburse each of us up to 50 pounds for our expenses replacing the necessary toiletries for the next few days. He said that our luggage would probably be delivered later in the day or during the night.
With some difficulty, we find our way from the airport to our hotel. Swedish is very similar to German, which ended up helping enormously because I was able to vaguely understand that the subway that was supposed to take us to our hotel was under renovation and that we had to take a bus transfer instead. We finally get to the hotel around 3:30 or so. Our room is a small, cutterbox-type basic room at a hotel that we found at approximately $70/day – a real find for Scandinavia! – a ways outside the city. Boyfriend and I collapsed immediately upon arrival. I remember lying in the bed and literally not being able to move a muscle. Then I fell into a deep sleep.
We wake up at dusk, around 8 or so, and struggle out of bed and decide to go to the local supermarket, which turned out to be about a 20 minute walk away. The scenery on the way – trees and square and functional apartment buildings, remind me of East Germany, or Israel. Only one lone supermarket was open in the shopping center district. We stocked up on toiletries, yogurts, fruits, and veggies, then carried our purchase back in our backpacks and walked back to the hotel just before darkness fell. We had dinner in the hotel garden and went back to sleep around 10:30 pm.
High point: the airport
Low point: the lack of our luggage.
Day 2 (Friday)
I woke up around 2:30 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. To pass the time, I read Bill Bryson’s essays “Neither Here Nor There,” which is an account of his travels in Europe, starting in Norway, no less. It’s very funny. Boyfriend, who is a much better sleeper than I am, wakes up around 5:30, and we make our way out of the hotel around 7:30. Our luggage, sadly, has not arrived.
We take the bus/metro (which is called the T-Bana here in Swedish) into town. We get out at Gamla Stan, the Stockholm old town, and walk around. Gamla Stan is the classic European center city, with narrow cobble-stoned streets, colorful old houses, touristy shops, town squares, and outdoor cafes. Because it was early, nothing was open yet, so we had the whole quite winding paths to ourselves.
Stockholm is a city built on small islands, and some guidebooks have called it more watery than Venice. Walk in any direction for a few minutes and you’ll likely come upon a harbor, a canal, or a lake. In the early morning sunlight, the entire city was glistening with water and sunlight. The facades of grand old buildings by the water were beautiful and imposing. The view was quite stunning.
Boyfriend, who is still wearing his sweatpants that he wore to the airplane, needs a pair of regular pants urgently. So we found our way to the more commercial parts of the city, the equivalent of 5th Avenue in New York, where hundreds of glitzy, affluent boutiques and department stores opened their doors wide to tourists and shopaholics of all nationalities. We dive into the stores and shop shop shop. I got some urgently needed face lotion and lipstick (my own extensive collection is sadly inaccessible in my lost luggage). Boyfriend got himself a pair of pants.
In case you are wondering, Swedish people are indeed breathtakingly beautiful. Every other person walking down the sidewalk is so gorgeous he/she could be a model. They are tall and trim and blond and tan and glowing with wholesomeness. Never in my life have I felt so short and plain. The men have chiseled faces, and wear narrow pants and expensively cut sweaters or suits. The women are tall, stylish, wide-set eyes, almost whitish blond hair, golden skin, impossibly thin, their almost endless tan legs ending in a pair of understated ballerina flats. Random people are more gorgeous than movie starlets in the United States – the bank attendant, the ticket counter lady, the salesgirl, the ice cream vendor, even the bus driver (a blonde with large, liquid eyes). It’s almost ridiculous. There are women with darker complexions here too, some of them probably southern European immigrants, and they too are often very beautiful. Perhaps the city brings it out in people. Very few people are overweight here.
So, after the shopping, Boyfriend and I sat in the café section of NK, a large and ritzy department store here, and had an excellent shrimp and cottage cheese salad and coffee. After that, my sleeplessness caught up with me, so I went back to the hotel to sleep while Boyfriend wandered around more and met up with his cousin who lives in Stockholm for dinner. I myself napped until after 7, then caught the bus and wandered around in Gamla Stan a bit more. The canals and the old city looked very romantic in the evening, and the streets were filled with pedestrians and street artists. Around 10:30 it got chilly, and I decided to go home.
High point: Evening stroll by the canal.
Low point: having no matching shoes except for my blindingly white sneakers to wear all day long. I miss my luggage!
Day 3 (Saturday)
Still no sign of any luggage.
Once again I got up around 2:30 am and could not fall back asleep, so read my guidebook and the New Yorkers that I brought with me on the trip as reading material.
Weather-wise, the day was as perfect as the previous few days. It is sunny and dry and not too warm but also not too cool. No air-conditioning needed in our hotel room (and there was none). Perfect days to walk outside, which is what Boyfriend and I did for much of today. We walked around in the city center and had coffee and breakfast at a large gourmet market place that we discovered by accident. The food was fresh and delicious (couscous salad, tomatoes, fresh shrimp, broiled beef, plums, and beef teriyaki kebab), though certainly not cheap. Afterwards, a very full Boyfriend and I went across the street to Sweden House to buy a 48-hour Stockholm Card, which entitled us to enter more than 47 museums and use all of the city’s transportation system for no additional cost. We than attacked the city’s museums and attractions like there’s no tomorrow.
First place we went was the royal palace, right outside of Gamla Stan. It’s no Versaille, but there were quite a few rooms to walk through in the royal apartments section, and interesting nonetheless. There were a few interesting exhibits, both within the Royal Palace itself and nearby in the Royal Armory and art museums. We also witnessed an initially interesting but increasingly endless “changing of the guards” ceremony that takes place every day at noon. A lot of loud military music, shouting of orders, and men in military uniforms involved.
Boyfriend and I went to a few other museums after that, and contemplated taking the ferry, but ended up not to and just walked round and round the city, exploring several neighborhoods and neighboring islands. Before this trip, I got a pedometer from this trendy little store, and according to it, we walked more than 30,000 steps yesterday. Not bad.
High point: the royal palace. But the discovery of the gourmet food hall was wonderful as well. We will definitely be back for more.
Low point: Boyfriend losing his Stockholm Card, upsetting me and prompting a serious discussion about his carelessness while sitting on the bank of the island.
Day 4 (Sunday)
I woke up dutifully again around 2:30am, but this time was able to fall asleep again at 4:00 for a couple of hours. Had a lot of weird dreams about law school people.
Boyfriend and I had a leisurely morning and didn’t leave the hotel until after 9, the latest we’ve left yet. We spend some time in the central train station reserving train rides to Copenhagen next week, then debated how to spend our Monday – whether to go to a nearby small town named Uppsala, or to take a ferry to one of the 24,000 small archipelagos surrounding Stockholm and hike. In the end, we decided that Stockholm is way too pleasant and interesting for us to leave and that we should stick around instead. Also, in case we don’t see our luggage again, there’s some shopping that we need to do!
Boyfriend got another Stockholm Card, and we found our way to another of Stockholm’s central islands where there the Nordic Museum, the famous Vasa Museum and a big open air folk museum named Skansen. The Nordic Museum is beautiful, but the exhibits are kind of blah. The Vasa Museum, which features an entire sunken ship from the 17th century that was lifted out of the water and restored, is the coolest thing I have seen so far on this trip. Boyfriend and I spent hours in the museum poring over everything, and just marveling at the size and the beauty of the ship.
We then walked around the park grounds – the entire island consists of a large botanical garden and lovely views of the center city and lots of nice picnicking spots. We ended up eating our food at one of these spots, then strolled along the canals looking at the boats gliding by, the
We are now sitting at one of the cafes in the city that has free Internet access. This evening, we plan to take a cable car lift to the top of a cliff to see Stockholm from a high point.
High point: hands down, the Vasa Museum.
Low point: Learning that I hate, hate, hate herring. Ugh.
Day 1 (Thursday):
We get to Stockholm at 11:30 am local time. Arlanda airport is immaculately beautiful – modern, bright, airy, clean, and the exact opposite from the cramped, ugly, and creakyAmerican Airlines international terminal in JFK. After an extremely hectic time in Heathrow (thanks for nothing, f’ing terrorists!), we were very grateful to arrive at a place where everything seems orderly and under control.
Upon arrival, however, Boyfriend and I discovered with dismay that our luggages did not arrive. The British Airway agent did not seem at all surprised, and very perfunctorily took down our information and said that BA would reimburse each of us up to 50 pounds for our expenses replacing the necessary toiletries for the next few days. He said that our luggage would probably be delivered later in the day or during the night.
With some difficulty, we find our way from the airport to our hotel. Swedish is very similar to German, which ended up helping enormously because I was able to vaguely understand that the subway that was supposed to take us to our hotel was under renovation and that we had to take a bus transfer instead. We finally get to the hotel around 3:30 or so. Our room is a small, cutterbox-type basic room at a hotel that we found at approximately $70/day – a real find for Scandinavia! – a ways outside the city. Boyfriend and I collapsed immediately upon arrival. I remember lying in the bed and literally not being able to move a muscle. Then I fell into a deep sleep.
We wake up at dusk, around 8 or so, and struggle out of bed and decide to go to the local supermarket, which turned out to be about a 20 minute walk away. The scenery on the way – trees and square and functional apartment buildings, remind me of East Germany, or Israel. Only one lone supermarket was open in the shopping center district. We stocked up on toiletries, yogurts, fruits, and veggies, then carried our purchase back in our backpacks and walked back to the hotel just before darkness fell. We had dinner in the hotel garden and went back to sleep around 10:30 pm.
High point: the airport
Low point: the lack of our luggage.
Day 2 (Friday)
I woke up around 2:30 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. To pass the time, I read Bill Bryson’s essays “Neither Here Nor There,” which is an account of his travels in Europe, starting in Norway, no less. It’s very funny. Boyfriend, who is a much better sleeper than I am, wakes up around 5:30, and we make our way out of the hotel around 7:30. Our luggage, sadly, has not arrived.
We take the bus/metro (which is called the T-Bana here in Swedish) into town. We get out at Gamla Stan, the Stockholm old town, and walk around. Gamla Stan is the classic European center city, with narrow cobble-stoned streets, colorful old houses, touristy shops, town squares, and outdoor cafes. Because it was early, nothing was open yet, so we had the whole quite winding paths to ourselves.
Stockholm is a city built on small islands, and some guidebooks have called it more watery than Venice. Walk in any direction for a few minutes and you’ll likely come upon a harbor, a canal, or a lake. In the early morning sunlight, the entire city was glistening with water and sunlight. The facades of grand old buildings by the water were beautiful and imposing. The view was quite stunning.
Boyfriend, who is still wearing his sweatpants that he wore to the airplane, needs a pair of regular pants urgently. So we found our way to the more commercial parts of the city, the equivalent of 5th Avenue in New York, where hundreds of glitzy, affluent boutiques and department stores opened their doors wide to tourists and shopaholics of all nationalities. We dive into the stores and shop shop shop. I got some urgently needed face lotion and lipstick (my own extensive collection is sadly inaccessible in my lost luggage). Boyfriend got himself a pair of pants.
In case you are wondering, Swedish people are indeed breathtakingly beautiful. Every other person walking down the sidewalk is so gorgeous he/she could be a model. They are tall and trim and blond and tan and glowing with wholesomeness. Never in my life have I felt so short and plain. The men have chiseled faces, and wear narrow pants and expensively cut sweaters or suits. The women are tall, stylish, wide-set eyes, almost whitish blond hair, golden skin, impossibly thin, their almost endless tan legs ending in a pair of understated ballerina flats. Random people are more gorgeous than movie starlets in the United States – the bank attendant, the ticket counter lady, the salesgirl, the ice cream vendor, even the bus driver (a blonde with large, liquid eyes). It’s almost ridiculous. There are women with darker complexions here too, some of them probably southern European immigrants, and they too are often very beautiful. Perhaps the city brings it out in people. Very few people are overweight here.
So, after the shopping, Boyfriend and I sat in the café section of NK, a large and ritzy department store here, and had an excellent shrimp and cottage cheese salad and coffee. After that, my sleeplessness caught up with me, so I went back to the hotel to sleep while Boyfriend wandered around more and met up with his cousin who lives in Stockholm for dinner. I myself napped until after 7, then caught the bus and wandered around in Gamla Stan a bit more. The canals and the old city looked very romantic in the evening, and the streets were filled with pedestrians and street artists. Around 10:30 it got chilly, and I decided to go home.
High point: Evening stroll by the canal.
Low point: having no matching shoes except for my blindingly white sneakers to wear all day long. I miss my luggage!
Day 3 (Saturday)
Still no sign of any luggage.
Once again I got up around 2:30 am and could not fall back asleep, so read my guidebook and the New Yorkers that I brought with me on the trip as reading material.
Weather-wise, the day was as perfect as the previous few days. It is sunny and dry and not too warm but also not too cool. No air-conditioning needed in our hotel room (and there was none). Perfect days to walk outside, which is what Boyfriend and I did for much of today. We walked around in the city center and had coffee and breakfast at a large gourmet market place that we discovered by accident. The food was fresh and delicious (couscous salad, tomatoes, fresh shrimp, broiled beef, plums, and beef teriyaki kebab), though certainly not cheap. Afterwards, a very full Boyfriend and I went across the street to Sweden House to buy a 48-hour Stockholm Card, which entitled us to enter more than 47 museums and use all of the city’s transportation system for no additional cost. We than attacked the city’s museums and attractions like there’s no tomorrow.
First place we went was the royal palace, right outside of Gamla Stan. It’s no Versaille, but there were quite a few rooms to walk through in the royal apartments section, and interesting nonetheless. There were a few interesting exhibits, both within the Royal Palace itself and nearby in the Royal Armory and art museums. We also witnessed an initially interesting but increasingly endless “changing of the guards” ceremony that takes place every day at noon. A lot of loud military music, shouting of orders, and men in military uniforms involved.
Boyfriend and I went to a few other museums after that, and contemplated taking the ferry, but ended up not to and just walked round and round the city, exploring several neighborhoods and neighboring islands. Before this trip, I got a pedometer from this trendy little store, and according to it, we walked more than 30,000 steps yesterday. Not bad.
High point: the royal palace. But the discovery of the gourmet food hall was wonderful as well. We will definitely be back for more.
Low point: Boyfriend losing his Stockholm Card, upsetting me and prompting a serious discussion about his carelessness while sitting on the bank of the island.
Day 4 (Sunday)
I woke up dutifully again around 2:30am, but this time was able to fall asleep again at 4:00 for a couple of hours. Had a lot of weird dreams about law school people.
Boyfriend and I had a leisurely morning and didn’t leave the hotel until after 9, the latest we’ve left yet. We spend some time in the central train station reserving train rides to Copenhagen next week, then debated how to spend our Monday – whether to go to a nearby small town named Uppsala, or to take a ferry to one of the 24,000 small archipelagos surrounding Stockholm and hike. In the end, we decided that Stockholm is way too pleasant and interesting for us to leave and that we should stick around instead. Also, in case we don’t see our luggage again, there’s some shopping that we need to do!
Boyfriend got another Stockholm Card, and we found our way to another of Stockholm’s central islands where there the Nordic Museum, the famous Vasa Museum and a big open air folk museum named Skansen. The Nordic Museum is beautiful, but the exhibits are kind of blah. The Vasa Museum, which features an entire sunken ship from the 17th century that was lifted out of the water and restored, is the coolest thing I have seen so far on this trip. Boyfriend and I spent hours in the museum poring over everything, and just marveling at the size and the beauty of the ship.
We then walked around the park grounds – the entire island consists of a large botanical garden and lovely views of the center city and lots of nice picnicking spots. We ended up eating our food at one of these spots, then strolled along the canals looking at the boats gliding by, the
We are now sitting at one of the cafes in the city that has free Internet access. This evening, we plan to take a cable car lift to the top of a cliff to see Stockholm from a high point.
High point: hands down, the Vasa Museum.
Low point: Learning that I hate, hate, hate herring. Ugh.
8/14/2006
Travels
Okay, so I haven't posted for a while. But folks, you ain't seen nothing yet. I have been traveling nearly all of last week, to GenCon in Indianapolis for a few days and hung out with ABS and his Gay-mer friends, and then to DC for a whirlwind visit with Dickie (long time no see!) and shopped 'til we dropped.
AND, this Wednesday I'm flying to Scandinavia with Boyfriend, for three weeks! We are flying through London, which is a little scary.
Ever since I came back Sunday evening, I have been packing furiously. Today Boyfriend and I went out and got a lot of provisions for our trip, including comfy sneakers, snacks, eyemasks, and little bottles that I can put my lotions and creams and shampoos.
Words on the street is that Scandinavia is pretty modern and there are many wireless hotspots, so perhaps I would be able to post every once in a while, but don't be surprised if you don't see me very often.
Here's my approximate itinerary:
Aug 17-20: Stockholm, Sweden
Aug 20-22: Helsinki, Finnland
Aug 22-26: Copenhagen, Denmark
Aug 26-27: Danish countryside
Aug 27-29: Oslo, Norway
Aug 29-31: Bergen, Norway
Sept 1-2: fjords
Sept 3: Bergen - Oslo
Sept 4: Oslo
Sept 5: departure.
School starts on Sept 5, so I'd have to call the registrar and beg them to let me come in a day late, or change my flight. Here's to crossing my fingers.
:D Europe, I missed you!
:( too much to do before I leave!!
AND, this Wednesday I'm flying to Scandinavia with Boyfriend, for three weeks! We are flying through London, which is a little scary.
Ever since I came back Sunday evening, I have been packing furiously. Today Boyfriend and I went out and got a lot of provisions for our trip, including comfy sneakers, snacks, eyemasks, and little bottles that I can put my lotions and creams and shampoos.
Words on the street is that Scandinavia is pretty modern and there are many wireless hotspots, so perhaps I would be able to post every once in a while, but don't be surprised if you don't see me very often.
Here's my approximate itinerary:
Aug 17-20: Stockholm, Sweden
Aug 20-22: Helsinki, Finnland
Aug 22-26: Copenhagen, Denmark
Aug 26-27: Danish countryside
Aug 27-29: Oslo, Norway
Aug 29-31: Bergen, Norway
Sept 1-2: fjords
Sept 3: Bergen - Oslo
Sept 4: Oslo
Sept 5: departure.
School starts on Sept 5, so I'd have to call the registrar and beg them to let me come in a day late, or change my flight. Here's to crossing my fingers.
:D Europe, I missed you!
:( too much to do before I leave!!
8/08/2006
In Shock
Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut democratic primary! I'm not sure what to say, except that I'm kind of shocked.
Ending. Beginning.
My internship officially ended yesterday. Actually it officially ended last Friday, and I kind of sat in mourning of that this weekend, feeling listless and vaguely sad. But I still had a few things to wrap up -- memos that an attorney assigned to me about 5 weeks ago that had not been finished. So I stayed for one more day.
Saying goodbye to everyone was a bit sad. Thankfully, most of the interns who still remained went to NYC to see an attorney from our office argue in front of the Second Circuit, so I was spared the hugs and the pang of sadness that always came when I had to take my leave. What do you say to people that you'd very much like to see again, but may not, ever? When JG, one of the interns, left us on Thursday, we jokingly said: "Have a good life." But it really wasn't that in appropriate, when you think about it. Would any of us ever see JG again? The chances are slim, though of course not impossible. I suppose if we wanted to we could, but then the currents of life sweeps you along, and you lose the desire to seek out old friends (or acquaintances in this case). Or you forget about them.
But of course, there is always the possiiblity of a chance encounter, on the street, or in court. (Heh.) Someone looked vaguely familiar, but you can't place him. You begin hesitatingly, then "Oh my God! It's you!" "How have you been all these years?" "I'm doing very well too!" Perhaps a real surge of warmth. The guy I hung out with for a summer when I was in my mid-twenties! But more likely awkwardness.
So I said goodbyes to a few attorneys when I left the office at 6. They tried to give me advice. "What do you want to do after law school?" "Yes, it really is a great sacrifice to go into a firm." "Make sure you go into it with your eyes open." "Follow your heart." I spoke to KS and EG and TK and JM. Some of the attorneys had already left, so I was spared of having to say goodbye to them.
I really liked them all -- I would like to see them again someday, but I really am just so bad at goodbyes. They grip me with fear. I am so conscious of a stage of my life ending. Of course this means another stage is beginning, but at least before I settle into it, I approach it with apprehension. I'm not sure what the future will bring. Will I like my 2L year? WIll it be disappointing, now that I'm not on Law Review? Will ABS and I remain close? Will I be at a good firm? Will I make new friends and find new passions and still feel good about myself? Will I finally reach clarity on what I want to do with my life, now that I have advanced inexorably another year towards -- well, death really, but let's call it middle age for now...?
So, that was an ending. Not very dramatic. Anti-climactic really. I gave my ID back to EG. I'm sorry to part with it, because using it to open our super-securitized office doors every morning made me feel proud, that I am a member of this organization fighting crime and immorality. I will miss it here. Perhaps I will return one day.
:D Indianapolis for GenCon tomorrow!
:( Feeling reflective.
Saying goodbye to everyone was a bit sad. Thankfully, most of the interns who still remained went to NYC to see an attorney from our office argue in front of the Second Circuit, so I was spared the hugs and the pang of sadness that always came when I had to take my leave. What do you say to people that you'd very much like to see again, but may not, ever? When JG, one of the interns, left us on Thursday, we jokingly said: "Have a good life." But it really wasn't that in appropriate, when you think about it. Would any of us ever see JG again? The chances are slim, though of course not impossible. I suppose if we wanted to we could, but then the currents of life sweeps you along, and you lose the desire to seek out old friends (or acquaintances in this case). Or you forget about them.
But of course, there is always the possiiblity of a chance encounter, on the street, or in court. (Heh.) Someone looked vaguely familiar, but you can't place him. You begin hesitatingly, then "Oh my God! It's you!" "How have you been all these years?" "I'm doing very well too!" Perhaps a real surge of warmth. The guy I hung out with for a summer when I was in my mid-twenties! But more likely awkwardness.
So I said goodbyes to a few attorneys when I left the office at 6. They tried to give me advice. "What do you want to do after law school?" "Yes, it really is a great sacrifice to go into a firm." "Make sure you go into it with your eyes open." "Follow your heart." I spoke to KS and EG and TK and JM. Some of the attorneys had already left, so I was spared of having to say goodbye to them.
I really liked them all -- I would like to see them again someday, but I really am just so bad at goodbyes. They grip me with fear. I am so conscious of a stage of my life ending. Of course this means another stage is beginning, but at least before I settle into it, I approach it with apprehension. I'm not sure what the future will bring. Will I like my 2L year? WIll it be disappointing, now that I'm not on Law Review? Will ABS and I remain close? Will I be at a good firm? Will I make new friends and find new passions and still feel good about myself? Will I finally reach clarity on what I want to do with my life, now that I have advanced inexorably another year towards -- well, death really, but let's call it middle age for now...?
So, that was an ending. Not very dramatic. Anti-climactic really. I gave my ID back to EG. I'm sorry to part with it, because using it to open our super-securitized office doors every morning made me feel proud, that I am a member of this organization fighting crime and immorality. I will miss it here. Perhaps I will return one day.
:D Indianapolis for GenCon tomorrow!
:( Feeling reflective.
8/05/2006
8/02/2006
Scattergories
Co-intern N hosted a party for the other interns at her house tonight. I showed up about 2 hours late, but brought my game Scattergories, so no one was mad at me.
Here are a few memorable plays for the night:
Category: tools. Letter: G
"Guns"
Category: bad habits. Letter: A
"Abstinence"
(Co-intern JB had some interesting explanation for why he came up with that one, which I shall not repeat here. :) )
Category: bad personality traits. Letter: A.
"Aggressive, passive-"
Category: terms of endearment. Letter: J.
"Jew"
(This last one was dreamt up by N, who is Jewish herself. Otherwise it would have been mildly offensive.)
Category: terms of endearment. Letter: J.
"Ju-ju bean"
There were more than a few iffy ones in there, so just imagine how chaotic it was, with 6 would-be and very much drunk lawyers arguing over whether a word should or should not count in that category. It was a ton of fun.
:D Party, and dropping another pound
:( There are actually two things today:
1). 99 degrees today, with 60% humidity. Holy crap...
2). hung jury in TK's trial! Very surprising.
Here are a few memorable plays for the night:
Category: tools. Letter: G
"Guns"
Category: bad habits. Letter: A
"Abstinence"
(Co-intern JB had some interesting explanation for why he came up with that one, which I shall not repeat here. :) )
Category: bad personality traits. Letter: A.
"Aggressive, passive-"
Category: terms of endearment. Letter: J.
"Jew"
(This last one was dreamt up by N, who is Jewish herself. Otherwise it would have been mildly offensive.)
Category: terms of endearment. Letter: J.
"Ju-ju bean"
There were more than a few iffy ones in there, so just imagine how chaotic it was, with 6 would-be and very much drunk lawyers arguing over whether a word should or should not count in that category. It was a ton of fun.
:D Party, and dropping another pound
:( There are actually two things today:
1). 99 degrees today, with 60% humidity. Holy crap...
2). hung jury in TK's trial! Very surprising.
8/01/2006
Last Week at Work
This week is my last week at the internship. I feel a little sad because I will have to say goodbye to all the nice attorneys and co-interns who I have come to be very fond of. Today was actually the first time I've been in office because yesterday all the interns drove to the State Capital for TK's trial. This is the first time TK is first-chairing a criminal trial, I think, and he did a really good job. Looking at him, I could hardly believe that this was the same boy who was my freshman counselor.
Today I rode in CC's truck to the State Capital again, to hear TK's closing arguments. TK was phenomenal, and afterwards all the interns agreed that the jury would definitely find the defendant guilty. On the way there and back, CC and I had really nice conversations. We found out that we had a lot in common. CC continues to be my favorite person at work (though JS comes in a close second, and MM close behind - oh me and my obsession with ranking things). I really hope I keep in touch with him after the internship (and with the others as well, of course).
After work the interns went to a little Mexican place, and I had a little margarita. The rest of the day I ate only fruits. The weather was brutal today -- 96 degrees. I nearly died when I ran the mile around the W-Square this morning. Near the evening there was a violent thunderstorm, and it cooled down, but only a bit. Nearly died again when I ran my mile in the evening, but very proud of myself. :)
I thought I would feel sadder about my last week at work, but I think I'm still adjusting to the idea - and tired. I'll sort everything out when I have my energy. For now, it'll be an early night in for me.
Also, booked my flight to Indianapolis for GenCon this weekend. I'll be hanging out with ABS and his "gaymers" for 4 days! Then flying over to DC to visit Dickie. Yay.
:D laughing and talking with CC
:( Nothing, really, just tired.
Today I rode in CC's truck to the State Capital again, to hear TK's closing arguments. TK was phenomenal, and afterwards all the interns agreed that the jury would definitely find the defendant guilty. On the way there and back, CC and I had really nice conversations. We found out that we had a lot in common. CC continues to be my favorite person at work (though JS comes in a close second, and MM close behind - oh me and my obsession with ranking things). I really hope I keep in touch with him after the internship (and with the others as well, of course).
After work the interns went to a little Mexican place, and I had a little margarita. The rest of the day I ate only fruits. The weather was brutal today -- 96 degrees. I nearly died when I ran the mile around the W-Square this morning. Near the evening there was a violent thunderstorm, and it cooled down, but only a bit. Nearly died again when I ran my mile in the evening, but very proud of myself. :)
I thought I would feel sadder about my last week at work, but I think I'm still adjusting to the idea - and tired. I'll sort everything out when I have my energy. For now, it'll be an early night in for me.
Also, booked my flight to Indianapolis for GenCon this weekend. I'll be hanging out with ABS and his "gaymers" for 4 days! Then flying over to DC to visit Dickie. Yay.
:D laughing and talking with CC
:( Nothing, really, just tired.
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