Getting rid of the last supplies!

I am leaving Norway soon. It's less than one week until I have my last working day and a bit more than one week until I will leave for Germany! In between I will be going to the North Cape still, which means, that this is my last weekend in Oslo.

It feels a bit weird, since I did not really realize, yet, that I will be gone soon and that Christmas is so close already. I don't have any presents yet and neither do I have any idea what to give as presents to all the people. Also it would be stupid to buy presents here in Oslo and to make my luggage heavier with them. However, when I am coming home I would have like 2 1/2 days to buy things!

Anyways, since I am leaving I have to get rid of all the food and some other things that I can't take home with me. I already started some weeks ago. I was just buying less food and was cooking dishes from the things I had at home. I got rid of the pasta, the rice and many other things. 

Since I had told L. about this, she had asked what I still had. When I mentioned, that I still had lasagne, she immediately invited herself to my place in case I would make lasagne. So yesterday in the evening I decided to make it and called her. So we cooked together and were eating together.

She was staying until two o'clock, L. was helping me to get rid of the wine, that I still had and we were talking about this and that. It was really nice with her and it's a shame, that I have to leave soon, since we always have such good time together.

Anyways, this morning I slept long, had breakfast and met up with L. in the city. We were about to look for Christmas presents and for "something red". It may sound weird, but the reason why we both were looking for "something red", was that "red" is the theme of our office Christmas party next Friday. 

So we walked around the city, from one side to the other, but didn't find anything. We both were also not really in the mood, neither for Christmas shopping, nor for "something red"-shopping. When I decided to go home, I offered L. to help me getting rid of the leftovers from yesterday evening. She happily agreed and so we came here to my place to have lunch!

After lunch we were sitting still for a while together, but now L. left home. She has to change and pick up the tickets. We will be going, together with some other people, to the Nobel Peace Price Concert tonight! I will write tomorrow about it, I guess, it will be good!

~M~

Sunday Outing!

I just came back from our Sunday outing, which almost became traditional and obligatory! It is funny, basically every Sunday for the last weeks I was out doing something together with J. & L.!

I got up around 9.30 this morning after going to bed rather early yesterday. A. had invited to her place for dinner and so we went! We arrived there round 8 o'clock, when A. was still preparing together with two other French guys the dinner. She had made some kind of meat with bacon and cheese and as a side dish potatoes. It was really nice. L. had brought appetizers and J. had brought a cake for dessert; additionally A. made apple crumble, which was super delicious.

So we sat, had 3-course dinner and were drinking wine and talking and laughing. After dinner A. was showing us some photo books that she made and that reminded me, that I should also start again one of these books for my time here in Norway. I really like the way she has done it and I for sure will copy some of the layout ideas. Anyways, since on Friday we had been so long at L's place, we were all tired and after a couple of hours, at around 12 o'clock in the night, we left A's place.

 

This morning I got up earlier than yesterday, since we agreed to meet up today at the metro station to go to Bogstad Gård, an old farm and mansion a bit outside of Oslo, since there was a Christmas market. So after I had lazy breakfast and a nice coffee we met up at the Nationaltheatret and took the metro out of Oslo, we changed to a bus, which brought is directly to the mansion.

We walked around the stands inside and also the ones outside. However, we did not stay long outside, since it started snowing last night and didn't sop until now; additionally it is really windy and therefore we have some kind of blizzard coming down right now!

 

After walking around the stands we went into one of the old stables, where there was a children workshop. The children were putting together construction kits of wood. The parents or some elderly people were helping them. It was so funny to see all the pairs of young and old building wooden toolboxes and birdhouses. 

We watched for a while and then we went to another stable, where there were actually animals. We were looking at the sheep, the goats and the piglets for a while and then went over to one cafe to have some coffee, hot chocolate, waffles and cake. When we had finished, what we had ordered A. got out the rests of the cake from yesterday, that she had brought. So we were sitting in the cafe and eating our own cake!

After some time we decided to leave and go back home. We realized, that the bus had just left and since we didn't wanted to wait one more hour - as I said, this farm was a bit outside of Oslo and didn't had very good connections - we decided to walk to the metro station. 

It was such a nice walk, although it was windy and snowing; Somehow it was the perfect weather for going to a Christmas market and so we didn't mind. On the way back we walked through deep/high snow drifts and over black ice. We walked very careful and luckily nobody fell.

Now I am back home here, I walked from Stortinget and was full of snow when I arrived. I just made tea, will work on the pictures now and add them to the blog. I am staying home tonight, since I have to work tomorrow again. The weekend was again way too short!

~M~

Friday Dinner

I just got up an hour ago and had breakfast. Now I am sitting here and was looking at the pictures from yesterday evening and am listening to music.

It was a good evening with good food and nice people. After work, which was quite dull again, we went to L's place. She had invited for dinner and since I proposed a recipe L. wanted me to help her cook. So straight after work I went with her to the supermarket and bought the things we needed. At her place we started to cook and soon also the others arrived and brought the appetizer and the wine.

 

I had proposed to make pork fillet with Spätzle and a creamy sauce. I have just three weeks left here and still had so many Spätzle my parents sent me; I just never found the opportunity to make them. So basically to get rid of them - and also to have a nice dinner - I was proposing this dish.

While I was frying the meat and making the sauce the others prepared the starter, which was insalata caprese, also known as tomato mozzarella salad. While eating this, we cooked the Spätzle and when we were done with the starter the main course was ready!

We enjoyed it very much and ate up everything. I really enjoyed the food and was happy to eat "my mom's food" again. This dish is a quite common thing we eat at home and since my mom wrote down some of her recipes for me I was more than happy, that it tasted exactly like when she makes it.

As dessert we were eating Printen, soft gingerbread and Baumkuchen. Printen is a specialty from my hometown and the gingerbread as well as the Baumkuchen are things we traditionally eat around Christmas in Germany. L. had brought these things from Germany, where she had been last week. It was really tasty and went very good with the wine.

 

So we were sitting, eating, talking and drinking until late in the night. We stayed until 3 o'clock and then went home. Outside it was freezing; it was -13°C and stormy, which meant, that it felt even colder and we were freezing. I put the collar of my coat up and was hurrying to get home. 

 

Back home, my flatmates were sitting in the kitchen and since the cold air had woken me up I joined them and we were talking about this and that. It was nice and suddenly we realized that it was already after 5 o'clock and so we decided to go to bed. 

All in all it was a really nice evening and I enjoyed it. Today I am going to do nothing during the day. I have to go to the shop quickly and then in the evening I am invited to A's place. It's already getting dark and it is just 3 o'clock, that crazy! Anyways, now I am going to put pictures to the blog and fix myself to go out!

~M~

Totally Exhausted

I just came from a group meeting and I am totally done. I got up this morning early and was then first talking to A., my flatmate's sister, who is visiting him right now. Since he was in uni at that time we were sitting in the kitchen and talking about stuff.

After the breakfast I started working, reading and writing, and did that basically 6 hours straight. I totally underestimated the work, but I had to finish the writing before the group meeting at 4 pm.

That was what I was doing today, now I am sitting shortly here and later S. and I will go to the Austrian dinner, about one minute from our house.

~M~

Last Weeks

I have not a lot of time to write her. I am working for uni and have to really do stuff this evening, even tho we have a dinner here, since E. is leaving Helsinki soon and earlier, than everybody else.

This morning I just came back from Ekenäs. As I wrote before, my parents are right now up here in Finland to visit me. They are at A's parents' place and since A's mother wanted us all to have dinner together once I went there yesterday after uni.

Now I am just sitting here, I was writing my Swedish exam earlier and hope and think that I passed it. I really want to use Swedish now. I just sent out two more applications to Stockholm and hope they finally will bring a result! I still dont have anything and get really frustrated by all the rejections.

Anyways, I will now quickly go over to the laundry to book a time. Then I guess the people are coming soon!

~M~

Sunny day

It's crazy. Yesterday evening it started snowing and this morning when I got up there were 8cm more out there. Seriously it could finally stop snowing and get spring!!! Now the weather is really nice, its sunny and plus degrees, which means, all the snow is melting again and everywhere are huge puddles of dirty water and slush.

Anyways, I just came back from Pasila, where I had lunch with E. & S. After that I went to Lidl to buy some stuff for the next days, until I leave on Wednesday to Turku and from there on Thursday to Vaasa. I know I am writing again about it, but it's just because I am so looking forward to it. It's the first time to really wear my Halare. S. also just bought the last batches , he still was missing and hopefully is going on to sew.

Tonight we are going to Malmi, since F. one of our tutors invited us for dinner. Maybe this will give me some distraction from the stuff occupying my brain right now. I still don't have an internship placement and dont know where to apply. I mean, the problem right now is not, that there is too few, but too many possibilities. I just cant make a decision. But time runs out and I need to do something. But where should the motivation come from, when you have nothing to do ;)

~M~

Kannelmäki (Private) Hostel

----------------------Written on Friday----------------------

I thought I might write something here, since it's March and the weather is nice. I know this is not really a reason, but there was no other available.

Anyways, we have visitors right now in our flat. P. & C., from Italy are visiting us right now, M. from Spain is coming this afternoon. They were here last semester and were our neighbors here in Kannelmäki and most of all our dear friends and dinner guests every now and then. Also A. is here. She is out of uni and right now working on her dissertation.

On Thursday we all went together with the exchange students of Haaga-Helia to an ice hockey game. It was really nice and after I watched a lot of ice hockey during the Olympics I got really interested in this Finnish national sport. The game was fun, even tho it was slower and also the atmosphere inside of the arena wasn't comparable to a football stadium. Maybe it's just the Finnish culture, which was affecting the cheering and shouting.

----------------------Written on Saturday----------------------

On Wednesday I was actually supposed to go to a student party in the city center, but I didn't make it there. Before I was asked by S., a Finnish girl, to go out to Amarillo. She went to Germany on Friday and asked me if I wanted to join her "farewell-get-together" for a beer. It was so nice, that I stayed instead of going to the party.

Yesterday, on Friday, we broke the record of "number-of-people-having-dinner-in-our-flat" by far. The old record was 14, now we were 20 people, sitting in one room at one table. It was really funny, everybody brought food and we ate so much. We were so many people, because apart from C. & P., the two Italians also M., another ex-exchange student from Spain as well as three friends of E., my flatmate, also from Spain. Sounds difficult, but after all the maths, we are 10 people in the flat.

After the dinner we went to Circus to party. We were lucky, that we were entered into the VIP-List beforehand and so we didn't had to pay the entrance fee. The money was then invested into drinks instead. It was a fun night and we came home late/early ;-)

Today we had a hangover-day. Sleeping long, breakfast round 14h and lunch at 18.30! Damn good day, with half of the people. The other half, the friends of E. and E., got up after maybe 2 hours of sleep to catch the ferry to Tallin. Crazy Spaniards !!!

~M~

PS: I changed the Favicon, the icon next to the URL, of my blog. It is supposed to be the sign for the Departures on an Airport, a sign for traveling. I like it!!!