Our trip to the north

Early on Wednesday morning, my grandma, Oskar and I set out on our road trip up to Sollefteå, where my grandma is currently residing. The car journey went smoothly and we were all eager to get out of the car once we arrived. I spent a part of the afternoon napping, trying to recover from our grotesquely early morning. After dinner, Oskar and I went on a walk around Risön, which is right next to where my grandma is living.

The bridge you cross to get to Risön

Standard foot picture. My brother is truly baffled as to why I take these types of pictures, and to be honest, I don't know why I do.. Also, I am absolutely loving Oskar's "sock-tan" haha!

On Thursday we set out on an adventure up to Myre, which is situated right on Ågermanälven (a big river). We had a delicious lunch and then had a quick look around in the "loppis"

Our view at lunch

The old barn which had been redecorated into a small café/restaurant was decorated with charming old cans and bottles, as seen in the photo above

On Friday around noon, we headed up to Imnäs to visit my grandma's brother:

The view of the river from their cottage

After a day of fishing with Oskar, and watching Oskar swim in the river, I headed back up the hill to pick some raspberries. I have never seen so many raspberries in the same place in my life, I picked about half a litre in a matter of minutes and it wasn't even noticeable!

Of course one can't visit Imnäs without diving over to Skogsnäs and the best tomatoes and cucumbers on the planet! This is a greenhouse owned by a farmer where the locals come to handpick their vegetables. We have been coming here since we were children, and this time was no different, apart form the fact that the place had been plundered by a few people just before we arrived, leaving us with only a few tomatoes to take back home.

Oskar looks like Slenderman in this photo, cracks me up

I cannot express in words how insanely cool and dangerous this place feels. (This picture really doesn't do this place justice.) As I was standing there on the brink of the water, with the loud noise of the water gushing out, I felt so peaceful. It had been raining quite a lot over the past couple of days, and as a result they have to let some of the water out of the reservoir to maintain the water level

The view from my grandma's balcony out over the garden and river, and in the distance you can see the camping site.

Oskar and I drank many glasses of the homemade (it was actually purchased in the shop but it's homemade by a woman in the area) blackcurrant "saft" (cordial/squash).

We got home at around 19.20 on Sunday evening, and after dinner I headed out for drinks with Natalie and Juno

Heatwave

Snapped a quick photo of the pink clouds the other evening before I headed out

The heatwave that has struck Sweden has left its population in awe. It has even made me feel like I'm not in Sweden at all. It has been around 30 degrees for the past two and a half weeks, and it's bloody sweltering. It makes me a little upset that I have to work during this glorious heatwave, but I am grateful that I finish in the early hours of the afternoon, so I am able to quickly head home and enjoy the sun for the rest of the day, and perhaps a quick catch-up with a friend in town.

Even though I enjoy the sun and heat, I have to run inside for refuge when my body is clammy with sweat and my head all dizzy from the scorching sun. I chug a glass or two of cold water to quench my thirst and then head down into the wine cellar for refuge in the blissful 15 degree A.C. After a few minutes inside recovering from my my minor heatstroke, I head back outside to read a chapter or two of The Great Gatsby and then a nap in the shade to recover from my early mornings. 

I spend my weekends hanging around the house and the garden, sketching, reading, listening to music and drinking cold iced tea. In the evenings I either opt for a chilled dinner with the family or a few drinks with a couple of friends at Satin until the early hours of the morning.

Stenshyttan

On Friday morning my mum, dad and I left to go to our summer house. This is the place where Oskar and I (and mamma) spent most of our summers growing up. Every time I go back I feel very nostalgic and peaceful. It's very quiet out there which is extremely relaxing for someone who lives in a city. We got back a few hours ago, and I'm super tired for some reason. I slept almost the whole way home. I hope I'm not this tired tomorrow morning when I have work!

Everyday photos

This was the view of the sunset the other day from one of my bedroom windows. The clouds were more pink in real life. It's a shame the camera couldn't capture it

I would like to think of myself as quite an avid photographer. The truth is, I hardly ever take photos on a daily basis, lest the sunset is nice as depicted in the photo above. However, I feel I should resurrect my habit of taking photos, to make these update-posts more interesting!

After Helen left to go to Spain after spending a week here in Sweden with me, I suddenly felt very lonely and bored. I usually feel this way when I have spent a lot of time with people, it's a slight separation anxiety I have. I especially get it after getting back from vacation/holiday! Post-holiday-blues, as they say..

But alas, life goes on and after a week of sleeping in until noon and watching Mad Men on Netflix, I started work. I normally work for 7-8 hours a day, starting either at 7 or 8 and finishing at 15.30 or 16.30, depending on what my duties are for the day.
Ideally I would be soaking up the D-vitamin in the sun after work but it has been chucking it down with rain for a fair few days now. It was sunny for the better part of today, before the torrential rain and thunder returned. Due to the ghastly weather conditions this past week, I haven't been able to go strawberry-picking, much to my dismay. But this'll have to wait until the sun decides to stick around for a little longer.

I don't have work tomorrow so I'm assuming I'll be sleeping in and taking it easy. I do have a pair of jeans that need altering, may haps I'll commence that project. If it rains, I'll probably be playing GTA 5 or watching some more Mad Men. I'm not liking the series as much as I thought I was. I find the characters quite odd and distant, and sometimes they get on my nerves. Oskar can't seem to understand why I keep watching it, but at the end of the day I want to know what happens to Don Draper, so I keep watching.
Here's some trivia for you that I learned from my brother: Aaron Staton, the actor who plays Kenneth (Ken) Cosgrove in Mad Men, did the facial and voice acting for the video game L.A. Noire, in which he portrays the protagonist Cole Phelps.

Midsummer's Eve

Our midsummer consisted of singing snapsvisor, traditional dancing, eating mass amounts of food and talking. As usual, we all gathered at our friends' house out in the countryside for the annual celebration of the summer solstice. Just like Christmas, midsummer is celebrated the eve before the actual event in Sweden, which always falls on a Friday. For half the day I was wearing my grandmother's handmade folkdräkt from Ramsele. It was incredibly warm and I had to change into something more appropriate before dinner, as it felt like I was going to melt right there in my chair. However, towards the end of the evening, the temperature dropped drastically and several people wrapped up warm in their down-feather jackets and blankets, the scene resembled an after-ski event in the alps. Someone even told me that in the past it has been warmer on New Year's Eve than on Midsummer's Eve! Shocking, to say the least…

Class of 2014

I woke up to the sound of exhilarated and slightly obnoxious students singing "Vi har tagit studenten, vi har tagit studenten, fy fan vad vi är bra!" I jumped out of bed and opened my blinds to catch a glimpse of the graduates dressed in white caps, looking so confident and happy.
It instantly brought me back to the 8th of June 2012, when it was my time to graduate. I remember my class walking to our school from my house, feeling so high on life in the morning sun. The feeling is so fresh in my memory, almost as if it happened yesterday.
But an overwhelming feeling of jealousy came over me when I stood there in my window, watching the students walk by. I want to do it all over again. My graduation day was and still is one of the best days of my life. When I see the graduate students I get goosebumps and a shiver down my spine, because I know the feelings they are experiencing, and how incredibly happy they are right in that moment.

Taking it easy

Drinks and tapas upon arrival in the motherland

Wallpaper in my room in Stockohlm

Enjoying the gorgeous weather

My alarm went off at 5am on Thursday morning after 2 and a half hours of sleep. I more or less jumped out of bed, got dressed, packed the rest of my things into my bag and hurled my way out the door to my taxi, leaving behind what has been my home for the past 9 months. 

As I said, I did go out on Wednesday night, partying it up in Institute with a few friends. I got home at around two, and crashed on my unmade bed at 2.30. Most of my day was spent traveling down to London, and up to Stockholm, where my dad picked me up.

The 6th of June was spent painting my room pink, and going out for dinner in the evening at Kitchen & Table on Kungsholmen. The rest of the weekend was spent putting up wallpaper and cycling around Stockholm. A much needed chilled-out weekend in other words.

These past two days I have met up with Natalie for a pizza at Paolo's, soaking up all the D-vitamin I can muster, and eating my mother's good food. I have also finished the second season of Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and started reading A Feast for Crows (book 4 of the Game of Thrones series).

The rest of the week will most likely consist of reading my book in the sun, going out for drinks, eating food, catching up with friends, and eagerly awaiting Helen's arrival on the 16th.

Easter Break

I thought I would write a quick little recap of what my life has consisted of during my Eater break.

Once I got home from our weekend in London, I chilled in rainy Stockholm for two days. I strolled around the wet city, absorbing that special Stockholm-vibe that I always get when I am there. I ate some amazing food at several restaurants.
On the 2nd of April I took the train up to see my grandma. She cooked amazing food for me, I read my Game of Thrones book in the warm sun, we had a fabulous barbeque on the river. She has now sold her house and it was an emotional moment saying goodbye to that amazing place; the place where I spent most of my summers when I was a kid.
Two more days were spent in Stockholm doing practically the same thing as last time. I then took a short flight over to Helsinki. Jenny and Chris had flown over the day before, and for the majority of Wednesday we chilled in the house. Thursday we spent out in Helsinki, we went to Torni and Kamppi. Jenny and Chris baked cookies. We considered going to Tallinn on the Friday, but the boat is 2.5 hours one way, and in the end we decided that that was too long for us. On Friday night we watched Argo before we picked up Helina from the airport. The next morning Helen and I played badminton and then went into Helsinki for a quick shop and a bite to eat in Stockmann, before we headed over to the cinema to watch The Book Thief with Jenny, Chris, Roos and Naomi. I liked the movie, although it was quite sad. The highlight was probably a cute little german boy named Rudy (not in a weird way...). We then headed back to the Jacobson's for dinner with Roos' family and a ping-pong tournament.
I got back home in Örebro on Sunday night. Monday to Friday was spent chilling at home, shopping in town, eating sushi with mother, cycling around town in the sun, meeting up with Sangeet for a cuppa and a slice of cheesecake (which was phenomenal I might add), going out for dinner with family friends at an amazing restaurant, celebrating Easter on the Saturday with my parents and grandparents and then going out for drinks with Natalie in the evening (it felt like summer again, we were so happy!). On Sunday morning, my parents and I left for Stockholm, I drove half the way there before mother took over. I then left for Aberdeen early on Monday morning.

Stockholm

Getting back to Aberdeen felt very odd. Prior to the Easter break, I was just not feeling myself. I wasn't happy, I wasn't social and I was just fed up with university. Obviously, the break did help me a little bit and I feel revitalized for my last term of second year.

Peace!

Spring Break

Easter break is nearly upon us. I leave for London on Saturday where I will finally be reunited with my family and friends. We're staying until Monday, when we fly back to Stockholm.
I am so excited to be going home. It's a nice opportunity for me to recharge my batteries and relax a little bit before I go back to uni. While I'm in Stockholm, I hope I will be able to go to Livrustkammaren   (The Royal Armoury) on Slottsbacken to visit the Games of Thrones exhibition! A replica of the Iron Throne will be present, as well as some of the costumes from the series! I'm eagerly waiting for this awesome opportunity!
In early April I'll be flying over the Baltic to visit Jenny in Helsinki. Chris and Helen will also be there, a nice opportunity for us all to catch up :)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter peeps! Hope you had a good one. I was skiing in Sälen for the weekend and couldn't have asked for better weather - sun every day, it was absolutely beautiful.

View of the sunset from the apartment

We took a day trip to Trysil in Norway

Trysil, Norway

At Trysil's summit

Gulasch soup and delicious bread for lunch at the "Skihyttan" in Trysil

After ski in the slopes at Trysil

There were loads of people! Music, beer, BBQ's etc.

Högfjällsbacken in Sälen

Stockholm with Helen

22.3 - 26.3

Deliiiish!

Helen's mattress deflated and so we had to improvise and make a mattress
out of three blankets. Bless.

Completely normal.

Helen being a hobo.

I can't believe it's already spring break! Where the hell did the time go?! It flew by in a blink of an eye - the same thing happened last term - it's scary how fast time flies.

As you may or may not know, Helen and I arrived in Stockholm on Friday afternoon after a very long journey (on separate flights however). I hadn't seen Helen since October of 2012, and that was only for about 3 hours in total, so when I finally got to give her a nice long hug I finally felt like myself again :)
Helen and I spent our days out in the city shopping, drinking tea at Urban Coffee and complaining about our feet and backs hurting haha! On Sunday evening we went to the cinema to watch Django Unchained - Helen, you will know how to pronounce this! KRRR. Helen had seen it twice before but this was the first time for me and I was not disappointed. Christoph Waltz you are a hell of an actor! I loved that Quentin Tarantino, the director of the film, plays a little role in the movie as an Australian cowboy haha. However, I still think I prefer Inglorious Basterds. I think I may have to see Django Unchained  one or two more times to be completely sure.