…but where would they live?
As we are all taking a few much-needed days off, it is important to reflect on how you take leave! You may have heard the buzzword "ecotourism" thrown around quite a bit, but what does that actually mean and how far do you have to travel to really be an ecotourist? Turns out, not that... Continue Reading →
This year has been one crazy roller coaster after enough. Self-inflicted I may add. I've decided to leave it all on the table this year and just put all my fears, all my comfort zones, everything cozy and easy aside and off I went fighting for every inch of a path non-existent. Well, almost anyway.... Continue Reading →
It seems just like yesterday when I sat in my new home, wondering if I was really going to be able to do all of this. Wondering if I could handle my workload, living in a new country, taking care of myself (i.e. cooking for myself!) all starting now. I wondered if all of this... Continue Reading →
Throughout my plentiful journeys I have found myself often looking to my right and left and realizing that I was by myself. I'm not heartless, of course, every now and then I would feel a small tug on my heartstrings but for the most part you will find me standing tall and proud. Taking in... Continue Reading →
A and I are enchanted by Singapore. A concrete jungle, mixed with Avatar-like concoctions, excitement pouring out of every fiber. You could call it love at first flight! From how easy it was to get through customs, literally took mere minutes and I got candy at the end, to how easy it was to get... Continue Reading →
24 hours into Our Australia adventure and everything (mostly me) fell apart. On top of rearranging our next couple of weeks I fell severely ill. Not just a little cough, but coughing so hard that A literally just told me (rather angrily barked at me) that I should stop what I was doing (working, mostly...... Continue Reading →
We've only been in Australia for a few hours, so there is little I can tell about our fourth stop just yet, you know other than the Airbnb incident... Fear not though, we will be here for about two weeks, so there will be lots of stories to tell. But I want to tell you... Continue Reading →
I bet you, your Christmas was much better than ours. Guaranteed! Don't believe me? Let me enlighten you. We left Honolulu really early on Christmas Eve Day (December 24th or for where I am from: Christmas). Crammed into two seats with a stranger on the aisle seat we tried to get comfortable but I -... Continue Reading →
This year, A and I decided to skip Christmas altogether, sort of. Our world trip is of course the gift to each other and for ourselves but other than that, we decided to leave Christmas decorations, trees and anything else Christmasy behind. Because Christmas is more than a place decorated with loads of glitter, on... Continue Reading →
Sweat. Sunburn. Sadness. That's all you need, right?! But there is so much more to it! When we got up yesterday morning we didn't know where the day would take us, so we hung out in our airbnb in the morning before A urged me to get into the car, so we could go see... Continue Reading →
I am an ocean person. There I said it, not that it ever was a secret, but that's who I am, who I always will be... I love everything ocean infinitely more than I could ever love any other landscape. Now that that's out of the way, here's something else you should know: for everything... Continue Reading →
We’ve made it to our third stop: Hawaii and we’re instantly greeted with hot air and humidity. Can it get any better than this? We arrived late at night, so we didn’t see much just yet but we have fun things planned for our short time here. Both A and I are incredibly excited, after the... Continue Reading →
On our last full day in and around Las Vegas we decided to drive to The Valley of Fire and be inspired. The Valley is about an hour long drive away from the Las Vegas strip and definitely a worth while stop that no one should miss. Especially if you like rocks, sand and a... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in Pasadena and made our way west wards. The Mojave desert is unlike anything I've ever seen. The landscape is so impressive, mountains and hills and vast sandy plains and cactuses, as far as the eye can see. And sun. Lots and lots of sun, something I've come to... Continue Reading →
Oh wow. We're 24 hours into our world trip and man, I couldn't be happier. I was afraid we wouldn't make our LA flight but turns out, Norwegian Air thought of everything and we were through customs in less than 5 minutes. All flights to the US have amped up their security, so surprisingly A... Continue Reading →
2017 has been everything and nothing like I expected. It's been a whirlwind of craziness, most of which I successfully already forgot. Seriously, this year there was so much going on around the world, it's hard to keep up. I really don't remember half of the things that happened (and I'm guessing in most cases, that's... Continue Reading →
In about 48 hours A and I will be on our way to La-La-Land (also known as Los Angeles). Although we've lived in the US for quite some time and we both, independently have traveled to the west coast, we've never made it out to LA. There's actually a lot of places that we live... Continue Reading →
About a year ago A and I went to the US and hopelessly overshopped. Living in Norway teaches you to keep your shopping to the periods of times when you're out of the country. Things are hopelessly overpriced compared to what you could get for the same kind of money abroad (and that's taking the... Continue Reading →
I have the tendency to go big and then go home - bear with me. I am no fan of small gestures, I mean, yes of course, in everyday life, small gestures are fine and important, but generally I love big gestures. They require planning, anticipation and endless amounts of patience but most importantly, big... Continue Reading →
Okay, so now that you know a little about Chios and you know a little more about the driving situation in Chios, let me tell you about some of the things that one definitely should (not) miss. Fall has officially arrived in Oslo, and people surprisingly wasted no time getting their parkers, their big scarfs... Continue Reading →
In preparation for the next few blog posts about our amazing Greece trip, I decided to give you a short intro to the island of Chios, the place where beach hair is a must, you never go hungry and the ocean is never far. My husband is American-Greek, although he would call himself being just... Continue Reading →
Spoiler alert: huge announcement at the end of this blog post! My backpack and I traveled the world together. My backpack is not one of these new models that are super snazzy and come with millions of gadgets, my backpack is just a backpack. In some areas the seams have come undone, the colors are not... Continue Reading →
Last month I traveled to the US to (finally) start the next phase of my Master's thesis: data collection by conducting 1-hour long interviews with all sorts of people. What does this mean? In short, it means asking questions, and lots of them while also listening to elaborate answers. Sometimes you hear things you never... Continue Reading →
When I was young, my dad was terrified of flying. He would try not to sleep the night before, so when he got to the airplane the next day he could just pass out and would not have to think about take off and landing and all the things in between. Flying never scared me,... Continue Reading →
In the last 24 hours of my India trip I ate food from a street vendor, got caught in a sudden monsoon outburst and made some life-changing decisions. All in all I enjoyed life to the fullest and have absolutely no regrets. I've returned to Norway a week ago and have since then battled with... Continue Reading →
Today I had an egg-salad kind of day and no, I didn't have any egg-salad, nor do I want any. But before our first lecture today, my friend showed me this picture and much to my own joy, I was laughing tears. This wonderful family picture made me wonder after a prolonged heart-felt laughter, aren't... Continue Reading →
The last few weeks flew by like nothing. I can't believe that I am halfway through my India experience already and the worst I had to live through so far was general discomfort (you learn to love it, believe me!) and a severe cold with intense fever sweats last week. This, by the way, is my... Continue Reading →
Unbelievable sights Indescribable feeling Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling Through an endless diamond sky A whole new world - A whole new world, Disney's Aladdin You can hardly travel to India without thinking of Aladdin. That’s like going to the beach and not worrying about Jaws. Unthinkable. For me, movies like Aladdin did not want me to... Continue Reading →
Sounds, smells and a general discomfort. That’s probably the best way to describe my first 48 hours in India. No part of me wanted to leave Greece. Not even the smallest particle of my body. Having arrived in India after about 30 hours of traveling, sleeping at airports and being stuck in the middle seat... Continue Reading →
About a month ago I finished the last exam for the semester. Since then I've been in a summer-break daze. I guess the first five months of the year have been so crazy, that once I delivered my last exam I just checked out - mentally. That's not to say, that I've been laying around... Continue Reading →
Vienna was calling so loud it's still ringing in my ears. Going home always comes with a special kind of anxiety paired with an unbearable amount of excitement. Needless to say I couldn't sleep for several nights before my departure. I was super early at the airport, I was not going to miss my flight... Continue Reading →
Traveling is part of A's and my relationship. So this year, for our 7th year anniversary A and I went to Tallinn, Estonia, because apparently Norway is not cold enough for us but also because the tickets to Tallinn were the cheapest ones we could find for a romantic getaway without having to break the... Continue Reading →
This is the final and last part of our month-long road-trip through the US and I know you're thinking, "Geesh, finally, took you long enough". And yes, it took me almost longer to finish the road-trip saga than actually being on the road-trip with A. So yes, this is the final installment, the one... Continue Reading →
A note of warning, before I jump into the fifth part of our month long road-trip: Because our trip was so extensive, eventful and wonderful at the same time, I decided to split my blog into several installments. The first part recapitulated our initial car-troubles whereas the second part told the wonderful story about excessive amounts of... Continue Reading →
The last half year has been incredibly stressful for A and me. We desperately needed a few days to ourselves, away from home, away from responsibilities, away from everything that we love (except for each other). So we did the only sensible thing: going on an eat-cation. Remember Vilnius earlier this year? That's when I... Continue Reading →
As I raised my head out of the deep blue sea, I was gasping for air, I felt like no matter how hard I tried, there wasn't enough air coming through my lungs. I was surrounded by icy cold blue and desperately held on to a little white lifeline that was attached to a slowly... Continue Reading →
I am my mom's worst nightmare, in every way possible. I mean obviously I could have turned out way worse, than I actually have, and I do pride myself as a good daughter, but when it comes to life-choices, then yes, I am my mom's worst nightmare. I do things, that she would not do... Continue Reading →
When A and I first moved to Norway, some odd forever years ago (that's at least how long it feels), we agreed that hiking to Preikestolen is on our absolute MUST to do list! Every other month or so, we would go back and look at the breathtaking pictures, telling each other, that next vacation... Continue Reading →
This is the second installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single blogpost. We were still trying to decide whether the first 24 hours of our honeymoon were a bad omen, a sign for us to return home early. Or if we should... Continue Reading →
This is the first installment of our honeymoon diaries, simply because the experiences we had were far too many to pack into one single blogpost. Sitting at the beach, sunbathing while sipping a mai tai, watching the waves roll in. Being served fresh seafood whenever you want to and having a hotel room you never... Continue Reading →
A and I are about to leave Hong Kong for good in a couple days, embarking on a new journey to Beijing and Lijiang before we will return to Oslo. But here are my final thoughts on what can only be described as the greatest 5 months of my life so far (minus the part... Continue Reading →
There are different types of culture shock. There is the initial one, when you first arrive in a foreign place. There is a reverse one, when you return to your home country and lastly, there is the sudden one, that hits you in the face unexpectedly. The first type I experienced in Rome, only a... Continue Reading →
I am 26, originally from Austria. I married my best friend from Pennsylvania in Italy. We moved to Norway three years ago and now I study abroad in Hong Kong. That is my story in three sentences. With this you already know a whole lot about me, without ever having met me. You for instance... Continue Reading →
My dad always says, he doesn't need a picture to proof that he has been some place. But my dad is generally shy of the camera. Whenever he sees any type of camera approaching him, he would disappear instantly. Let me tell you, skyping this way, is not a lot of fun. My mom, my... Continue Reading →
I am back home (= with A, where I belong; where it's rainy and cold at the end of May; where my hamster snores loudly; where I know, I have all the time in the world to be with the most wonderful man I know). I somehow survived the last week and a half and... Continue Reading →
I am not much of a cooker. That's why A and I are so perfect together, because he loves to cook... In fact one of the first things I told my mom about A was, 'I hit the jackpot... he cooks.' It's not that I can't cook, I actually enjoy cooking very much, it's just... Continue Reading →
The Martinsens were a nice couple, I imagine. They've traveled quite a lot and have been all over the place, at least according to all the framed pics and some of the artwork that we took off the walls.One of the Martinsens was a musical genius, or at least somewhat good and loved the violin... Continue Reading →
We got the basics fairly quick, takk and vær så snill, unnskyld meg. Nonetheless we are far from having a normal conversation with a native. A and I still are playing the 'I'm an American, therefore I speak English' card, which so far didn't exactly put us in good standing with the natives but at least they... Continue Reading →
Monday, August 8th6 a.m., A and I just finished breakfast and are headed down to Pennsylvania, 12 hours of a car ride. The goal: to get to A's brother asap to crash on his couch.To be honest I barely remember what we talked about that night and what we have done, I just remember children... Continue Reading →
By the end of July A and I both were so burnt out, we were suffering severe headaches and back-pains and just being super whiney about everything. Needless to say we couldn't wait to get down to Georgia. Granted, a 12-hour car ride didn't exactly appeal to us, but knowing that we were heading south... Continue Reading →
A bird loves a fish 