Tempus Fugit

2011-05-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Just want to reccomend this lovely dish with salmon, from the blog Marias Salt&Søtt. I made it this evening, and it was really tasty! I served the fish with mashed potatoes, and boiled some garlic with the potatoes - gives a really nice flavour to it!

It was even approved by someone who doesn't really like fish; He said the topping nicely camouflaged the taste of fish...

Draumspel bilete

2011-05-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Tiril has always taken beautiful pictures (I've mentioned her before...), and now she's given everyone a chance to get a piece of her universe in their own! She's started a "photo give-away", which means that by commenting on her blog, you can win a picture of your choice. Very generous, very worth it!

And if you're unfortunate not to win, you can comfort yourself with buying the picture here instead..

Friday feels like saturday

2011-03-11T04:14:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of the sun in the rain

Last picture from www.photoatlas.com

Hamburger

2011-02-13T07:52:00.001-08:00

En ekstremt enkel måte å lage skikkelig smakfulle hamburgere på følger under:

Du trenger:
1 pakke kyllingkjøttdeig
finhakket hvitløk (ett fedd) og litt finhakket løk (hvis du har)
salt, pepper
karri

Burger-tilbehør etter smak og behag

Framgangsmåte:
Bland kjøttdeig godt med en klype salt og pepper, ca. 1 ss karri og hvitløk/løk. Form til burgere (ikke for tykke, da er det vanskelig å få de gjennomstekt uten at de blir tørre), gjerne litt store i diameter - de krymper når man steiker de. Stek gylne i smør/olje og viderestek i ovnen ved 200 grader i 5-10 minutt etter behov, til de er gjennomstekte. Legg evt. en skive ost på hver burger mot slutten av steketiden, så den smelter.

*Bildet er hentet herfra

Delicious chocolate cupcakes!

2011-01-16T14:23:00.000-08:00

At the moment (sorry if I'm rubbing it in for all of you hard-working people out there...) I have one week left of my nearly 8 week-long Christmas holidays. And my fingers are itchy, I'm constantly tired from to much sleep and I acctually can't wait to start the 4 month internship that - with my final exams - will be the last bridge to cross before I graduate as a clinical psychologist. But as it happens, to kill some time, I thought to try out a recipe I found a while ago. And I'm telling you, if I keep spending my holidays trying out anything as close to so overly delicious as these babies, I will probably double my weight in the little time left!

Here we go; the best cup-cakes I've ever had! Rich smooth chocolate muffin with a center of beautifully soft chocolate filling, all topped off with a Baileys-frosting. The recipe is picked up from smittenkitchen.com - it might look overwhelming, but it's just because it's explained in such detail...

Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes

While the Guinness in the cake gets mostly baked out, the Baileys is fresh and potent, so if you’re making this for people who don’t drink you’ll probably want to swap it with milk, and leave the Whiskey out of the Ganache-filling...

Makes around 12 big cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1/2 cup (100 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cups all purpose flour
1 cups sugar
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (for Norwegians; 1,5 dl Kesam is a winner!)

Ganache Filling
4 ounces (ca.100 grams) bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
2 to 3 cups confections sugar
2 ounces (ca.50 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
2 to 3 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

Bring Guiness/stout and butter to simmer over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Beat egg and sour cream/kesam in another large bowl. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 15 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling:

Chop the chocolate and put it in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes:

Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to fill the cupcakes (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top, or just add the ganache with a spoon.

Make the frosting:

Whip the butter in the bowl with an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, until it's light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

[This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Do ahead:

You can bake the cupcakes a week or two in advance and store them, well wrapped, in the freezer. You can also fill them before you freeze them. They also keep filled — or filled and frosted — in the fridge for a day. (Longer, they will start to get stale.)

Waiting for Christmas

2010-12-06T03:42:00.001-08:00

I'll be home for Christmas, you can count on me

... until then, I'll make a Chrismas-home where I am.

Volkscycle

2010-10-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am so happy, I could fly!

I have been reunited with one of the most memorable feelings from Amsterdam; riding a bicycle! I bought a brand-old Volkscycle last weekend, and it just feels so right! Wind in my hair, cruising along the beautiful scenery of Bergen really brightens up my day!

Here it is:

Nostalgic as I am, I named it Amsterdam.

Inspiration

2010-10-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

"... imperfections are the nuances of the world, and beauty is shallow without them."

My wonderful and brave friend Tiril, who is such an inspiration. Admire her photseries 52; it's one year with new self-portraits every week.

Hverdagskos

2010-10-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

Jeg skriver hovedoppgave i psykologi om dagen. Det er mye jobb, og hverdagene har vist at de kan strekke seg så laaaange som bare det. Da blir det ekstra viktig å spise gode ting, og å gjøre det fint for seg i heimen ved å lage kyllingspyd med sataysaus;

og energibar til å ta med på lesesalen:

* Bildet er hentet fra www.vaffelhjerte.com

Oppskrift på energibar

4 ss nøytral olje

3-4 ss honning

1,5 ss mørk sirup

150 g havregryn

50 g solsikkefrø

25 g sesamfrø

35 g kokos

50 g tørkede, grovhakkede aprikoser

50 g tørkede tranebær/kirsebær eller rosiner

(eller andre tørkede frukter)

en neve pistasjenøtter

en neve peanøtter

(eller andre nøtter)

Varm forsiktig opp olje, honning og sirup til det er smeltet. Bland resten av ingridiensene i en stor bolle; tilsett det flytende og bland godt sammen. Hell det over i en liten langpanne, press alt godt ned, og stek i ca. 25 minutter på 180 grader.

Merk opp barene mens massen er varm, la det avkjøle seg, og skjær så opp etter oppmerkingen.

Oppbevares i en lufttett boks, holdbart i ca. en uke.

Balkanparty

2010-08-29T05:35:00.001-07:00

Marta and me went to a balkanparty in Evanger, a small village one hour from Bergen. It was rural, exotic, beautiful and FUN!

We had lamb roasted whole on a pole, saw an authenic Balkan Orchestra and danced the night away!

http://www.balkanfest-evanger.com

Summerpostcard

2010-08-12T02:35:00.000-07:00

I have finished travelling for the summer, and 'real life' is slowly picking up it's pace.

Holidays were good; I've been to Vienna (twice!), working, and visited my family in Germany. Always good to see them! My sister and me took my grandmother (76yrs) and her sister (88yrs) to see Vienna! The two ladies always wanted to go, but never had the opportunity. So we took a train, we came, we saw, we conquered! It was really nice, and they so much appreciated it.

As autumn is approaching, and a new semester is about to start, here is my plan for the following year; I will finish my degree in psychology (knock on wood), and hopefully we will release my first single in not to long. It's rather slow work, but it needs the time to mature and be proper, not hasty.

Hope you've had a good summer!

Cathrine

PS: Here are some pictures from Vienna

Boats for shoes

2010-07-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Wow! I've just had a friend and her boyfriend visiting, and when I saw his shoes I almost fell over! They were of the mark Crocs, and they were HUGE! I could survive on the ocean in these shoes! (Comment: acctually, I could survive on the ocean in one of them)! I could live in it, with a family! Wow. The biggest, boatiest shoes I ever saw...

Here they are, legendary!

Next to them are my shoes. I'm a size 7 - 7,5 (37/38), so they are not doll-shoes to make the contrast bigger.... I could fit both my shoes, and both my feet in one of his...

Slottsfjellfestivalen 2010

2010-07-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Back in Bergen after 3 beautiful days on the Slottsfjellfestival in Tønsberg, south of Oslo! Had so much fun, and I'm full of inspiration after so many wonderful concerts. Worth mentioning are Lissie (great performance by a young girl), Band of Skulls (ROCK!! Check out their album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey), Karpe Diem (norwegian popish-hiphopers, accompanied by a great band, Something Sally; surprisingly good gig, they owned the crowd!), the supercharming Rox, crazy Juliette Lewis and Helt Off with special guest Timbuktu.

The greatest surprise, however, came from british Ou est le swimming pool. They played the last concert saturday night, parallell with the somewhat more familiar Mew. We'd never heard of them before, and were supposed to hear a song or two before to head over to the danish guys. But all of a sudden we were "dancing the way we felt" and the atmosphere was glowing, pumping and sweating! Wow, they were amazing, and we had so much fun! I really recommend catching a show if you get the oppurtunity (and if you like dancing)!!

Here are a few memoirs from the days on the mountain by the Oslofjord:

Bella Mari

Supercool MarteStrickert and HåkonKinn

My new favourites; Ou est le swimming pool

Marte and me in the sunset

Thank you beautiful people for these superfine days!

Ordinary souvenirs

2010-06-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

Today I've had a day off from working at the café (Smakverket, which, by the way, has been nominated for having the best coffe in Bergen here - click on the link and vote for us!!) I've been having coffee, reading newspapers and walking a bit in my beloved Bergen. So beautiful! And I was really happy when a Butterfly-lavendel decided to accompany me home.

I have also been inspired by my favourite blog Undikken to post some pictures from whatever happens on a regular-normal-everyday. So here are a couple of ordinary souvenirs:

Butterflylavendel

My supergreen sunglasses

...and, even though I've presented it before; Kadinsky, my greenUkulele!

(And for the really attentive ones; yes I DO love green. It makes me happy.)

PS: My "secret" tip for the summer; colors colors colors!

Studioreport

2010-06-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

A small glimt from my previous studiosession in Voss - Lars and me were polishing lyrics, it's so much fun working with him! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luPwuQN4sN8&feature=channel

Matt dancing

2010-06-24T02:53:00.000-07:00

Here is some feelgood for the day! Matt dancing around the world. I don't know why, but I find it really moving that he gets all this people dancing along with him! Makes me smile. Cheerio Matt!

Brief summary of Vienna

2010-06-12T05:44:00.001-07:00

Brief summary of Vienna

Biking

Coffee & Wine

Music; Opera and more (luckily, because the opera, Tosca, was terrible!)

Green Ukulele

Sun

Laughter

Old Friends and New Ones

Danke für die super Ferientage!

Vienna

2010-05-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the 2nd I am taking a brake and flying to Wienna, to visit my beautiful friend Maximilian!

He is extremely proud of his city, and I know we will have a wonderful time in the Kaffehauses, the Operas, the parks, the streets.

Cruising in his VW-van I'm sure we might even locate a Schnitzel or two, like last time when I went on interrail with Mari! These are certainly a couple of nice pieces of meat.

Max and Austria; here I come!!!

Leif Ove Andsnes

2010-05-27T03:49:00.000-07:00

I går så jeg Leif Ove Andsnes på sykkel! I gata mi! Sukk.

Anbefaling

2010-05-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/stmorritz

17.mai

2010-05-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hurra for syttende mai. !.

Æsj, selvaktualisering

2010-05-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Fant ett notat jeg skrev den 21. april 2007, etter at jeg hadde vært to uker i Kenya og Tanzania! Syntes det kunne reproduseres her.

Æsj, selvaktualisering

Hm. For en uke siden var jeg på besøk i et barnehjem i Nairobi. EN uke! Og det virker allerede som om det var i fjor. Jeg blir stadig like overrasket over hvordan livet bare går videre og videre. Hverdagen inntreffer like snikende som brutal, og likegyldigheten etser seg inn i min tanke fortere enn jeg får sagt Afrika. Afrika! Derja. Skulle nesten likt å vite hvordan det ville være å ha problemene fokusert rundt eksterne framfor interne ting; 'kan jeg spise' framfor 'hva skal jeg spise' i dag? 'Vær på vakt for korrupt politi' framfor 'sukk, ingen liker meg'. Akk, all denne luksusen med å bo i et rikt og selvaktualiserende land gjør meg litt kvalm; vær deg selv nok! Jeg har i grunn ikke så lyst til å være meg selv nok! Jeg er jo så liten, det blir som å bry seg om en loppe.

Likevel mangler jeg 'overskuddet' til å ta meg av de menneskene rundt meg. Være den som sender en melding og spør om det går bra, eller ofrer en liten time til den personen jeg vet ville satt ekstra pris på det. Æsj, kan jeg ikke krype nedover igjen på Maslows stige? Eller kanskje jeg bare skal flytte til Afrika og bo i ett blikkhus? Det verste er vel at jeg faktisk klager over å ha det så bra...

Livet som puslespill

2010-05-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

... det tar den tiden det tar å få alle bitene på plass.

Eksamen

2010-04-29T05:04:00.001-07:00

Å stange hodet i bordet.
Å ha vondt i ryggen på grunn av lame sittestilling.
Å ha verkende fingre etter alt for mye typing på komputeren.
Å ha fått gjort temmelig mye husarbeid.
Å føle at ti sider plutselig vokste seg veldig store.

Eksamen er eksamen. Samme hvor kjekt det er med kunsthistorie...

Dreamer

2010-04-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

Dreamer - can you tell me why
we never grow wings and learn to fly?

Dreamer - can you tell me why
they took away the star in your eye?

Let's make today a dreamers day
and fly away.

Om jeg fikk leve ett liv til

2010-04-17T02:04:00.000-07:00

Fant et nydelig lite dikt i ett reklamehefte jeg fikk i går! Det er skrevet av Nadine Stair, 85 år, og det var virkelig til ettertanke. Håper jeg ikke kommer i trøbbel for å reprodusere uten å ha spurt om lov først... Det var bare så innmari fint at jeg ville dele det ASAP!

Om jeg fikk leve ett liv til

Om jeg fikk leve ett liv til -
Da skulle jeg gjøre flere feil neste gang.

Jeg skulle koble av mer, og være mykere.
Jeg skulle være dummere enn jeg har vært på denne reisen.

Jeg skulle ta saker og ting mindre alvorlig.
Jeg skulle våge å ta flere sjanser,
bestige fler fjell og svømme i flere sjøer.
Jeg skulle spise mer is og færre poteter.

Jeg kunne kanskje ha flere virkelige bekymringer,
men jeg skulle ha færre innbilte.

Du forstår... jeg er sånt menneske
som lever forsiktig
Og sunt time etter time, dag etter dag.

Å, visst har jeg hatt mine fine stunder, om jeg
fikk gjøre det om igjen skulle jeg forsøke å bare ha
stunder. Den ene stunden etter den andre
- istedenfor å leve så mange år i forveien.

Jeg er en sånn person som aldri går noen steder
uten termometer, varmtvannsflaske, regnkappe
eller fallskjerm.

Om jeg fikk leve en gang til,
skullle jeg pakket mindre i vesken.

Om jeg fikk leve en gang til skulle jeg begynne
å gå barføtt tidligere om våren
- og fortsette med det lengre inn i høsten.

Jeg skulle danse mer, kjøre mer karusell,
- og jeg skulle plukke flere tusenfryd

Takk, Nadine Stair!

Puerto de Mogán

2010-04-14T00:57:00.000-07:00

I've just returned to Bergen from my Easter-holidays! I've been here and there, but the one there I would like to describe this morning is Puerto de Mogán . It's a lovely little village on the south-east coast of Gran Canaria (Yes, I have been chartering!! My sister and me, and all the older people who seek the tranquility and the sun, one week in Gran Canaraia... Hahaha!)

The sky is this blue

This is the port (obviously...)

The landscape is not really beautiful; rocky, red-ish mountains, hardly any vegetation. It feels a bit like being on the moon! Vulcanic island and all, you know... What I find quite fascinating is, however, that they build, practically glue, roads to these mountainsides! And all day long you can hear busses and trailers hooping to warn other cars and motorbikes about their turning the bend... *moop moooop*!!

There are some plants. They grow bananas, for example! And they have a strange bird of paradise flower. This is very exotic to me, since we normally only see them in flowershops here in Norway...

And they have gnomes here as well!!! Made the trip complete...

Week 12

2010-03-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I start recording my very first, very own studio album! I'm really excited! And sort of scared. And full of anticipation, and full of nervousness! You can follow my journey on www.cathiemusic.com or on facebook. At the moment, two days before, I feel like this:

Soundtrack: The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour"

Alice in WONDERland

2010-03-18T03:16:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to see the new 3D-version of Alice in Wonderland. It was wonderlandic!

Here are some quotes to brighten up your day!

The King
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.1

Orchid
To put it bluntly, a weed. 1

The Duchess
There's a large mustard-mine near here. And the moral of that is -- The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.1

Hatter
Oh yes mustard! That'll do... Mustard? Don't let's be silly. Now lemon, that's different... 2

The Queen
Sentence first -- verdict afterwards.1

Alice
Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is -- oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!1

Alice
It would be so nice if something made sense for a change. 1

Quotes have been picked up at:
1) http://quotations.about.com/od/moretypes/a/alice1.htm
2) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043274/quotes

Photos:
1) http://daisyandpoppy.blogspot.com/
2) http://enewsi.com/movies/190-16516.html
3) http://www.costumzee.com/view/2009/06/24/tim-burtons-alice-in-wonderland-check-out-the-casts-crazy-costumes/

Carving

2010-03-15T03:41:00.001-07:00

You hold the keys to all my doors
my hands fit perfectly in yours
You're right when I'm wrong
you're up when I'm down
You're the diamonds and rubies and pearls in my crown

I'm carving my heart out for you
you are the colors to my leaves of fall
I'm sculpturing my soul for you
it bears the marks of your hands and your mouth and your all

My voice is tuned to your guitar
I'm guided by the light from your star
you're the flow in my flower
and the beat of my heart
You're my eyes when I'm blind
you're the gold in my mine
I need your atmosphere to breath

T: C.Øiesvold & A.Grostøl

owl

2010-02-26T03:12:00.000-08:00

The other day (well, to be precise, it was night...) I saw an owl in the city! I really like owls, and it was a very special moment for me. It was huge. I really like owls.

Snow and Reggae

2010-02-24T03:58:00.000-08:00

Don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright

våg å være

2010-02-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

(english translation further down)

våg å leke
våg å danse
våg å le uhemmet

våg å være redd
våg å møte usikkerheten
våg å gråte

våg å dele
våg å være ærlig
våg å være den du er

dare to be...
dare to play
dare to dance
dare to laugh uninhibited

dare to be scared
dare to face your insecurity
dare to cry

dare to share
dare to be honest
dare to be who you are

Steal me

2010-02-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

I'm a diamond ring to heavy to wear

a ruby-bracelet for kings

the price for my hand is unbearably high

but my heart never cared for these things

steal me

like a pirate on the boat to the sea

steal me like a thief in the dark, secretly

steal me

How to survive...

2010-02-04T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here is how I survive when I have 5 NOK left on my bankaccount and 17,50 NOK in my wallet. In change (1-kroners and 50-cents (øre...)).

I'm really happy that I have a freezer with some food, and a storage of dry stuff that blends together nicely to cereals, bread and so on. I'm happy that I work in a café (Smakverket) where they provide me with coffee and SMILES!! And I'm happy for my friends with whom I can cook, and who can bring some of the unpresent-in-my-fridge-ingredients for a dinner...

PS: The wonderful café where I work, Smakverket, is nominated for an award as the best place to eat in Bergen in 2009! Please click on the link and give them your vote!

Music

2010-01-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

At the moment I am so fortunate to have time to work on my music. I spend my days doing all sorts of things, but all the time my head is buzzing with ideas like a melody or some lyrics. Naturally, I also spend my days pondering the question; why do I do music? What is my purpose with all of it? The answer is rather complex, I guess, but the essence of it is something like this:

I want to put words and music to how I feel about things - this way, maybe others can find in my music anything helping them to identify or put into something concrete what they themselves are feeling, but unable to point out.

This is what music often brings me, and this is what I want to bring others with my music.

The origins of song lie in the need to fill out with sound the overlarge and rather empty human soul - J.M. Coetzee -

Candlelight

2010-01-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

If you have ever been annoyed by the big block-candles leaving way to much wax behind when they wont burn anylonger, here is a tip for you:

At a hobby-store, buy wicks (norsk:veke). Melt the leftover wax in a bath of hot water (obviously you should not put the wax directly in the water, but in a bowl and then in another bowl/ kettle with hot water...), and pour it into a glass suitable for holding a candle (it should be off glass, quite solid and thick). Then place a wick in the middle of the still liquid wax, and wait for it to harden!

*Picture taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle

Little green boy

2010-01-15T05:49:00.000-08:00

Little green boy
they talk about you like they know you
Little green boy
how you wished that was the truth
Little green boy
you're desperate for someone to see you

Roses are red and frogs are green
and so are you

Nyttårsforsett

2010-01-13T12:17:00.001-08:00

: reparere mer, kjøpe mindre...

Coooold....

2010-01-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

So. It's really cold in Norway. This is how it can look like on a sunny day. Pretty pretty.

Muffins

2009-12-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

So, what is the best cure for me if I have a bit of anger, boredness and restlesness boiling inside?? Baking! Obviously...

Here is what I came up with this evening:

Orangemuffins with marcipan&chocolate!!! (Norwegian receipe further down)

The dry ingredients:
250 g flour
2,5 teaspoons bakingpowder (evt. 2 ts bakepulver + 1/2 ts natron)
175 g sugar

100 g soft butter

The liquid ingredients:
The grated peel of two oranges (grate before you squeeze and cut the orange; it's much easier! It should be around 1 tablespoon of grated peel...)
2,5 dl orange juice (preferably freshly squized - it takes 2 oranges, like the two from which you just used for the grated peel ;) )
1 egg
a dash of rum if you have (not necessary, just makes the muffins fluffier)

The tastestuff:
50 g chocolate, chopped into chocolate chips
A handful of marcipan, in small pieces (however much and big you like it!)

Mix the dry and the liquid ingredients separately; knead the butter with the flour, sugar and baking powder, then pour the liquids into the dryes. Mix it carefully - make sure you don't stir it to hard, or the muffins will be a bit daft... Add the tastestuff, blend carefully and pour into muffinforms!

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 200 degrees (Celcius), til they are brownish and thorougly cooked.

Norsk

De tørre ingrediensene
250 g mel
2 ts bakepulver
1/2 ts natron
175 g sukker

100 g smør

De flytende ingrediensene
Revet skall fra 2 appelsiner (ca. 1 ss; riv skallet før du deler og presser saften!)
2,5 dl appelsin juice (helst ferskpresset - for eksempel kan du bruke de 2 appelsinene du nettopp har revet skallet av ;) det blir ca. 2 dl )
1 egg

Smaksingrediensene:
50 g hakket sjokolade
En håndfull marsipan, i biter

Bland de tørre og de flytende ingrediensene hver for seg; kna smøret inn i melblandingen, lag ei grop og hell i de flytende ingrediensene. Rør det forsiktig sammen; det gjør ingen ting om det er litt melklumper igjen. Bland i smakene, og hell over i muffinsformer (som f.eks røde silikon hjerteformer som man får i presang av Tiril!).

Bak ved 200 grader i 12-15 minutter; til de er litt brune på toppen og gjennomstekt.

Christmasy

2009-12-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

It's getting close. Wow. Soon it's Christmas.

I think this is the coldest december I've ever experienced in Bergen. Minus 7 degrees this morning, clearest sky ever and I wore a furry hat and two pairs of mittens. Working today in the café was so joyful! Lot's of great customers and an atmosphere of anticipation.

I'm listening to Janis Joplin, lit some candles and am settling in for a quiet evening. I have to pack... I'm going home, soon it's Christmas.

Marcipan

2009-12-08T02:30:00.000-08:00

Did you know, that if you put marcipan in the oven for just a few minutes to bake brown a tiny bit, it tastes quite different and more like pastry?? I reccomend to try!

Make figures of marcipan!
Bake it:
225*C until it's brownish; beware not to leave it in for to long! It will melt and the figures might turn out looking rather grotesque...

Livskvalitet

2009-12-02T07:34:00.001-08:00

Livskvalitet???

Superenkel pastasaus

2009-11-24T10:03:00.001-08:00

Da jeg allerede har beskrevet hvordan man kan koke pasta på en adekvat måte, følte jeg det nå var naturlig å ta det neste skrittet; å framstille hvordan man kan lage en idiotsikker, superenkel, kjapp og god tomatsaus å splæsje oppå!

Til 4 personer

Grovhakk en halv løk eller mindre
Del et fedd hvitløk i to (slik at man kan pelle ut bitene ved servering; eller mindre biter hvis man ikke har noe i mot hvitløksånde...)
Stek det hele "blankt" i godt og vel 2 ss olivenolje
Hell over en halv hermetikkboks med gode cherry- eller hakkede tomater*
Rør og la det putre litt
Hell over ferdigkokt pasta; fres og rør godt så sausen fester seg til pastaen!
Servér!

* Jeg anbefaler merket Mutti eller Divella - disse fåes kjøpt i diverse innvandrer butikker, eller hos dagligvarebutikker med stort utvalg, og er veldig gode på smak! Husk at tomatene du bruker avgjør sausen.

Prague

2009-11-19T02:52:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm. I wished I was i Prague with Tiril. Would be more fun than writing on this paper in the stormy weather in Bergen....

Hot Chocolate

2009-11-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm, what's better in the dark of winter than a cup of hot chocolate?

1 cup
Melt chocolate (ca.50grams) in water (ca.0,5dl)
Add milk (ca.2,5dl)
Heat it (don't make it boil -then you get the sneaky rubbery layer on top!!)

Add some ground spices; anise, cinnamon, cardamum, nutmeg, chili...

... and a bit of whipped cream if you'd like ;)

Brake

2009-11-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

Let's trace back inspiration
Let's make love with fantasy

Let's be brave and bold and reckless

Just stop this life, and fill it with
the things you dreamed
but never dared to do

Nothing's stopping me now.

Müsli

2009-11-06T14:37:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmmüsli!!!

Det er kjempelett å lage masse selv, og man kan ha oppi det man liker. Jeg synes det er topp med denne basen, og putter oppi det jeg liker best av nøtter, rosiner, tørkede frukter etc når den er ferdig rista i ovnen.

5 dl havregryn
2 dl solsikkekjerner
1,5 dl kokos
1 dl linfrø
2 dl vann
5 ss nøytral olje f.eks solsikke eller raps
litt honning (akasiehonning er ideell fordi den er flytende og lett å fordele)

Varm stekeovnen til 200 grader. Bland alt det tørre, hell over vann og olje, og "klem" fuktigheten godt inn med hendene. Ha alt i en smurt langpanne, eller på bakepapir.
Sett det i stekeovnen i ca.15 minutter, og rør rundt hvert 5 min så det ikke brenner seg. Bruker du honning drypper du litt fra flaske hver gang du rører rundt. Avkjøl.

Jeg blander inn rosiner, tørkede tranebær og aprikoser, hakkede mandler og pistasjenøtter og kanel til slutt.

Oppbevar müslien i en tett boks.

Pølse og potetmos

2009-11-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Pølse og potetmos er undervurdert....

Hillarious

2009-11-02T04:52:00.001-08:00

Hahahahaha!!!! Yesterday while working in the café, I saw a guy walking into a glasswall! He was litterally thrown back - it was incredibly funny!! And I don't know if anyone else saw it, because I ran into the kitchen to laugh my guts out. Wow, I wished I had it on film....

It sort of looked a bit like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyUjQdMLWLk , just even funnier...

Foodtip: salad of avocado and tomatoes with pepper, salt and a few drops of lemonjuice. Add a boiled egg and a slice of bread, and it's a great meal with healthy fats, proteins, vitamins and fibers. *

*Pics from:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/avacado.htm
http://blogs.menupages.com/southflorida/2008/06/

Gran Canaria

2009-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (the 17th of octobre) I'm leaving Bergen for the sun. Yey, holidays!

Pasta

2009-10-14T04:31:00.001-07:00

Det er faktisk ikke så vanskelig å koke pasta på en skikkelig måte. Men det er veldig lett å koke pasta på en dårlig måte. Her er noen enkle tips:

(Forbered gjerne sausen først, sånn at du kan slenge pastaen rett oppi når den er ferdig og blande alt sammen! Det bør blandes i ei gryte/panne på ei varm plate for best effekt. Da fester nemlig sulamitten seg til pastaen på et deilig vis.)

Kok opp masse vann; det vil si ca. 1,5-2 liter for en porsjon- pastaen skal ha masse plass å boltre seg på! Bruk gjerne vannkoker. Det er energibesparende og bruker kortere tid...

Ha i mer salt enn du tror (ca en halv teskje til 1,5 liter vann)

Ha i pastaen (dette er det vanskeligste punktet - å beregne mengde! I forhold til spaghetti sies det at en bunt med diameter på størrelse med en 5-kroning er passe til en person)

Rør rundt underveis (da unngår du at pastaen lager små gjenger i vannet)

Hell av vannet i et dørslag, og sleng pastaen direkte oppi sausen (se det første punktet).

PS: Hvis man ikke skal ha saus til, evt. ikke har den klar til pastaen er ferdig; skyld med iskaldt vann for at den ikke skal klebre seg sammen. Evt. kan man dusje på med litt olivenolje hvis det er krise.

Potetmos/ Mashed potatoes

2009-10-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Kjære mennesker:
Jeg ber dere herved om å revurdere den hjemmelagete potetmosen som en jevnlig middagsgjest! Det er faktisk ikke så mye jobb som du skal ha det til, det å lage den fra bunnen av.

Here it goes:

Skrell potetene
Del de i biter på størrelse med et stearinlys
Kok de i ca. 10 minutter (til de er skikkelig myke)
Mos de med en dæsj smør eller olivenolje (ca. 1spiseskje til 3 poteter), salt, pepper og litt muskat, og melk; start med ca. en halv dl melk, og spe på litt og litt til mosen har den konsistensen du liker (lite melk gir tørr stappe, passe melk gir deilig fløyelsmyk stappe og for mye melk gir suppe - Simpel logikk)

Det er seriøst enkelt.

PS: Jeg anbefaler å kjøpe en potetmoser; den koster under 50-lappen og er uhyre praktisk. Det går an å bruke en gaffel, men jeg synes akkurat det er litt styrete rett og slett....

English version
People!!! I beg you to rediscovered the simplicity and joy of homemade mashed potatoes! "Ah, it's such a drag" you might try to argue. I will in the following argue against it:

You peel the potatoes
Cut them in pieces of about 2x2x1 cm
Boil them for about 10 minuets
Mash them adding a tablespoon of butter (or oliveoil), salt, pepper and nutmeg, and the preferred amount of milk.

It's seriously easy.

Apples

2009-10-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

It's the season for apples in Norway! And the variety is enormous. Among the selection I would like to mention as personal favourites; aroma, gravenstein,pink lady and discovery.

Todays food-tip is lunch or a snack with apple, nuts (almonds or hazelnuts are particularly good with this), yoghurt(naturell), cinnamon and a bit of marcipan (if you like it). Mix everything and enjoy!! Vitamins and energy in a tastefull blend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple

I love food

2009-10-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

(For english version, please look further down)

I går slo det meg plutselig. Jeg hadde skrevet blogginnlegg, og stod på kjøkkenet og laget et lite mellommåltid. Jeg stod og peip, for det ble så godt! Og jeg blei kjempegira, og tenkte 'ÅÅÅÅ, jeg skulle likt å dele dette med noen!!!'. Eureka, der var det! Inspirasjonen til å skrive litt oftere på bloggen. Jeg kan skrive om det jeg kan snakke lidenskapelig om i det uendelige, det jeg aldri går lei og det som stadig gir meg nye euforiske opplevelser i hverdagen: mat! Jeg må innrømme at inspirasjonen lå lett tilgjengelig rundt dette temaet, da jeg sist søndag var på kino og så 'Julie & Julia'. Men jeg tenkte; hvorfor ikke? Så heretter kommer jeg (blant annet) til å skrive om små kulinariske opplevelser fra mitt kjøkken, oppskrifter og ellers det jeg finner glede i å formidle.

Og ja, jeg kommer til å bruke ord som 'dæsj', 'etter ønske' og ord folk som ikke stoler på innstinktet og det å prøve seg fram hater, men det er rett og slett fordi smaken er som baken; det er utypisk at den er lik, og herlig at den er forskjellig. Bon appétit!

I don't like food, I love it

English version
Dear readers.
Yesterday it struck me. I'd just written the latest blogpost, I was in the kitchen preparing a snack, and I was making high-pitched noises because what I was making was such an easy yet delicious treat! I was simply so excited about the taste and beauty of food, I almost bursted! And I had noone to share it with. And there it was; the source of inspiration I've been needing to more regularly update my blog! Food! I can talk about it for hours, I never get tired of it and it just keeps on feeding me new euophoric experiences all the time. I have to admit that the inspiration was more accessible after seeing 'Julie&Julia' last sunday, but still; why not? So from here on forth, I will share with you my gastronomic adventours, recipes and whatever I'm in the mood to share. Bon appétit!

PS: I will be writing the recipes in norwegian, because it's easier. But I will try to make sure whatever I'm writing about will also be named in english, so if you're a foreign reader and would like to know what I'm talking about - please let me know in a comment and I will do my best to translate it!

Kind regards,

Post nr.50

2009-10-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I am officially writing my 50th blogpost! Quite proud that considering me predicting it to die after 6 months, I have acctually occationally updatet it 50 times, during the past 1.5 years! Hurra.

I haven't really updatet you on how my past 3 months have been... I could write about my interrail through nostalgic Austria and bellissima Italia, the rest of my summer which I mainly spent in Germany, the three weddings I've been to or the really buisy 6 week kick-off at the university. Alas, all this is past news now, so why linger there?

From Pioppi in Campania, Italy

Interrail

2009-06-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

People - it is finally happening! I am going on Interrail. Right now I am at my grandparents place in South-germany, relaxing and waiting for my friend Mari to join me. Then on Saturday we are leaving for Vienna, and then we're off to Italy for a small round-trip! Mind you, it is a rather posh version of Interrailing, because we'll be staying at friends' places most of the time... But anyhow, I'm looking forward to it!! My travelling company is also the best I could ever ask for; Mari is a friend from my studies, and 'til now we've had a billions of laughs together. We share the same passion for food, and I brought books, playingcards and yatzi - so killing 12 hours in a train wont be a problem!

Have a nice summer!
Kisses

Bil og Bryllup

2009-05-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Denne nydelige jenta skal gifte seg! Og i den forbindelse etterlyses (nei, brudgom har hun alt - sorry gutter) en bil! En sånn litt stilig en som kan kjøre de nygifte fra kirka og bort til selskapslokalet. Så jungeltelegrafen er offisielt i gang; er det noen som kjenner noen som....????

PS: Bryllupet skal holdes i Norhordaland lørdag 13.juni.

Italia

2009-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

Went to Italy this Easter (and didn't come back?? At least not mentally....)
Travelled with an awesome crew; here are some pictures to show you the ambiance:

From the left: Frode 'Grappa' Nagel Dahl, Kevin 'Mr.lingvistics' B.Unhammer, Marte 'Marta' Strickert, Tiril 'Macro' Hauan, Cathrine 'the Poser' Øiesvold, Ivan 'il Capo' Sodano, Marianne 'Chinese Tenderin' Vatne and Mari 'mmm,can I eat this?' Hjørnevik.

View of Pioppi (where we stayed)

The National Park of Cilento

Cavern-Sightseeing in the bay of Palinuro

The breathtaking Amalficoast

For lots more beautiful pictures from this Easter holiday in Italy, visit Tiril&Kevins flickr-page!
And for more information about staying in the south, unspoiled Italy, visit www.residencepioppi.com

Mrs. Blogger

2009-04-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, I realize it. I am just as bad as other blogging people I know of whom i have complained over the years that I don't follow their blogs because they NEVER UPDATE IT!

We have a thing or two to learn from my friend Hilde. My friend Hilde is great when it comes to blogging. She writes about anything! Everyday stuff, big, small, silly or not! It's so fun to read. And me - I have a thousand excuses not to write. I'm tired. It's to much work. I have to upload the pictures - definately to much work! I don't have anything interesting to write about. I simply forget about it. Nobody reads it anyway. You know the feeling, mr.Fellow Blogger?? I definately do. Well, and here I am, writing about nothing, and it's actually becoming another post...

Here are some facts to sum up the last two - three months, for anyone interested - or not:

I'm tired of my studies
I miss Italy
I went to see my brother in Trondheim for a weekend
The sun and the Spring have arrived in Bergen
(Hardly any place in the world is as beautiful as Bergen in the sun)
I bought my first eye-cream (the one against heavy bags and wrinkles under the eyes) yesterday
I can officially cook the lamb in the oven and make it taste great (with some help of my sister and my friends off course)
We have band rehearsals every wednesday

Thank you and good night.

BIL og Trond Viggo Torgersen

2009-02-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Hahaha!!! Jeg har nettopp vært og trimmet lattermusklene mine. Vært på forestilling med Bergen Improlaug(BIL; 5 gutter som driver med teatersport) og gjestekomiker Trond Viggo Torgersen. Mine venner og jeg møtte opp i god tid, og fikk plasser litt diskré bakover i de første radene, med enormt bra utsikt. Jeg satt ytterst inn mot midten, og selv med mine knappe 1,60 m kunne jeg se ALT! Kjempefornøyd!

Men, hva pleier å skje med de som sitter ytterst inn mot midten, litt diskré bakover i de første radene?

"Ja, da trenger vi en frivillig fra salen! Skal vi se, ingen frivillige? Nei, da kan vi jo dra med deg! Ja, du ja! Du som sitter ytterst inn mot midten, akkurat der ja!"

Opp på scenen med meg! Og gutta boys skulle intet mindre enn dikte en sang til meg. Fantastisk.

Så der satt jeg! Med ett navn som rimer på fine, mine og kline.

Men det var fryktelig sjarmerende, det må jeg bare ha sagt.

Tysse!

2009-02-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

Fredag 6.februar reiste jeg sammen med ei venninne til Tysse (kalles også Tyssebotnen og Tøsse)! Dette er et sted jeg var en sensommer for mange Herrens år siden, og hvis utsikt jeg ikke har kunnet glemme. Derfor tok jeg turen da byens rastløshet stod på som verst. Bussturen tar halvannen til to timer, og her er det nydelige, vinterinnbundne landskapet som møtte oss:

Tysse er ikke veldig stort... Der er en jokerbutikk, et bakeri (som jeg ikke er helt sikker på om var nedlagt eller ikke), en mølle (1866-1991: sentral i produksjonen til Bakerhuset AS) og et kraftverk

New Years and stuff

2009-01-31T02:20:00.000-08:00

I celebrated New Years Eve in Barcelona, from the 29th of december til the 4th of january. I stayed with friends from my erasmus exchangeprogram in Amsterdam, and I hadn't seen them since June! But it didn't seem like that at all! Time never passes between friends and familiy - I miss them.

To briefly sum it up, we did a lot of toursism, and just spent time together:

Moflo and Joan outside a strange house with cats on the walls

Joan and me at the harbour

Christopher Colombus (pointing towards India!)

The whole crew in La Ramblas (the main tourist-street of Barcelona)

One of the Gaudí houses

For New Years we went an hour north of Barca, to a place called Matadepera. One of the guys', Adria, parents has a house there, and we ended up spending two nights and two days there.

Everyone's dressed up all nice

Except for the spanish crew, we were (from the right) one Indonesian, one Norwegian, one Australian, a French (in front), a British and a Polish guy!

The spanish people are crazy for eating/swallowing 12 grapes at midnight. So off course, we had to do it. They even have a television show instructing everyone what to do! It's really odd...

And on the 1st, someone had the great idea, that to wake up, we should take a bath! Cause there was a swimming pool... Well, we woke up all right, but it was like diving into a pool of ice! Freeeeeezing...

After coming back to Barcelona, people started leaving - I was in fact the last one.
We saw the fairytail Parc Guell by Gaudí, and a soccer-match at the worlds 2nd largest stadion! It was sooo cold...

Thanks for a New Years celebration to remember! Even though it didn't seem like time moved at all...

Happy Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T07:40:00.001-08:00

Here in Norway we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve - that's the day when we eat, eat, and open presents. We are usually only the five of us, in the nearest family for dinner: my brother and sister, me and my parents
In my family, my mother also decorates the three on the 24th, and, as has become tradition, I am helping her. Here is how it looks like:

Quite a golden three, as you can see!

This is what we normally eat on Christmas eve:

- Around 13:00 we eat a sweet rice-porridge, with an almond in it - whoever get's the almond, get's a price, which is a pig-shaped marcipanfigure
- At 6 or 7 we eat the traditional meal in the east of Norway(the very same every year!): A big piece of ribs of a pig ('ribbe'), where the skin on top is baked really crisp, and the meat is teeeender!!! Yammi :) (Accompanied by potatoes, a sauce, some sausages and 'surkål'; a sort of cooked cabbage with spices and vinegear which is quite sweet)

- Then we have dessert; leftovers of the rice-porridge(served cold) whit whipped cream, raisins and a berry-sauce to go with it

- If we can manage, we have cakes and coffee a bit later (this year, it was impossible!)

After we've eaten, we open presents (before the potential coffee and cakes...)

By the way, my mother aslo decorates the entire house for Christmas for the first sunday of 'advent'. She has a million of 'nisser' (small santa's) and angels and ... stuff, basically, everywhere! It's really cosy (Gezellig, as they would say in dutch. Koselig in norwegian.).

Take a look:

Merry Christmas, everyone! Tidings and joy, and peace and hope. That's what I'll pray the new year will bring us. Take care.

December

2008-12-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

When December enters stage, girls all over Norway go crazy for 'Juleverksted' - a kind of Christmas Workshop. This is a scene for making Christmas Cards, decorations, presents, baking, listening to Christmas songs and drinking 'gløgg', which is a warm, spicy drink.

The girls in my circle of friends also gathered for this traditional activity.

Presenting:
Hilde, making cards

Åshild, baking 'kakemenn' (cake-men)

Marte, also baking

Mari was eating the very traditional Norwegian dish 'Mr.Lee'-nudles

After this wonderful meal, she joined in on making beautiful candleholders with decopagé
I was decorating candles, by using a hot kitchen tool to melt pieces of a napkin into the wax:

Result:

Snø!!!

2008-11-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

It's been snowing in Bergen! Yesterday it was rather stormy, but today was simply beautiful! Sunny, cold and lots and lots of people in the street!

I started the day drinking coffee with a friend, then I went shopping and had cake with a girl from my studies. It was absolutely lovely! Tonight I'm attending a concert with St.Morritz - a country/pop band from Bergen which I highly reccomend. Visit their myspace on : www.myspace.com/stmorritz

Road Trip Norway

2008-10-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok. I know - I'm terrible. I haven't written for almost three months! It's mainly because first, there was to much to write about, and then there was nothing. I've been back in Bergen since the beginning of August, and I'm buisy-buisy back to uni.

However, this weekend was a bit holiday-ish; a friend from Polen, which I met in Amsterdam, came to visit for some days! It was nice, and I think she loved the city :)

On sunday we went on a spectacular road trip in the area around Bergen. The guitar player in my band, Arne, was easy to convince about coming along with his car! We were gone all the day, and even though it was raining and SO cold, we had an amazing trip!!!

A waterfall called Steinsfossen - were you can acctually walk up behind the water!

View on a place called Øystese.
This was on the way up to Folgefonna, a glacier. Amazing colours!!
And as we got higher, it started snowing!! And Ula, my friend, was so excited!

What a country. Perfect!

The End

2008-07-03T13:46:00.000-07:00

I've officially left Amsterdam. Wow. How did that happen? And how did it happen, that when I woke up the morning after I was soaked in tears and sadness, it already felt like a dream? Or like I'd been away on a holiday for some time.

Amsterdam. The place I found a family, people I've really come to love. And some of whom I'm sure I will meet again. I have to! At least I have to hope I will forever, since it would feel like love gone lost if I didn't.

Amsterdam! New friends - now old friends, new home - now no longer home.

Amsterdam. I AMsterdam. I AM (no longer) sterdam.

Luxembourg

2008-06-20T08:42:00.000-07:00

From the 17th to the 19th of June I went to visit Luxembourg. I was surprised at how beautiful (and clean...) it was, and after 4 months in Holland, the hills and forests were an extremely welcoming sight!

There are two bridges connecting the new and the old part of Luxembourg City, and in the valley underneath there used to be a river. This is what's left of it (can you spot the tiny-winy canal down there, to the right in the first picture?? What's up with this northern- continental fetish of controlling water in canals... )

The next pictures are from the Kasematres; the old fortress protecting Luxembourg (also known as the Gibraltar of the North, because of it's impenetrability). It used to be an enormous labyrinth of passageways in the mountain, covering 180 ha - compared to the citys' 120 ha. They started building it in the 963, and ever since it's been extended. But after Luxembourg declared themselves neutral during the wars, they had to demolish most of it. What's left today is, off course, a tourist attraction, and on the UNESCO world Heritage list.

Here's a view on the Grund Valley:

From the old part of the town:

The grey building in the middle is the oldest house in Luxembourg. On the thing built on the outside of the house (wow, I really don't have any word for it...) it's written: 'we want to stay the way we are', which has become the motto of the city.

This is the tower of the church of St.Miguel; the oldest church in Luxembourg.

I would definately recommend going there; it's very beautiful, apparently there's a good nightlife (we didn't check it out..), and no lack of shopping-oppurtunity. There's also a lot of interesting history, and one last fascinating fact; one third of the population (of less than 100.000 inhabitans) are acctually Portuguese!

Brussels
On the way back to Amsterdam we stopped in Brussels. Another beautiful city, unfortunately we only spent about two hours there. However, Ivan was the guide, and he's been there before so we could see some of the most important things in this short while.

The Grand Place...

The Manneken Pis (landmark of Brussels)...

...and we bought chocolate!!! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

On the train back my backpack got stolen; nothing of great value, but still, it SUCKS. It feels so completely unnecessary. What was in the backpack was basically clothes, my favourite pair of shoes (assholes!!), my favourite piece of jewellery that was a present from my grandparents and the keys to my appartment. Well, I guess it was bound to happen, sooner or later, since it never happened to me before. And I will make sure it wont happen again. Hopefully...

Anyways, a nice trip; and it was good to get out of the city a bit. Especially because people here have started leaving, and it's just sad.

Franatra & Sjimpanje

2008-06-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

Da var det endelig ferie!! Hadde eksamen på torsdag, i Sociale Psychologie van het Zelf, og etterpå feiret Tiril og jeg med Vla (deilig hollandsk dessert), Frank Sinatra på høytaleren og sprudlevin!

Stemningen var riktig så høytidelig - det skulle nå bare mangle, i og med at vi nå er ferdig med første avdeling! Hurra for oss, og alle på kullet vårt der hjemme. Nå begynner en ny æra, når jeg først klarer å surre meg hjem. Den 30.juni reiser jeg herifra; med pakk og kamel drar jeg til Tyskland for å besøke mine besteforeldre. Der møter jeg også mine foreldre, som tar med seg mesteparten av bagasjen min hjem, mens jeg vender snuten sørover; etter å ha snakket om det fire år på rad, skal jeg endelig få oppfylt drømmen min om Italia! 10.juli bærer det av sted til Napoli for å besøke en venn (Nærmere bestemt Pioppi enda litt lenger sør; se bildet). Så håper jeg å få sett Roma og Toscana i tillegg, og man kan forvente å se mitt (brune!) åsyn i Bergen igjen i begynnelsen av august. Jeg gleder meg! Både til ferie, og til å komme hjem!

Pioppi

Vel, etter at Tiril og jeg (med litt hjelp fra Kevin) var godt på vei ned i flaska med musserende, snakket vi nok en gang om hvor deilig det var å være ferdig. Og Tiril spruter ut med hva som ble den veldig søte tittelen for dette innlegget; Ja, Franatra og Sjimpanje! Skål ;)

Lab-weeks

2008-05-20T01:54:00.000-07:00

Yeei, I have lab-weeks! Sitting around assigning participants for an experiment. Well, then there's a lot of web-surfing to be done, and here is one of the things I found; it's a video, and it really nails these popstars...

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17722105

Tulipaner i lange baner

2008-05-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Bilder fra sykkeltur til tulipanåkrene sør-vest for Amsterdam. En fantastisk dag!
Vi tok toget til Leiden, og syklet til Lisse. Der hadde vi picnic med ost og vin. På veien dit møtte vi på en blomsterparade. Kilometervis med store vogner dekorert med titusenvis av blomster!

Blomsterparade

Picnic i sola!

PS: Takk til Tiril for bilder :) Jeg hadde glemt kameraet mitt...

Queensday

2008-05-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

The 30th of Arpil is the queens birthday here in the Netherlands. The night before (Queens night) and the actual Queensday is when everybody dresses nationalisticly in orange(the color of their football-team, Ajax), drink (alot) and go bananas. There are people and boats everywhere!

I spent most of the night and day walking and looking, and in the evening some friends of mine had rented a boat. Between 20:00 and 22:00 we cruised around, drinking and having a good time in the beautiful light of the setting sun! Happy birthday, Queen!

Road Trip North-Holland

2008-04-21T06:56:00.001-07:00

This weekend I went on another roadtrip with (from the left); Nicola, Joan, Ivan, Giovanni, Franceska and me.
On Saturday we went to Alkmaar, the Afsluitdijks and a couple of small towns in Friesland; Bolsward and Gaastmeer. We stayed over night on an island called Ameland, in a hostel among the dunes facing the North-Sea.

Alkmaar

The dikes

Bolsward

A guy shouting the latest news of the village
A church that had burned once, loosing everything but the frame; now it has been restored with a glass-roof, it was spectacular

Friesland
Summarized in windmills and cows

Ameland
Our Hostel

On Sunday we first checked out the island. It was small, flat and full of horses and sheep. Then we ferried back to the mainland, and visited the seal-park of Pieterburen

The seals have been saved from nets etc, so even if they don't look extremely happy, they're probably better of (and more alive) here.

Then we went to Groningen, which is quite nice but very dead on a Sunday.
The museum (closed, off course)

Shoes on a line (which seems quite common in Holland. I don't know why... But I'm really curious, so if anyone can provide information, please do so!)

The University

The Red Light District

We ended up in Assen, to have dinner. That's seriously a small town!! Nothing to see, really. But we were lucky with the restaurant; a rather shabby looking italian, which turned out to be great! We came back to Amsterdam around midnight.
From the trip I've learned that most of the dutch villages and contryside look exactly the same, some italian (since we were on a trip with 4 of them) and that I will definately eat Friesian Sugarbread again!

Parties

2008-04-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

So, to give a quick update of my past weeks; nothing spectacular has really been happening, just everyday-life. Which is nice, though, don't get me wrong! Just doesn't seem like anything is very interesting to write about.. However, there are a few golden moments I would like to share:

1: Imitation Party

In Sarphatistraat (where I live) we had an imitation-party. We all got randomly assigned another person which we were to imitate for a night. It was so much fun! (Probably only if you knew the people... Here are some pic's anyway!)

I went as Hector (To see what Héctor really looks like; visit his flickr account: Héctor )

Moflo imitated me (sooo pretty!)

2: Bad-Taste Party

Aiaiai, the same week there was a bad-taste party. We started up getting dressed at Virag's place, and then went to Club 8; the music was quite awful, just like our clothes and you know how minus and minus equals plus; so we had an absolutely crazy time! I let the pictures tell the story...

Tiril and Kevin; the best dressed couple ever

Virag's crazy artistic make-up

Please, do notice my wonderful boots
Anne dressed up in a towel, a shower-cap and socks. We added the tattoo, because without it, she simply wasn't bad-taste

At Club 8

Intertrøbbelmøbbelsøbbel

2008-04-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Grunnet Internett-problemer har jeg ikke fått skrevet et innlegg i det siste, selv om nok har skjedd å skrive om! Vil bare nevne at det er under restaurasjon, så følg med, følg med! Gale bilder kommer snart...

Bror og Søster

2008-04-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

Introducing; my brother and my sister!

They've been visiting. My sister came on the 2nd day of Easter, and quickly got ill, acctually. We had to see a doctor, who prescribed Antibiotics against a bladder-infection or something like that. Lots of fun with a sister on drugs though! But not so fun for her; she was in quite a lot of pain on the first days. Luckily, she got better.

And then my brother came on thursday evening...

Crazy. But we've had a great time! Biking around the city, had good and not-so-good dinners, and just spent time together.

Love you!!!

Cellular luck

2008-04-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

By the way, I forgot to mention that I lost my phone during the hitch-hiking match. We called it once we arrived Kandel and answering it was the first trucker who gave us a lift. He asked me to simply send an SMS with my adress, so he could mail it to me. And he did! So I got it back :) Jej!!!

Arne på besøk

2008-03-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

Vel, eksamen (den jeg hadde tirsdag for to uker siden altså) gikk ok, tror jeg. Får vite resultatet i morgen. Siden den tid har det skjedd mye: onsdagen etter kom Arne fra bandet! Han skulle til sin søster i Danmark, men tok snarveien innom Nederland på veien! Veldig trivelig. Vi var på jazzklubb, fikk låst hjulet på bilen (fordi vi ikke betalte nok for parkering) og tok en roadtrip til noen diker nord for Amsterdam. Det var skikkelig dårlig vær, og utrolig fasinerende å være så i nærkontakt med naturen! Kjenne regnet piske i ansiktet, jeg følte meg levende!
Fredag morgen kjørte Arne meg og Conde, en spansk kamerat, til Utrecht - les innlegget 'Hitch-Hiking' for å se hva vi gjorde der!

Hitch-Hiking

2008-03-31T04:32:00.000-07:00

Hey, guess what I did over the weekend of Easter? Conde, a spanish friend from Sarphatistraat, and me signed up for a hitch-hiking match!
We met 14 other couples in Utrecht, and here was the first time we learned about our destination. We were to go to La Vancelle, south of Strasbourg, in France. And since it was a match, the whole idea was to get there first!

We started off quite good. First we were lucky to get a lift from Utrecht all the way to Cologne (Köln).
On a Rasthof just outside of the city, a woman and a daughter took us further to a gasstation just south of Koblenz (around 60 km south of Köln).

Here we met a couple of Catalans (spanish). When they took off from the high-way, we asked them to let us out (since it was no longer our preferred direction). So suddenly, we were in the middle of nowhere - luckily, these places also have gasstations. Here, a cab-driver had mercy on us, and took us to a Rasthof where there were supposed to be more cars.
But, alas. We got there around 17:30, and after an hour or so asking people for a lift without any success, we realized we were stranded. It was getting darker, it was snowing, and most of the cars passing by were locals going absolutely nowhere.
We had dinner at around 8, and asked people in the restaurant for lifts. There were lots of truckers here, but they weren't allowed to be on the road until midnight. So we agreed with one of them that if we couldn't get a lift til then, we would meet him outside. Off course we didn't get a lift, and so we spent the next three hours sleeping underneath a staircase.
At 24:00 hours, we met the trucker, who took us to a place close to Karlsruhe in Germany, around 30 minutes from the French border.
Here, we met a french trucker who reluctantly took us with her, and let us off in a tiny place called Kandel, just north of the border - she didn't want to take us any further, because if anyone in France found out she'd picked us up, she could get fired (insurance-issues). It was around 2 in the night, and again there were no cars in sight. We did come across some really friendly personell at a gasstation however - they served us coffe and gave us shelter in their storage room for some hours.

(Yes, it's as comfortable as it looks, sleeping on cold tile- floors...)When light of dawn started to show its face, we started to walk in direction of the border. It was raining slightly, the weather was chilly, and guess what- still no cars
We passed a trainstation, and after talking it through we acctually decided to call the trip of (yes, we chickened out!!!). So close, but yet so far...
We took a train to Karlsruhe, from here to Mannheim, and then, we went to Köln (Cologne).
Here we were simply tourists for a couple of hours. It was great; we had coffee at starbucks (my first time ever!!), saw the Cathedral and went to the 4711; where they made the first cologne.

The most comforting thing was probably the thought that there would be trains, not strange cars that might never show up, that would take us home from there, and that we would see our beds again that very same night. No more floors-of-tile!
We arrived in Amsterdam at around 22:30, and I've hardly ever had such a great shower, and a good night's sleep!! Home sweet home :) It was a great adventure, and we had lots of fun! But we should probably have prepared better, hehe... . Though I'm glad I did it, I don't think I'll do it again (this I also had to promise my mother, who nearly had a heart-attack when I told her. After the trip was over....)
To finish off, a couple of pictures of our Siesta's. They were very much appreciated by us on the road (/tracks).

Besøk

2008-03-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Forrige mandag fant jeg ut at det kun var litt over en uke til jeg skulle ha eksamen, og i kombinasjonen med at jeg skulle få besøk over helgen ble det brått en travel uke. Jeg kjøpte boka på mandag, leste tirsdag, onsdag og starten av torsdagen, og så fikk jeg besøk. Tre damer fra Kristiansand - Solveig;

Marit

og Kristin

Jeg hadde PMS, eksamen og lite søvn med meg fra tidligere, så jeg var utrolig grinete! Ble nesten skremt. Men jeg håper besøket ikke ble skremt, men hadde en fin tur? Det ble en fullpakka helg.
Fredagen besøkte vi Margit Seland, ei venninne av foreldrene til Kristin. Hun har et keramisk verksted her i Amster, og hun har jammen mye fint!

Vi endte alle med å kjøpe et par av disse koppene. Helt herlige!

Disse to var mine favoritter...

Slik seg hør og bør har vi sykla mye rundt; fikk låne en sykkel og to av noen naboer, også leide vi en. Stort sett hadde vi tre sykler, fordi Solveig hadde et lite uhell med min (ingen ting alvorlig, begge kom fra det med et par skrammer og sjokket!), og på den Kristin hadde sviktet bremsene.. Dog var det intet problem, og vi kom oss rundt som bare rakkern! Jeg var helt imponert over jentene; som om de aldri hadde gjort noe annet enn å sykle i Amsterdam!

Vi var også på shopping, selvfølgelig. Vi fikk prakka på Marit klær med farger :) Storfornøyde med det, i og med at det går i mye grått og svart hos den dama... (men er hun ikke fiiiiin i rødt!!!???)

Dette er en 2nd-hand butikk hvor jeg tar med alle jeg kjenner. Veldig, veldig fullpakka med stæsj fra 50-tallet og oppover. Masse originalt!

Vi fant til og med en kafé som matchet Marits nyinnkjøpte jakke
- her er kjøkkenet intergrert i kafeen, veldig trivelig. Og det lukta så godt! Nybakt eplekake...Mmmmm.

Markeder ble selvsagt besøkt - dette er Noordermarkt i Joordan.

Marit og Solveig forlot oss på søndag. Før de drog reiste de på Canal-cruise, mens Kristin og jeg besøkte Rijksmuseum. Der fikk vi sett masse klassisk, 1600-talls malerier (alle de store navnene var samlet i en utstilling), og vi koste oss sånn!
Etter at 4 ble 2 drog vi for å gjenoppleve et av Kristins kjære barndomsminner; cruise med pannekakebåten! Man betaler €14,50 for et times cruise med 'spis-så-mye-du-vil-av-pannekaker'. Det var årntli' trivelig!!!!!!

Buffet med tusenslag av sjokoladestrø, frukt, ost, skinke, syltetøy etc.etc.

Kristin reiste mandag, og etter det var det bare å hive seg over bøkene. Eksamen på tirsdag gikk, tror jeg. Resultatet kommer om to uker, så vi får se... Nå er det fri!!! Og det er så uendelig deilig :)

Men takk for besøket! Jeg er glad i dere alle tre.

Supergreen Pants

2008-03-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

Haha! Jeg har kjøpt meg grønne bukser :) Skikkelig grønne, altså, bare se!!!!!!

Perfekt Lørdag!

2008-03-01T15:44:00.001-08:00

Våren er virkelig på full vei hit til Amsterdam! Det er nydelig. Men det er også lett å la seg lure av bilder som dette: Det blåser nemlig noe hinsides!! Sånn at trær ramler over...
Og i løpet av dagen skifter det, og på kvelden pleier det å regne... Men vinden er ikke kald, så temperaturen er det ikke noe særlig å klage på - i hvert fall så lenge sola er oppe.
I dag satt jeg ute på en trapp i tre kvarter og ventet på at en kafé skulle åpne (jeg trodde den åpnet 12, men det var visst 1...). Jeg skulle møte ei venninne der, men hun hadde fått migrene anfall og sovnet, og jeg fikk ikke tak i henne. Så jeg bare satt der! Men det var ordentlig fint. Kikke på folkene, la vinden ruske meg (og da mener jeg ruske skikkelig!) i håret og nyte sola og livet. Jeg er virkelig glad for å være her!
Venninna mi, Franziska fra Tyskland, ble bedre og møtte meg på en kafé ca. 5 minutter med sykkel fra der jeg bor. For øvrig en temmelig herlig kafé! Jeg er på leting etter en å bli stamkunde på, og dette er absolutt et alternativ. Full av sjarm, god musikk og veldig vennlig betjening (og tidenes eplekake!!!!)
Bare sjekk ut denne lampa? Personlighet eller hva?
Videre tok vi turen til det offentlige biblioteket. Der har de et piano og et tilhørende skilt som sier noe sånt som: hvis du kan spille er du hjertelig velkommen til å underholde oss! Jeg har ikke spilt på over en måned, og klødde i fingrene!! Det var helt fantastisk :) Pianoet hadde en nydelig lyd, og det var bare å glemme tid og sted.
Vi besøkte også takterassen til biblioteket, som hadde en temmelig ålreit utsikt over byen.
På vei hjem fikk jeg endelig se noen som flyttet inn! Fordi husene og trappene er så smale, må de transportere møbler på utsiden. Til dette har de en krok på toppen hvor de kan henge på et hjul med et tau, og det hele går lekende lett! Vips, så var sofaen oppe.
Det som også er ganske stilig, er at noen av husene heller svakt forover, slik at møbler, pianoer etc ikke skal dunke borti vinduer i det de hales oppover (eller nedover).
Vel, det har vært en innholdsrik og deilig lørdag! Rett og slett perfekt; passe avslappa, og masse masse nye inntrykk.

Nieuwe Anita

2008-02-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

På tirsdag tok Tiril, Virag og meg turen til en herlig stue-liknende-café ved navn Nieuwe Anita (nye Anita). Atmosfæren var deilig; de som jobbet der kjente cirka alle gjestene, og man måtte ringe på for å slippe inn! For ett fullt inntrykk anbefaler jeg å ta turen innom bloggen til Tiril
. Her er bilder og en utfyllende historie.

Fiskesuppe og Tilslørte Bondepiker

2008-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

I går, lørdag, var det min tur til å gjeste ISN-faddergruppa for et realt norskt måltid! Jeg lagde fiskesuppe, og til dessert; Tilslørte Bondepiker. Det ble enormt godt mottatt, og vi hadde en riktig trivelig kveld! Til tross for at jeg sovnet på sofaen og våknet ti minutter før de første skulle komme - og da manglet jeg fremdeles å gjøre samtlige dagligvareinnkjøp for å fø gjengen... Obs! Men alle var forsinket og i godt humør, så det medførte ingen problemer! Vi var på det meste 18 (eller noe) mennesker i mitt lille rom, og alle var så imponert over sofaen! Selv de som har vært skeptiske til mitt noe alternative opplegg. (Det viser seg faktisk at ordet har spredd seg her på huset, og folk jeg har møtt har sett skrått på meg og spurt; Å, er det du som er hun halvsprø jenta som har sofaen ut mot vinduet? Veldig festlig... )

Vel, suppe var det aldeles nok av; jeg hadde to kjeler på størrelse med denne, og dette er det som var igjen etter at alle var gode og mette:
(Jeg hadde lånt kjelene av noen naboer - jeg er ikke så etablert her enda....) Avlutningsvis bar det ut for å danse danse danse hele natten igjennom!

Road trip

2008-02-20T09:40:00.001-08:00

Lørdag kveld (16.2). gikk jeg innom en fest på vei hjem for å levere en nøkkel til en fyr som bor i Sarphatistraat(der hvor jeg bor). Møtte på et par andre bekjente, blant annet JuanMa fra Peru som lurte på om ikke jeg ville bli med på roadtrip dagen etter. De hadde leid en bil, og skulle ut og kikke på Nederland. Klart det sa jeg, og dagen etter, kl.10:00 stilte vi alle opp og la av sted. Først kjørte vi til kysten for å se på en strand - det var kaldt, men fint:Her er hele gjengen i sol og vind. F.v: Bruno (fra Peru), meg, JuanMa(Peru), Mari Paz(Spania) og Pierre (Frankrike).Videre kjørte vi sørover til Delft, som er en slags miniversjon av Amsterdam. Veldig koselig. Spiste her for første gang Fritten Special, som er pommes frites med majones og en slags karrisaus. Det var heller majones og karrisaus med Fritten, så det kommer ikke til å skje igjen!
Deretter bar det nesten ned til grensa til Belgia, til Nederlands største demning. Temmelig spektakulært! Det var omtrent ingen andre folk der, så det hele føltes ganske surrealistisk. Vanskelig å beskrive; jeg lar bildene tale for seg selv.
Siste stopp var Utrecht, hvor vi spiste middag på en herlig rustikk italiensk restaurant. Jeg var den eneste som faktisk spiste opp all maten min (en temmelig stor pizza), og i tillegg spiste jeg restene av Pierres' calzone. Reisefølget holdt på å le seg i hjel på grunn av alt som fikk plass i den heller lille kroppen min, og jeg kommer til å få høre det i all fremtid.
Avslutningsvis kommer bildet av solnedgangen sett fra en frittes-sjappe ved motorveien; litt rart, tenker du kanskje nå, å vise fram bildet av dagen som forsvinner bak et lite sjarmerende betonglandskap? Men, sier jeg da, dette var en del av turen - det spontane, uventede, enkle og uforglemmelige! Glorious.
PS: for flere bilder anbefaler jeg å sjekke ut albumet 'Road trip' på Facebook

Oioioi, vi snakker lukeparkering på høyt plan... Følg linken!

2008-02-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6YkqTzCGew&feature=related

Endelig...

2008-02-16T03:24:00.000-08:00

Her er (for noen) etterlengtede bilder fra leiligheten!

Her er min nydelige sofa; heller ugjenkjennelig i forhold til da jeg kjøpte den?? Men fin, eller hva?

Her er mitt lille kjøkken; Og alt småstæsjet jeg har kjøpt på utallige markeder og bruktbutikker hittill... Skal bli et prosjekt å få med ting hjem! Neida pappa, ta det med ro, jeg skal ikke ha med meg alt sammen....

Og min harde, ubehagelige seng! Men jeg skal få ny madrass til uka, så det blir digg!

Pimp your bike

2008-02-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

I dag har jeg malt sykkelen min! Hurra :) Så nå ser den ut som en marihøne, og inspirasjonen er hentet fra ringeklokka. I love it!

Masse nytt...

2008-02-10T14:07:00.001-08:00

Folkens, jeg vil bare informere om at jeg har laget tre nye innlegg i dag! Så det er bare å bla nedover, der er masse bilder!

Middag hos Carl's

2008-02-10T13:59:00.001-08:00

Carl tok opp bestillinger for alle de 10 som kom (han er en skikkelig listemaker!) Så noe fisk ble stekt som en kinesisk variant, noe ble laget i ovnen med hvitløk og olje.

Og ja, han har en stekeovn! Han hadde funnet den på et market i nærheten, kun €15!! Den funker som ei kule, jeg er så sinnsykt misunnelig!!! De har virkelig alt på disse markedene rundt forbi. Brukt eller nytt, og det koster en slikk og ingenting! Så glem IKEA, her finnes mye bedre alternativer!!

Marked

2008-02-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Vi spiste også eplekake på en kjent plass; den var meget god, men så mektig (skjønt jeg tror det i hovedsak var kremen) at jeg orket knapt mer enn halve!! Utsikt over en kanal (jeg går ikke lei de... Særlig ikke i sol!!!)
Så har jeg skaffet meg sykkel i dag! Så nå er jeg en ekte amsterdammer! Skal male den rød, også har jeg en ringeklokke i form av en marihøne, så det blir perfekt! Så kommer jeg til å kjenne den igjen også... Det er virkelig et HAV av sykler parkert over alt her!
Her er et av de smaleste husene i Amster. Det er knappe 2 meter bredt, og hvis du er her noen gang og ser det; ikke ring på og spør hvor langt det er eller hvordan de har plass til en seng der. Turister gjør det visst hele tida, og de som bor der blir skikkelig hissige(forståelig nok!).

Marked

2008-02-10T13:28:00.000-08:00

Igår møttes vi med faddergruppa og drog på et marked! Det var en veldig fin dag, skikkelig vår-temperatur ute! Vi kjøpte masse deilig fisk, og på kvelden møttes vi hos Carl og laget deilig mat sammen. Jeg beklager at oppsettet på bloggen er så heslig, jeg vet ikke helt hvordan jeg kan manøvrere det enda...

Brukt'en

2008-02-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

På fredag var Tiril og jeg på et bruktmarked, og vi fant begge to sofaer!! Jeg er så glad, endelig noe mykt å sitte på! Dette vidunderet kostet €50, og alt trekk kan tas av. Så med et teppe og et par nye putevar blir det den fineste sofaen i byen! Lett!!!

Jeg fant også noen sko jeg hadde enormt lyst på. Bare synd de var altfor små..... Og for de av dere smartinger som har lagt merke til at jeg har klart å plagiere meg selv ved å legge ut de samme bildene to ganger; jeg er fryktelig lei for det....

Mer Canal-Cruise Del 2

2008-02-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

Tenkte jeg kunne bruke all den tiden jeg har til å skrive ett hyggelig innlegg også, ikke bare om å være syk og sånn (kan for øvrig nevne at jeg i natt svettet av meg all feber, og i dag går det en del bedre!). Så her er litt flere bilder av nydelig Amsterdam, og foreløpig har jeg bare sett omtrent 4 prosent! Gleder meg til resten.

I Amsterdam betaler man for bredden av huset, derfor er de fleste så smale og høye! Og visstnok temmelig lange, men det synes ikke så godt fra framsiden. Hvis noen vil framstå som rik, bygger de ganske enkelt et bredt hus! Eller, som noen luringer har gjort; to og to går sammen. De har en inngang, men innenfor deles det i to! Så da ser de rike ut, men det hele er kun fasade.

Dette er et slags teknisk museum, som kalles 'Nemo'. Ganske spesielt! Til høyre i bildet kan man så vidt skimte et sjørøverskip... Kult....

Akutt bihulebetennelse

2008-02-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

Joho!! Jeg har forblitt syk, og da jeg i dag hadde 39,5 grader feber og jeg i grunn bare ble verre, tenkte jeg det var på tide å besøke en doktor. Han sa jeg hadde fått akutt bihulebetennelse, så jeg blir fora med antibiotika og må holde sengen et par dager til. Jippi!

Typisk

2008-02-04T09:06:00.001-08:00

Ja, så har alle de nye inntrykkene og festing og syke coach-gruppe-medlemmer fått gjort sitt, og jeg er blitt syk. Litt feber som kommer og går, ett eller annet rart i halsen (sånn at når jeg hoster, kommer det nesten blodsmak opp) og en tanke svimmelhet som melder seg fra tid til annen. Ikke for å klage altså! Hehe. Men det måtte jo komme...

CarryOnCash

2008-02-03T04:45:00.000-08:00

Jeg vil anbefale alle som flytter å sende noe av bagasjen i posten!
I går kom det en pakke på døra med de nesten 10 kiloene jeg hadde sendt i forveien. Jeg betalte 320 kroner for denne standard-pakken, og fikk plass til masse!
Det som er så bra, er å få ett dryss av hjemme et par dager etter innkvartering! For det første har man allerede glemt mange av tingene man har pakket ned, og det er utrolig stas med alle overraskelsene som ligger på lur! Det blir som å få et lite kyss på kinnet fra kjente og kjære.

For det andre er det bare uhyre praktisk. Hadde jeg hatt det med meg på flyet hadde jeg måttet betale omtrent tre ganger så mye...

Leilighet del 1

2008-02-03T04:30:00.000-08:00

Her er de første bildene fra leiligheten min! Jeg bor i ei gate som heter Sarphatistraat, i studenthybler nyrenovert fra 2002. Faktisk har jeg vært skikkelig heldig; standard, størrelse og beliggenhet er helt topp, og jeg betaler knapt mer enn andre som ikke har vært fullt så heldige. Dessuten bor jeg i samme blokk som Tiril fra klassen min i Bergen og hennes respektive, Kevin, hvilket gir en betraktelig forminsking av følelsen av å være helt alene i en stor og ukjent verden...

Det er kanskje ikke så spennende med et bilde av en seng, men jeg har tenkt å finne meg litt mer til rette (dvs. kjøpe noe mer møbler) før jeg kan gi ett skikkelig inntrykk av leiligheten. For øvrig er fargene på masai-sengeteppet mitt ganske representative for gardinene som henger her. Det er et noe sterilt rom, men fargene spriter det opp! Oransje, gult og rødt kan muntre opp de fleste, det er fra nå av min filosofi.

Jeg bor i tredje etasje, med utsikt over en vei og en kanal (som for øvrig heter Singel-Gracht; gracht betyr kanal...). Området er ganske rolig, og det virker faktisk veldig trygt (og dette sier jeg ikke bare for å berolige mamma!). Metro- og trikkestopp er rett i nærheten, og metroen inn til sentrum tar knappe fem minutter. Så det er perfekt!

Ellers kan jeg nevne at det blåser VELDIG mye her. Vinden som sveiper over landet finner smutthull over alt, og det sies at når man sykler (noe alle her gjør) kan man risikere at det stopper helt opp i motvind.