14 September 2014
This past week was the best week I’ve had here thus far. On Monday I went canoeing around some of the islands in Stockholm with my friends Ben, Paul, and Elaine. We went out for about an hour. We went under bridges, circled an island with a small university, and saw the amusement park from a different view. It was a ton of fun to see part of the city from a different angle.
On Wednesday night my chapter pub at KTH was open for dinner and drinks. The theme was hats, but we didn’t quite translate that correctly from the Facebook post. That’s alright, we weren’t the only ones without hats. After the pub, KTH had a fireworks show to celebrate the start of a new school year. Tore snagged me, Agnes, and Christian a killer spot in one of the windows on the 5th floor. We definitely had the best view!
On Thursday night, Roxy (also from Cal Poly), Tore (from Univ of Washington), and I decided to make cupcakes! We made rum cupcakes… there seemed to be a LOT of rum in them… And do you know what happens when you mix Captain Morgan and a ton of sugar? This… (Sorry Tore)
On Friday I decided to take a long weekend trip to Bergen, Norway! The first day I climbed Mount Ulriken. It was one of the most difficult hikes I’ve ever done in my life, but it was so worth the view. Doing the hike solo was an interesting experience. I’m used to talking to friends or listening to music… basically constant stimulation. For this hike I went alone, and I didn’t listen to my iPod. I had to be with my thoughts for an hour straight up the trail, and I sat at the top and just took in the view. Enjoy the pics! (Of course I had to do a Theta Kite at the top… it was such an epic view!)
On Saturday, I explored the city of Bergen a little bit more, and eventually hiked up Mount Fløyen. That hike was slightly easier than the day before, but also quite difficult. It took about an hour to get up. Once I got to the top, I rewarded myself with ice cream. At that point I freaking deserved it! The views from the top of Mount Fløyen are so incredible as well!
On Sunday I am giving my legs a rest. I took the Flioban up to the top of Mount Fløyen. The Flioban is this incredible train that goes straight up the mountain. The angle at which you move is crazy! At the top I read some of my new book The Circle and drank some coffee.
As I write this, I’m hanging out in a darling cafe called Krok og Krinkel Bokcafè. It has amazing sandwiches and delicious looking cakes. Maybe I’ll treat myself to one before I head out. I’ll be flying back to Stockholm tonight. Traveling here alone was kind of weird at first, but I think it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. I did a lot of thinking and reflecting. I made a bunch of new friends at the hostel that I was staying at. One group is a group of international students studying at universities in Oslo and the other group were some students from Cambridge in the UK. Maybe I will get the chance to go visit them while I am here in Europe. I also invited them to Stockholm while I am still here. Hopefully we will hang out again soon! Before I left for study abroad my professor Zoe Wood told me to “Get lost, and find Treasure.” Each and every day I wander around and explore unknown places. I am so happy with all the treasure I’ve found so far, and I can’t wait to keep finding more!
PS: To those of you who are allowed to vote in the Swedish election today, make sure you go out and vote! Here’s some inspiration from some of the booths I saw near T-Centralen earlier this week. I wish I could contribute more!
